Page 106 of Appointing

“Elin, where are we going that we have to take a plane?” Ingrid asked, her face pulling back in shock.

“Can you just pack an overnight bag?”

“Overnight?”

“Oh, not… It’s not because of–” Elin stopped herself, breathed in and out, and then added, “It’s not because of that.”

“Of what?” Ingrid teased her.

“Sex,” Elin said softly.

“It’s not?”

“No. I don’t know. You’re teasing me right now.”

Ingrid laughed and said, “Yes, because you’ve yet to say the word ‘sex’ without whispering it like it’s wrong for us to be talking about it.”

“Itwasa couple of months ago,” Elin argued.

“Oh, I see,” Ingrid replied. “Well, it’s okay for us to talk about it now.”

“I know. I’m just still getting used to that,” Elin said. “So, can you pack a bag?”

“I can. We’re really flying somewhere?”

“It’s a short flight,” Elin replied.

“Okay. You didn’t go crazy planning something, did you?”

“What? No,” Elin said, clearly lying.

Ingrid laughed and asked, “Do you want to see my bedroom? You can wait in there with me while I pack.”

“Your bedroom?” Elin asked.

Then, she tripped over the table behind the sofa.

???

The Island of Senja had been called Norway in a miniature form because it harbored all of the different landscapes of the country on one island. And even though it was an island itself, it also had many beautiful lakes where one could take in perfect landscape reflections, especially in the fall, with all the golden leaves and the snow-capped mountains in the background. It had a jagged coastline on the northern part of the island with many fjords and gorgeous peaks. Finally, if that wasn’t enough, the Northern Lights were typically very present there in the late fall, winter, and spring. Because of the geomagnetic location of the island right in the middle of the Auroral Oval, the Northern Lights often lit up the entire sky, making the island a hot spot for travelers hoping to get a perfect view of the nightly event.

Ingrid had to admit that, despite living her entire life in Norway, she’d never been to the island. Of course, that made sense: the island was over fifteen hundred kilometers from Oslo and would take over twenty-one hours to get there if she drove. She hadn’t had the time or the money to make the trip. And when she and Sarah Anne had planned their vacation together, naturally, they’d planned something outside of their home country, thinking they could see Norway anytime. Wasn’t it usually true, though, that one would go explore the faraway lands and miss the things closest to home that might be just as beautiful?

As they flew over Norway, Ingrid didn’t regret not coming to Senja. She much preferred sitting next to Elin, whom Ingrid knew was watching her watch the landscape change out the window.

“It’s beautiful,” Ingrid told her.

“It is, yes,” Elin replied.

Ingrid didn’t turn around, but shedidblush. The plane landed not long after taking off, and they were whisked away in another car that drove them to wherever Elin planned for them to go. It was midday, so there was a little traffic, but not nearly as much as in the city. Ingrid didn’t mind at all, though. Elin was holding her hand in her lap as she checked emails on her phone, and it felt oddly perfect.

“Sorry. I just have to respond to this, and I’m all yours,” Elin said, taking her hand for a second to type a message.

“It’s fine. I know how hard your job is, remember?”

“It’s just Markus. He wants me to talk to my father about titling Steven.”

“What?”

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