Page 12 of Meet Me Under the Northern Lights

The back of the boat was only slightly quieter than the large upstairs deck filled with passengers, but it had a spectacular view of the harbourside including a building that looked like a mirrored work of art, sparkling and reflecting all the colours.

Chloe had settled herself, leaning against the rail at one side, overlooking the rear.

And the temperature had definitely dropped since she had emerged from inside, so much so that she had decided to leave voice notes to herself rather than take her gloves off and tap the screen with soon-to-be numb fingers.

‘…beautifully cold, Michelle, but we will have to make sure everyone is wrapped up warm. Cosy blankets provided? Some of those furry hats that look like bedded-down cats? The harbour area is kind of cute cabiney on one side and then very chic on the other with this stand-out building that looks like mirrors and?—’

‘That is Harpa.’

Chloe jumped at the sound of the voice and then there was a plastic cup of wine in her orbit. It was Gunnar.

‘Harpa?’ she queried.

‘Please, take the wine. If I am seen with it I could be fired.’

She pocketed her phone and took the cup from him. ‘Thank you.’

‘So, Harpa, it is the building over there. A new, but iconic landmark, at the centre of our cultural city. It is home to our orchestra and our opera and it is a world-class concert hall with state-of-the-art acoustic technology.’

‘Spoken like a true tour guide.’

‘Ah, well, it is not usual for my job to be here tonight but there was an iceberg warning so…’

It took Chloe a millisecond to realise he was joking with her and she doffed him on the arm. ‘Very funny.’

He laughed. ‘Sorry.’

‘Careful, it almost sounded like you meant it. And I know how apologies come hard for you.’ She took a sip of the wine. ‘Mmm, this is nice.’

‘Of course,’ Gunnar said. ‘Everything we serve in Iceland is of the best quality.’

‘Particularly the views. Stunning.’

She had meant the harbour, but she felt her cheeks deepening in colour as she looked at Gunnar. She’d felt similar in that tiny bathroom and it was both disconcerting and unfamiliar. And she was here to do a job.

‘That is why people come here from all around the globe. These views and the views you will be seeing in the sky. With hope.’

‘Hope?’ she queried.

‘Yes,’ he whispered, head leaning a little closer. ‘Seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland, it is not guaranteed how some people think.’

‘No?’

‘It is a weather phenomenon. Nothing about the weather is guaranteed and here it is no different.’

Chloe took her phone from her pocket and spoke into it. ‘We need to consider the weather carefully when we are planning the itinerary. Clear skies.’ She looked at Gunnar. ‘Clear skies, right?’

‘Clear skies are best,’ he said, speaking into the phone like he thought he was on a live call. ‘But you can still see with light cloud cover and sometimes it makes for a unique experience. Who am I speaking to?’

Chloe laughed. ‘Just my phone. I’m making voice notes to send to my boss about this trip and all the other things I’m going to be doing here to put together ideas for an event next Christmas time.’

‘Your job is to make events for other people to enjoy?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. And usually I’m far more organised than this, but research needed to be done at this time of year because the event is next December so…’

‘Here you are.’

‘Yes, here I am.’

And then, engines engaged, the boat crept forward into the inky sea and everyone ‘oohed’ in anticipation of what was to come.

‘Thank you again for the apartment,’ Chloe said as the vessel moved away from those waterside lights.

‘It is OK?’ he asked.

‘Oh, it’s more than OK, it’s wonderful. Have you never been inside?’

‘The friend of my friend, I do not know him.’

‘Well, it’s perfect. Cosy yet spacious and the shower is insanely good. If I hadn’t had to rush to get here for this trip I would have spent a lot longer in there.’

‘I did not hear that.’

‘What?’

‘Water is very important in Iceland. We look after it the way it has always looked after us.’

And now she felt like she’d suggested flying around the world and back again for fun in a private jet.

‘Sorry,’ Gunnar said. ‘I should be telling you that Iceland is all about indulgence. For your luxury event you are organising.’

‘No,’ Chloe said straight away. ‘I mean, yes, I am organising a luxury event, but our client needs to be mindful of those kinds of ecological impacts.’ She mused for a second. ‘Maybe that’s exactly what I could build into it. Prove that luxury doesn’t have to cost the Earth.’

‘Turn on your voice recorder,’ Gunnar urged.

She pressed the icon on her phone screen and he leaned forward towards it.

‘Luxury does not have to cost the Earth,’ he said.

‘Making sure that whatever we do with the event we can carbon offset. It should be a treat for the staff and, of course, a celebration, but something to give back to Iceland and the planet in general,’ Chloe said.

‘Sshh!’

Chloe whipped her head around and was face to face with a slightly cross-looking woman and realised she had been talking over the start of the commentary. ‘Sorry.’

‘Come.’

Gunnar had taken her arm and was leading her over to the other side of the craft. He ducked under a roped off area and pulled her under too.

‘Is this the VIP section?’ Chloe asked as they arrived on a lower level that seemed to be one slim metal plank fixed to the side of the boat, no cover, just more ropes and misty portholes, a hopefully sturdy metal barrier separating them from the sea.

‘This is usually the OIP section.’ He smiled. ‘Only Icelandic Persons section. But, I am in charge of this side of the boat so I say it is OK.’

‘What are you actually in charge of here? Apart from stain removal from coats?’

‘Well, I do not do this trip often but there has to be the right number of crew for safety reasons and tonight I come here because a colleague has to be at the hospital.’

‘Oh, wow, he has been in an accident?’

‘No. It is his wife.’

‘She has been in an accident?’

‘No. She is having a baby.’

And there it was. That sucker punch Chloe didn’t always see coming.

Suddenly she didn’t feel so recovered. It was like she had taken a blow to the chest but she immediately, hopefully subtly, drew in her core and took a sip of the wine.

She could handle this. It was someone she didn’t know having a child like people all over the world had children every second of every day.

Just like Michelle was and she had coped with watching her bump grow daily for months.

But what to say? Did she need to say anything? Maybe change the subject…

‘Whales,’ Chloe blurted out.

‘What?’

‘Are there whales here, you know, that we might see tonight as well as the Northern Lights?’

‘It is best to look for whales in the daylight,’ Gunnar told her. ‘There are trips from Reykjavik but the best place to visit would be Husavik in the north of the island.’ He smiled. ‘Do you want to speak into your phone, so you remember?’

* * *

Chloe did as he had suggested and then she started taking some photos of the lights as they left the harbour behind and headed out into the real open water.

He had noticed the change in her demeanour when he had mentioned the childbirth though.

He had also picked up how she had tried her best to hide it, visibly, quietly setting her shoulders straight, sipping her drink, quietening.

His mother had always said he had been born with a ‘sense of sense’, which made absolutely no sense to him growing up.

But gradually, as he grew older and, after she had passed away, he had started to realise what she meant.

It was tuning in to the conversation of body language, someone’s vibe, not what they were saying but what they were displaying, usually without knowing it.

‘You enjoy your work?’ he asked her. ‘Making the events.’

‘I do,’ she said, nodding. Genuine. Demeanour brightened.

‘And you travel often for this?’

She shook her head. ‘Not usually so much. Definitely not ever this last minute or without somewhere to stay, but this job could be the biggest chance the company has had to be recognised nationally and perhaps start to think about international opportunities.’

‘Wow, you are passionate about your business.’

‘Oh, well, it’s not my business.’

‘You would one day like it to be?’

He was watching her expression. She was stood side-on, half facing the water, half facing him, her breath visible in the air, appearing to think deeply.

‘Not the whole business,’ she said. ‘But a share of it, definitely. How about you?’

She looked directly at him then.

‘Me?’ he said. He was so surprised at her question the word came out half laugh, half shock.

‘What’s funny?’

‘I just drive coaches. That’s it.’

‘I don’t think you should be so dismissive.

I mean, today you not only aided an English woman in need with somewhere to stay, you dealt with tourist questions and puking and now you’re crewing a Northern Lights boat and reminding me to be water savvy and helping with voice notes.

I mean, that’s basically business boot camp. ’

‘ Krúttio mitt , you are making me sound like I have… what is it they say? Main character energy.’

‘Well, everyone should have main character energy in their own story, no?’

She was looking at him as if she was waiting for him to contradict her. He could. With more than enough reasons why he was only a prop guy, not a leading man, in his life. He was always now a reactor to situations, not a controller of them.

Instead of answering, he pointed to the sky. ‘Look. Any minute now the aurora borealis will begin.’