Page 8 of Meet Me Under the Northern Lights

The first connection she made, when she finally sat down, was to Kat.

‘Hi, Kat.’

‘Oh, thank God! I’ve been worried sick. Your location has been in the sea for the past two hours. I checked the plane, and started to think about the possibility of your phone having been stolen or you having been kidnapped or jailed for having overweight luggage?—’

‘I texted you when I landed,’ Chloe said, leaning back on the sofa and starting to realise how incredibly tired she was.

‘Objection, your Honour, someone texted me from your phone,’ Kat said.

‘Have you been reading those kinds of books again?’

‘Sooo, tell me about Iceland and don’t leave anything out. I’m currently choosing between sushi or a sandwich but really wanting a festive pasty.’

Chloe laughed. ‘I’ve only been here in the centre for about an hour. I’ve made a coffee, I haven’t even unpacked the oversized luggage.’

‘Do you have a great hotel? I bet Michelle has made sure you have a great hotel!’

‘Actually no,’ Chloe said. ‘But I have a great apartment thanks to a helpful bus driver.’

‘What? Tell me more! Was he hot? And blond? Aren’t they all blond in Iceland? Like Vikings!’

Chloe recalled Gunnar and immediately there was a little fizzy fusion in her chest like she’d swallowed one too many Love Hearts sweets… That was weird. He was good-looking. Tall. Definitely blond…

‘You’re not saying anything!’ Kat yelled. ‘Shit! This is something!’

‘You’ve knocked over the sushi?’

‘No! You’re not saying anything about this bus driver. That’s what you do when you like someone! You pretend they don’t exist.’

Chloe laughed. ‘I don’t do that.’

‘You did that with Jonah when I organised the dinner party,’ Kat continued.

Chloe swallowed and sat up a little. She had been to a few dinner parties at Kat’s where her friend had tried her hardest to set her up with guys those first couple of months after Michael had left but her heart hadn’t been in it. Her libido hadn’t even been in it…

‘Kat, I went quiet with Jonah because he was terrifying.’

‘He was sweet!’

‘Kat, he built miniature homes out of ice cream sticks.’

‘For the ants in his garden! Like I said, sweet!’

Chloe shook her head. ‘Remind me never to let you near my dating apps.’

There was an intake of breath from the other end of the line and Chloe wanted to pull back the sentence she’d just let escape without proper thought. She got up from the sofa, put both hands around the coffee cup. This conversation was definitely going to need pacing not standing still.

‘You’re on dating apps!’ Kat exclaimed. ‘I might get sushi and the sandwich.’

‘I’m not on them… not really.’

‘When I suggested it, you acted like I was trying to get you matched with Luigi Mangione.’

‘Because I wasn’t ready then.’ And she knew for sure, having swiped right and left – mainly left – that she still wasn’t ready now.

‘I can’t believe you kept this from me! I could have helped with your profile! Wait, did Michelle help with your profile?’

Chloe walked towards a patio door she hadn’t noticed before. It led out onto a small decked balcony. She was already unlocking the door, needing the air.

‘No, and why did you say “Michelle” like you were saying “Gargamel”.’

‘Have you been on dates?’

‘No,’ Chloe said.

‘Not one?’

‘I said no.’

‘Well, did you at least talk to some guys?’

‘A couple.’

‘A couple? What, like polyamorously?’

‘No! Not like that. Two guys. Three maybe.’

‘And you didn’t tell me?’

‘There was nothing to tell, Kat, honestly.’

‘But we tell each other everything. Or, at least, I tell you everything.’

The reason she hadn’t told Kat was because Kat would have become more invested in the matches than Chloe herself.

And it had taken a lot for Chloe to even add a profile.

Those icon choices – have kids, want kids – had been mocking her from the very beginning.

But, in the end, the chats just hadn’t been enough of a connection…

‘I do tell you everything, Kat, just, with this, it was something I felt I had to do on my own. Just to, I don’t know, do something other than work. And it didn’t last long. It’s over now.’

There was a sniff over the phone line. Had she really upset her friend?

‘Kat? Are you OK?’

‘Yup, just pausing by the festive candle section before I self-checkout. Who knew chocolate and bayberry was a thing? So… redeem yourself quickly. Tell me everything; tell me about this bus driver!’

Chloe looked out over the rooftops, only the spire of the church towering above her. It was cold but the chill was fresh and it was making her feel immediately more calm and collected, despite winging this trip every step of the way so far.

‘He’s good-looking,’ Chloe said, recalling that her first view of Gunnar had been from literally sitting on him.

‘You said that!’

‘But, it was strange, we just had…’ What had it been? Chat? Connection? Or was it just all circumstantial? He had knocked her over and he was driving the bus she was getting on and he really didn’t want her putting a bad review online.

‘Banter?’ Kat offered.

‘Bit strong. Bit Love Island. And I will probably never see him again.’

‘You mean you didn’t swap Instas?’

‘No but… he did give me his phone number.’

‘What? Now I have dropped the sushi!’

‘It was only in case something went wrong with this apartment.’ She breathed in the cold air until her nostrils burned from it and she wished she had brought her coat out with her.

He had given her his number just in case, right?

She would have noticed if he had been fully flirting with her in any way, wouldn’t she?

Or was she so far removed from anything like that she possibly wouldn’t have been able to tell…

‘You’ve been in Iceland a few hours and you already have a guy’s number,’ Kat said. ‘Way to go.’

Way to go. Yes, she had a long way to go, and she needed to focus on what she had come here to do.

It was time to research Reykjavik like it had never been researched before.

And, as if the phone could read her thoughts, a vibration told her a message had come through.

She took the phone away from her ear and saw it was from Michelle.

‘Kat, I have to go, I will?—’

‘Call me later and tell me everything? Console me about having to order three kinds of different stuffing because Mother can’t decide if she likes walnuts or not but definitely likes cranberries and, well, sage and onion is always a must.’

‘I will definitely call you later and console you. Bye, Kat.’

‘Bye!’

Chloe took a moment on the balcony, letting the chill embrace her for a minute longer and then she read Michelle’s text.

Weather in Iceland cloudy for the next few days. Have booked you on a boat trip to see the Northern Lights TONIGHT. Details in an email.

It seemed like some of her itinerary had already been decided.