“Yes, that’d be great. Thank you. I might go back to the hotel to get ready. Could I meet you there later?”
“How about I call to the hotel for you when we are back in town?”
Rachel was so relieved that he had suggested that. She would have dreaded going into the bar by herself. She did it at home all the time, especially if she was meeting Adam because he was invariably late, but for some reason doing it in another country seemed scarier.
“That would be great, thanks. Well, I’ll see you later then.”
Rachel slid off the bench but kept crouched under the water until she had to stand up to make the cold, mercifully short dash, to the changing room.
15
FORTUNATELY, DESPITE HER packing issues in London, Rachel had managed to bring something to wear other than practical warm clothes. The choice for her first night out on the town was between her trusty Orla Kiely dress, although she worried it would be too conspicuous with its bright floral print and she certainly didn’t want to stand out, or her stretch black brocade dress which was round-necked, sleeveless and had a knee-length full skirt.
As Jonas had said the bar was only across the street and around the corner, Rachel didn’t have to worry about what was going to go best with snow boots; she would go all out and wear actual shoes. She decided on the black brocade dress, black opaque tights, her black patent chunky brogues and a mustard-coloured cardigan. She felt like herself again after days of wearing thermals and boots.
Just as she was putting her lipstick on, the receptionist rang the room to say that Jonas was downstairs. Grabbing her coat, phone and purse, she skipped down the stairs and found Jonas waiting beside the fire in the lobby. He looked slightly smarter than she’d seen him look before and when he kissed her on the cheek, he smelled fantastic.
“Wow, you look amazing,” he said, instantly making her blush.
“Thanks. Any excuse to put a dress on.”
He was alone, his friends having gone ahead to get a table. They walked the short distance to the bar and even though it took less than two minutes, Rachel had to do her coat right up and pull her gloves on because it was so cold.
The bar was fantastic. It was quite dark and was playing good music but not so loudly that you couldn’t talk. Jonas’s friends had managed to get a big table next to one of the windows which looked out to the street. They already had bottles of beer on the table, including one for Rachel.
“Is this beer okay, Rachel?” asked Olafur. “One of us will drink it if you want something else?”
“No, it’s great, thanks. You all speak really good English, which I am very grateful for!” They laughed and all held up their beers to ‘cheers’ each other. “Skál!”
They were so easy to get along with, so welcoming and friendly. Rachel heard all about how they knew each other, which was a mixture of meeting at primary school and secondary school, all about their jobs, their families, everything. They all lived in or around Reykjavik, Olafur was Gudrun’s boyfriend, Brun had a partner, and Siggi was a happy bachelor judging from the flirting that went on with most of the women in the vicinity of the table.
“So, you are Gudrun’s Olafur. Is Gudrun coming?” Rachel asked Olafur.
“No, she has gone to see her parents for the weekend. I did not realise you were working with Gudrun. Jonas told me.”
“It’s a small world, this city,” said Rachel, smiling at him.
“Yes, it is. Nothing happens without everyone knowing and everyone knows everyone. That can be good and bad.” Olafur gave a wry smile.
Olafur and Jonas talked to Rachel about her work at the shop and they chatted about their business too before Olafur turned to talk to Brun, and Rachel and Jonas were left to talk on their own.
“What are your plans for the weekend?” Jonas asked, taking a sip of his beer as he waited for her to answer.
“Hmm, I don’t know. What should I see in town that I haven’t already?”
Rachel was about four bottles of beer in and she and Jonas were sat next to each other and had, throughout the evening, gradually moved closer together. Rachel hadn’t given it a second thought, she was having a great time. It was so nice to be out, having a drink, she felt like she was on holiday.
“Well, you could go up the Hallgrímskirkja tower? You know, the white church at the top of the street next to Laugavegur? It has a very good view of the city.”
“Good idea, I know where that is, it’s on the road where the wool shop is,” she said, pleased to be able to demonstrate local knowledge.
“The wool shop?” he looked at her, amusement playing in his eyes.
“Yep, I’m knitting a hat. It’s a bit like your hat. I saw it and I’m knitting it,” she said proudly, hitting the table to emphasise her point.
“I thought that wool was for your mum.”
“It was but I needed a hat and… you know,” she shrugged.
