Rachel was shown to a table on the circle closest to the fire which already had another six people sat there. They were very welcoming and were in high spirits as most people seemed to be. The atmosphere was fabulous, anything but romantic, but perfect for that particular evening.
The menu was a list of various platters of meat and you could choose what kinds of meat you wanted to try. They came with side orders if you wanted; various potato dishes, salads or breads.
The protocol seemed to be that you skewered your meat or whatever you had chosen, barbecued it yourself and then ate it back at your table. Oh my God, Adam would have loved it, thought Rachel, her heart softening a tiny bit as she thought of him.
Having ordered a large glass of red wine and a platter of meat which included lamb, beef and smoked puffin which Rachel felt a little reluctant about trying, although most of the platters had something on them that she wouldn’t normally eat (whale was definitely off her list of things to try) it felt like part of the point of being there.
When her food arrived, she skewered up her first batch and found a stool to sit on around the fire. There were some huge logs in the centre which were burning well and every so often a guy with a long rake would bring some of the hottest embers to the edges of the fire to keep the barbecue going. Having no idea what she was doing or how long the meat would take to cook, she just copied what other people were doing, assuming that they probably knew. There was a sense of camaraderie around the fire, everyone was chatting, comparing meats, speculating on the best way to eat them, rare or well-done; Rachel thoroughly enjoyed herself.
The meat was absolutely delicious, so tender and full of flavour. She ate it straight from the skewer interspersing it with bites of salad and beautiful bread. What a fantastic meal, easily the best she’d had for a long time anywhere, let alone in Iceland.
With another half an hour to go before she was being picked up she ordered another glass of wine because as content as she was to sit and watch everyone else cooking their meat, it was nice to have something to sip on.
There was a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Jonas standing behind her, togged up to the eyes in a bigger coat than normal and holding his hat in his hands.
“Jonas, what are you doing here?” she said in surprise.
“I’ve come to meet you for the Northern Lights excursion.” He smiled and any awkwardness she might have felt with it being the first time they had seen each other since the kiss, disappeared.
“Well, it’s probably just as well that Adam didn’t make his flight after all. It’s just me.”
“Einar told me. He rang to check the aurora forecast and said that it was just one person for the tour instead of two.” His smile faded into a look of concern. “He missed his flight? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. He had to work.”
She wasn’t about to start criticising Adam to Jonas, although it would have been easy to. She was desperate to talk to someone about it, Anna or Gudrun, but it would be disloyal to talk to Jonas and however angry Rachel was with Adam, she hadn’t lost all sense of reason.
“There’s plenty of time, so finish your drink and I’ll be waiting outside when you’re ready.”
She saw him stop to talk to the manager on his way out. They were clearly friends. Rachel wondered whether Jonas knew almost everyone; maybe that’s what happened in a small place like this. She liked the thought of him having a huge circle of friends and acquaintances; it matched her impression of him being a friendly, warm and easy-going person.
She didn’t rush to finish her wine, partly because she didn’t want the amazing experience in the restaurant to be over and partly because she was inexplicably nervous about being alone with Jonas. Good grief.
She was immensely relieved that Adam wasn’t here now but maybe if he had been, Jonas wouldn’t have chosen to be their tour guide. Would she have managed to act normally around Jonas with Adam there and would Adam have thought it was weird that she was friends with him? Moot points, Rachel told herself sternly as she finished her wine and went outside to find Jonas.
Jonas jumped out of the jeep as he saw her leave the restaurant and held the door open for her.
“I love your hat,” he said. “It is just like mine. I’m missing this bit though.” He reached up and flicked the pom-pom.
“Thanks, not quite to the same standard as yours.” Despite her modesty, she was thrilled that he’d noticed.
“I would not know the difference.” His eyes were shining as he closed the door after her.
Rachel’s eyes were already glued to the skies – there didn’t seem to be many stars which surprised her as she had been expecting a clear sky.
As if reading her mind, Jonas said, “We will drive towards Reykjavik and we should find clearer skies on the way but it is cloudier than we expected.” He was looking up at the sky himself, his brow furrowed.
They set off, sitting in silence with Rachel still staring in hopeful wonder at the sky looking for any glimpse of the Northern Lights while at the same time not sure what she was looking for unless it was a spectacular display like you saw in travel magazines.
It started to snow very lightly. She looked over at Jonas who was still frowning as he focused on the road ahead. It was not the kind of place Rachel would want to drive in at night, or in the day come to that, so she wasn’t surprised at how hard he was concentrating. The lying snow made everything brighter but when she wasn’t looking at the sky she was watching the poles that marked the edge of the road as if her life depended on it.
“Is everything alright, Jonas?” she asked, slightly anxiously, mainly because he was looking concerned and she had never seen him anything but relaxed and happy.
“Well, the forecast was not for snow, so it is a surprise.” He pulled over to the side of the road and leaned across her to retrieve a large phone from the glove compartment. “There’s no signal here,” he said gesturing the windscreen, “so we always carry satellite phones in case of an emergency.”
“Is this an emergency?” she said, alarmed.
“I’m going to call to find out the latest weather forecast. Don’t worry.”
