28
FOR THE FIRST time since she had arrived in Iceland, Rachel dressed up for work like she normally would. There was no more hauling of boxes or climbing up ladders to be done now so she could afford to wear a dress and not snow boots for a change. She knew that although there was still lying snow everywhere, the pavements were clear so she decided to risk wearing her black patent brogues.
For once, she ate breakfast downstairs in the hotel which was very relaxing and quiet at 6 am. She had cup after cup of tea and scanned through her emails. The London flight was due to arrive on time and Rachel had arranged to go and meet them at the airport with a minibus, as there would be five of them plus the luggage.
Stood by herself in the arrivals hall, Rachel realised how nervous she was. Julia and Dave always unnerved her a little bit because being the founders, everyone was slightly in awe of them. Well, apart from Luisa who had no problem telling someone if she disagreed with them, whoever they were. It occurred to Rachel that she ought to have bought a sign to hold up as she was somewhat disguised in her big coat and knitted hat. She pulled her hat off just in case.
A slow trickle of people started to come through and Rachel saw them before they saw her. Luisa was togged up to the nines in fleeces, snow boots and she had a deerstalker hat in her hand. Stella, the Snug marketing and branding manager, had given a nod to the fact that it might be cold by wearing some Uggs but the others were dressed for a normal day at the office. Rachel regretted not having given them a heads-up about what to bring; it hadn’t even crossed her mind and it was too late now.
“Rachel!”
No need for a card after all, Luisa had spotted her straight away. Rachel headed over to them, gave Luisa a hug and air-kissed Julia, Dave and Stella. They all looked excited, probably the same way she had been when she’d arrived. The driver who must have been lurking behind her appeared from nowhere and started helping with the luggage.
“Welcome to Iceland! We’ve got the minibus just outside, it’s not far but you’ll probably want to put your coats on,” Rachel advised.
“Christ, it’s bloody freezing.” An astute observation by Dave.
Rachel would never admit to anyone that she thought he was a bit of a hanger-on. Julia was the founder and he’d just gone along with it and was not at all business-minded and sometimes not all that bright in general. Rachel was pretty sure that’s what everyone else thought too but it was safer not to mention it.
“Oh my God, the snow will ruin my boots,” said Stella, dispelling the myth that Uggs were practical winter footwear.
“Don’t worry, the paths are all clear in town and the minibus is just over there so we can avoid the snow. It’s more like compact ice now anyway.” Rachel was pleased with herself for sounding like a local.
On the way to Reykjavik, she sat in the back of the minibus with everyone else, pointing out all the things she could remember Jonas telling her on her first trip along the same road. It was, at the moment, a bright sunny day so Iceland was looking at its best.
Everyone was staying in the same hotel as Rachel so she helped to get them booked in at reception while Dave and the driver bought all the luggage in. They agreed to meet back in the lobby in half an hour. Rachel decided to dash along to Te & Kaffi and grab a coffee. It would have been better if it was a stiff gin and tonic to help calm her butterflies, but it was still a bit early for that and besides, she needed all her wits about her. There were bound to be tons of questions and decisions that she’d have to explain – that she’d already explained to Luisa so it would be just for show, for the benefit of Julia.
As they walked into the store together an hour later, Rachel watched for their reaction and it was perfect. Julia grinned and that was the cue for everyone else to start saying it all looked great. They walked the store beginning with the left-hand side where there were vases, lampshades and candles all stacked on the Snug trademark black wire shelving with rough wood panelling on the walls as a neutral background to everything. Rachel was most proud of the lampshade display area where they had different coloured electrical cables coming down from the ceiling ending at varying heights, lower near the wall and higher above the thoroughfare, allowing them to switch the shades regularly to show off the stock and change the look to keep things fresh. It hadn’t been done in any of their stores before, it had been Rachel’s idea and if she said so herself, it looked great. And everyone else thought so too. The back of the store was the kitchen area where they had the island unit and lots of crockery, mugs, chopping boards, placemats and things like that. Along the right -hand side of the store was the slightly relocated counter unit which she did have to justify to Julia, and then the living room zone with Gudrun’s rainbow display of cushions.
Gudrun had walked around with them, answering some of their questions along with Rachel. Before they’d arrived, she’d lit some candles and brewed some coffee so the shop had just the right ambience and smelt wonderful. The windows still had the coverings on so it was hard to imagine what it would look like the next day with natural light flooding in but for now, it was cosy and welcoming, just how you’d want your home to be.
Dave announced that he was going exploring and wanted Julia to go with him. She was reluctant because she wanted to stay and go over the arrangements for the Design Call that was due to start later in the morning but Stella persuaded her that she and Rachel would go through and plan everything and brief her later. As soon as they’d left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief that they didn’t have to be on their best behaviour anymore.
Stella, Luisa and Rachel flopped onto the sofa, the last day that they’d be able to do that without becoming a window display themselves, and started to plan for the logistics of the Design Call. Rachel and Gudrun couldn’t help much as regards how many people they would be expecting but Stella had already picked up a bit of a buzz about it on social media so she thought there would be a fair number of people. Gudrun, Julia and Stella would see each person for five minutes or so in the office and the rest of the staff would keep the queue - hopefully, there would be a queue - happy on the shop floor.
All morning, Gudrun had been noticeably cool towards Rachel, a sign that she had heard about what had happened last night. Rachel pulled her aside at the first opportunity.
“Is Jonas staying with you and Olafur?”
“Yes. He needs looking after.”
“Did he tell you what happened last night?”
Gudrun nodded.
“Is he alright?”
Gudrun mellowed when she realised the level of Rachel’s concern.
“He is very down. He is in a lot of pain and he’s upset about not being able to work. And he’s upset about last night.”
“It was awful, Gudrun, and I feel so desperately bad about the whole thing. I just let Adam warn him off and I didn’t say anything. I was so shocked that they were stood there together, it was like it slowed my brain down and it was all over before I realised. What did he say?”
“He didn’t say much, Olafur told me what happened. Jonas was exhausted and he looked dreadful, Rachel.”
Rachel’s heart lurched at the thought of him injured and on top of that, thinking she had rejected him.
“He won’t answer my calls. Can I go round and see him at your house?”
