When he finally set up his laptop on the kitchen island to make some notes, Rachel took a deep breath and went to see how the queue was doing. It didn’t bother her that she wasn’t involved in the pitches because she much preferred meeting the designers while they were waiting, more relaxed, not thinking they had to impress anyone, and she loved hearing their stories which they might not have time to tell in their five-minute spot.
The first girl in the queue was wearing a fantastic heavy knitted jacket with a knitted headband, presumably instead of a hat. She had long blonde hair and had a large holdall with her.
“Hi, I’m Rachel, I work for Snug in London.”
She stood up to shake hands.
“You’re number one in the queue,” Rachel said, stating the obvious, “what have you brought with you?”
“I’m Eldey, I have bought woven blankets from Icelandic Lopi wool.”
Rachel immediately remembered Katrin from the wool shop mentioning someone who wove blankets; it must be her. She unzipped the holdall and pulled out a blanket which was in the most beautiful colours Rachel had ever seen. It was soft heathery shades mixed with a smoky black which sounded strange but it was wonderful.
“Gosh, that’s stunning.”
It was not that soft when Rachel came to touch it but she had already discovered that Icelandic yarn is quite rugged and made for warmth rather than tactility. Over time it softens down as you wear or use it.
“Thank you. It is the colours from the lava fields in the summer when the wildflowers bloom.”
This was just what they were after; something local which had a great story. Something that people could link to Iceland when they’d gone home or if they lived here, a beautiful reminder of the summer in the dark winter months. Rachel felt pretty sure that number one in the queue would be a ‘yes’ which would be the best possible start to the Design Call.
The brand-new coffee machine was in overdrive and Rachel had already spotted several more items that she hoped they would say yes to. But now, she was free to sneak out to visit Jonas. She went to find her coat and found Luisa sat in the stock room typing into her phone.
“Rachel, tell me you did not know about this sale business.”
“I didn’t. I spoke to Julia the other day and she said a business consultant was coming with you but I didn’t know why and I didn’t know it was Adam.”
“Really, he didn’t mention it?”
“No, he honestly didn’t. We’ve broken up so we’ve not been talking but I saw him yesterday and he said he’d come here to see me. It was just as much of a shock to me as it was for you.”
“It was completely out of the blue, wasn’t it? I’m amazed Julia’s managed to keep it quiet. There’s been no hint of anything going on at all back in the office. And whatever he says, I can’t help but worry about how secure our jobs are.”
Rachel wanted to be able to reassure Luisa but she had heard Adam talk about enough takeovers to know that often the top people in the company were the first ones to be replaced by the buyer’s people.
“I suppose we just have to get on with it and see what happens,” said Rachel.
“I’m putting out a few feelers,” Luisa said, waving her phone. “If Julia can spring that on us without so much as a hint, my loyalty to Snug can be equally fickle.”
“I’m just popping out for a bit,” said Rachel, shrugging her coat on. “I think they’re fine to get on without me for a bit.”
“Okay, see you later. Hopefully, I’ll have a job offer by the time you get back,” she said rolling her eyes.
“It might not come to that, you know. If they want to continue with the roll-out of new stores, you’re key to that. There’s no way they can bring in an outsider who would be able to do that job.”
Rachel left, armed with directions to Gudrun’s house. It wasn’t far away, just a five-minute walk. She was so nervous about seeing Jonas after what had happened and tried to tell herself that it would be alright. Jonas was nothing if not easy-going and hopefully, he would be willing to hear her out.
Gudrun’s house was the epitome of a cosy but traditional Icelandic cottage. It was one-storey clad in blue with white windows and a grey roof. The fence outside was laced with fairy lights, just like Jonas’s, and the glow from the small windows made it look very inviting.
Rachel went up the steps and knocked on the door. Her heart was beating so hard that she felt like she might pass out so she took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm herself down.
The door opened and Jonas stood there. His hair was more tousled than usual and he was still pale with dark circles under his eyes. His left arm in its sling was hidden underneath his knitted Icelandic Lopi sweater.
“Come in,” he said wearily, closing the door behind her. Rachel took off her boots and left them by the door.
The small hallway opened into the lounge which was furnished with two sofas either side of a wood-burning stove, there were bright rugs and cushions everywhere. The walls were filled with photographs in mismatched frames of all colours and sizes and various lamps cast an intimate light across the room.
Jonas lowered himself into the corner of one sofa, wincing as he did so and catching his breath.
