Iris nodded.
‘Have a great day!’ Bríet said.
‘Thanks, you too,’ said Iris.
‘Feeling rough?’ Siggi asked her with a wry smile.
‘A bit. You?’
‘Not too bad, but I know how easy it is to get carried away, so I pace myself,’ he said smugly.
‘Well, thanks for sharing.’
Siggi laughed. ‘We are going to have the best breakfast and lots of coffee and then you will feel back to normal.’
The breakfast place, Café Babalú, was just a couple of streets away from the hotel. It was painted in a sunny shade of orange and had a cosy and welcoming look.
‘This is on me,’ Iris said. ‘No, you’ve done so much for me,’ she said as he tried to protest. ‘Let me. Please.’
He gave in gracefully. They ordered a croissant and a breakfast crepe each at the counter, then taking their coffees, they chose a table for two in the window and sat down.
‘Your friends are great,’ Iris said, grinning at the thought of the night before.
‘Yes, they are. They welcome me back every time I have been away, and we all look out for each other.’
‘I guess because you travel, you don’t see them as much as they see each other?’
He nodded. ‘A few years ago, we were still all the same, all single men. And gradually they have all moved on and I haven’t.’ He said it simply, with no bitterness. Maybe because he wasn’t interested or searching for the same lives that his friends had. ‘Do you find that too with being away from home?’
‘I suppose so. My best friend from school is married with two little girls, but I never had a group of friends like you do. It’s nice to have that constancy to come back to after you’ve been away.’
‘You don’t have that?’
‘I have my family. My brothers are brilliant. They’re twins and they’re older than me and always looked out for me when we were younger. We always have a big get-together when I go home.’
‘How often is that?’
‘Not often enough. Even if I’m working in the UK, my lab is a couple of hours’ drive from where my parents and my one brother live, and my other brother is in London, which makes us into a triangle if you plotted it on a map. How about you? Are your parents in Reykjavik?’
Siggi shook his head. ‘No, they retired and moved to the north.’
‘Do you see them much?’
‘Not as much as I should,’ he said with a rueful smile. ‘Have you ever visited anywhere else that you think could be home instead?’
‘That’s a brilliant question. I went to the west coast of Canada for a conference, to Vancouver. It was so beautiful, I could definitely see myself living there.’
‘Not many volcanoes in Canada, though.’
‘There are, but there’s nothing going on with them. I think the rest of the scenery might make up for the lack of volcanic activity on offer. How about you? You come back here because you know you can get regular work, I suppose?’
‘Yes, exactly. I loved Australia. I have been there a few times, and it is easy to pick up some casual work and I did that so I could stay longer, but it is not possible to live there. There are things that keep me in Iceland.’
Iris wasn’t sure whether he was referring to his job again or something else. Maybe family that he didn’t want to leave behind? She didn’t want to pry. He’d tell her if he wanted to.
When they’d finished eating, he opened his backpack. ‘Okay, I think we should get coffee to go as well,’ he said, taking out two thermal flasks. ‘Do you want a pastry for the road? There is nowhere to get food.’
‘In that case, maybe two?’
