‘Do you have a plan yet?’ Sofie asked.
They’d talked about it a handful of times, and it was always Sofie that brought it up, never the other way around. Sofie couldn’t understand how Astrid could contemplate going back to Iceland without having a plan. How could she leave Norway with nothing in place, not even anywhere to stay?
‘I’ll talk to my sister and hopefully I can stay with her to begin with.’
Gudrun was four years younger than Astrid and had livedin Norway for a while herself while she was establishing her career. She, like Sofie, was a planner. She was settled in Reykjavik with her long-term partner, Olafur, and was manager of Snug, a homeware shop that specialised in sourcing its stock from local producers and craftspeople.
‘She’ll be able to give you some work, I expect,’ Sofie said, as if this was a good thing.
‘Probably,’ said Astrid, wanting to say whatever Sofie needed to hear to put an end to the conversation. ‘I’ll definitely ask her.’ She definitely wouldn’t. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck indoors day after day like her sister, selling pointless things to tourists. The past four years at the AMMC had established her career as a marine biologist and a respected expert in North Atlantic marine mammals, and she intended to continue on that trajectory. Somehow. The downside of having buried her head in the sand was that she had left herself with no time to look for suitable roles in Iceland, or anywhere else, and there wasn’t much around. Admittedly, it was a niche career, and her next job could take her away from Iceland again. She didn’t mind. Her love of these graceful, magnificent creatures meant she was willing to go wherever she had to go to work with them. Her work at the AMMC had been her first proper job after years of working on short-term contracts and volunteering to get the experience she needed. She specialised in tracking and monitoring particular individuals and groups of mammals, building up pictures of their habits and migratory patterns. Although she was based in Tromsø, she’d had the opportunity to be out at sea for weeks at a time on research vessels with other scientists. Another thing she’d miss. At least staying in Reykjavik with Gudrun would give her half a chance of finding work of some sort. Maybe even in her field, if she was lucky. Anything but working in a shop would do.
‘I’m going in,’ said Sofie.
She pushed open the sauna door and left. Astrid watched out of the tiny porthole window as her friend plunged straight into the dark water without even taking a moment to think about it. Astrid laughed, thinking how much she’d miss her. Although she loved the career she’d chosen, it wasn’t great for maintaining close friendships or relationships. It was too transient, often too remote, in places where there were more whales nearby than there were people. Sofie was a rare find. A person Astrid genuinely liked as well as being a colleague at a similar stage in her career.
She watched Sofie climb back onto the dock, walking nonchalantly back to the sauna without a hint of desperation to be back in the warmth.
‘You’ll miss this,’ she said as she settled herself next to Astrid on the top bench. The cold coming off her skin briefly cooled the surrounding air before the heat of the sauna obliterated it.
‘I will,’ Astrid agreed. ‘We’re into warmer water at home, so I’m looking forward to that. I’ve missed it.’
‘Hot springs, you mean?’
‘Yes, but the local pool is just as good. And sociable too.’ She’d forgotten how much she used to enjoy hanging out in the hot pots at the pool, chatting to whoever else happened to be in there. More often than not, it was someone she knew, or they turned out to be a friend of a friend. Maybe she’d forgotten lots of other good things about living in Reykjavik.
‘I’ll come and stay with you when I’m in the depths of a Tromsø winter and even the sauna isn’t working for me.’
‘You’re welcome anytime,’ said Astrid, hoping that she’d be in a place of her own before Sofie visited because there wasn’t much room at Gudrun’s.
When their time was up, they dried themselves, dressed, and strolled through the quiet streets.
‘See you tomorrow,’ said Sofie as they hugged goodbye when they got to her building.
‘It’s pastry day tomorrow.’ Astrid had promised a box of pastries from Backstube as a going-away gift for her colleagues. Boxes of the mouth-watering pastries from the bakery on Storgata were purchased for every occasion from birthdays to retirements and everything in between.
‘My mouth is watering already,’ Sofie said before she waved and disappeared inside.
Astrid continued on the short walk to her own building. Her flat came with the job. It was cosy and made the most of what little light there was at this time of year, with windows in the main living area that faced south. She felt lucky to have landed a place to live on the main island that formed part of the city of Tromsø. It had the convenience of the city on her doorstep and beautiful views across the fjord to the other part of the city, where the Arctic Cathedral soared into the sky and the cable car ran up the mountain.
She took her layers off and jumped into a hot shower before dressing in jogging bottoms and a soft sweatshirt. This was her last week at work, and although in her mind she was going back to Iceland to stay with her sister, she hadn’t got so far as to actually ask her. Suddenly, having no solid plan past the next few days was overwhelming. She sighed and picked up her phone.
‘Hæ!’
Astrid grinned. She tended to forget how enthusiastic her sister was.
‘Hæ.’
‘How’s things?’ Gudrun asked.
‘Good.’ Astrid curled herself into the corner of her sofa. ‘I’m coming home for a while.’
‘Oh my god! For a holiday? How long for?’
‘Not a holiday. My contract’s ended, so I’m at a bit of aloose end for now.’
‘Are you going to Mamma and Pabbi’s?’
Astrid had been hoping Gudrun would assume she needed to stay with her. It felt awkward to ask.
