He smiled. ‘That’s many questions for someone who has not started an official interview.’
‘And you’re still standing up.’
‘There is a law that you cannot interview someone who is standing up?’
‘I’m not sureIsaid I would answer any questions.’
‘OK,’ he replied. ‘So, it seems we need to create some ground rules.’
‘Er,I’mthe one conducting the interview.’
‘In my house.’
‘That was not my choice. I’m only here because my boss asked me to be here. And a crazy woman drove me on a tractor.’
‘You don’t want to be here?’
She shrugged. ‘It’s just work.’
‘O-K.’ He didn’t like her comment at all. In fact, it was needling at him. He had read her reports on so many cultures, kingdoms, lifestyles and civilisations, and not once did he think she was someone who thought what she was doing was ‘just work’. But, then again, how could interviewing him have the same appeal as interviewing the woman who lives with wild outback camels?
‘Sorry,’ Orla said. ‘That sounded offensive and rude. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sure you’re very interesting, I just usually have time to research a project and I only heard about this the day before yesterday so I’m kind of on the back foot.’
‘You and me both,’ he replied.
‘Well, apart from the snow, I’m finding Delphine is the biggest force of nature around here.’
‘And you are correct about that.’
‘So, are you going to sit down or…’
He smiled, letting the silence of the ending to her sentence linger. He stayed with his back to the kitchen counter. He always liked to have something at his back.
‘Ground rules,’ he said.
‘OK, how about I ask the questions and you answer them? Then I can take some photos and be on my way until the pregnant reindeer turns up. So… how long have you lived here?’
He smiled again. ‘You know there’s no reindeer, right? Pregnant or not.’
‘What?’ Orla said, lifting her head from where she had started to write on an electronic notepad.
‘There are no reindeer in this area. And reindeer don’t give birth in December. It is a nice festive story, made up by Delphine for some reason I don’t know, but not possible I’m afraid.’
‘Are you joking with me?’ Orla asked him. ‘Because it’s not funny.’
Now she looked worried.Reallyworried. And he didn’t know what to say next.
‘Honestly, are you serious? There arenoreindeer here? At all? And onecan’tbe pregnant?’ She got up from her seat and put her hands to her head. ‘You’re joking, right? You have to be joking because… I can’t handle you not to be.’
‘Yes.’ It came out of his mouth before he had engaged his brain. What was he saying?
‘You’re joking. You mean it that there will be reindeer or at least one pregnant one?’
‘I am joking,’ he continued. ‘Of course I am joking. I mean, Delphine said the pregnant reindeer is coming and Delphine, as you said, is a force of nature and she does not say things that do not happen.’ He swallowed. Why was he lying? All good sense told him that this whole thing was a ruse, from the reindeer tothe fact Orla Bradbee was here in his home, but he could sense that she needed this to be the truth in this moment.
He watched her take a deep breath of relief and she seemed to recover slightly, picking up her electronic pen and pad and writing something on the screen.
‘Listen,’ he began, moving away from the countertop. ‘I don’t really know whyTravel in Mindmagazine would want to make me the subject of an article but?—’
