28

IRIS WOKE LONG before Siggi the next morning. He was sleeping closest to the door, and she didn't want to disturb him by climbing over the top of him, so she lay, alternately watching him sleep and dozing herself.

It was only when they came to move from the sofa last night that Iris realised how fragile Siggi was. It took him a while to stand up and get to the bedroom, then when she had to help him pull his top off because he couldn't lift his arm properly, she saw the extent of the bruising all down his right-hand side. No wonder he'd slept for hours.

She was propped up on one elbow, looking at Siggi and wondering if she should start thinking about getting up, when the doorbell rang. Having no choice, she clambered over Siggi as carefully as she could out into the kitchen, then pulled on her thermal top and leggings and ran for the door.

‘Oh! Iris!' Gudrun was wide-eyed and very quickly thrilled to see Iris answer the door. ‘We came to check on Siggi.'

‘Come in,' she said, holding the door open while they knocked the snow off their boots and came inside. ‘It's so pretty out there.'

‘Huh,' Gudrun said in disgust. ‘It is almost April. It should not be snowing.'

Olafur stepped inside and handed her a large paper bag. ‘We brought brunch.'

‘Let me wake Siggi,' said Iris.

‘How is he?' Gudrun asked in a low voice.

‘Battered and bruised, but pretty upbeat, considering.'

‘And he is staying off his ankle?' Olafur asked.

‘Yes, he's being really careful,' Iris said. ‘Although he did suggest going to the shop yesterday.'

‘Ha! That is exactly what I was expecting,' said Olafur. ‘He needs to be sensible. We are not young men anymore.'

Gudrun looked at Iris and rolled her eyes. ‘Come on then, let's make some coffee.' She marched into the kitchen before Iris could suggest that maybe Siggi might want to get up without an audience, but he was sat on the edge of the bed, trying to pull a top on, his modesty covered with the sheet.

‘Oh my god, sorry Siggi, I forgot about this tiny bedroom in the kitchen,' Gudrun said, making no moves to leave.

‘It's fine,' he said wearily.

Iris helped him dress while Gudrun made coffee for them all. ‘I'm sorry,' she whispered.

He smiled and dropped a kiss on her head when she bent down to pull his sweatpants over his boot. She thought her heart might explode.

‘Need a hand?' Olafur said, appearing in the doorway.

‘ Takk,' Siggi said, as Olafur helped him up and gave him a hand to the bathroom.

‘Tell me everything,' Gudrun said as soon as they were out of earshot. ‘You stayed last night?'

‘He can't manage by himself.' As if that were the reason.

‘He would not let any of us help, so you must have something to offer that we do not,' Gudrun said, laughing.

‘We've sorted everything out,' Iris said, putting Gudrun out of her misery.

‘You're together? I knew it! A near death experience was all it took.'

‘Gudrun!'

‘Sorry,' she said, looking genuinely regretful. ‘I am sure it would have happened anyway.'

Iris gave her a hug. ‘It probably speeded things up.'

‘He is okay and you are together. That is all that matters.'

‘We're in the lounge whenever the coffee is ready,' called Olafur.

‘What's in the bag?' Iris asked.

‘Boring cinnamon buns,' said Gudrun. ‘Olafur did not want to walk further than the bakery.'

‘Cinnamon buns are never boring, especially when there's nothing else to eat.'

They carried the buns and coffee into the lounge and put everything on the coffee table. Siggi was sitting in the corner of the sofa with his leg on a tower of cushions and Olafur had squeezed into the remaining space in the other corner.

‘Gudrun says you are staying, Iris,' Olafur said, passing a mug of coffee to Siggi. It was touching how he fell into the role of looking after his friend.

‘How could I resist when there's an eruption on the doorstep?'

‘And the man of your dreams,' said Gudrun.

Siggi spluttered over his mouthful of coffee and started laughing, as did Olafur. Gudrun and Iris looked on in amusement, waiting for them to gather themselves.

‘ Tú ert draumamaeurinn hennar!' Olafur said, collapsing into laughter.

Siggi was trying to stifle his laugher, and was holding his ribs, saying, ‘ Nei! Nei!'

‘ Well, obviously he is not the man of her dreams in this state,' Gudrun said indignantly.

‘Gudrun!'

‘Iris took the job before we were back together,' said Siggi, still holding his side.

Back together, as if them being together before went without saying. Something everyone knew about. Something solid. But she loved him for letting it be known that the decision to stay was hers, not because of their relationship, even if that would be the reason now.

‘Congratulations, Iris,' Olafur said, toasting her with his coffee mug. ‘ Skál! '

‘ Skál !'

‘We should go to the bar tonight and celebrate,' Gudrun suggested.

Iris and Olafur looked at Siggi.

‘What?' he said. ‘I can go to the bar.'

‘I don't think tonight would be great.' Iris was thinking about how Siggi looked about half an hour ago. He needed a bit of peace and quiet to heal, and thankfully, Olafur agreed.

‘Next week will do just as well,' he said.

‘Exactly,' said Iris.

‘And we will leave you to rest now,' he said, standing up.

‘If you need anything, let us know,' Gudrun said, collecting the coffee mugs up and taking them into the kitchen.

Iris saw them out and watched them make their way along the snowy path back to the road, wondering what was going to happen now. Was she staying here with Siggi? She ought to stay until he could get around well enough that she'd feel confident he wouldn't topple over every time he stood up.

After Gudrun and Olafur had left, Siggi lay down on the sofa, his leg up on the back again. Iris made a pillow stack and sat next to him on the floor.

‘I feel like we're suddenly living together,' she said.

‘We are suddenly living together.'

‘But just until you're okay.'

‘Okay,' he said easily.

‘Because I don't think I'm ready to actually do that.'

‘That's okay.'

Him agreeing with everything she said wasn't telling her what he thought. But she was also aware that she was probably over-thinking it. It was as simple as being here to help him out. If he didn't have a broken ankle and a flat on the third-floor, there would be no need.

‘So I'll stay until you're up and about and then I'll find somewhere to live.'

‘Okay,' he said. ‘You know I am happy whatever you want to do. I don't want to take things slowly. I love you and I want to be with you, but that does not mean I think we should move in together today either.'

‘That's good,' she said, grinning as a wave of relief swept over her. ‘So we won't count this. I mean, I could be anyone. I could be Olafur. That's what I'm here for, just to help.'

‘Iris,' he said, pulling her closer. ‘I do not want you to be Olafur. I hope that while you are here, we will be together like we were on the camping trip. This can be like a holiday, maybe like the honeymoon of us getting back together.'

‘I love that,' she said, kissing him.

He pulled her towards him for a deeper kiss, with a gentle hand on the back of her head. His kisses were melting her insides.

‘I can help you look for somewhere to live,' he said, a little later, by which time Iris was lying by his side on the sofa.

‘That would be great. I don't want to end up in a dodgy area.'

He laughed. ‘There are no dodgy areas in Reykjavik, but I want you to have a nice place. Not too far from me.'

‘As soon as you're okay, I'll have to go home to England,' she said, allowing a flicker of reality into their bubble. ‘Just to finish up at work.'

‘Could I come? I cannot do tours for a while and Jonas has given me a couple of weeks off before I start working in the office instead.'

‘I'd love that,' Iris said. ‘We can get an Airbnb. You won't be bored while I'm at work?'

‘I'm never bored.'

‘I'll need to go to my mum and dad's to pack up some stuff to send over here.' Her parents didn't even know about Siggi. They'd only just got back from their holiday and she hadn't had a chance to speak to them. Finn was the only one who knew, and probably Felix by now. ‘I'd better warn them I'm bringing my boyfriend home with me.' It sounded wonderful to say out loud.

‘I am meeting the parents.' He shuddered.

‘Is it the same when you're thirty-four?'

‘It's always the same, I think. They will want to know I am a good guy for you, however old you are. That is what I would think.'

She paused, knowing what he was thinking. ‘Do you think you might call Hekla?'

‘I will call today before I forget how I felt.'

Iris wasn't sure that the memories of that night would fade so quickly, but she was glad for his own peace of mind that he wanted to see if there was a way to have a relationship of some kind with his daughter.

‘I may as well check out of the hotel. I can write my report here before we go back to England.'

‘You don't need to go to the IMO?'

‘Bjarkey said not to. She thinks I need a break between finishing in the UK and starting here.'

'Bjarkey talks sense. I'll do some reading while you are out.'

Iris kissed him, reluctantly peeled herself off the sofa, and handed him his book. By the time she'd got dressed, he'd fallen asleep with the book splayed open on his chest. She crept out of the house and headed for the hotel to pack up her room. It was a beautiful day. The snow glinted in the sunlight and she could swear there was some warmth in the sun when it hit her face.

‘Good morning, Iris,' Embla said, greeting her with what looked like a genuine smile. ‘We haven't seen you for a couple of days.'

‘I'm staying with a friend for a few days until I go back to the UK. Can I check out, please?'

‘You're staying with Siggi.' It wasn't a question.

Iris nodded. Embla didn't look like she wanted to kill her, but the change in her was unnerving.

‘I am happy for you both,' she said, sounding like she meant it. ‘He is happy, and he never looked like that when he was with me.'

‘Thank you.'

Iris went up to her room, marvelling that Embla had a heart after all. And a big one at that, if she was ready to admit that Siggi wasn't the man for her. But it was like living in a tiny village where everyone knew everything about everyone. That was going to take some getting used to.

She packed up her things. It seemed like she'd been here forever. So much had happened in just a couple of weeks. Her bag of goodies from Snug didn't quite fit into her case, but she didn't need to take everything back to England with her now. She could leave some of her things at Siggi's until she found her own place. The first thing she was going to do when she found somewhere was make it into a cosy home like Anna and Ned's. Hopefully, with the help of Snug and Gudrun's staff discount.

When she got back to the house, Siggi was awake and reading again. His face lit up when he saw her, and he started to get up.

‘No! Stay where you are. I can manage,' she said, not sure that she could. The suitcase wheels jammed as she hauled it over the doorstep while the enormous holdall on her shoulder stuck in the doorway and the bottom of the paper bag from Snug disintegrated where it had grazed the snow on her way up the path.

Siggi started laughing and holding his ribs, which made Iris laugh, making her go all weak. She shoved the bag off her shoulder, leaving it on the veranda while she brought the suitcase inside, then rescued the shopping out of the paper bag. She laid her purchases on the floor near the door.

‘You've been shopping? How long was I asleep?'

‘It was the other day.' She headed back outside to fetch the empty paper bag and the holdall, then closed the door. ‘It's not all for me, some of it is presents.'

‘For your family? Can I pretend I bought them?'

‘If you like,' she said with a grin. ‘If you think the only in is to buy their affection.'

‘Could be a useful back up.'

Iris made them both a drink, then climbed up the ladder to the mezzanine, where there was a huge double bed that looked just as inviting as the one downstairs, and a desk that looked down over the lounge. Helpfully, it had a monitor that would plug into Iris's laptop.

‘You don't think they'd mind if I worked up here?'

‘Of course not. I would sleep up there if I could get up the ladder,' Siggi said. ‘It is much nicer than that tiny room.'

‘The tiny room is cosy,' Iris said, climbing back down.

‘And I don't mind where I sleep as long as it is with you,' Siggi said, catching her hand as she went past.

‘I have work to do,' she said, pretending to be serious but sitting down next to him and leaning in for a kiss.

‘This is more important.' He put his arm around her back, encouraging her to lie next to him again.

‘You're standing in the way of a volcanologist who has a report to write that will change the world.'

‘Did you know endorphins are the best pain killers?'

‘I'm meant to lie here and kiss you periodically when you could just take some pills?'

He grinned. ‘Only if you want to.'

‘I do want to.' Because it was important to make time for what mattered the most. The report could wait. Today, she was grateful that this man, who she loved, was still here.

‘Thank you for saying we should not go to the bar tonight.'

‘You're welcome. I didn't really want to share you with anyone else.'

‘If we can stay here for a few days, just us, I think that would be perfect,' he said. ‘And I need a lot more kisses before you can leave this couch.'

‘Kisses because you love me, or just for the endorphins?'

‘Always because I love you.'

The End