Across the Ocean (7 page)

******

Brooke

Friday is upon us and I’m in Emilia’s apartment scrambling to pack the clothes I’ll need. Based on everything I’ve learned about Tálknafjörður (try pronouncing that!), my conclusion is that I really have no idea what I’ll need. I’m hoping all the stuff I’ve packed will suffice. I’ve packed some warm clothes because Emilia warned me it gets really cold there.

My b
athing suit is packed and I’m looking forward to going to the hot pools, Pollurinn. Mostly, I’m excited to see Ari with fewer clothes on, and for him to see me. Obviously, this information has to be kept to myself.

Not being able to really confide in anyone about this situation is wearing on me a bit. I
’ve been contemplating just talking to Ari bluntly about it. I know he has to be feeling pretty similar, and I wonder if he has anyone to talk to either. We’ve always been able to talk so easy. I should just buck up and be honest with him.

Grabbing my suitcase and lugging it downstairs, I grab some toiletries such as my toothbrush, hair straightener, makeup, and so on, stuffing them into the front pocket of my suitcase. Heading out of the bathroom, I see that Lára and Ari are standing next to the front door with their bags, probably waiting for me.

“Gunnar is here now, so we should head out to the car.” Ari opens the front door. Both he and Lára head out and down the hallway stairs. I turn to Emilia to give her a hug. She hasn’t been feeling her best lately, so she and Valur aren’t making the trip with us.

“Feel better and make sure you get plenty of fluids and rest
,” I comment as I head out the door.

“Have fun
, Brooke!” Emilia calls out to my back as I head down the stairs.

******

Ari is standing behind a silver car, a Subaru Legacy station wagon. There are two guys in the front seats and Lára is in the middle of the backseat bench area. Grabbing my suitcase, he shoves it into the car.

“Thanks for the help,” I murmur softly
while brushing some stray hairs behind my ear.

“No problem. You should get in on that side, so you
’ll have plenty of space for your feet.” He gives me a small smile and nods over at the back door on the right side. Then he slams the trunk of the car closed and moves to the left side rear seat.

I
’m suddenly feeling a little social anxiety. I’m going to be sitting in a car for 6 hours or so with two complete strangers. On top of that, there will be a girl next to me who knows that I have strong emotions for her boyfriend, who is also sitting next to her. She will probably be feeling pretty awkward herself. This is a whole sandwich of awkward.

Poor Lára. I never wanted anything like this for her. My resolve to behave around Ari strengthens as I think about her. She
’s been nothing but nice to me, and I really need to be a good person in all of this.

Not wanting to be rude, I lean forward with a smile on my face and introduce myself to the guys in the front seat.

“Hey guys, I’m Brooke. Thanks so much for letting me grab a ride with you.” I shake hands with the driver, who is wearing aviator sunglasses and is giving me one heck of a charming smile. He kind of reminds me of the actor Adam Brody.

“Nice to meet you. I
’m Gunnar.” He sounds so good humored. I can tell I’m going to like him already. He has an adorable head of thick, black, curly hair. I can’t see what color his eyes are through his aviators, but he has absolutely perfect teeth. He’s rocking facial hair in the form of a goatee and a mustache, as well.

“My name is Helgi
. Nice to meet you.”

I shake Helgi
’s hand also, and besides seeing that he has brown hair and a nice stubble across his cheeks, it’s kind of hard to see him too much. He’s twisted back in the seat in front of me. Soon he cranes his head to face the front again and places a video camera aiming toward the windshield on the dashboard. I guess he’s filming the drive.

******

We’ve been driving for a few hours now and it’s getting a little easier to bear. Gunnar and Helgi have been playing some great music and introducing me to many artists I’ve never heard of before. I’m loosening up a bit, and even though part of my awareness is completely stuck on Ari, I think I’m doing a pretty good job of acting like everything is fine.

Lára and I are even discussing some things and singing along with songs we know that are playing. I don
’t know why I sound surprised; she is a great person. I have to give her credit, too. She has been making an effort to be friendly to me, even knowing that I have a special something with her boyfriend. She must really trust him, I guess.

Helgi has had the video camera recording during most of the trip so far, filming the view and scenery as we drive. This country is just simply stunning. Mountains and valleys hug the coastline, and the green of the grass is so vibrant
that it’s almost unreal. Clouds look to be so much lower in the sky and move so fast that I keep tripping out about it.

We pass
large farms along the way and see huge round white things scattered all across the fields. It reminds me of the obstacles you have to jump over in a Mario game or something. Gunnar informs me that they are how they store the harvested hay. They’re bales of hay wrapped in white, shiny plastic.

Old farms and houses that are falling apart can be seen randomly during the ride
. The scenery is enough to help me relax. Maybe I should just stare at the window with my mouth shut for the rest of the ride. Would that be rude?

My window is half open and thankfully
, the weather isn’t too cold. Dark strands of my hair whip around my head, and I brush some of it behind my ear to try and sneak a casual glance at Ari around Lára. He’s just staring out his window. I don’t think he’s said very much during this trip.

He was completely silent after Lára brought up which guys were single in Tálknafjörður. She also included her personal opinions on which of them she found attractive and which I should probably hit on. I can
’t imagine its fun for him to hear these things.

Apparently, there is a guy named Baldvin (Lára had to repeat his name a few times before I could understand that it didn
’t sound any different from Baldwin) that she considered the best choice for me. I guess he’s a photographer who is also color blind. She thinks he’s funny. If he’s attractive, maybe I’ll have to hit on him.

The rest of the trip I mostly just watch the landscape fly by. The mountains are so steep in some places and come so close to the ocean. It
’s such a dramatic landscape, with the black sand on the mountains running down to meet the super green grass. The contrast between the bright blue sky and the quickly passing white clouds is remarkable and vibrant. I’ve never seen any place like this. There are fields of old, black, hardened lava with green moss growing over them. Surely there are elves running amok in there.

We even pass a dormant volcano, and could see the famous glacier Snæfellsjökull (
oh, I know. It’s a mouthful) in the far distance. This country truly is just a trove of mind-blowing landscapes. An occasional mountain is covered in red sand, creating a dramatic setting. I’m so glad I’m here right at this moment to experience this place.

Several times during our drive, we have to slow down to let sheep cross the road, and I
’m just cracking up when they tell me that this is a common occurrence here. The Icelandic horses we see just add to how majestic this whole place is. They are short and fuzzy, and I’m scoffed at by the men in the car when I mention that they remind me of adorable ponies. I guess it’s a sensitive subject.

The roads aren
’t paved in most places, so it’s a ragged and scary ride sometimes. Hugging the coastline as we drive around several fjords, we eventually reach this tiny town that we’ve been heading to. It’s called Tálknafjörður, which means Gill Bay (if I understood the guys correctly).

All the men in the car grew up here. I
’m a little envious of this, because it’s not something I’ve ever had, which included moving to different cities frequently. How great would it be to grow up in a tiny random town in Iceland and all still be best friends even as young adults, and hopefully still friends when you grow old?

Driving into the town, there are no stoplights. There is only one post office,
one shop for buying food and such, one bar that also serves food. There’s a large pier to the left with what looks like fishing boats, and tanks in the fjord for holding fish. Across the fjord are some pretty gorgeous mountains hugging the entire coastline. I can see one lone house all the way on the other side.

To our right is where all the houses are. It looks like there are only about five streets in the entire town. There aren
’t any stop lights or stop signs. Behind all of the charming houses are more mountains and hills. I almost feel like I’m in a storybook world. It’s really beautiful, but also really adorable. I can’t wait to get to know this place.

******

MSN Chat

Late 2004

Brooke is in California.

salemsme:
It’s times like these that make me wish I knew you face to face. Why do you have to be so many hours ahead of me?

marxist:
I know. The stupid guys who created time differences should be punched in the face.

salemsme:
Agreed. You take care of the guys in your area of the world, and I’ll take care of the guys responsible over here!

marxist:
Great plan. We’re an awesome team.

salemsme:
I know, right? Sometimes, I wonder at the injustice that we are so far away from each other. I think we’d be so good together. I think I really like you a lot.

marxist:
I really like you a lot too, Brooke.

******

Present time

We
’ve arrived at the house we will be sharing. Indriði (In-drith-ee), a cousin of Ari, has let us borrow his place. I’m going to be sleeping on the pull out sofa, and Lára and Ari will get the spare room. I am mostly fine with this situation, as it’s pretty logical. Even so, my dark side is throwing a tantrum at the thought that those two will be sharing a bed in the room very close to where my head will be when I’m sleeping. I’m not really looking forward to it.

Grabbing our swimming items, we head back outside to where Gunnar and Helgi are waiting in the car.
They will be staying a few houses down. It’s convenient living in such a small town. Nearly everyone is a neighbor.

My bathing suit, towel, a change of clothes, shampoo and conditioner, and bath loofah are in the plastic bag that I’ve brought with me, and everyone in the car is explaining and describing the hot pools to me. I’m very excited. I’ve heard so much about this place and I have been waiting so long to come here.

The hot pools are a public place where anyone can go to enjoy them. Gunnar and his family technically own the natural hot water, and the township purchases it from them. As we are driving, I
’m enthralled by the scenery and freaking out about the crazy driving conditions of the massively pot-holed road. Because all of these roads are so far out in the middle of nowhere, I suppose that it’s hard to come by funding to pave the roads completely.

Keeping an eye on the scenery outside, I hold onto the handgrip above the door as we start to bounce over several deep potholes.
It’s a one-way road, with very little room to maneuver on each side. In many spots, if we were to drive a little too far over the edge of the road, we would certainly flip and roll in the car down the steep hills and cliffs. I’m the most freaked out at the thought of crashing into the ocean. Careful driving is very important, and Gunnar is handling it like a champ. It looks as though we are no longer in the town anymore but on the outskirts, right next to a beautiful, white sand beach.

Driving up a steep incline, we make a turn to the right, where I see a small shack with a trio of hot pools. We park next to the building and climb out of the car with our bags. The walls of the unit are made of a vibrant oak wood, with a beautiful honey hue. I think the roof is made out of aluminum and is painted bright red.
I walk up to the shack and check out the hot pools.

There are three rectangular or square shapes in total, all with varying depths. The one nearest me is the deepest, and based on the huge amounts of steam rolling off the water, it is also the hottest. There is a much more shallow long rectangular pool connected to the deep one, and there are grooves in their walls so that the water from the hottest one can flow down into the shallow pool.
The angling of the flooring allows for laying on your back, submerged to your neck comfortably with your head resting on the edge.

There is a little walkway, and one more square shaped pool that has been built so that people can sit submerged and relax with their feet in front of them. A water hose is pouring into that pool, and I
imagine it’s helping to regulate the temperature. All three pools have been paved and painted a turquoise color. There is also green algae growing on the walls of the pools. That’s kind of gross, but I’ve heard that there are types of algae that are very good for your skin.