CHAPTER RATING: PG-13
Chapter 46
Iceland
We Can Dance Until We Die
You And I, We’ll Be Young Forever
Willow’s foot hit the ground off the descending stairs of an airport transfer bus and she looked around in wonder.
Everything was so eccentrically pretty with its colorful mishmash of buildings with bright rooftops and unusual shapes. She could see the water in the distance and through the right angle, a slope of a mountain that stood so still and peaceful it looked like a photograph placed there on purpose.
“It’s so colorful!”
“And cold,” Tara replied as she followed Willow out, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets, “I’m still overwhelmed by those mountain views on the way in.”
Willow stepped onto the sidewalk to stop them from blocking the stream of people exiting the bus behind them.
“I’m still not fully convinced we haven’t been flown to a secret movie set and that was all a giant green screen,” she said with a conspiring grin, “The lake was so blue…are your eyes made of it?”
She wiggled her eyebrows as Tara visibly withheld a groan and scrunched her nose up.
“Too cheesy?”
“Fondue,” Tara answered, rubbing her finger against the tip of Willow’s cold nose, “Can be good but not at 6 am.”
Willow held her hands up in defeat.
“I’ll try again at 10,” she joked, then rubbed her hands together to warm them up, “Let’s go drop our bags off and get some breakfast. Did you bring mittens?”
“I have gloves,” Tara answered as she followed Willow down the street to drop their bags at the hostel so they wouldn’t have to carry them around before they could check in later.
They left their luggage along with a group of others who had shared the bus with them and a conversation shifted around the area about good places to go for an early breakfast. Neither Willow nor Tara actually spoke to another person and yet received all of the information they needed.
They had found it to be the case with hostel living, whether crammed into the kitchen or dorm rooms or just the lobby, that conversation was communal unless you kept your tone low enough for it not to be.
They walked back out with their extremities covered a bit better and just generally followed the crowd. It was a quiet, sleepy morning so they didn’t feel the need to check exactly where they were going; they just listened out for noise.
They found themselves on a street name with letter combinations they were hard-pressed to even process let alone try to pronounce and went to a little café on the corner. They recognized some faces and saw some strangers who were having coffee and fast conversations in, presumably, Icelandic.
They took a table for two and slid two menus out from a holder. It was bilingual so they had no problems checking out what was on offer.
“I’m glad we’re only in Iceland for a couple of nights with these prices,” Willow muttered and glanced up at Tara, “Are we sure this was a better choice over Paris? We’d be having hot chocolate and croissants while people-watching on the banks of the Seine right now on a warm Spring day…”
“Tomorrow night,” Tara said plainly.
“Right,” Willow nodded assuredly, “Tomorrow night. You’re right.”
She paused.
“But this is still really expensive for a cup of coffee.”
“I know but we did have that little bit extra saved from staying in Nepal,” Tara replied easily, “We can find a supermarket and cook at the hostel tonight. That will make it cheaper.”
Willow suddenly smiled over her menu.
“I… think at some point our roles reversed. Since when am I getting crabby over prices and you're telling me to chill?”
Tara placed her menu down and folded her arms gently on top of the table.
“Well…I see it like this. I’ll probably have to work all summer when we get back to the US and I’ll have to work while going to school. LA is expensive. I may even need more than one job depending on what I can pick up. But right now I have everything for the next couple of months budgeted for and I get to be on a constant vacation with my lady and there’s even a little extra there for us to spoil ourselves. I’ve…I’ve never actually had that. Everything I’ve ever earned was to be able to do this. So I’m enjoying it while I can.”
Willow placed her menu down to look at Tara.
Even after all these months and the money discussions — arguments, even, almost-break-ups — they’d had, she’d never really contemplated what Tara had just said; that every penny she had ever earned had been earmarked for this year of her life.
She actually remembered being 12 years old and Tara not even buying a candy bar because she had started to save her allowance for it. She’d done this whole trip on a whim; Tara physically worked for years to make it possible.
She remembered how Tara had earned extra money just to take her to prom. Deemed the money for them to have that night more important than every single cent she’d saved before.
And she’d never actually thought about Tara having to pay her way through college; tuition, rent, textbooks, food. All things she had covered already for doing nothing but being born to a successful family.
They’d really gotten in sync about money matters on the trip since the first big blow up and Willow even enjoyed saving them money now. She’d just forgotten that it had taken so much effort to have the luxury of even trying to save money on a trip like this.
“You’re such a hard worker,” she said eventually, slowly, “I’m really glad that you’ve taught me the value of a dollar and I’m also really glad you feel you can splash out on yourself too.”
Tara smiled coyly.
“I like splashing together.”
She gently kicked her toes against Willow’s ankle. Willow ducked her head and leaned her cheek over against her palm.
“I’ll go up and order. Do you know what you want?”
Tara nodded.
“I’ll try some of the Skyr with berries.”
“Do you want some…” Willow scanned the menu to see if anything popped out and found herself pulling a face at one particular item, “…sheep head jelly with that?”
Tara tried not to frown in case it seemed disrespectful.
“I’m good with the berries,” she answered finally, “And tea please.”
Willow went up to the counter and got a tray, took two plates and silverware and picked out what Tara wanted plus some rye bread and butter for herself. She went to the register to pay and order hot drinks and finally returned to Tara.
“I got you some traditional Icelandic moss tea,” she said as she slid the tray between them on the table.
“Thank you,” Tara replied and lifted the cup up between her hands.
She lifted it to her mouth, smelled it and then took a sip. She cleared her throat; it was certainly pungent but she thought she could learn the acquired taste.
“Just tastes like a stronger green tea, really.”
Willow gestured to ask if she could taste it and Tara handed her the cup.
Willow took a sip and nearly choked on the acerbic, bitter taste.
“You big fat phony,” she spat, pushing the cup back toward Tara and taking a gulp from her hot chocolate instead.
“Willow,” Tara said quietly, “Don’t be rude.”
She took another sip and Willow looked at her like she was crazy.
“Why are you still drinking it?”
“I honestly don’t think it’s that bad,” Tara said, putting the cup down to start on her Skyr, “I refuse to eat Puffin so this might be as authentic as I get.”
Willow started to butter her bread.
“My hard nope is the fermented shark,” she said, trying to hold back a shiver, “I feel like I’ve broadened my horizons with food since we’ve been away but…”
“I think I’m with you on that one,” Tara agreed, “I liked the raw herring in Amsterdam though. I thought it would be nice sushi-style.”
“I might have tried it like that,” Willow mused, “I’m really not a fan of eating anything I have to hold up by the tail.”
“That’s not a bad life rule,” Tara smiled softly as she popped her spoon into her mouth, “This is really smooth. It’s delicious. Have some.”
She offered a spoon but Willow was dubious.
“I don’t trust you after that damp forest tea.”
Tara leaned inward, slowly swinging the spoon about.
“If you don’t trust me enough to eat this then I guess you can’t trust me enough to eat… anything else I offer.”
Willow matched her lean, eyes wide but with an impossible to hide the grin on her face.
“Are you threatening me?”
Tara just barely smirked.
“Do you want to find out?”
Willow’s lips pursed and she opened her mouth. Tara swooped the spoon in and Willow closed her lips over it.
When she swallowed, Tara popped the spoon out and Willow arched an eyebrow.
“Smooth.”
“I told you,” Tara teased with an innocent smile but not-so-innocent eyes, “Goes down easy.”
Willow couldn’t hold it and started to flush.
“Tara Maclay, we are at breakfast.”
She straightened up, grinning and Tara sat back with the same look on her face.
As they finished breakfast, the streets grew busier with people walking to work and businesses opening. They got some drinks to go (Tara opted for a more neutral latte this time) and wrapped up again to walk around for a while and get a feel for the place.
They tried their best but it really was so much colder than anywhere they’d been lately and they only lasted a couple of hours out in it and that was weaving in and out of shops every so often to feel their faces again.
On their way back, they had to call back into the first café and order more $9 coffees just to have a warm place to stand for a moment to figure out how to get some groceries before they checked into the hostel.
Mittens and a touch screen were not a good match.
“Okay, we can catch a bus and just use the one ticket if we’re quick enough,” Willow said as Tara held their coffee cups, “It’s exact change only but there’s an app I can buy tickets on. Let me download it. I hope they—okay good, they have an English version.”
She pulled up a bus map to figure out the best route.
Tara had to admit, she often left the ‘logistics’ planning to Willow just because she enjoyed how cute Willow’s concentration face was.
They zipped their coats back up to go back outside and though it had warmed up to a practically tropical 35°F, they were still shivering as they waited.
Willow rubbed her mittened hands together and smiled over at Tara.
“Hey, how do Icelanders flirt?”
Tara looked on, awaiting an answer and Willow sidled up to her with a mock-lascivious grin.
“I’m not wearing any thermal underwear.”
Tara dropped her head and chuckled. Willow watched the air leave Tara’s mouth, pulsing in time of her exhale.
“It’s so cold I can see your laugh,” she said, then looked down at her nose and scrunched it up, “It’s so cold I can feel my own boogers becoming icicles.”
“That is disgusting, Willow,” Tara grimaced but she did feel her own nose start to tickle in response, “Now you have me feeling it.”
She plugged her nose and wiggled it to stop the sensation.
“Does that help?” Willow asked, copying her, “Huh, kinda does.”
They stood around for a good thirty seconds holding their noses like that before realizing how stupid they looked when a kid skipping along with her mother laughed at them.
“Stupid kid probably had her own finger up her nose a few minutes ago,” Willow grumbled as her hand fell back down by her side, “She probably ate it too!”
Tara’s lips quirked up on one side.
“It’s a shame, you could have had a conversation on your own level for once.”
Willow’s mouth dropped as her head slowly turned to gape at Tara. After a few seconds, she dropped down and gathered a small snowball from the light dusting on the ground and flung it straight at Tara’s chest.
“Whose level am I on now?” she asked, giggling.
For the remainder of the time it took for the bus to arrive they ran up and down the street scooping up what snow they could to throw at each other or press into bare skin.
The bus driver didn’t pay any notice to their sprinkled clothes but they both became very aware of their cold skin once inside and the doors were closed. The ice evaporated from their skin in the warmth of the vehicle and made the hair stand as it tried to trap the heat. It was like that uncomfortable minute or so after you first step out of the shower on a winter’s day but times ten and in the presence of locals who were snickering at the tourists not able to handle the cold.
At some point, Willow took one of her hands from her mitten and stuck it between her knees instead. After a moment Tara removed her glove and reached over to pluck Willow’s hand out and link their fingers.
Willow looked over and smiled, feeling her whole body temperature go up at least a degree.
A little screen conveniently told them the next stop so Willow kept an eye on it and on the map on her phone since she couldn’t trust herself to remember the name of it.
When the right one popped up, she leaned over to Tara.
“Next stop is us.”
They turned a corner and they could both see the stop pole but as it grew closer the bus continued to sail along at the same pace.
“It’s not slowing down…” Willow commented, her brow furrowing.
There was a red button on the pole by Tara which said a word that sort of looked like ‘stop’. Willow glanced around and noticed the buttons were on all the seats so made a gesture in that direction.
“Press the button, press the button!”
Tara slammed her hand against the button and the bus pulled into the stop with a bit of a jerk that made the other passengers grumble and send them daggers.
“Shesh,” Willow said as they stepped off, “You okay?”
Tara nodded and quickly donned her gloves again.
The supermarket was right across the street and thankfully, very warm. They weren’t sure of all of the brands but they’d gotten good at picking out things by picture and using the translate app when they needed to.
Knowing they would be lugging it home, they just got what they needed for dinner and a few snacks. They caught a bus just a minute after they got back to the stop so they didn’t freeze their asses off this time but were still ready to get back to the hostel to check-in and layer up a bit better before venturing outside again.
They were a little early for check-in but the guy at the desk was charming and accommodating and fit them into a room that had been vacated early.
“It’s a four-person girls-only room,” Willow explained as they walked through the hostel, “I think I booked a six so kind of an upgrade?”
“Great,” Tara replied, sticking her hands in her pockets, “Are we open?”
“Huh?” Willow asked, shooting Tara a confused look before it dawned what she meant, “Oh. Us. Um, yes but play it by ear?”
Tara nodded and Willow turned the key over again to check the number. The door was closed so they gave a little knock before opening it.
It was a fairly small room but with two sets of bunk beds, the space was used well.
One set was empty and the other had the bottom bunk made up and on the top bunk, a lump was laying under the blanket. They could just about see the room through the light streaming in through the closed blinds.
They looked at each other and made a silent agreement to be quiet. They took their shoes off and walked over to the free bunk bed, quietly leaving everything on the bottom bunk. They had to unpack a couple of things and search for some extra clothes but thought they were being quiet. That was right up until suddenly the room burst with light, blinding them both for a moment.
They both looked to the other side of the room and saw the inhabitant of the top bunk had tugged the blind cord open and was now stretching her arms above her and rolling her head from side to side, making her shock of jet black curls tied up in a bun wobble.
“I’m so sorry, did we wake you?” Tara asked apologetically.
The woman shook her head.
“No, I am just being a lazy,” she announced, stretching her arms down to her toes, “I was working until 5 am.”
Her accent was pleasingly rhythmic with her Ws becoming Vs.
“That’s…late,” Willow replied unsurely.
“I do get to avoid the shower line,” the woman replied, exhaling a sigh as her stomach grumbled, “But miss the free breakfast.”
Willow reached out for their grocery bag.
“Oh, here. We just got lots of stuff,” she said as she picked out one of the snacks with a name she couldn’t pronounce, “Do you like…whatever the heck this is?”
She walked over and offered the bag, which was taken to look at.
“My favorite actually,” she said, nodding gratefully, “Kúlusúkk.”
Willow reached up and scratched her head.
“Bless you?”
“It’s chocolate-covered licorice,” Tara said with a small smile tugging on her lips.
“Oh!” Willow replied, then frowned, “Maybe not the best breakfast food.”
Their roommate waved her hand and popped open the bag.
“Meals are like men, enjoyed most only after a famine.”
Willow’s eyebrows rose and Tara turned away to hide her smile.
“Well, I’m making a ramen noodle stir fry for dinner later, we have extra if you’d like some.”
“It sounds weird but it’s really good,” Willow gushed excitedly, “Tara’s great at zhooshing things up.”
Tara shook her head.
“I just add a few things, it’s no big deal. I like to get local veggies so it’s fresh,” she explained demurely, “I’m Tara, by the way…like she said.”
“Willow,” Willow waved cheerily.
The woman nodded once in greeting.
“I am Iris,” she said and looked between them as she popped a candy into her mouth, “You two are couple, yes?”
Willow’s eyes widened and darted toward Tara.
“Uhhh…” she started, wondering what had given them away so quickly when sometimes people didn’t guess at all, “Yeah? How’d you know?”
Iris pointed a finger between them both.
“Bracelet.”
Willow looked down at the half-heart bracelet hanging from her wrist and its twin on Tara’s.
“Oh. Yeah, of course. Observant.”
Iris lifted both arms up and tilted her head back.
“And thank the god,” she said, falling back down onto the bed so her head hit the pillow, “I have been sharing this room all weekend with straight girls who do not stop talking about missing their boyfriend. Yap, yap, yap.”
A slow laugh bubbled out of Willow’s mouth.
“Straight people are the worst,” she agreed, not necessarily with total agreement with the sentiment but enjoying feeling part of the gossip, “I don’t know why I tried to be one for so long.”
Tara reached out and squeezed Willow’s shoulder, who looked over and smiled at her.
Tara sat on the bottom bunk and plugged her phone in to let it charge a bit but Willow stayed standing between the beds to converse with their roommate.
“Is there anyone else in the bed under yours?”
Iris shook her head.
“I pay for both. Cheapest way to get full closet space for myself and all of my equipment.”
Willow was brought back to Iris’s unusual job hours.
“Equipment?”
Iris nodded.
“Turntable, mixer, all those things.”
A light bulb went off over Willow’s head.
“Ohhhh, you’re a DJ!” she said, looking over at Tara as if to say ‘phew’ and back again, “That’s cool! You’re here to DJ? So where are you from?”
“Akureyri,” Iris answered, pointing up toward the ceiling, “Up north.”
“Oh you’re a native,” Willow replied, placing the accent among the few options she’d been contemplating, “We’re heading more north tomorrow. So you don’t live here?”
Irish shook her head.
“Travel where the work is.”
Willow walked back to sit beside Tara.
“Tara’s a musician,” she said, taking Tara’s hand and clasping it between them, “And she has DJ tracks!”
“No, no,” Tara shook her head, eyes wide, “No I don’t.”
“You said you do them on the app,” Willow said, a line forming on her brow.
“On an app, they’re not…” Tara started to reply, blushing profusely as she waved her hand back and forth, “They’re not real.”
Iris rolled onto her side, very comfortable in her own skin and messy bed-head. She bent her elbow and rested her head on her palm.
“You want to try for real?” she asked in a light tone that had a hint of tease, “Tonight. I play a set downtown. Come play with me, show me what you’ve got.”
“I’ve never done anything like that,” Tara replied shyly, “I just play music live sometimes. And not in a long time.”
Iris shrugged noncommittally, smiling.
“At the very least come to the club. I will put you both on the list. Yes?”
“Yes!” Willow agreed for them, “That would be amazing! We weren’t sure where to go to while we were here. We usually like to check out gay bars and see what the local scene is like.”
“Well then this is perfect for you,” Iris replied easily, “I will enjoy to see you there.”
Willow nudged Tara’s shoulder, who smiled gratefully if not still a little bashful.
Iris scooted down to the end of the bed and slid gracefully down the ladder.
“I must get ready for my day,” she said, reaching up into her head to pull her bun a little tighter.
“We’re going on a puffin tour soon,” Willow said, standing back up again, “But we’ll be back later for dinner and stuff.”
Iris went over to the closet on her side of the room, unlocked the little padlock she had there and got on her knees to unzip the side pocket of her bag sitting on the floor. She pulled out a bunch of papers and separated one, standing up again to hand the flyer over to Willow.
“DJ… Jæja,” Willow read, butchering the pronunciation but giving it her best shot, “What does it mean?”
“Lots of things,” Iris answered, “Depends on your tone. I am lots of things…depending on your tone.”
She winked and Willow still wasn’t sure she understood or ever would so just shrugged.
“Cool! Thanks!”
“Willow and Tara,” Iris repeated to remember the names as she grabbed a toiletry bag, “I will see you later.”
Tara waved her fingers and Willow waved enthusiastically until she gone, then skipped back to Tara.
“She said you could DJ!”
“Willow,” Tara chastised softly, “I don’t know anything about DJing. You very much oversold me.”
“Piffle,” Willow replied indignantly, leaning down to press quick kisses to Tara’s lips, “You. Are. Awesome.”
She pulled Tara up and let her arms fall around Tara’s waist, her hands meeting at the small of her back and down to cup each cheek.
Tara jumped slightly in surprise but didn’t leave the embrace.
“You’re giddy.”
“I think it’s…comfortableness,” Willow replied slowly, moving back and forth on the balls of her feet, “There is definitely a comfort being around other non-straight people that I’m starting to understand.”
Tara lifted her hands up to Willow’s face and brought her in for a soft kiss.
“Layers.”
Willow smiled and nodded.
“Yes. We need layers.”
Tara shook her head.
“No. You.”
Willow’s cheeks tinged pink and she put her arms around Tara in a hug. They hugged for a few moments before Willow pulled back again.
“Okay, but we need clothing layers too. Many, many layers!”
“Yes we do,” Tara agreed and they brought their bags up again to pick out some extra clothing.
Clothing became quite transient when you were on the kind of trip they were on; things were left behind and replaced according to the needs of wherever they were traveling but they really hadn’t been anywhere quite so cold.
They each put a hoodie on top of their sweaters, loaded up on some socks and wore leggings under their pants.
Better prepared for the elements they quickly ate the sandwiches they’d bought in the supermarket for lunch, refilled their water bottles and headed back out to the harbor.
There were lots of little fishing boats and then bigger passenger liners moving in and out of the port. They could see mountains in the distance with the cloud cover offering peeks of blue sky reflecting off the water.
There was a marine life center where they went to buy tickets for the tour and they browsed the artifacts and information plaques while they waited to be called onto the boat. Whilst getting on board, they were given huge fleece overalls and plastic ponchos; both of which, while not the most attractive things in the world, helped enormously in staying comfortable and warm.
They found a spot on the side where they would have a good view as they rounded around the islands in the harbor and shared a pair of binoculars hanging around Willow’s neck.
“Do you remember doing this in New Zealand?” Willow asked, putting her hand over Tara’s on the railing, “Doesn’t it feel like so long ago?”
“A different time,” Tara agreed softly.
Willow leaned her head on Tara’s shoulder and stayed like that until the guide on board directed them toward the first sighting of puffins. Willow looked through the binoculars then handed them off to Tara without talking them from around her neck which caused brief strangulation.
“Those are such beautiful beaks,” Tara commented as she handed the binoculars back, “Look, they’re diving.”
Willow took her phone out to take some pictures as they got closer to the puffin’s habitats.
The boat circled back to the harbor at a slow pace, giving them plenty of great city views in the process that they could just stand back and enjoy.
They returned to the hostel after disembarking from the boat and met up with Iris who had been planning a playlist on her laptop. She insisted Tara sit with her to show her the software so Willow offered to cook dinner.
She returned only slightly flustered holding three bowls close to her body and in a rush to pass them off before the heat bled through to her skin.
“Okay, I’ll be honest, I’m still not entirely sure what a rutabaga is but I sliced it and fried them in salt like you said Tara and I think it worked out pretty well.”
Tara came and sat next to Willow on her bottom bunk and Iris stayed where she was, opposite them, looking down at her bowl with curiosity. She tasted it and immediately went back for more.
“This is wonderful. What is this amazing spice you use?”
“Um…ramen flavoring?” Willow answered, glancing at Tara and back to Iris, “Little bit of extra chili flakes.”
“Genius,” Iris proclaimed, waving her fork like a scepter.
Willow and Tara exchanged amused smiles with each other and continued to eat their dinner. When they finished, Tara took Willow’s bowl and sat in with hers, then leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“That was really great, thank you.”
“I must go,” Iris announced, standing quickly and leaving her empty bowl on the top bunk, “You will come tonight and play with me.”
Tara stood up and gulped softly.
“Oh—”
“It is not question,” Iris interrupted with a smirk as she went over to the closet to take out the large hard case sitting inside.
“Do you need help?” Willow offered.
Iris lugged it out and held it up by a handle.
“It has wheels,” she said as she threw her laptop bag over her shoulder, “I will see you later.”
She left without another word or waiting for a response.
Tara turned back to Willow, holding her hands out at a loss.
“This is crazy, right? It’s—”
“Cool!” Willow interrupted, “It’s so cool!”
Tara’s brow scrunched up.
“I don’t know…”
“You should do it!” Willow encouraged.
Tara shook her head.
“Not me. But, but I'd love to, to watch and learn. From someone who's really good, you know?”
“You're really good,” Willow said, standing up.
Tara’s head ducked and Willow thought for a moment, then went to get Tara’s iPad. She found the app Tara liked to play on and attached the worst song she could think of: Barbie Girl.
“I'll prove it. Here, do this.”
She held it out on her palms for Tara to take.
Tara took a step forward.
“Hmm.”
Willow looked down at the editor and back up at Tara.
“What do you see?”
Tara reached out and caressed Willow’s hand instead, smirking.
“Willow-hand.”
Willow blushed and smiled but thrust the iPad out insistently.
“Okay then, what do you
hear?”
Tara sighed and took the iPad. She winced as the first few seconds played but skipped to the chorus and spent a few minutes remixing just that part.
“See? That’s so good and that’s the worst song in the world!” Willow gushed encouragingly when Tara played the small sample back, “What’s your DJ name gonna be?”
Tara rolled her eyes to herself.
“Don’t be silly.”
“You’re being silly!” Willow protested, grinning, “Come on, you have to have a DJ name. I vote for DJ Cutie but you might not be taken seriously.”
She took both of Tara’s hands and looked her in the eye.
“DJ Maclay. It rhymes. Or DJ Yabba…hmmm. Too much context needed. It should be snappy. DJ…”
Tara sighed.
“Will…”
“Tare…” Willow replied mockingly, then her eyes lit up, “Tare-oh! You should be DJ Tarot! You could have a business card that’s like a tarot card design!”
Tara held her hands up in a ‘stop’ motion.
“You’re getting very ahead of yourself. I’m just sitting in a booth to observe.”
“I believe in you,” Willow replied sweetly, “I know you said you didn’t want to have a career in music, but wouldn’t it be cool to have a hobby that you could maybe make some money from?”
Tara smiled and pulled Willow into a grateful hug.
“I love how that brain works,” she said, pressing a kiss to Willow’s lips and lingering for a moment before pulling away, “Our bigger worry is how to dress for a night out in this cold.”
“Oh, I chatted with people in the kitchen,” Willow explained, moving away to start picking out clothing, “There’s just the one little neighborhood with all of the bars and shopping and stuff so everyone just congregates in the lobby and shares taxis. Shouldn’t be out in the cold for more than a minute or two. So wear what you want.”
“Oh great,” Tara replied, sitting on the bottom bunk to take her shoes off, “That makes it easier. I’m going to go have a shower.”
“Gotta smell nice for your debut,” Willow trilled teasingly as Tara grabbed her robe and toiletries to head for the bathroom.
A bath sponge was firmly launched at her head but Willow caught it and shot it back, seeing a smile flash on Tara’s face before she picked it up and was gone.
Willow picked out her pink jeans and a fuzzy fawn-colored sweater that she wore over a pink and green collared shirt. She dressed right there, enjoying the snugness and emptiness of the room allowing her to avoid an awkward under-the-covers fumble to get changed.
It was not the kind of under-the-covers fumble she had ever enjoyed.
Once she was dressed she sat back in her bunk and used her hand mirror to apply some make-up. She still enjoyed when Tara did it for her but she’d picked up a thing or two amongst her time living with other women who were mostly traveling to party.
She used a brown eye shadow that matched her sweater and experimented with a smokey eye to see if it popped like it promised. She used a make-up tutorial online and was quite pleased with her finished look as she wisped her lip gloss over her mouth.
Tara returned from the bathroom in her robe, brushing through her wet hair while her toiletry bag swung on her wrist.
She closed the door behind her again so it was like they had their own little private room. She was humming along to her own tune but abruptly stopped when Willow looked up at her. Her eyes popped in a much different way and she made a series of various squeaking noises while stumbling backward.
“Are you okay?” Willow asked, standing to grab Tara’s hand and help her steady.
“Mmhm,” Tara nodded with a shaken breath, her rosy color on her cheeks hidden under the sting still present from the hot water, “Y-you look…very pretty.”
“Oh, thanks!” Willow replied with a pleased grin, “Have you heard of blending? It’s a revelation.”
“I-I have,” Tara replied, looking down and clearing her throat. She slowly looked up again, a smile blooming over her face, “You’re gorgeous.”
Willow smiled and dragged her upper teeth over her bottom lip.
“Have to look good on the arm of the DJ.”
“Stop,” Tara said, hiding her face and busying herself with finding clothes.
After thinking back on what Iris was wearing when she left, Tara decided to stick with dark jeans and an old Ramones t-shirt but she was stuck on a jacket; the only one she had with her was a general rain jacket that could be stuffed into a ball if needed.
Willow watched Tara try some sweaters on but was clearly uncomfortable with how it looked.
“I’ll just wear a hoodie and unzip it once we get there,” she said finally but still not entirely happily.
She moved onto makeup, doing dark eyes to match the rest of her look. She dried her hair straight and let Willow brush it while she finished make-up. Finally, she dressed in her pre-picked outfit and added her combat boots. They along with sneakers and flats were the only shoes Tara carried around with her regularly but she hadn’t had much opportunity to use them.
“Do I look too harsh?”
“No, you look cool,” Willow replied, hooking a finger through Tara’s jean loop, “You could be my punk rock princess.”
Tara ducked her head and smiled.
“I wish I had a better jacket,” she said, looking with a frown.
Willow pressed a very soft kiss on Tara’s lips.
“You look fantastic.”
Tara brushed her fingers over Willow’s wrist and let them fall off.
“Thank you.”
They finished getting ready and walked out to the lobby where the first round of club-goers was gathering. It was mostly other younger people like them, who hadn’t quite hit Iceland’s legal drinking age of 20 but knew that getting there early was the best way to sneak into clubs.
They got into a cab with a group of girls who had clearly been pre-drinking and both Willow and Tara anticipated an ugly scene if they continued on at that pace at the end of the night.
One of them pawed at Tara’s chest, much to Willow’s chagrin.
“I looooove the danones!”
“They’re a band, not a yogurt,” Willow muttered and Tara gave her a ‘please don’t start a fight with the drunk people’ look.
The girl proceeded to start (badly) singing ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ and Willow shot Tara a ‘come on!’ look but somehow they both managed to bite their tongue at that level of musical disrespect.
They finally got dropped at on the top of a street in the shopping and nightlife district. They’d actually been there that morning but when they’d walked through earlier things were still just opening and it had none of the atmosphere that was there now.
It was still only twilight, what with the late sunset, but the sky was a beautiful indigo color and the street lights were on with additional large multi-colored string lights threaded along the roof edges to illuminate the already colorful city.
Bars were starting to get busy, stores were starting to close down after late-night shopping and the clubs were starting to open letting a faint but steady trickle of dance music thump through the streets.
Willow had the flyer in her pocket for the club Iris was playing, which she checked and figured out it was just on the next corner a block over. They walked in that general direction but it was actually considerably warmer under all those lights and they didn’t feel the need to hurry.
They passed by the window of a vintage store and something made Tara pause. Willow had kept walking but backed up when she realized she was talking to herself.
Inside the window on a headless black mannequin was a long, red leather jacket. It looked like it had been around for a while but the leather wasn’t worn or stretched in any way.
“You like it?” Willow asked, looking from it over to Tara.
“Yeah,” Tara said on an exhale, her eyes following the lapels downward.
Willow started to walk toward the entrance.
“They’re still open. Let’s go in and check it out.”
“Willow, no,” Tara followed quickly, “They’re probably closing up. And it’s a leather jacket, there’s no way I can afford it.”
Willow went to the window from the inside with Tara on her heels, looking apologetically at the one member of staff in the store.
Willow checked the price tag and showed it to Tara with a pleasant smile.
“You sure?”
It was thousands…of kroner.
Which worked out to less than $30.
They’d paid more for breakfast that morning.
“Why is it so cheap?” Tara asked suspiciously, wondering if it had been wrongly tagged.
“Because it probably provides no warmth in one of the coldest places in the world,” Willow answered, running a hand down the inside lining, or rather, lack of it, “But it’s super cool and we’re out of the cold in a couple of days so…try it on!”
She took it off the mannequin and held it up by the shoulders. Tara hesitated for a moment, then unzipped her hoodie and put it by her feet. She slid her arms through the jacket and held onto the sides to pull it over herself.
It fit like a glove.
Willow’s eyes shone as she looked Tara up and down.
“That is so badass. You have to get it.”
“Do you think?” Tara asked, turning in it and only finding it even more comfortable with movement, “It’s too much.”
“It’s exactly the right size of ‘much’!” Willow protested, reaching out to the lapels to smooth them out, “You look hot.”
Tara blushed lightly and looked down at herself. Willow plucked up Tara’s sweater and gently pushed Tara toward the front of the store.
“I’ll take your hoodie. Go get it.”
She nodded encouragingly and watched as Tara went up to the register and did the transaction without ever taking the jacket off. Willow put Tara’s hoodie over her body and left it unzipped as she waited by the door.
Willow swore she actually saw the confidence rise in Tara as she walked back, smiling.
“I asked why it was the price it was…she said they’ve been trying to get rid of this since last summer and I think she thought I was bargaining because she gave me an extra 20% off.”
“You’re so awesome!” Willow said, lifting her hand for a high five, “And you look amazing. You’re just the coolest. I love you so much.”
Tara completed the high five then dropped her hand to link her fingers with Willow’s. Willow reached out and pulled the price tag off of Tara’s new jacket and dropped it in the next trash can they passed once outside.
There was a very short line as they approached the club with their taxi-mates right at the very front already having a loud argument with the bouncer.
“Wait,” Tara said before they entered the line.
“Why?” Willow asked in confusion.
“Trust me,” Tara replied firmly.
Willow shrugged; she did trust Tara.
As the group argued, another group from the hostel tried to get in and the original group starting screaming that they knew them and they should all be let in together. The end result was that every one of them were kicked out before ever setting foot inside.
“They would have done that to us!” Willow said wide-eyed, slapping the back of her hand against Tara’s arm, “How’d you know?”
“I’ve seen a lot of drunk people trying to get into clubs I’ve played,” Tara replied wisely, “They all have the same tricks.”
“So cool,” Willow repeated again in awe, seeing a behind-the-scenes version of musician Tara she’d never quite known before, “Layers.”
Once the scene had cleared they joined the line and Willow realized as they got up front that she had no idea what to do, especially with the imposing Nordic giant with a beard almost touching the ground standing over them as a bouncer.
Tara did though, apparently.
“We’re on the list,” she said easily.
“Hvað heitir þú?” the bouncer asked, then nodded when he realized the language she’d spoken, “Name?”
“Tara,” Tara pointed at herself and then at Willow, “Willow. We’re with Iris.”
The bouncer seemed to consider Willow a few seconds longer than Tara, making Willow smile awkwardly. He glanced down at his clipboard and finally let them in.
Willow scurried in and Tara walked in behind her with a bit more grace.
“That beard is so long it could pluck someone from the line and throw them out all on its own,” Willow whispered as they walked past the lobby and coat check area, “I kept expecting it to speak all by itself.”
Tara shot Willow a smile but didn’t say anything out loud.
They walked through into the club which was still in its transition phase from evening bar to night club. The music playing was just an unmanned playlist and the lights were dimming from soft lamps to the more fluorescent lighting that would accompany the DJ.
It was a mostly seated club with plush material sofa-style seating with small, low tables and poufs opposite with fabric-covered short stools. The bar was long, made to accommodate a big crowd and had just one couple, two men, sitting at it while everyone else lounged around the sides.
They decided to take advantage of having their pick of seats and chose a corner spot.
“Start with a beer?” Willow asked, as was their usual custom while they settled into a place and had a better look at the drinks menu.
Tara nodded and sat back while Willow went up to the bar and returned with two bottles of beer.
“Did you know beer was illegal here until 1989?” Willow said as she slid in back beside Tara.
“Really?” Tara asked, wiping her napkin around the rim of the bottle, “Why?”
They clinked bottlenecks.
“They had a prohibition like us but beer was the last thing to be made lawful again,” Willow explained then smirked momentarily before taking a swig, “Technically we’re still drinking unlawfully.”
Tara let two fingers dance up Willow’s thigh.
“It can be fun to be naughty.”
Willow smiled and leaned in to kiss the spot right below Tara’s ear.
She may have whispered something naughty while she was there but they were the only two who would ever know.
There was a steady stream of people arriving in the club and there was standing room only by the time Iris came out to cheers for her name and flashing lights.
“Deeee-jayyyy yah-ee-yah.”
“Oh, that’s how you pronounce it,” Willow said, nudging Tara, “Wow I must have sounded like an idiot earlier.”
Tara couldn’t really hear but offered her hand.
“Want to dance?”
Willow sipped through the tiny black straw of her latest drink and took Tara’s hand to be brought out onto the dance floor.
They joined one set of hands and started to dance; their silly, twirling moves standing out amongst the crowd of drunken and occasional drug-fuelled ravers but they didn’t really care or notice.
After some time, Iris pressed a button on her decks, popped her earphones around her neck and sought them out in the crowd. When she spotted Tara she gestured for her to come up.
Tara looked uncertain and glanced at Willow.
“Go,” Willow pushed her gently, “Go on.”
Tara walked up to the steps to the DJ booth where another bouncer started to turn her away until Iris called down to let her in. Tara walked up and into the booth where Iris gave her a hug and handed her a second pair of chunky headphones.
Willow watched as Iris showed Tara a few things and then motioned turning a disk on the turnstile.
“That’s my girlfriend,” she shouted giddily to the nearest person to her, grinning through her straw and not caring an iota when he didn’t acknowledge her.
Her eyes were one place only.
She watched transfixed, happily swaying on her own even when others would bump into her until Iris caught her eye and motioned to Tara’s empty glass and then between them. Willow nearly tripped over herself to get to the bar.
She brought drinks back and climbed the steps in awe that she got to be in such a position. Tara spotted her and her face lit up.
“She said I have a very good ear,” she ‘whispered’ over the loud music in Willow’s ear as she took her new glass.
“You have a very good lots of things,” Willow returned with a naughty nose scrunch, biting her bottom lip.
She glanced over to Iris and offered the other glass in her hand.
“You’re really good! The set is great! I’m having a blast.”
Iris raised her glass as she pressed a button on her laptop that made a loud song full of energy book out and a pleased cheer go up in the crowd.
She leaned in and clinked all of their glasses together, smirking as she enjoyed having the whole room basking in her presence.
Tara understood the rush.
‘Skál!’ Iris said as she raised her glass again before downing the whole thing in one go.
Willow and Tara glanced at each other. They’d cheers’d in enough different country to know what it sounded like without translation. Their look turned to smiles and they raised their glasses too.
‘Skál!’
“No, see, they use a patronymic naming system here so the last name is derived from the father’s name.”
Tara left a boot print in the sparse snow as they took another step through the forest.
“So what would your name be?”
“I would be Willow Iradóttir,” Willow answered, her mittened hands clutching the straps of her backpack, “Daughter of Ira. Or Sheiladóttir if I wanted to usurp convention and be matronymic but I think this is one case where I’m for the patriarchy.”
She smiled widely and the pom-pom on top of her hat wobbled.
“What would you be?”
Tara stepped a little closer to Willow to hear better. Her slouched beanie was over her ears but she would take slight muffling over frozen auricles any day.
“Donald…dóttir,” she said eventually.
Willow looked over, surprised.
“That…makes a lot of sense actually.”
Tara shook her head to herself.
“You know, I didn’t actually know that until the past year when I was getting my passport. I never asked,” she said, watching their tracks for a moment before looking back at Willow, “Mom was enough. More than. And she never spoke about him either so I just…never asked.”
“Your mom is the best,” Willow smiled affectionately, “You’d be Tara…Ms.Maclydóttir.”
Tara’s lips sloped up on one side and she shook her head.
“Will you ever call her Kimberly?”
“Probably not,” Willow also shook her head and smiled, “Even if she got married I’d probably still call her Ms. Maclay.”
“What if—” Tara started but then promptly stopped.
“What?” Willow asked, nodding for her to continue.
“Nothing,” Tara said quickly and took in a deep breath of arctic air and felt her nose burn, “How far away are we?”
Willow consulted the pamphlet in her hand that had a small map on it.
It was the first physical map she’d used all trip. More than once she’d placed two fingers on it to try and zoom.
“We turned left at the service house so…should just be up here,” she said as she looked ahead and confirmed there was a turn up ahead where it should be, “They said they like to keep them far enough away from the service house that you won’t be disturbed by anyone else coming and going but close enough that it’s not too big a deal to run to the bathroom or heat up some coffee. Should be just a few feet once we go around those trees.”
“Okay, good, because I’m still a little hungover,” Tara admitted with another heavy step, “That bus ride didn’t help.”
“Tell me about it,” Willow muttered with a short, grumbling groan, “That’s what we get for staying out ‘til 5 am when we have to leave at 9.”
Tara’s shoulders adjusted uncomfortably as the bag weighed heavy on her back.
“It was amazing though.”
“
You were amazing,” Willow grinned, bumping Tara’s shoulder playfully, “I knew you’d be great. Is it something you’d want to keep doing?”
Tara flapped about a bit, ducking her head.
“That’s very beyond me right now. I’d have to do proper training and…” she trailed off, then smiled coyly at Willow, “I’d consider it. But as a hobby. There’s no way I could actually make it as a side hustle.”
Willow grinned.
“Ooh, say side hustle again. I liked it.”
“Funny,” Tara shook her head playfully.
“Very funny,” Willow agreed, smiling so that her tongue stuck out between her teeth, “
DJ Tarot.”
Tara blushed but it was completely impossible to tell on her already windswept cheeks.
They rounded the corner and immediately knew they were exactly where they were supposed to be.
They were in a clearing of the sparse birch trees near a cliffside that showed active volcanoes on the horizon. Parked in the middle was their private lodgings for the night, an entirely inflated plastic igloo; transparent so you could look out at all angles from the double bed nestled inside.
The igloo was on top of a little wooden deck to keep it off the snow and they could see already it was way bigger than they’d ever imagined.
“This is like glamping,” Willow said excitedly as they approached, “But inside a pretty postcard.”
She bent down at the front of the igloo where a small combination padlock through the zipper top kept it secured. They’d been given the code when they checked in so Willow started to put it in but paused and smiled painfully over at Tara.
“High school flashbacks.”
Tara patted her shoulder sympathetically and Willow finished popping the lock. She unhooked it and unzipped the opening.
It had a twin door so the front part opened to a passageway that they zipped closed again and locked on their side before zipping open the second door through to the main igloo, thus not allowing any of the cold or snow or other people to get into their lodgings.
Willow went through first and they had to push their bags through each one at a time as they couldn’t fit through with them on their backs. They both left their snow-covered boots in the little entranceway and finally zipped themselves inside.
“It’s so cozy,” Tara said in surprise as she tugged her hat off and let her locks fall free.
As well as the bed, there was a small crate with a lamp on it and extra blankets. Directly opposite on the other side of the bed was a space heater keeping the ‘room’ very toasty.
“And there’s an electric blanket,” Willow said, spotting the wire coming out the side of the mattress. She jumped on the bed and lay her head back on the pillows, “It’s comfy too.”
Tara unzipped her jacket, not her cool new leather jacket that she was afraid of ruining in this climate, just her raincoat that had done its job admirably, leaving her in her dry sweater.
She lay down beside Willow and shuffled in close on the surprisingly big bed. She poked her burgundy-socked toes against Willow’s smiley face ones playfully and elicited a smile.
Willow turned lazily on her side, bending her knee over Tara’s leg and throwing an arm over her waist. She snuggled in with her head resting on Tara’s shoulder and sighed happily as they both looked up to the open sky starting to turn orange as the sun set.
Willow slipped her hand under Tara’s sweater, placing her palm on Tara’s belly to warm it up. Her thumb caressed the skin over Tara’s bellybutton gently.
“You wanna take a little nap?” Willow suggested after several minutes of them being completely still, “Wake up again for the big show, hopefully?”
“That would be nice,” Tara agreed softly.
They’d have to stay up into the wee hours on the off-chance of getting a natural light show courtesy of the Northern Lights anyway, and the synthetic light show from the night before was still nauseatingly present if they focused on something for too long. It had been a fun night but they really should have stopped after six drinks. Or at least counted when Iris kept getting free ones brought over.
They got out of bed to pull the blanket back and get back under it.
“Do you want more blankets baby?” Willow asked before lying down completely, “They left extras.”
Tara lifted her arm up.
“I’ll take a Willow blanket.”
Willow smiled and threw herself under the covers, lifting it up to their necks as she scooted in to spoon Tara.
“This is how every day should always end,” Tara murmured happily, “…and start. And all the stuff in the middle.”
Screw carb fests or hair of the dog — nestled together while they watched the snow fall onto them was the best hangover cure ever.
Willow slid her hand under Tara’s sweater again, gently tapping her fingertips against Tara’s abdomen and up to her ribs. She lingered there for a moment then grinned against Tara’s neck.
“You’re not wearing a bra,” she whispered, tracing the underside of Tara’s right breast with her finger, “I love it when you don’t wear a bra. Can—”
“Yes,” Tara mumbled before Willow could even ask the question.
Willow gently cupped Tara’s breast and settled her head down to sleep.
A few hours later, after a luxurious snooze and waking up to snack on some trail mix and chocolate, they were back lying on top of the covers admiring the beautiful and bountiful starry night.
“The Big Pineapple is being swallowed tonight,” Willow said in observation of the sky which looked like a tub of glitter had been spilled all over it, “Looks like a whole giant cosmic fruit bowl out there.”
Tara linked her fingers with Willow’s and held their hands between them.
“Show me the constellations. The real ones.”
“Well, Ursa Major is right there,” Willow pointed directly above them at the collection of bright stars shining back down on them, “But I can do better.”
She lifted their joined hands and pointed at a bright spark.
“That’s Mars,” she said and then adjusted their hands again, “And that…is Jupiter.”
She turned her head so it was closer to Tara’s.
“You know, Galileo first discovered four of the moons of Jupiter way back in like the 1600s. But when he realized they weren’t stationary objects, that was the first-ever proof of celestial bodies that didn’t orbit the earth. At the time, that was like…”
She used her free hand to imitate a mind-blown gesture.
“One discovery, eventually, changed how we viewed our whole universe. Specifically that we were not the center of it. Just with this one acknowledgment of something that was always there,” she said softly, looking sidelong at Tara with a pointed expression, “Once we stopped being self-obsessed assholes.”
Tara lifted their hands and extended a finger to tickle Willow’s cheek.
“It’s hard to see the moon when you can’t even see how much you shine.”
Willow leaned in and pressed a long kiss to Tara’s cheek. She settled her head against Tara’s shoulder.
“I don’t know if we’re going to see the lights tonight. We may have left it a little too late in the season.”
“It’s okay,” Tara comforted, leaning her head back on top of Willow’s, “I still had a lovely night. It was nice to have an excuse to just do nothing.”
They stayed like that for another little while, waiting but also just being together.
As time ticked on and sleep was threatening to overcome them before they wanted, Tara sat up to wake them up a bit.
“I want to give you something,” she said, looking down at Willow, “It’s an early birthday present.”
Willow’s eyes lit up as she sat up alongside Tara.
“Ooh. Is it a sister to that little red thing you bought before?”
Tara opened her mouth and closed it again.
“No,” she said finally but offered Willow a coy smile, “But I’ll keep that in mind.”
Willow smirked to herself and watched as Tara bent over to unzip something from the front pocket of her bag. Willow enjoyed the view until Tara turned back with a large white envelope, pressed down in her lap.
“When we were on our way to London we talked about how you’d told me about visiting there when you were younger,” Tara said, reaching out to place her hand on Willow’s knee, “And we mentioned how you’d…made up some stories about the other places.”
Willow bristled and looked down but Tara sought her gaze.
“Please don’t look ashamed. I don’t judge you for it. You were a little kid and you had so much going on,” she said, putting a finger under Willow’s chin to raise it, “But I do remember all your stories. And I think, I think they actually were kind of true. The desire was real, you talked about things you wish you had done. Is that right?”
Willow slowly nodded.
“Well, yeah. It was all the stuff I thought I’d get to do before I was lumped into a hotel room.”
Tara’s fingers traveled up to Willow’s cheek and she cupped it.
“I hope that our travels have made up for it somewhat. That you’ve gotten to do the things you wanted to do.”
Willow visibly did a double-take.
“Tara, ‘somewhat’?” she asked, reaching up to hold Tara’s wrist and nuzzle into her hand, “I’m
glad I didn’t do all that shit with them because experiencing it with you has been the most incredible time in my life.”
Tara smiled softly at Willow’s affection.
“We had to give up South Africa to stay in Nepal.”
Willow nodded.
“Yeah, but that’s the choice we made. And it was worth it. Just like giving up Paris was worth this.”
Tara lifted up the envelope and spun it so the front faced Willow.
“I want to make all of your dreams come true.”
She presented it somewhat nervously.
“It’s not as long as we hoped to spend. But we’ll get to do the safari you always talked about. That girl from Budapest, Dane, she recommended it. Says it’s a good one.”
“Wait,” Willow said, brow knotting in confusion for a moment, “What?”
She spotted the sticker on the front first, exotic cartoon animals smiling with the name of a safari company. She ripped open the envelope and found details of weekend safari retreat outside of Johannesburg.
“Oh my god,” Willow breathed as she snatched through all the pages and leaflets before finally looking up with eyes shining with unshed tears, “Tara. How?”
Tara tucked some hair behind her own ear.
“There was a little bit of money left from the savings and, um, actually Nate sent me some money.”
Willow’s brow creased.
“Wait, Nate gave you money? Did you borrow from him? Because you know you can always come to me—”
“No, no,” Tara interrupted, putting a hand up, “No, he put out an album. And one of our old songs is on it. People seem to like it so he gave me a cut. It was an old agreement we made, I never thought it would ever come to anything but…he’s a good guy, he stuck to it. I had actually forgotten about it until he told me what he was doing.”
Willow started to frown.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to get this for you first,” Tara explained, gesturing toward the envelope, “I knew you’d try to make me use the money to get something just for me but I really want to do this with you.”
Willow looked down at the colorful array of animal photographs featured in the documentation and couldn’t help but smile.
“Which song is it?” she asked curiously.
Tara hesitated for a moment.
“Secret Boo.”
“The one about me?!” Willow exclaimed, a lot more excited than the first time she’d heard the song, “So there’s a bunch of trendy New Yorker’s out there singing a song about me, dorky old Willow?”
She held her hands up, laughing.
“Well…thank you, Nate, I guess. We’re going on safari!”
She pushed herself over to throw her arms around Tara to hug her tight.
“But what about Paris?”
Tara winked.
“Next time.”
The promise of those words made Willow feel a big lump of emotion stick her throat.
“I love you so much, Tara.”
Tara waited for a moment pointedly and Willow’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Oh! Yes! Iris helped me! I’m so sorry I forgot,” she gushed, then caught her breath so she could put all of her effort into getting it correct with just the right upward inflection, “Ég elska þig.”
She wiped her hand over her brow.
“Phew. Got it right. My brain kept wanting to say ‘elsa’ not ‘elska’ because I watched Frozen on the plane even though that's set in Norway, not Iceland but I was reading this article about this archaeologist who believes that people of Sami origin may have been among a group that sailed to Iceland before…”
Tara smiled; Willow’s effort in this way always made her feel every bit as loved as the thought gone into it. She closed the hug while Willow babbled and opened her mouth to return the sentiment when something caught the corner of her eyes. She looked up as the sky suddenly illuminated with bright, dancing color.
“Willow,” she said in awe, gaze fixed upward, “Willow, look.”
Willow looked up and gasped.
Green and pink and white and grey and a mingled mix of all four swirled around in breathtaking glory.
Tara sought Willow’s hand to truly share the experience.
“There are no words for this.”
Willow reached up like she might touch the lights and let her hand fall back down again.
“There’s one.”
She inhaled a soft breath and squeezed Tara’s hand.
“Magic.”
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Perfect compromise, definitely experiences that will last forever and make this trip more of a life experience than just a trip. I liked the Easter Egg Tinkerbell Lights. Kinda sad that they are missing Greece. It is definitely a place that I have wanted to go and was hoping to get some info from your research.
)
Very good purchase, Tara!