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She just turns on the charm when she needs to and Viggó melts when she gives him a smile.’
    ‘It’s not something you can miss, is it? She does the same with his old man as well. Have you noticed? Still, hopefully she won’t be sulking tomorrow.’
    ‘You know what these hot-blooded South Americans are like. She’ll have forgotten it by the morning.’
    ‘I know,’ Valmira said with a sigh. ‘And it’s not going to stop her smoking in the van, is it? You OK for tomorrow?’
    ‘I am,’ Emilija said, yawning and stretching her hands behind her head. ‘The boys are going to their father tonight, so I have an evening to myself for once.’
    ‘It’s a shame you’ll be on your own,’ Valmira said, shifting down a gear and listening to the van’s gearbox complain.
    ‘Says who?’ Emilija asked with an arch smile.
    ‘What? A new guy? Tell me!’
    ‘Early days. But who knows?’
    ‘Local boy?’
    ‘No.’ Emilija laughed. ‘Not again. He’s a sweet guy and he’s from Latvia.’
    Valmira looked dubious. ‘He’s OK, this guy, is he? Not like . . . ?’
    ‘No, nothing like him, I’m pleased to say,’ Emilija said with a shiver.

Chapter Three
    ‘Oh, did I wake you?’ Drífa asked as Gunna blearily appeared in the kitchen. ‘I’m sorry. I was trying to be as quiet as I could.’
    ‘It’s all right. You didn’t wake me up and I have to be in early anyway.’
    ‘I thought you weren’t at work until the afternoon?’
    ‘Something’s come up. Can’t you sleep?’
    ‘I was hungry and Kjartan needed a feed.’
    There was a newspaper on the table that Drífa had been reading, scattered with the crumbs of a sandwich. Gunna poured herself orange juice, squinting at the clock and dismayed to see it was a few minutes past five and there was light outside beyond the kitchen curtains. ‘That’s both of us then. Too early to be up and too late to be going back to sleep,’ she decided. ‘I’d best make some coffee.’
    Drífa watched as Gunna set the percolator to run and disappeared back to the bedroom, emerging in uniform trousers and shirt.
    ‘Have you heard from Gísli?’ Gunna asked
    ‘Yesterday. He should be back tomorrow.’
    ‘Already? That was a short trip, only two weeks. What did he say?’
    ‘He said he’s staying ashore for a few weeks now.’
    Gunna nodded and listened to the percolator hiss and mutter. She was dreading her son’s return from sea, hoping that she would be able to contain the bitter recriminations she wanted to let fly at him over his having given her two grandsons in the space of a few weeks. At the same time she longed to have their old close relationship back, while admitting to herself that it could take years and effort on both sides for them to regain that old intimacy.
    She knew that Laufey missed her big brother and that the two of them were in touch, something that was a comfort while she and Gísli had become estranged for the first time in their lives. There was a bond between the half-siblings that she appreciated and which was something she had missed in her own upbringing with two considerably older brothers who she felt still treated her like an irritating youngster.
    ‘They’re docking in Hafnarfjördur,’ Drífa said, startling Gunna from her thoughts. ‘Steini said he’d go and pick Gísli up from the ship.’
    ‘Oh, that’s good of him.’
    ‘I don’t think Steini minds. He and Gísli really get on, don’t they? Is it because Gísli . . . ?’
    ‘Because Gísli what?’ Gunna asked.
    ‘Because Gísli’s father was never about?’
    She could see Drífa biting her lip, as if the question might be a step too far.
    ‘Could be,’ Gunna admitted. ‘Or it might be because Steini doesn’t have sons of his own.’
    ‘Oh, I see,’ Drífa said, relieved that the question hadn’t elicited a sharp reply.
    ‘Thanks for letting us stay the night,’ she added after a pause.
    ‘Don’t be silly. You’re always welcome.’
    A little over a