Page 1 of The Boys
One
Syd
After landing at theairport in Reykjavik, Iceland, I was exhausted and still needed to figure out how to get to my hotel. “You’ll need to get a ticket for the airport bus to take you to the bus station where you’ll board another bus that will take you downtown. There, you’ll need to get the shuttle that will take you to your hotel,” a man at an information booth told me. I tried to focus on his words but so much had happened the past three days that I was struggling.
He waited for me to acknowledge what he’d said, but I just couldn’t. “Here, let me see your phone.” I handed it to him, andhe tapped at something. I looked around and wondered if this had really been a good idea. This was meant to be a honeymoon with my husband, but since he’d decided I wasn’t what he wanted, and the fact he’d been fucking his coworker for months, I was now single. “Sir?”
“Oh sorry, it was a long flight.”
“No problem. I’ve opened the site where you can purchase your ticket. The bus will be out front momentarily, so get your luggage then wait out there.” He spoke slowly and watched as I did what he’d instructed me to do. When the ticket was confirmed, I looked up into his eyes that were filled with concern. “Everything good?”
“I have the ticket. Thank you. My husb—someone else made all the plans but I ended up going alone and they didn’t share the information. So, I’m on my own and a little out of sorts.” I hadn’t meant to say any of that, and I couldn’t seem to stop myself. In one moment, my whole life had changed, and I hadn’t had time to process it. Not even the ten-hour flight was long enough for that.
“Good luck, sir, it’s that way to pick up your luggage.” He pointed at a sign with an arrow and waited for me to acknowledge it.
“Thank you,” I said, hiked my backpack up on my shoulder, and walked in the direction he’d indicated. I’d flown on my own many times, but there was a sadness I couldn’t shake as I walked down the halls of the airport, farther away from home than I’d ever been.
After following everyone else to the luggage claim, I stood and waited for my bag to show up as more and more people gathered to wait. My nerves were strung tight as I remembered finding out that my relationship with Michael had all been a lie. “Excuse me.” A man bumped into me as he rushed forward to get his bag off the conveyor belt.
“Oh, sorry,” I said and tried to concentrate on what was happening around me. My bag finally appeared, and I lifted it off then followed the directions I’d been given and waited out in front of the airport. The wind whipped around me with a cold bite, and I was thankful I’d researched enough to know how cold it would be here as I took a stocking hat out of my backpack and pulled it over my ears. It was dark out and I was reminded how Iceland was now in their darkest time of year, when each night lasted twenty-three hours, and the sun was never bright enough for daylight to break through the gloom.
“Merry Christmas,” the bus driver greeted as he opened the doors and waited for everyone to board. I took a seat near the front and the guy from earlier walked past me as he found a seat toward the back. He was about my age, and I wondered how he’d ended up here alone or if he lived here and was returning.
I was lost in thought as we drove along a paved road that seemed to lead to nowhere. There were a handful of lights in the distance but other than that there wasn’t much to see around us. A few people chatted but thankfully most were quiet, it had been a long day already and I still had another bus ride to my final destination. After getting off the first bus and onto the second one, we were finally close enough to the city of Reykjavikto see houses and businesses. Everything was decorated with Christmas lights brightening the gloom a little.
As we drove from hotel to hotel the ocean came into view, and I shivered at how cold it must be. Finally, there were only a few passengers left, one of them being the man from the airport.
“Okay, folks, this is where you’ll be getting off. If you’re catching a shuttle to one of the hotels out of town, they’ll meet you here. Be sure to check your email for any updates to the schedule,” the bus driver said before he opened the door and helped everyone off with their belongings.
One couple collected their luggage and pulled it along the street away from us, while the bus drove off down the street. I stood and watched it for a moment before taking hold of the handle of my suitcase and looking around. There wasn’t much nearby besides hotels and the bay. “I’m going to wait at a food hall down the way. You’re welcome to join me if you want to wait for the shuttle there,” the guy from the bus said. He was tall and thin with dark brown hair that peeked out from under his woolen hat. His eyes were blue, the kind of unforgettable blue that reminded me of the bluest blue of an iceberg. There was also a coldness there that disappeared when he smiled.
“That would be great. Thank you,” I said and the two of us walked along the street.
“My name is Caleb,” he said, and held out his hand. “Caleb Mies.”
I readjusted my bag to grip his offered hand. “Syd Dufort.”
His brow furrowed and he hesitated for a moment before releasing my hand. “So, what brings you all the way to Iceland?” he asked.
“I was supposed to be on my honeymoon,” I said, and stopped myself. It was still so new and so raw it was hard to think about it let alone say it out loud, although I felt like I also couldn’t stop myself saying it.
“Is your wife meeting you here?”
“Husband, and no, we didn’t get married. He cheated on me, and I called it off.” My eyes prickled with tears, and I bit my tongue to avoid crying in front of a stranger.Fucking Michael.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said and turned to face me. “So, you came here alone?”
“Yes, we’d already paid for it, and I didn’t want it to go to waste. Plus, I wanted to show him I don’t need him for anything.”
“Did you show him?” he asked.
I looked down at the cold ground before continuing in the direction Caleb was leading us. “I don’t know, I cut off all contact after I caught him in our bed with another man.” Visions of it flashed across my memory but where a few days ago there was pain, now I realized there was also anger. A strange look crossed his face before he turned away.
“Let’s get something to eat, then we can catch the shuttle bus to the hotel,” he said and started walking again.
“Thank you, I wasn’t sure where to go from where we were dropped off.”
“Don’t worry, I know exactly where we are,” he said.
