Iceland review - 2019, Page 125

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Iceland Review
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OUTDOOR AREA
BEER PLATTER / DART BOARD
SPORT EVENTS
LIVE ON 6 HD SCREENS
LIVE MUSIC
EVERY NIGHT FROM 10PM
HAPPY HOUR EVERY DAY FROM 4-7PM
IcelandReview_May_2019_TheEnglishPub.indd 1 5/13/2019 2:45:51 PM
She turns around and snaps something at him. The
argument continues across the roof of the car and
plumes of steam tumble from their mouths in the
cold. Finally, the boy hits the roof and they get in, her
on the driver’s side. Sólmundur hears the muffled
slam of the doors, although he couldn’t make out any
of the argument itself. He watches them drive away
and then draws the drapes.
Elenóra’s cups are still in the sink, wet, but not
clean, and the pastry is on the Kremlin plate on the
table with another plate upside down atop it. He
shakes his head at this clean-up, throws out the pas-
try, and carefully washes the china in water so hot it
singes his hands and turns them red. He arranges
the cups like chessmen on a dishtowel he’s spread
on the counter, doesn’t feel like rustling up the dish
rack that’s in the cupboard.
He is on his way out – has his jacket on and is
tying his shoes – when he suddenly remembers
that Steingrímur is dead and that they don’t have
a date down at the community centre. He kicks
off his shoes ashamedly. Instead, he takes out the
blanket and makes himself comfortable in the chair
he’s dragged back out into the middle of the room.
Up next on the schedule is a David Attenborough
documentary about beetles and other such critters.
Attenborough’s mesmerising voice goes straight
through him and he watches as though hypnotised.
All that life wriggling on the screen – every bug and
ant dead certain of their role in the greater scheme
of things. It’s not until later that evening, in the dark
of night when there’s nothing on TV but a static
image of the next day’s schedule, that it occurs to
him to check whether Elenóra’s necklace is still in its
place in the dresser.
Björn Halldórsson is an Icelandic writer, translator, and freelance journalist. His short
stories have been published by literary journals in Iceland and Scotland, and have also
appeared in translation in Italy and Germany. His first book, a short story collection
titled Smáglæpir (Misdemeanours), was published in 2017.
BIO