Chapter 13
The Honeymoon (Part II)
Well, suffice to say Jamie's dream ocean sailboat outing on the wooden schooner 'Hilda' leaves a little to be desired as a bit of an unexpected storm kicks up off the coast that afternoon and the resulting chop has Eddie tossing her cookies over the railing to use their term for Kaylin before another unfortunate (or rather fortunate) event strands the rain-soaked pair in a cold, dark cottage with only a fire and a bottle of tequila to keep them warm for the night… what will our newlyweds do to pass the time, hm?
DAY 2: 7:45 pm Tuesday
Near the town of Stykkishólmur by Breiðafjörður Bay
"Jamison Reagan, that had to have been the worst three hours I've ever spent on vacation in my entire life!" Eddie griped as they bumped along an uneven back road north of the town of Stykkishólmur in search of their oceanfront cottage overnight lodging in the cold pouring rain and a heavy windstorm that had swept in unannounced and made for a rather adventurous return trip around the point in Jamie's beloved damn wooden sailboat as they both got a good taste of the worst of Mother Nature's wrath on his quest for maritime glory and fulfillment.
"I know, babe… and I'm so sorry you got seasick," he apologized for the hundredth time even as he strained his eyes trying to make out the numbers on the driveway markers while determined to remain on the road as the Land Rover Defender's windshield wipers whipped at top speed during a renewed deluge. "It has to be here somewhere, the GPS says we're right on top of it…" he trailed off before a sudden shout had him slamming on the brakes and sliding sideways a few feet.
"Jamie, STOP!"
"God, Ed… please don't do that," he begged softly as he caught his breath. "I could have put us into that ditch. What is it? Are you sick? Because I really don't think you want to get out and throw up in the bushes again if you can help it… not until this passes."
"It's not that, genius," Eddie huffed as she rolled him an evil eye at the mention of her tummy woes. "That sign… 112 Nesvegur, isn't that what we're looking for? Now where is the damn driveway?" she demanded as she squinted into the darkness.
"Should be right there then," Jamie mused as he double-checked his paperwork and turned the car around to illuminate the area with the headlights. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," he sighed.
"What? What's the matter?" his frustrated wife demanded as she looked at the apparent unbroken line of bushes ahead and was clearly less than amused by the direction the afternoon had taken after a very pleasurable morning hiking through the stunningly beautiful park near the glacier. Everything had been perfect as a matter of fact, right up until the wind had picked up midway through their sailboat tour when the crew turned the craft around to head towards home and the bay had become choppy with small whitecaps and rollers as the sea grew restless. It was at that point Eddie's slightly queasy stomach had given way to a full bout of unrelenting seasickness which resonated with intensity long after the cherished wooden schooner 'Hilda' had finally pulled back into port and she had disembarked for solid ground at warp speed while Jamie apologized to the crew and followed sheepishly after her, all hope lost for the once much anticipated evening to come even before the full-on storm struck and left them stranded in their current predicament.
"That is the driveway," Jamie revealed with a frown. "Look, honey, that big pine tree's come down across it, which is unbelievably bad luck really since there's so few trees of any size on the whole island…"
"So what are we going to do now?" she wailed back as he once again considered that whole for better or worse implied aspect of the vows they had just taken a few days before. "Maybe we should just take the car back to town and find a room there."
"Ed, it's dark and stormy… the tour offices are probably closed by now and it will just make our drive that much longer tomorrow," Jamie reasoned. "We were already looking at 320 kilometers to get to our next destination and I don't feel like calling their emergency line to drag someone else out here in this weather. Look, I can see the house on the map they gave us, it's right down the lane a few hundred yards or so. We'll just grab a bag and those sandwiches we picked up since you weren't feeling like dinner earlier and hike in. We can leave the car here and we'll be on our way to the Valley of Skagafjörður in the morning… you can take a dip in the hot pool Grettislaug at the beach in Reykjanesströnd, sweetie," he cajoled as he hyped a thus far favored activity. "What do you say? The storm is supposed to be over soon and I bet the Northern Lights will be spectacular tonight once the clouds blow over. The captain said that this was just one of those freak fronts that come in off the Atlantic every so often… there's no real way of predicting them. I checked the forecast right before we left and it was supposed to be all clear. I know we had a little bit of a setback today, but let's not miss this."
"A 'little setback'? That's what you call it? So what, we just sit here in the car and wait all night? Are you kidding me?" she huffed impatiently with a bit of claustrophobia also welling up as her stomach continued to roll dangerously and the rain pounded against the windshield. "Give me the keys then! I'm going up there."
"What? No… in this? You'll get soaked and freezing cold!" Jamie exclaimed. "Honey, just give it a few minutes to slow down," he offered as he pulled the car into the drive as close to the tree as possible to get it off the road. "Please, Ed!"
"Don't say it, Jamie. Just don't even utter one more single solitary word," she said as she turned away from him and searched for the door handle in the unfamiliar vehicle. "I hate being sick, I hate this storm and I hate boats!" she seethed.
"I know, sweetheart," he offered anyway, pausing to give thanks his name had not yet officially made it on that list as he reached over to put a hand on her shoulder and watched the prospect of any extracurricular activities vanish before his eyes. "I just need a minute to get some of our stuff out of the back though. We can't go up there without anything. Can you wait a few seconds, dear... please?" he added as he scrambled out of the driver's side and hurried to the rear to open the tailgate and root through their suitcases to pull out a few necessities and stuff them into his hiking knapsack, including in desperation, a full bottle of tequila they had purchased on a whim at the duty free shop on the way out of the airport.
Eddie seriously considered hitting the locks once his door closed just to strand him out there and reinforce the notion that she was unhappy about the situation, but decided that would be slightly over the top and probably just prolong this whole wretched experience. She wanted to get out of the car and into that house… now.
As soon as he closed up the back, she was out of her side of the vehicle and marching around the downed tree while he hovered behind trying to fend the water off of her in a gentlemanly manner by holding his coat over her head since an umbrella would have been useless in the wind. It was for naught though as they were both already completely soaked through by the driving cold rain at that point and she paused to demonstrate her frustration with a good swift kick to the trunk of the matching pine that remained standing alongside the lane.
"Oh, no!" Eddie wailed as she stumbled immediately afterwards and he desperately clutched her arm to keep her from falling while trying not to drop the flashlight. "I broke my heel! And these are my very most favorite cutest boots!" she cried out to all that would hear as she continued to hobble along on her now uneven footwear.
"I'll buy you another pair," Jamie promised with a heavy contrite sigh although he found his own patience wearing thin as he grew colder and more uncomfortable himself, not to mention he was now thoroughly disappointed with the afternoon he had been looking forward to with great expectation for months. "Let's just get to the house, Edit Katalin," he added bluntly as he helped her up the path until they got to the porch where his shivering, fumbling fingers finally managed successfully to insert the provided key and unlock the door to the quaint little cottage with a rustic decor and a centered two-story great room with floor to ceiling windows providing an unfettered view of the ocean and the northern sky. Without a doubt, on a clear day the view from this place would have been truly spectacular, but at the moment the pair of wet, freezing lovebirds were only concerned with the fact that their feathers were soaked and there was apparently no electric or other form of heat readily available either.
"Jamie, it's s-so c-cold-d in h-here," Eddie shivered. "W-what h-happ-ned t-to t-the l-lights?"
"S-storm must h-have t-taken down the l-line," he answered as he flashed his beam around and set the knapsack down on the counter. "There's s-some blankets on t-the couch and d-dry w-wood. Get out of y-your w-wet clothes and I'll s-start a fire."
Instead of insisting that they go out in the elements again to return to the car and leave out of fear of driving off the road in an unfamiliar remote area near the ocean in the dark and rain, Eddie relented after she took one more look at her despondent husband and started to strip off her wet sweater and jeans while Jamie channeled his inner Eagle Scout with a pack of waterproof matches stored for just such an occasion in his sack and soon had a warm blaze glowing within a strategic pile of kindling before sinking down to sit with his back to the thankfully now growing fire as he closed his eyes with his head in his hands and admitted defeat. This afternoon and evening had turned into a complete and utter abhorrent failure.
"Jamie," Eddie softened as she joined him for a seat near the warmth on the low stone hearth, wrapped only in a soft blanket over her wet delicates. The nausea had started to quickly to pass from her normally stalwart stomach now that she was standing firmly on unmoving ground once more, and she felt more than a twinge of guilt for her actions which had left him so deflated with those damn sad puppy eyes on full display. "C'mon, lambchop, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I know none of this was your fault and the whole day including the boat ride was actually amazing too until the weather turned. I was just really embarrassed at getting sick like that in front of everyone and got upset… you know me, I can usually outdrink and outeat everyone else under the table. I never had that happen to me before. Please, baby… you're still dripping and freezing. Get these wet clothes off or you'll catch cold," she added as his teeth continued to chatter in spite of the heat now radiating on his back.
"Maybe you were right, Ed," he sighed. "I don't do well in the w-winter anymore and it w-was stupid of me to pick a place that's cold and m-make plans like this without consulting you," although he ended with a little pitiful snicker at that ironic statement which broke the tension between them.
"Har, har, har… such a funny man, now stop it," she demanded as she scootched over and began to unbutton his soaked Henley in an effort to get him to comply with her previous order. "I've been having a wonderful time so far on this trip and it's actually kind of romantic to be stranded out in Timbuktu with you like this by a fire you know… with no one else around to see this," she breathed as she moved closer to kiss his neck as she worked her way slowly down the shirt to the fourth button before pausing to lift it up from the waist and pull it over his head, revealing yet another black t-shirt that was quickly offed in the same manner until she had peeled her way to a smooth, muscled chest topped by shining hazel eyes and a head of tousled wet sandy-brown hair.
"Edit Katalin," he moaned as she moved in front to kneel before him while her unbuttoning efforts turned to his jeans and she allowed the soft blanket to slip from her shoulders to the floor, revealing the pretty pink lace bra and panty set she had hoped would spark his attention tonight in this manner. "You are so beautiful," he whispered as he nudged the thin straps over so they fell off her shoulders.
"And you still look mighty cold, Mr. Reagan," she smirked as her hands continued to roam knowingly and remove things in a methodical fashion before they both ended up laying on that soft blanket on the floor in front of the fire with nothing between them. "Too bad we don't have any scotch for a hot toddy to warm you up from the inside first. You're not quite at full strength there, handsome."
"Mmm, why don't you take care of that for me?" he sighed with a rusty laugh as they continued to touch and caress while the skies above the cottage quickly cleared as the remainder of clouds from the storm front blew past, revealing a stunning display of the Northern Lights above them as the power outage had extinguished all artificial light pollution from the entire point and the dark night exploded in dazzling hues of phosphorescent blues, greens and pinks of the Aurora Borealis, even as they remained completely focused with only eyes for each other. "Boy scout motto… always be prepared. That bottle of tequila is in my bag," he revealed as he rolled on top of her and his tongue parted her lips and anxiously demanded more.
"Jamie, I think you need to get…" Eddie started to remind him about something important as he began to move his way down her body and she opened her eyes to catch a glimpse of the sight above them. "LOOK!" she exclaimed as she pushed his shoulders up and pointed. "Oh wow… just WOW! I have never seen anything so beautiful before in my whole life!"
"God, that's fantastic," he murmured as he stopped and moved over to the side before drawing her into his arms, the two of them mesmerized by the incredible streaks of illumination crossing the sky above them. "Ed, it's like something you would see in a dream," he whispered as if afraid to disturb the universe at that perfect moment.
"How long do they last?"
"The guidebook says anywhere from a few minutes to 'nights when they dance in the skies for hours like magic,'" he revealed in a still hushed and thoroughly awed voice.
"Oh, I hope they stay for a long time," she breathed as the bright colors shifted across the horizon and mixed with the stars. "Wait, we need something to celebrate with!" she declared before quickly popping up and running to the kitchen to retrieve the bottle from his bag and she squealed in triumph as she hit pay dirt in one of the cabinets with a pair of mismatched glasses that were wiped out before a generous quantity of fine tequila was poured into both after the seal was cracked.
"I thought your stomach was bothering you?" Jamie inquired as she snuggled back up next to him once more and they continued to enjoy the nighttime exhibition.
"Not anymore," she replied as the two continued to bask in the warmth of the fire and the romance of the scenery before them. "This is good stuff," she added as the clear liquid went down smoothly, especially given the circumstances.
By the time the lights above faded after an extended offering of the natural phenomenon, the bottle next to them had taken a significant hit before they once more turned to one another in passion while in front of the fire, and this time nothing came between them as they were both distracted by the liquor and events of the day. Neither one had any idea at this point in time that this extraordinary night would be memorable for more than one reason. By the time morning rolled around Eddie was still smiling with satisfaction as she hurried to clean up before they left. Even though there was only a tiny bit of tequila left in the bottle, she put the cap back on and tucked it back into his bag, anyway. "That was some damn fine stuff," she muttered.
Little did she know what kind of impact it would have on all of their lives as a tiny presence was already with them who would serve to provide joy, worry, heartache and much-needed hope in the coming months before officially joining the Reagan family in a hurried rush much like a certain young father before.
So as we all know from those last couple of chapters of "It's all in the name…" our current little trio of lovebirds will become aware of this new addition to their family in about a month from now, but in the meantime for the last chapter we'll spend another few days on the honeymoon exploring Iceland, including the hunt for a renowned monster before a Sunday dinner at home finally wraps up all the wedding events in this series.
