25

Friday, 10 July

Day Nineteen

Esben and Jorunn half-sat on the trailer’s little dining table, arms crossed, eyeing Erik.

“So, what’s this about?” Erik asked, then looked around the trailer. “We finally going to talk about Alex’s morning breath? ’Cause that shit’s lethal.”

“We have received some complaints about you,” Esben said.

“The word used was ‘leering,’” Jorunn clarified.

“Leering,” Erik repeated. “I’m being lectured for looking at someone?”

“And flirting,” Esben added. “It is not appropriate between colleagues.”

Erik’s brow cocked. To Esben, he said pointedly, “Is it not?”

“You must stop flirting with Kate,” Jorunn said. “Do you not recall how uncomfortable it made Anna?”

Erik initially appeared shocked but then smiled knowingly, nodding.

“This is only a reminder to be respectful,” Esben said. “And to be careful. None of us want a situation to get out of control. Flirting can easily devolve into harassment. It is especially important where students are concerned.”

Erik grimaced and looked at his feet. “Yeah, that’s fair. My own wife tells me to quit it sometimes. You don’t have to worry about me, big guy,” he said, giving Esben’s shoulder a single, firm pat. “And in case you’re worried, no, I don’t flirt with students. I’m not that gross.” He laughed. “Are we done? I need to get a run in before dinner.”

Esben had never liked Erik, or men like Erik. Neither did Jorunn. Overly flirtatious, prone to objectifying women. But Erik was the local academic, the one with the connections, the money. And Erik was correct: he was not that bad. Jorunn agreed. Even Kate had not been overly pressed to complain about him. Though Esben would have preferred to not work with the man, there was nothing to be done.

With a nod from Jorunn, Esben said, “Yes, that is all.”

When the trailer door shut, Jorunn grinned at him. In Norwegian, she said, “Not appropriate between colleagues, hm?”

“Under most circumstances.”

“Is it so different, flirting and giving flowers?”

This was a question he had pondered himself, never quite coming to a conclusion. “I suppose there is a line, somewhere. Either way, everything is sorted with Kate now.”

“Have you told her that you are in love with her?”

He looked away, at the little coffee maker on the kitchenette counter. He needed to clean it. He needed to top up the trailer’s water tank soon.

Jorunn patted his shoulder. “Then I suppose it is not all sorted yet, is it?”

Out the window, he glimpsed Kate leaving her tent, dressed in her evening loungewear.

“Something else is bothering you,” Jorunn said. “Out with it.”

He grumbled. “Someone washed one of the ceramic sherds in a bag labeled Do Not Wash.”

She chuckled.

“Do not laugh,” he said, laughing. “I wanted to send it out for residue analysis.”

“More money for a different test,” she said as she left the trailer. “Isotopes!” she added as the door swung shut.