She turned a distraught face to me. "Oh, Pia, don't go! The fireworks aren't over yet, and after that there's more music. You don't want to miss your chance at having a romantic encounter with a handsome Viking, now, do you?"

I thought of the two men whom I couldn't quite steel myself up to approach, and gave her a grim little smile. "I think I'll pass for tonight. You have fun, though."

"I'm sorry if Denise has made you feel uncomfortable," she said, clearly upset.

"Don't be. It's not your problem. I'm a big girl and can handle myself, even with Denise. I'm just a bit tired from seeing Reykjavik this morning, and then all the wandering around the town I did this afternoon. Happy Iceland Independence Day!"

"You, too," she said, watching me with a rueful look as I made a dash for the exit.

The town we were staying in wasn't large, but its city center was filled with narrow little streets that twisted and turned upon themselves. I got lost twice, trying to find my way to the top of the town, and had to backtrack to the still-brightly-lit main square to get my bearings before setting out again on a street I hoped led to the small hotel we called home.

I'd just left the lights of the square and was making my way down a narrow, dark street that I had a horrible suspicion I'd just been down, when a dark form loomed up out of a doorway, causing me to simultaneously jump and shriek. My jump was to the side, however, not straight up, causing me to crash into the stone wall of the building.

The man said something in an unfamiliar language while I clutched the heart that seemed to be leaping from my chest. "Oh dear god, you scared me. You shouldn't do that to people; you could give them a heart attack."

The shadowy figure was still for a moment, then moved out into the light. "My apologies, madam," he said in a voice heavy with an Icelandic accent. "I did not see you, either. Here are your things."