Love on Iceland
Chloe loves her job as a story producer for Racket, a Chicago-based podcast network, but she doesn't see it as her life work. A workaholic who needs to be in control and organized in planning everything, she believes she needs a break from work to reenergize her thoughts when her boss Rick wants some new podcast ideas on his desk in two weeks in the new year. When her best friend Isabella suggests a vacation with the old crowd from college, Chloe counters that instead of a beach getaway doing nothing, they go to Iceland, spurred in her mind by a podcast guest who reminded Chloe of herself and who talked about the experience of Iceland as being transformative. In for the trip is New York based Kenneth and his wife Erin, who Chloe and Isabella only met at their wedding, but Chloe in particular doesn't plan on asking Charlie, her college sweetheart, not only because of their past relationship, but in being a travel photographer he constantly traveling the world on assignment and probably not available. Chloe and Charlie broke up when they realized they wanted different things in life, Chloe's life which includes some sense of grounding, while Charlie has a sense of wanderlust. Kenneth takes it upon himself to arrange two things for them that surprise Chloe upon their arrival in Iceland: he has hired a tour guide, Johann, so that Chloe doesn't have to take it upon herself to act as tour guide herself; and he managed to get a hold of Charlie, who is at Reykjavik Airport shortly after they arrive. The Iceland experience does end up reenergizing her thoughts, the locale which may be just as much in play as reuniting with Charlie with who there are still obvious sparks. The questions becomes if anything has changed between the two of them that would make a second time around work for them, or if the presence of a handsome Icelandic tour guide plays into Chloe's future. —Huggo
