A FEAST OF DELIGHTS

 

 

Back at her trailer behind the lab, Jane rummaged through her drawers, hoping to find something that might come close to fitting Thor. She grabbed an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt and brought them into the lab and handed them to Thor. Nodding over her shoulder, she told him he could change in the back. Then she went to join Darcy.

A moment later, Thor walked back into the main part of the lab, bare-chested and holding the shirt in one hand. Jane’s mouth went dry.

“You know, for a crazy homeless guy, he’s pretty cut,” Darcy observed, glancing between Thor and Jane in amusement. She had worked for Jane only for a little while, but she had never seen her boss act like this. It made her seem less like a superscientist and more like a human being.

Walking over, Thor held up the shirt. A sticker on the front of it was peeling off. It read: HELLO, MY NAME IS DR. DONALD BLAKE.

Jane blushed and quickly ripped the sticker off. “My ex,” she explained. “They’re the only clothes I had that’ll fit you.”

Thor took the shirt back and put it on over his head. When he was fully dressed, he began to walk around the lab, glancing at the various schematics and drawings that covered the drawing boards and walls. He stopped in front of the collection of pictures from the storm Darcy had posted.

“What were you doing in that?” Jane asked, walking over and pointing to the picture in the center. Thor’s outline could clearly be seen floating in the middle of the cloud.

Thor looked closer and then shrugged. “What does anyone do in the Bifrost?” he said dismissively.

Bifrost? Jane wrote the word in her notebook. Why did that sound familiar? And why did Thor act as though this was nothing special? Who was he? She felt a tug in her gut, as though the answer were staring her in the face. But she shrugged it off. She probably just needed some sleep.

Thor, on the other hand, needed food. “This mortal form has grown weak,” he said.

A short while later, the four sat in a booth at the only diner in town. Thor hadn’t been kidding. He really was hungry. There was enough food on the table in front of him to feed the whole group. There was a platter of steak and eggs, a tall stack of pancakes, and a dozen biscuits covered with gravy. Thor scooped up a mouthful of eggs and downed it with a large swig of coffee. “This drink,” he said, “I like it.” Then he threw the mug down to the floor, shattering it and causing the other patrons to jump in their seats. “Another!”

Jane looked over at the diner’s owner and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Izzy,” she said. Then, turning back to Thor, she hissed, “What was that?”

“It was delicious,” Thor said. “I want another.”

He sounded like a petulant little boy. “Then you should just say so,” she instructed, embarrassed by Thor’s thoughtless behavior.

“I just did,” Thor replied, looking confused.

“I meant just ask for it,” she said.

As Thor took another bite of his pancakes, two locals entered the diner and took a seat at the counter. Jane had seen them around. Jake and Pete. They were known in Puente Antiguo for spending a bit too much time having fun. However, at the moment, they seemed calm. Smiling at Isabella, they ordered cups of coffee.

“You missed all the excitement out at the crater,” Jake said loud enough for Jane to hear.

Pete nodded excitedly. “They’re saying some kind of satellite crashed.”

At the mention of “satellite,” Selvig perked up. “What did it look like?” he asked, getting up and walking over.

“Don’t know nothing about the satellite,” Jake answered, “but it was heavy! Nobody could lift it.”

At that, Thor leaped to his feet, rattling the dishes and causing Jane to almost choke on her coffee. His eyes were wild as he rushed over and put his face right in Jake’s. “Where?” he demanded.

Jake gulped visibly and tried to back away from the strange man in front of him. “Uh—uh—about fifty miles west of here,” he said, his voice shaking.

Thor grinned. Jake and Pete looked like his expression scared them even more. “But, um, I wouldn’t bother,” Pete said. “Looked like the whole Army was coming in when we left!”

Turning, Thor walked out of the restaurant.

“Where are you going?” Jane asked, rushing after him. This guy was acting stranger and stranger. But she couldn’t risk letting him leave again. He still hadn’t helped her.

“To get what belongs to me,” Thor said. Then he stopped, as though it had just occurred to him that he had no idea where he was going. He looked at Jane. “If you take me there now, I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”

Jane raised an eyebrow. “Everything?”

“All the answers you seek will be yours—once I reclaim Mjolnir.”

“Mjolnir?” Jane repeated quietly. What was Mjolnir, and why did it sound like something Selvig would mutter when he was angry?

As if he could read her mind, Selvig pulled Jane aside. “Listen to what he’s saying,” Selvig insisted. “‘Thor.’ ‘Bifrost.’ ‘Mjolnir.’ These are the stories I grew up with as a child… in Scandinavia!”

Jane looked back and forth between the two men. True, Thor could maybe answer her questions, but Selvig had never let her down. Maybe he was right, maybe this was a fool’s errand. Maybe this “Thor” was just a delusional stranger who thought he was some kind of Viking.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I can’t take you.”

“I understand,” Thor said. “Then this is where we say good-bye.” Taking her hand, he raised it gently to his lips and, after bowing to the others, walked off.

Jane watched him go, and for the first time in a long time, she wondered if her heart was more powerful than her head.

“Now,” Selvig said. “Let’s get back to the lab. We have work to do.”