Goddess v2.0

Chapter Three

Dov awoke with a yawn and blinked as his eyes adjusted to spring's late morning sunlight streaming in from a wide window to his right. He arched his back, adjusting his skewed shirt, and discovered he was seated on a hardwood floor propped against an iron-frame bed. Dov then noticed a weight on his left thigh, and a dense fleece-wrapped arm draped around his neck. Dov glanced at his salt-crusted jeans as the weight shifted with a brief snore. He found Krista in a sleeveless shirt and short skirt bundled beside him, using her leather jacket as a cushion and his leg as a pillow, with her blonde mane fanned over his lap.

'Dov awake?' a soft voice asked.

Dov peered over his right shoulder to find Freyja in an oversized Army track-top lying by the mattress' edge, with a silk sheet pulled up to her shoulders. 'Good morning, Freyja. I am awake.'

A gentle smile formed on Freyja's olive features. 'Dov sleep good?'

Dov nodded.

Freyja's luminous eyes flickered to Dov's lap. 'Krista sleep good?'

'Yeah, I guess,' Dov replied. 'Freyja have a good sleep?'

'I not sleep,' Freyja said.

'Oh,' Dov sighed. 'Did many words return, cause pain again?'

'Krista say I hold Dov and words not hurt,' Freyja replied.

'Glad she remembered that part.' Dov's gaze drifted around the white-stone room to find a writing desk beneath the window to his right, a vanity dresser with a leather chair hosting his Army Berghaus set against the opposite wall, and the wall to his left occupied by an oak door and a wardrobe. The flank of an ornate bookcase, with a dust-covered violin case perched on its top, stood before the bed. 'I guess this is Krista's bedroom. I don't remember much of the car trip, or arriving here.'

'Such a forgetful Commando,' a voice mocked from below.

Dov glanced down as the blonde girl shuffled onto her back with her eyes fixed on him. 'Good morning, Krista.'

'Shabbat shalom, Dov and Freyja,' Krista replied. 'Should I enlighten Mister Sleepyhead?'

Dov groaned. 'Please.'

'Last night we shared three hamburgers in the car, Freyja had the rest, then ten minutes out of Tel Aviv you nodded off.' Krista stretched and yawned. 'I woke you at Be'er Sheva, and you resisted sleep until we reached Karen's villa. Pol guided you and Freyja up the steps, and I followed with the pack.'

'So Polanski knows we're here.' Dov's attention returned to Freyja. 'Do you wish to sleep, now I am awake?'

'I not tired,' Freyja replied.

'Are you hungry?' Dov asked.

Krista laughed. 'After five hamburgers?'

Freyja shook her head. 'Dov hungry?'

'Itchy,' Dov replied. 'The ocean was very salty. Maybe we should shower, have some coffee, then–'

'Boys have coffee,' Krista grunted as she rocked upright. 'They're forbidden from my room.'

'Fine, tea.' Dov huffed. 'Then we find Polanski and Karen, and plan the day.'

'Any suggestions?' Krista asked.

Dov twisted around to Freyja, guiding her arm to her side. 'How about we explore Karen's villa, learn about–'

A deep gurgle rumbled out from Freyja's hidden midriff and her olive features reddened. 'Uh, stomach...strange.'

'The hamburgers.' Dov climbed to his feet. 'Okay, Krista, guide Freyja to one bathroom, and point me to another?'

'Dah,' Krista said as Dov peeled back Freyja's sheet. 'Can you stay for the first part?'