Coffee and Books 1

Chapter 29

Getting in touch with Astera turns out to be rather difficult. At least, more difficult than I'm used to in this digital age. She doesn't have a phone, an email address, or a Facebook account for that matter. But, I found the address of the apartment complex on the internet, so I get in touch the old fashioned way: I write her a card.
A couple of days later she writes me back, inviting me to come over to her place this sunday. My mom has talked to her brother-in-law and his wife before she went back to Holland, so they are ok with me visiting Astera at the Asgardian apartment complex. It's in a quiet neighbourhood in Queens, near Corona Park.

It's just a little walk from the subway station. On my way to the apartment complex I spot the Unisphere, the big metal globe in Corona Park. I know that thing has something to do with Stark senior, but I can't be bothered to remember. I'm excited to see Astera again. And I brought muffins for a whole football team, so we can share.

I open up the gate to the complex, which is a U-shaped building, two stories high. If you step through the gate you come into a tiled courtyard, which crosses over in a mini park that resembles the Garden of Eden.
Inside, I wonder where to go next. When I send Astera the card I did not address it to a specific apartment, thinking they all know each other, so it would end up by the right person eventually. But now I'm here, I don't know in which apartment Astera lives.

In the garden I spot a woman who is pulling out weeds. Maybe she can tell me where I can find my friend. The woman gets up when I near her, but it turns out she doesn't speak English. I think she does understand I am looking for Astera, however, her answer is in a foreign language.
"I'm sorry, I can't understand you," I tell her.

The woman reacts by taking my hand and she leads me to the second floor of the apartments. We stop in front of a red door. "Astera," the woman says, gesturing to the door.

I thank her and knock on the door.

Astera shares the two bedroom apartment with Tova. It's small, but the girls made it a cosy home. Tova turns out to be quite the knitter and crocheter, covering nearly every surface with her handywork. She is way better than me, I think, admiring the afghan over the back of the couch. "You know, you could sell your work," I tell her. "I think people would be really interested."

"I do not have shop," she answers, looking up from the sweater she is knitting.

"That's easily remedied, you could open up a webshop. On the internet."
That just gets a puzzled look from Tova. The Asgardians are not big on technology, at least not Earth tech. So I tell her I will bring my laptop the next time, so I can show her the possibilities.

The girls decide to throw a little party when they see the muffins I brought. So we get some tables and chairs in the courtyard and it turns into a 'bring your own' gathering. There's fruit from the garden, Brunnhyld has baked an apple pie and she is not the only one who was busy in the kitchen today.

There are several Asgardians who speak English on a basic to moderate level. One of them, who I remember as the male cook I met at Stark Tower, tells me they are following classes every week. He is kind enough to tell me his name again, because I didn't remember the name Ivar from last time. He tells me he works in the kitchen of a nursery home nearby, so does the female cook whose name is Hilda.
There are more Asgardians working in public jobs. The ones without a job do volunteer work at the local community center, homeschool the Asgardian kids and work maintenance at the apartment complex.

I'm really having a good time. The Asgardians are friendly people with a somewhat old fashioned etiquette, at least according to modern Earth standards. But that's what I like about Thor and Loki too, it's nice being called a lady and to be treated like one.
Remembering how I felt like a lady in that gorgeous green dress, I take a seat next to Brunnhyld. "That apple pie is delicious, did you make it with apples from this garden?"

The seamstress nods. "Yes, I picked them myself."

I thank her again for making my dress for the gala. "I felt so beautiful in it! I'm really sorry the dress got ruined when I was in the hospital. The doctors cut it open because they thought I broke something."

"Don't worry, I can always make a new dress. There is only one you." Brunnhyld places a hand on my arm. "I am sorry you got hurt. The attack was meant for Asgard, but there were other people in that car too."

"It's ok. I don't blame you guys. Some stupid humans did this, not Asgard." I hesitate for a second. "My family kind of blames Loki. And Thor too. They think it's dangerous for me to be around them."

"Well... prince Loki is a trickster. It's hard to trust him, he usually only looks out for himself. But, he would not wilfully bring harm to the people of Asgard. Or to you."
Brunnhyld smiles at me. "It's too bad his mother never got the chance to meet you. She would've liked seeing him happy."

I can feel my cheeks turn red. I've got the feeling everyone in Asgard sees me as Loki's girlfriend. It's a small community, so I assume they keep a close eye on each other, including their prince. I can't imagine Loki talking about his love life, so I guess they just draw their own conclusions from what they see and hear.

When most of the food is eaten, it's time for games. In Asgard they used to play a lot of card games, with cards similar to ours. They play in pairs, or in small groups of four or five people. Ivar brings out something that looks like a checkers board. The game is indeed a lot like checkers and the cook teaches me how to play it. The name of the game is loosely translated to 'Game of Guards'. He wins the first two rounds, before Astera takes over.

"Not fair, he is champion," she explains. The cook just smiles at her words and lets us play the game. Astera wins too at first, but the last game is for me.

"Have you seen Loki?" I ask her when we put the game to the side.

She shakes her head in response. "Thor here last week for council meeting. Not Loki."

"Council meeting?"
Astera explains to me there is a council of elders that represents the people of Asgard. Right now, the main goal is to find the Asgardians a new home. A permanent one. I remember what Loki told me about it. "Norway wants to give you a home, right?" I ask her.

Astera grimaces. "Maybe not. They scared because of attack with rocket."
It pains me to hear that stupid attack has so much consequences. I had only bothered with the consequences it had for me personally, but I can imagine the attack did the Asgardian case not much good. You don't want to invite trouble to your home.

"Do you want to move to Norway?" I ask Astera.

"I do not know. I like this city. I think Norway is very quiet. But I want to be with my people too."

"I get it. New York is really something else. It's a whole other world than the Scandinavian countryside."

At the end of the afternoon it's time to clean up. I help as much as I can, but because of my shoulder I'm not of much use carrying heavy things. So Astera simply tells me to go for a walk in the garden while she and the others put everything away. She takes up a tray full of dishes to bring upstairs and sends me off. "Go explore. I'll find you later."

Author's note:
The painting is called 'After the hunt' and is made by the 18th century painter Carle or Charles-Andre van Loo.