Worthy

Chapter Twenty

I woke the next morning in the dark having fallen asleep so early. My whole body was sore and I would have minded but each little ache reminded me of the previous night. I grabbed a blanket from the sofa and made myself a cup of coffee. Taking everything out onto the balcony, I curled up in a chair to enjoy the sounds of the slowly waking city in the early morning twilight. Eventually the sky lightened and my coffee ran out which drove me indoors for a refill and my book. I found Thor hunched over the dining room table writing in his notebook.

"You're up early." I commented.

Thor all but jumped out of his chair. "Yes, I didn't want to disturb you out there. You seemed peaceful." He closed his notebook quickly as I walked over.

"Working on therapy homework?"

"Yes, exactly that. Your mug is empty, let me get you more coffee." He took my mug and filled it as well as one for himself. "Valkyrie is on her way over." He called from the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm going to read my book on the balcony if you need me."

I returned to my cozy spot outside and watched him return to the table where he began writing quickly in his notebook again. Something was up, I could feel it in my bones, but I trusted him to tell me in his own time. Valkyrie arrived a little while later and she handed a small stack of wooden boxes to Thor which he quickly took down the hall. When he reemerged they stood, chatting easily together. I didn't want to interrupt their time, but Thor caught me glancing in at them and waved for me to join them.

"Hey, sorry. I didn't want to disturb you two." I apologized.

"Nonsense. Come in, I was just leaving anyway." Valkyrie assured me. "Thor here was telling me about these magnificent beasts you're buying. I can't wait to meet them. I miss riding so much and they sound amazing."

"You will absolutely love them. You'll have to come over once we're in. You two can go riding, Thor is looking forward to it as well."

"Do you ride?"

"Oh god no. Never. I'm sure I'll learn but they're just so huge, it's a little intimidating."

"I would think the taming of large wild beasts was your specialty the way this one acts." She poked Thor in the side and he playfully made a swing at her. They scuffled good naturedly for a moment before breaking up into a fit of laughter. It was good to see him happy like that. He might have lost his family but at least he still had good friends in his life. Unfortunately Valkyrie couldn't stay and Thor walked her out.

"Ready to go to the bank?" Thor called on his way back to the dining room.

"Sure," I agreed "They'll be open by the time we get there. Let me go get changed."

We were fortunate that Valkyrie had set everyone up at a large national bank with branches everywhere. The closest one to the Millennium was only 10 minutes away and the branch manager hurried us into his office as soon as we stepped through the door. He was young, in his late twenties, and kept smoothing his tie nervously.

"Welcome, please sit down." The manager said clearing papers from his desk. He probably didn't get high profile clients in his branch often as he was clearly flustered by our arrival. "Can I get you coffee, water?" he offered.

"No, we're fine thank you." I assured him.

Thor was straight to the point, "We're buying a house and need a better check than I have in my little book. And she needs a plastic card to use for my account."

"Not a problem, sir. Do you have your account information and ID?" the manager asked.

Thor handed him his checkbook, debit card, and passport.