Coffee and Books 1

Chapter 4

It's a very mild evening and I am sitting at our roof terrace. My aunt has put so many plants up here, it's almost like I'm sitting in Central Park. I just got up here a few minutes ago and I took my dinner with me, if you would call pizza dinner. But Lisa went over to Marc's house and I didn't want to cook dinner for one, so I ordered pizza.

I have a small light with me, allowing me to work on the crocheted blanket I am making for my future niece or nephew. My stepbrother Martin and his wife Hanna are expecting their first child in a couple of months. I just got off the computer after a Skype call with him. We're not really close, him being six years older than I am, but I talk to him at least every two weeks. He keeps me updated on life in Holland.
Today he could also tell me how my mom and stepfather are doing on their road trip. They're in an isolated part of Finland right now, so they don't have much access to the internet. I haven't talked to my mom in three weeks, except for some text messages and one email exchange about me breaking up with Chad.
It was nice to hear everything is ok and that they are enjoying the whole back to nature experience. My mom and stepdad both retired from their jobs a couple of months before I moved to the US. William owned a trucking company and my mom did his financial administration. Now Martin runs the company, with his dad helping him if necessary.

I chose mint green yarn for the blanket, as the sex of the baby is going to be a surprise for everyone. I figured mint green is fine for boys and girls. As I wrap the yarn around my hook, I look up at the ever present Stark Tower. It was Avengers Tower for a while, but then the Avengers' headquarters moved upstate. The building was for sale, but I guess they pulled the sale as it's still owned by Stark Industries. It's mostly offices now, as far as I know. Once, I spotted Iron Man landing on top of the tower. At least, I guess it was him. It was too small to be a plane anyway.

So according to Thor, him and some other people from Asgard are living in Stark Tower. I find myself wondering if one of the windows I can see from here is theirs. Who knows, maybe Loki is giving me that intense stare again, but now he's too far away for me to see.
If I'm honest, I'd really like to know more about him. Something about him fascinates me, maybe just because he is so totally different from Thor. The God of Thunder seems friendly and easy going, almost like an Australian surfer dude. Loki on the other hand... well, he is more of the dark, brooding type. And not related by blood to Thor, as Loki is supposed to be from another world than Asgard. He comes from a world of ice giants, called Jotunheim. But, there are so many stories. In the old days, people created stories about gods to explain things they couldn't understand. Now we have science to clear things up. So I'm guessing a lot of those stories aren't true, or at least wildly exaggerated.

The next morning I'm up for the early shift and the day starts out with my ex-boyfriend Chad showing up again. He's coming in for morning coffee and when I put the coffee in front of him, he touches my arm before I can turn away from his table.
"Wait a minute, Ylva. I want to talk to you," he says, giving me a disarming smile.

"What about?" I ask, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"I know we didn't part on good terms, but I've always really enjoyed hanging out with you. I'd like us to be friends. Why don't we take our camera's out and go for a stroll this weekend? Just as friends."
He looks up at me with expectation. I can see he means what he says. For now anyway. I have always enjoyed going for a walk with him, taking our camera's with us. I don't have my own gear, but I borrowed Lisa's SLR for the photography course. Chad has quite the set up, at least two cameras and multiple lenses. I always joked he looked like a paparazzi with that huge lense sticking out in front of him.

He is asking nicely and part of me wants to take him up on his offer. But there's an even bigger part telling me he is no good. Not for me anyway. He hurt my feelings, he hurt my pride. For that I'm still mad. So I shake my head at him. "Sorry Chad, I don't think that's a good idea. Have a nice day."