Chapter Two

Had some lyrics from a song written in,but here I'll just post a link to the song.

Heidevolk - Nehalennia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBpDom4QWHE This is what Alrik is listening to when he enters the story.

Enjoy!

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Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday passed in a blur. Calypso was almost upset that her house hadn’t been overrun with house guests. Friday came with the unfortunate accident involving a sheep dog being brought in to the vet. But once the crisis had passed she was able to relax. She made a visible effort to talk to the pet’s owners and reassure them without the usual small talk. Calypso found people would feel more comfortable in a situation if they were able to laugh. And the dog may have a limp but he was energetic and seemed unfazed, which made her job easier. Once the owners and their dog left Calypso felt all the tension leave her body.

“Poor little guy” she said softly as she leaned against the front counter.

The receptionist nodded and gave his own relieved smile. He stood towering over Calypso, but he was like a big teddy bear and the animals would flock to him.

“I think I’ll go outside for a quick break. I won’t be long, Bill” she said, wanting to get some fresh air.

“Alright, Cal. Just don’t wander far” he laughed.

 

Calypso stood outside looking up at the sky. It hadn’t been the most stressful day, but she would’ve hated having to amputate the dog’s leg. The wound on its back left leg had been pretty deep and it didn’t look like a bite. But the owners insisted they didn’t know the cause. Calypso ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. It was definitely not her favorite part of being a vet, but she couldn’t see herself doing anything else. Calypso steeled herself to go back inside then heard familiar barks. Turning she saw a group of pugs and a Welsh Corgi  racing towards her. Excitement surrounded her as soon as they did. Laughing she knelt down to give them each individual pats.

“Good to see I caught you” said Mr. Hastings.

Calypso snapped her fingers and pretended to groan.

“Just before my lunch break” she replied.

Mr. Hastings chuckled; he was a good-natured elderly man who didn’t mind her humor.

“Just their regular checkup then?” Calypso asked, standing.

Mr. Hastings nodded and Calypso opened the door, letting the dogs go first.

 

Thankfully, the rest of the day passed much like the rest of the week. When she could finally call it a night, Calypso was tempted to dance but Bill was there. Guessing her thoughts he playfully covered his eyes and they both started to leave. Calypso threw on her sweater over her scrubs and locked the doors. Calypso and Bill said their goodbyes, and then walked to their cars. Calypso waved once more through the window as she left the parking lot. On the way home she brought a guilty snack and rented an action movie. Thoughts of falling into a warm bed made her smile and hum along with otherwise annoying Christmas music. Even slow traffic as everyone headed home couldn’t put a damper on her mood. A smile stayed plastered on her face until she was almost home and she noticed a bright green RV parked halfway on her lawn. Not only did it offend her eyes, but Calypso was sure that broke some kind of law. And she was going to break more once she got ahold of Raven.

Swerving around the RV and parking in the driveway, Calypso jumped out of her jeep as it slowed to a stop. Which was a feat considering it was actually a long jump for her.

She stormed to the door and banged on it, shouting, “Raven! Get out here!”

 

The door opened to reveal Raven with an armful of fake snow and decorations.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” she asked, glaring.

Before Raven could answer his wife, Mona, peeked down the steps. A wide smile showed off her great teeth and Calypso couldn’t help a small pang of jealousy. Where she was short with rebellious hair, Mona was 5’8 with flawless brown skin and silky black hair.

“You’re house is so plain, Calypso! We’re gonna help” she spoke with a child-like enthusiasm.

Calypso’s glare deepened, but it had no effect.

“I have to work on that” she thought to herself, resisting the urge to close the door on them and declare her yard off-limits.

Raven bobbed his head in agreement, causing his brown hair to sway wildly. He looked like your typical mad scientist, and if you gave him enough time he’d probably experiment on something. Calypso, and any sane woman, was happy to let Mona deal with him.

“There’s a ladder in the shed. Please be quick about it” she said in defeat.

Raven moved passed her, strutting and whistling as he went to complete his task.

“Should we help?” Calypso asked, a little worried to let Raven go unsupervised.

“Don’t worry, Alrik will be here soon enough” Mona said, inviting Calypso inside.

“That makes me worry” Calypso muttered as she walked up the steps.

 

Once inside Calypso’s mouth dropped.

“How did they fit all this in here?” she asked walking around.

There were cognac maple wood cabinets, side by side refrigerators, Corian countertops, 24 inch LCD TV and dvd player in the bedroom, tile floor, a 30 inch microwave/convection oven, and a home theater system with a subwoofer. Not to mention the stand-up shower. It was times like this that Calypso considered becoming a lawyer, it was working really well for Mona. She turned to see Mona sitting with her legs folded beneath her on a beige recliner, her white dress skirt ending just below her knees.

“Hell, this is almost better than what I have” Calypso thought as she sat across from her.

“So what changed?”

Mona shrugged and took a sip of coffee, nervously smoothing out her red blouse.

“I was a little against it at first, but if Raven insists on traveling across country I want to be comfortable at least. And the way he invites every wayward soul inside I’m glad for the room” she said, a slightly self-conscious smile fluttering on her lips.

“Oh, I’m not judging at all….if you let me sleep here once in a while” Calypso laughed, half-joking. “Besides everyone needs to splurge now and then”.

“I’m glad you understand” Mona said, relieved.

Calypso waved her hands dismissively and smiled. Kicking her feet up on the couch she was fully prepared to relax. Mona even offered to get her a drink and was on her way to getting it when they were both jarred to alertness when metal came blaring through the neighborhood.

 

“Damn it! Someone’s going to call the police” Calypso shouted as she rushed out the door.

Mona was close behind, just as mad. Alrik pulled into the driveway and Calypso shook her fist at him. As expected he just laughed, but did turn off the music. Getting out of his Honda, Alrik reminded Calypso of clowns getting out of their car. He was easily 6’4 and over 200 pounds, earning his nickname of the Norse bear. He wore a wool shirt over a long sleeve, thermal shirt and water-resistant pants. Calypso assumed he wore a pair of long johns underneath. He also had on brown gloves and a snow hat that covered his ears. It was a wonder how he managed to get his mane of orange hair tied down.

“Really?” she asked, hands on her hips.

Alrik grinned sheepishly and said, “You can’t keep good music reigned in, it’s beyond my control”.

Mona snorted but couldn’t help smiling, which she tried covering when Calypso looked at her.

“You almost made me spill cider all over the counter” she said with a forcefully straight face.

Mona crossed her arms, trying to remain mad. Alrik held his hands behind his back and dug the toe of his boot into the dirt.

“I’m sorry” he mumbled.

Calypso threw her arms up in exasperation and turned just in time to see Raven try leaning the ladder against the house. Only to have it slip from his grasp and crash against the wall.

“It hasn’t even been five minutes and there’s a hole now” Calypso thought in despair.

Mona whispered a quick apology then immediately stormed over to scold Raven.

“What was he trying to do?” Alrik asked.

Risking more damage to her house, blue seemed like such an appropriate color for it at the moment, Calypso told Alrik how Raven was supposed to be putting up lights. Alrik laughed unabashedly and patted Calypso on the shoulder.

“Don’t be too mad about it. How about this? I make up for the music incident by helping out. I can’t do much worse than that can I?” he asked pointing.

Calypso was too surprised he even asked that, that she just stood gaping at him as he went over to ‘help’.

Forcing herself to move she walked to the front door and, before opening it, she said, “You’re paying for anything you break”.

Mona slapped Raven on the head once before following Calypso inside.

 

After twenty minutes had passed, and both women had calmed down, they went outside to see lights framed the door and windows. Alrik had even wrapped them around the storm drain, a proud grin on his face as they admired it.

“Shouldn’t be too much longer, we’ll have the snow along the gutter. Raven’s lining the veranda right now. If you don’t mind” he said.

Placing her hands on her temple Calypso replied, “As long as I have a house when this is over, I don’t mind”.

Faking panic, Alrik made a show of gingerly stepping away from Calypso’s potted plants. She shook her fist at him again, but laughed as she did it. Mona suggested they go check on Raven and Calypso agreed. She was afraid to see what how he’d wrecked the backyard, sending up fervent prayers that she wouldn’t have to kill her friend’s husband. Calypso almost passed out with relief when she saw nothing was out of place. Raven had managed to hang up lights without crashing through the sliding doors. Again.  He stood with his hands shoved in the pockets of his red, fleece jacket and his head slightly ducked. Brushing hair out of his eyes, he gave Calypso an apologetic smile.

“Okay, things are fine out here. I guess we can start on dinner now. Don’t want Grandma Vera and Grandma Norma to be upset when they arrive” Mona said, rolling her eyes.

Calypso could already hear it. “Young girls don’t know how to cook anymore” would be Grandma Vera’s snarky comment. To which she would reply “Well, microwaves are better now” and the s**t would break the fan. Suppressing the urge to laugh, she walked inside with Mona. Their arms linked as they both shared their horror stories of sharing the kitchen with either of the elderly ladies.