No dreams came. No Thor. Not even nightmares. Loki sobbed for a full week after Father Sheldon's death. He yelled and screamed at the orb as if it could answer him. As if it could confess. He hid his behavior from his housekeeper Jenny. The funeral came on a Sunday at St. Vincent's in Ashleyville. In a sea of strangers he was a strange face, known only to others as 'the guy whose house Father Sheldon died in'. The ordeal left Loki drained and depressed.
Another week passed. No dreams. No Thor, nothing but Loki alone with his misery and Jenny hovering in the background. She was his only human contact most days and she began to worry for him. October came and the weather turned cold. The summertime purple in the field gave over to green and then light brown. Leaves withered and crunched beneath heavy booted feet. The house was dormant it seemed. Loki's melancholy turned to heartache as each night came and went with no contact from Thor. He began to wonder if Thor only existed inside his head.
"Get up. You're taking a shower now. You have guests coming." Jenny ordered like a drill sergeant.
"Someone booked a room?" Loki did not hide the panic in his voice very well.
"No. I've invited some of my friends over and you, me, and they are all going to get rip roaring drunk and watch funny movies."
"What? Jenny I can't…"
"Can't what? Become a suicidal hermit? I know this is the slow season, but this place is beginning to develop a reputation. People are starting to call this place 'The Death House'. You need to do damage control now! Now I know you've survived some fucked up shit and you've only had a handful of guests and two of them have died here but you need to fight back. I started with something small. Three of my friends are coming over. They're bringing pizza so you don't have to cook. I told them we'd tap your alcohol stash but that they need to behave. You need to get out of this funk you're in and join the human race. They are coming over and you are not hiding."
Loki wanted to yell at her. He wanted to scream and shout and say 'how dare you' and 'this is my house' and every other angry thing that came to mind. But he was also tired. He didn't want to be sad or lonely or afraid anymore. And what could he say to justify his response? That people are right? That this is the death house and beware this wretched place? She'd think him insane for sure. Loki was already considering that might be a real possibility. "Okay."
"Good. If things go well tonight and you break out of your shell, we can move on to something bigger. Halloween is coming up and I think you need to throw a party. It will give the people in town a chance to see inside "The Death House" and help put rumors to rest. Plus it'll drum up business."
"I don't think we should."
"You know I'm right…BOSS. I've run out of things to dust and I would very much like to keep my job, so get off your ass."
"Yes ma'am." Loki marched downstairs and did as he was told. He felt at war with himself. He didn't want to be responsible for any more deaths, but then maybe Father Sheldon's blessing had worked. Or maybe Loki had managed to damage the orb in some unseen way? This past month since Father Sheldon's death has been so uneventful, but then again he hadn't had any customers. And then there is Jenny. She comes here every day and nothing ever happens to her. What if all this really is in his head?
He stepped out of the shower and put on some real clothes instead of just sweats. He looked at his empty unmade bed and longed to be in Thor's arms. He wondered if he had somehow harmed Thor by trying to destroy the orb and worried that he would never see his golden lover again.
The doorbell rand and Loki ran up the stairs to greet Jenny's friends.
"Hey hey! Pizza is here!" Josh announced as he entered Loki's home. Mark and Julie filed in behind him and each gave Jenny a generous hug. Mark and Josh both looked like the athletic frat boy types Loki avoided in college.
"Hey man. Nice to meet you. Your house is amazing. I've been wanting to see the inside of this place for months." Mark said.
"Thanks." Loki said.
"The living room is over here guys. We can all plop down on these big puffy couches and put the movie in. I'll go grab some beers from the fridge."
"Hey ah, Jenny was telling us about you. I'm sorry for your loss man." Josh said.
"Thank you." Loki swallowed hard and looked at the ground. For a moment he thought he was talking about Thor.
"So what are we watching?" Julie asked her friends.
"Robin Williams stand up. He did it on Broadway a few years back. It's supposed to be really funny." Josh said. Jenny came back from the kitchen with beer and paper plates. The pizza was set down on the coffee table and the DVD was shoved into the player. Loki settled in with a beer and a slice to watch the show. Jenny sat next to him. He felt nervous at first, having these people in his house and for a multitude of reasons. However, the brilliance of Robin Williams had Loki laughing like a hyena within five minutes. It started with make chuckles, then high pitched giggles, and then full roars of laughter. The beer kicked in and Loki's face flushed red. Robin had been in rare form when he did this show. He whipped out jokes so fast Loki was missing some of them between his bouts of laughter.
Jenny kept looking at Loki and smiling, relief etched in her features. He looked so beautiful when he smiled. He hasn't done it in so long. The wonderful buzz Loki developed melted all his worry away. He continued drinking as the show went, finishing his fifth beer by the time the movie was over. Loki could barely keep his eyes open by then.
"He looks like he's done Jenny." Josh said.
"Yeah, I think so too. Loki? Hey boss. You able to make it down the stairs to your room?" She nudged at his shoulder gently. Loki didn't say anything but he tried to stand up only to sit right back down again.
"I'll get him." Josh said. He was a big dude and knew he could lift Loki easily. He slung one of Loki's arms over his shoulder and grabbed him by the waist.
"Okay man. Don't fall on me okay?" He helped Loki limp down the narrow basement stairs, made more so by having two people sharing the same step. Josh went through one door and then another, finding Loki's bed. He helped Loki shift up into bed and was pulled down for a beer flavored kiss.
"Whoa! I'm not Jenny guy."
"Mmmm Thor…. I've missed you." Loki mumbled. Josh had to stifle a snicker.
"I'm not Thor either man." He shook his head. "Jenny is going to be so pissed!" The young man ran back up the stairs to his friends.
"Well, it was fun. Um, tell your boss we said thank you for the beer when he comes to, eh?"
"Thank you guys for coming over. I know he didn't interact much but just doing something this normal is so rare for him. It was good."
"He needs a girlfriend Jenny. You could help him with that you know." Julie said.
"Believe me I've tried. He never looks at me like that."
"That's because he's your boss. He's not supposed to. Sexual harassment and all that. He's probably afraid you'll sue him."
"I didn't think of that. You are probably right." Jenny said. Josh got a peculiar grin on his face.
"What?" Jenny asked.
"So…ah…he's not dating anybody?"
"No."
"You sure about that? Nobody coming and going after you get off work?"
"Not that I know of. Just the guests. Why?"
"Nothing." Josh said.
"Wait a minute! What do you know?"
"Nothing." Josh repeated. He wasn't about to cop to the little kiss that just happened downstairs.
"You know something."
"No I don't."
"Yes you do, now out with it."
"Nothing, I just… I think he's gay."
"Oh he is not! You think that about anybody with even a little bit of class." Jenny argued.
"I don't know Jenny. I think Josh is right. He's young, rich, and not ugly. Why isn't he waist deep in pootang?" Mark added.
"He's been through a lot. You know that. I told you." Jenny said.
"I don't know Jenny. If it were me, I'd fuck the pain away because I could."
"You're a pig." Jenny said. Mark made an oinking sound as he turned to leave the house.
"Night Jenny." Julie said.
"Night guys. Call me tomorrow."
"Night Jen." They said. Jenny shut the door and locked it. She decided to spend the night here in the house with Loki to make sure he was okay. She stood there and debated on whether to crash upstairs, downstairs, or on the couch in the living room. She wanted to sleep in one of the lavish rooms upstairs but if she did that then she'd have to clean the room and change the sheets. She didn't like the couch. That left sleeping next to Loki in his bed with him.
"I shouldn't do that." She said out loud, but she'd never been one to follow her own advice. She went downstairs to the basement and Loki's personal private living space. She felt weird being here. She was definitely crossing a line. She never went passed the laundry machines at the bottom of the steps. She took her shoes off and crept into his room.
Loki looked so gorgeous lying there. Jenny had imagined him making love to her numerous times. In all her fantasies he was her prince charming and this house their castle. She was Cinderella and Loki would sweep her off her feet and tell her she was what he'd been waiting for. She crawled into bed beside him and curled up against his dozing frame. He didn't stir in the slightest as she jostled the mattress. She knew she shouldn't but he was out cold and wouldn't remember anyway. She risked a kiss. She palmed his cheek to angle his face a little better and licked his lips before sliding a tongue inside his mouth. Loki didn't reciprocate. He was too deep in sleep. He tasted like beer and pizza but she didn't care. She rested her head on his beating chest and fell asleep listening to the peaceful rhythm.