A Big Girl comes into his life

by Claidheamh Mohr

An Investigator for the Museum of Cryptozoology gets lost in the Canadian woods and meets a girl. A frost giant's daughter, here are their adventures.

115. Chapter 115

Los Angeles Stopover

Around noontime on July 1st, the Van Nuys airport ground crew and a few vintage aircraft enthusiasts were treated to the sight of a refurbished Martin Mariner coming in for a landing from Portland, Oregon.

Painted all in white with a bright blue 'Museum of Cryptozoology' logo on its bulky fuselage.

The large, former anti-submarine patrol plane known as 'Moby Dick' settled almost daintily onto the tire marked concrete runway.

One of the older airplane enthusiasts lowered his expensive camera briefly and commented,"There's a woman at the controls, no doubt."

"Why do you say that?" asked his ever so patient wife of many years.

He grinned at her and replied, "Two reasons, one, the way that bird landed, female pilots don't like breaking their airplanes, it upsets them. And two, I got her picture!"

He held up his fancy camera with its big lens and showed her the last shot he took through the view screen.

Sitting in the pilot's seat was an attractive young woman with her red-gold hair barely restrained by her head phones.

Strategically parked so that he could get more shots as the newly arrived airplanes taxied past his position, he raised his camera and fired off a few more shots of the bulky amphibious aircraft as it taxied past them.

His eyes followed the plane to where he saw it pull off to the right side and soon after, shut off its engines.

He grinned at his very patient wife and declared, "I wanna closer look!"

She rolled her almond shaped brown eyes and replied, "And I'll be right here!"

He smiled at his wife of fifty odd years and sped off on his motorized scooter at a dizzying 15 MPH , considerably faster than it was meant to go.

Their grandson was pretty clever with his hands and the two of them had souped it up to perform more to his liking.

She smiled at the memory of the brash, young American airman she'd met while out shopping with her two sisters and knew at once, he was going to be her husband.

He rolled to a stop and began taking more pictures, he paused a moment when the passenger door opened and a tall, rangy white man with sandy hair and sun burnt features, stepped down and turned to help the next passenger, a pretty, young Japanese woman with American body language.

She handed him her luggage and hopped off the plane in a most un Japanese like manner.

Yep, she was an American all right, thought the older man with his fancy camera.

Next came a tiny, doll like Filipina who giggled as she handed her bags to the tall man.

The older man smiled to himself, she reminded him of that tiny heartbreaker he'd fallen in love with, so long ago.

The little heart breaker who, by a miracle, had loved him back and gave him three children and over fifty years of happiness.

The last person came out all bent over to clear the doorway and when she straightened up, he almost forgot his camera.

She was taller than anyone he had ever seen before and when she too, stepped down, she stood about three feet taller than the tall white man at the foot of the steps and was twice as tall as the little Filipina.

Remembering his camera at last, he fired off about a dozen shots of the four of them standing alongside the massive Martin Mariner.

Moments later, a black Mercedes-Benz passenger van pulled up and they climbed inside before it sped off into the distance.

Having watched it disappear, the older man rolled back to his own van and his very patient wife, the little Filipina he'd fallen in love with so many years ago.

She smiled at him and asked coyly, "Was it nicer up close?"

He exclaimed, "Wait'll you see the pictures I took." and chuckled as he loaded his scooter onto its platform and raised it back into place.

Hobbling over to her, he suddenly took her into his arms and kissed her quite soundly.

When their lips reluctantly parted he murmured, "I just wanted to remind you of how much I love you!"

She grinned at him and replied teasingly, "As if I could ever forget that bold, young American who accosted me while I was out shopping with my sisters!"

He grinned and retorted, "I couldn't help myself, you were the cutest girl I'd ever seen and I just had to say hello!"

As they drove home, she was looking at the photos he had taken that day.

Most of them were easily forgettable shots of commercial airliners passing by, it was the photos of the Martin Mariner up close, that got her attention.

Especially the ones with all of them standing together while waiting for the van.

The tall white man was her own husband's height when he was young and stood tall and proud.

The Filipina was her own height of 4 foot 6 inches, a height difference her sisters teased her about at first and still did sometimes.

It was the big girl that made her pause.

With her red-gold hair and Norse goddess looks, she resembled a giantess from one of her husband's books on Vikings.

She stood at least three feet taller than the man and was twice the height of the little Filipina.

She glanced at her husband of over half a century and remarked,"I can see why you wanted a closer look, that girl is a giant!"

He grinned and replied,"I've actually heard of her, she's a 17 year old high school senior up at Portland, Oregon and is the world's tallest pilot at nine feet two inches tall."

She momentarily gaped and muttered, "Every really tall person I've ever seen usually had problems walking and needed a cane or something. She seems quite able to me."

He smiled at his diminutive wife and replied,"Her people are the frost giants of Norse mythology, apparently her height is about average among her people. She seems so unusual because she is living down here, instead of up in Canada with the rest of her people."

He grinned at her and said cheerfully, "That little Filipina sure reminded me of you when I first saw you so long ago!"

"That would explain the big kiss!" She said drily.

He merely smiled at her in reply.

Roger and the others settled into their seats as the tall van driven by Sheila Ericcson, a friend of theirs and erstwhile Claymore warrior, easily maneuvered through the busy Los Angeles traffic from Van Nuys airport to Anna Karlsen's house above old Hollywood.

Anna's house was a nicely restored, Queen Anne style two story house that loomed over the smaller and newer houses, crowded around it and also perched on the hills overlooking the city.

The neighbors had grown accustomed to seeing unusual looking people visiting Anna at odd hours.

After all, it wasn't every neighborhood that could boast of having a genuine, eccentric author of popular Gothic romance novels, living amongst its denizens.

This time, they were treated to the sight of a nine foot two inch tall young woman with red-gold hair, confined into two thick braids hanging nearly to her supple waist, exiting the van and entering the author's house.

The tall, lean, sunburnt, sandy haired white man, the pretty Japanese girl, the tiny, very cute Filipina and the tall, athletic, pale skinned woman with long, flaxen hair and silvery grey eyes, went virtually unnoticed alongside the towering beauty with the Norse goddess looks.

Anna greeted them at the door.

Roger and Freya each received big hugs and kisses as she said cheerfully,"Welcome to my home and this time, you are the guests!"

Anna smiled at Lorna and Christina while shaking their hands and saying, "A pleasure to see you again, any friends of theirs, are friends of mine."

Sheila grinned and said, "I made sure to pick them up instead of Helen, not sure if they're ready for her style of driving, just yet."

Roger and Anna simply smiled knowingly to which Freya asked,"Ah take it ye twa know thes Helen she spoke ay?"

Roger grinned at his enormous companion and replied mildly, "Helen is one of Sheila's oldest friends and one hell of a lady with a heart of gold. She and I dated briefly and parted as friends, I would go to her aid without hesitation because I know she would do the same for me. That said, the only drawback is she loves driving very fast and is one of the best rally drivers in the world. A ride with her at the wheel is truly an adventure. You ought to remember her, we met her and her friend Deneve on that first flight we took to Texas to get our plane."

Freya thought very briefly and smiled, "Ah remember her noo, she was wi' 'at other blonde oan th' flight, th' one wi' th' short hair."

"That would be Deneve, her oldest friend and companion."

Lorna commented drily, "I'm guessing we dodged a bullet? This Helen sounds like quite the character!"

Sheila merely smiled and replied, "You could say that. I love Helen very dearly, but her driving does make even me, a bit nervous."

Christina looked up at the silvery gray eyed Sheila standing some two feet taller than her and remarked, "She must be some kinda driver if she makes someone like you, nervous."

Sheila smiled at her remark and replied, "Ask my friend Susana what she thought of Helen's driving when we rushed her to the hospital."

At Christina's puzzled look, the towering beauty grinned and commented, "She still claims Helen scared her out of five years of her lifetime!"

Anna smiled at the mention of Susana's name and said, "Sheila? Perhaps you could ask her to to show our guests a good place to eat?"

Lorna grinned and piped up, "My cousins down here have a ramen shop in Little Tokyo, we could go there if you'd like!"

Sheila just laughed and called her diminutive friend.

Twenty minutes later, Susana arrived along with her 'annoying' younger brother in tow.

The two of them came inside to be introduced to Anna's friends from Oregon.

Susana grinned as she shook hands with Christina and said merrily, "Wow, I'm no longer the smallest person in the room. You're even littler and just possibly, cuter than I am!"

Christina grinned and retorted with, "You haven't seen Dena, the wood wife who lives with Roger and Freya, she's only about two feet tall and unbelievably cute!"

Susana's brother, Ralph smiled at the tiny Christina and was about to turn on his boyish charm when Susana declared, "Forget it Ralph, she's a high school student and you're about to graduate from college!"

He grinned and winked at Christina, "You can't blame me for looking, she's a cutie!" Christina blushed rather prettily while Susana said to Lorna, "I love your cousin's ramen shop, I eat there every time I go to J-town."

Lorna grinned back and replied, "Come up to Portland sometime, we've got some killer places to eat up there."

They both shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with Roger after he had been introduced to them by Anna saying, "When I go up to Portland to escape L.A. I stay at his place where I have my own room and all the privacy I could ever desire."

Susana understood her meaning at once, she was one of the very few fans of her books to be invited into her home, a privilege so few enjoyed.

Both siblings stopped short when they saw Freya, she was sitting down and when Anna said, "This is Freya Sigurdsdottir..." she rose to her feet and smiled at them.

Ralph gaped and moments later blurted out, "I'm sorry Sheila, you are no longer the tallest, most beautiful woman I've ever seen!"

He laughed and said cheerfully, "Please tell me you're available!"

Freya smiled down at him and replied gently, "Ah'm th' same age as Christina an' Lorna, Ah'm nae auld enaw fer wooin'"

Susana laughed at her brother's look of confusion and gleefully said,"Not only is she too young, but her accent confuses you. She's one of the Jotuns living up in Canada, haven't you heard of them? They've been in the news."

Ralph shrugged and replied cheerfully, "Oh, I've heard of them, it was big news when I was in middle school. I just never expected to see one in person!"

He grinned at Freya and said merrily,"The pictures I've seen of you don't really compare to you in real life, you're far prettier!"

Freya blushed quite prettily and she stammered, "Th, thenk ye, Ah dorn't know whit tae say."

Ralph grinned and was about to say something else when Susana slugged him on the arm and declared,"I think you've done enough heart breaking for one day. Give the girls a break...Okay?"

Ralph winced at the blow and while rubbing where she'd struck him, he muttered, "Always with that bony little hand. Such violence, I'mma telling your boyfriend about you!"

Susana grinned and retorted, "I don't have a boyfriend and if you had a girlfriend, I'd tell her what a shameless flirt you are!"

Ralph just laughed and said,"Well, now that we've convinced them we're not right in our heads. What're we gonna do for eats? Me? I'm kinda partial to some ramen right now."

"Okay, ramen it is then...Who's driving?"

Sheila grinned and held up a key, "That would be me!"

"Where to?" She asked

"Mister Ramen in Little Tokyo! My uncle runs the place and he'll be delighted to see us!" Cried Lorna.

"I know the place well." replied Sheila.

A few minutes later, the big Mercedes-Benz van pulled away from in front and Sheila deftly maneuvered the bulky van through traffic, while her passengers nattered amongst themselves.

"How long're you guys gonna be here?" Asked Susana.

"About four days, we're stopping here to hit Anime Expo before we fly to Hawaii." replied Lorna.

"You're going to AX? So're we, Susan goes in costume and I take lots of pictures!" exclaimed Ralph.

"Ah'm jist gang ta gae shoppin' an' see th' crowds Ah heard tell ay." remarked Freya.

"Huh?!"

"She's going shopping and to see the crowds she's heard of." remarked Lorna.

"Okay..."

"I've gotten used to her accent over the years, she used to be a lot worse."

"Seriously?"

"Ah'm still haur ye ken!" muttered Freya.

"Where're you going after Hawaii?" asked Susana.

"We're gonna island hop to Guam, then the Philippines and visit Christina's grandmother for a few days." Replied Lorna.

"Then from there to a place called Hahajima Island, south of Japan. I have a cousin living there I want to visit."

"Island hop? You mean like with a sea plane?" asked Ralph.

"Yep! Roger and Freya have this ginormous sea plane and we flew down here in it!" Grinned Christina.

"I gotta see this! A sea plane? Woah!" exclaimed Ralph.

"Who flies it?"

"Both ay us fly it, Ah've had a pilot's license since Ah war only twalve summers auld." replied Freya.

"You can stop looking so surprised now, brother mine. There're lots of women pilots, you've just never met one before." chimed in Susana.

"Wow! We're here already?" cried Lorna, "Uncle Tamatsu's gonna be so surprised!"

The doors to the big van opened up and its contents clambered out.

Roger smiled as he looked around at Little Tokyo and said,"I haven't been here in ages."

Lorna grinned and said merrily, "Follow me!"

She set off at a brisk pace and before long, the turistas were stopping and staring as they watched a tanned, athletic Japanese-American girl and a tiny Filipina walking alongside a towering, pale skinned giantess with red gold hair.

The rest of the group went virtually unnoticed by the tourists and their ever present cameras.

Roger smiled at Anna and Sheila and quipped, "How do you like being anonymous?"

Anna grinned and replied,"I like it just fine, thank you!"

Sheila chuckled and said, "Freya stands out so much, no one even notices me."

The irrepressible Ralph said happily, "I'll still notice you!"

"You, young man, are incorrigible!" retorted Sheila.

Lorna, Freya and Christina ducked into the ramen shop in question with a cheery, "Hiya uncle Tom! It's me, your favorite rambunctious niece and I've brought some of my friends!"

Roger, Sheila and Anna came in right behind them and saw Lorna being hugged by a sturdy, well tanned man who greatly resembled her father, Tohru.

He was grinning from ear to ear at his niece as she said,"Uncle Tom? You remember Freya Sigurdsdottir, one of my best friends from school."

He smiled up at Freya and as they clasped hands, he said, "How could I forget the tallest girl I've ever seen. My mother really liked you and I must have a picture of you for our guest wall, I can't let my brother's ramen shop be the only one in the family with your picture in it!"

Lorna grinned and continued, "Annnd this is Christina, another friend of mine from school."

Tamatsu smiled at the tiny Filipina and said, "Welcome to our ramen shop." He looked up and said brightly, "Welcome to all of you!"

Several Japanese tourists stopped their eating and began snapping photos with their cell phones to show their friends back home.

Meanwhile, Freya gamely stood smiling pleasantly while Lorna's uncle stood beside her for the photo with his characteristic big grin in place.

Then the whole gang lined up for a group photo with Lorna's cheerfully smiling uncle Tamatsu.

Having her picture taken by smiling strangers was a part of her life now and had been since her grade school days.

By and large, they were polite about it and asked first, but there were those who didn't ask and several times now, Roger had had to enlist museum resources to get an illicit photo of her taken down.

This was part of the reason why Roger would not let her wear leggings and tiny, tight tops.

When she demanded an answer, Roger replied firmly,"You're not just representing your people, you're also a very pretty girl with a beautiful body and if I can notice that, so can others...I don't want you to be exploited or turned into a fetish like my ex wife said. That, is why!"

Freya had no counter argument and could only blush at his 'very pretty girl with a beautiful body' remark.

He had noticed her after all.

Lorna's uncle and a couple of his workers quickly set up a raised table for Freya and her friends by putting a couple of milk crates under the table's base and they borrowed some bar stools from next door.

The neighbor, curious to see what Tamatsu needed bar stools for came over and gaped when he saw Freya and before long, half the neighboring businesses found an excuse to come over and say 'hello' to their gigantic visitor from up north.

A large bottle of sake made its appearance and a cheery toast was made by all concerned, including the Japanese tourists who had been invited to the impromptu party.

Many group photos were taken and soon googling "Pretty oni seen at Little Tokyo ramen shop." would pull up numerous images of Freya and her friends at the Mr. Ramen, ramen shop.

After settling their bill with Lorna's uncle, they browsed around in the many small shops in the Little Tokyo village.

Freya delighted in sampling the various food offerings and cheerfully posed for pictures with the shop owners, even though she could not stand up straight in some of the older shops.

Sheila smiled at Roger and said, "Usually when I come down here, I'm the really tall lady who catches everyone's eye. Today, I might as well be chopped liver, Freya certainly has the spotlight today, they'll be talking about her visit for some time to come."

Roger was seated across from her outside the mochi ice cream parlor along with Anna, Susana and her brother, Ralph.

Roger smiled back as he watched Freya, Lorna and Christina entering Anime Jungle's double doors, the store was well known, even up in Portland and it was decided to at least check the place out.

Ralph said quietly,"I can't get over the size difference between Christina and Freya, I've seen plenty of tiny Filipinas in my time, they're pretty common back home, but seeing someone twice as tall as Christina is amazing, and you said she was average height for her people?"

Roger chuckled and remarked, "One of her sister-in-laws is ten feet tall and is quite willowy, a real looker!"

Chuckling, he added,"Freya is considered a little skinny by her people, even though she is the image of her great grandmother, Alfriede the fair. They like them robust with breasts and hips!"

Ralph chuckled and remarked, "I see nothing wrong with her body, nothing at all!"

"You and a whole lot of other guys, my friend. She could make quite the splash if I allowed her to wear some of the more risque clothes I see girls her age wearing these days. Fortunately, almost none of them come in Jotun sizes."

Ralph laughed, "Susana is quite the opposite, she loves wearing tiny outfits and driving the boys crazy with her looks. I laugh sometimes when I see older men wanting to check her out but they can't, because their wife is right next to them!"

Susana's face darkened and she retorted,"I like looking my best! I watch my diet and work out a lot to keep my girlish figure...I'm not sixteen anymore but I can still wear my old cheer squad uniform!"

Ralph grinned and remarked to Roger, "And she does, she'll wear it to anime conventions and pose for the guys for grins. It is a bit shorter than it was in high school, she shortened the skirt by about three inches and altered the top to show more boobage. She's still the little hottie cheerleader, only her outfit got smaller!"

Roger winked at Susana and said with a grin, "And I'm sure you're quite adorable in that abbreviated outfit!"

Susana's cheeks warmed redly at his remark while Sheila and Anna smiled and exchanged knowing glances.

Susana smiled at her younger brother and said cheerfully, "You do realize that you are dead meat now? Blabbing like that!"

Ralph laughed and cheerfully replied,"If you did that, who would you have to annoy you? It's a part of a younger brother's duties, to annoy their older sisters!"

"Eat your mochi!" muttered Susana while Roger merely smiled.

A short time later, they were still seated outside and enjoying the ebb and flow of the shoppers and tourists all mingling together as they meandered through the village part of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles.

Here and there, a cosplayer or two added a little surrealistic color to the mixture flowing past their tables.

A group of elderly Japanese ladies nattered past on their way to the market across from where they were sitting.

Roger saw Freya's head and upper body long before he saw either Lorna or Christina. Towering over the crowd, Freya smiled at him as she made her way through the knots of people dotted about the place.

One older man seated nearby looked up from his newspaper and muttered about youngsters on stilts, then he fell silent as he realized she really was that tall.

He hardly noticed the pretty forms of Lorna Yamada and Christina Aquino walking alongside the towering Norse goddess of a girl approaching the table next to him.

He sat mutely as the young giantess smiled at the lean, sunburnt white man sitting with the others and said, "Anime Jungle is amazing! Ah coods hae spent aw me money in thaur verra easily! They tauld me they wull be at th' expo thes weekend."

He tried not to stare at the tallest person he had ever seen and barely noticed when the pretty Filipina asked if she could borrow the chair across from him.

Trying to stay focused on his paper he almost jumped when the familiar voice of his wife of sixty years said to him teasingly, "Such pretty girls nearby and you're so engrossed in your paper! Could it be my husband is getting old?"

He "harrumphed!" and muttered, "I see them just fine...How could I not see such audacity!"

His white haired wife and mother to his four children, six grandchildren and now his eighth great grand child, smiled at him with a twinkle in her eyes as she joined him at his table.

She looked over at the eclectic group seated nearby.

There was the tall, athletic flaxen haired woman with silvery grey eyes and seated to her right was a Filipino brother and sister pairing, while across from her was a slender blonde wearing very modest clothing and a big hat, she even wore thin gloves.

Seated to the blonde's right was a tall, sunburnt man who looked like an adventurer out of a movie, only he was the real thing. Not an actor.

Joining them was a tiny and very cute, Filipina, a pretty Japanese girl, a Sansei most likely and a girl who was the tallest human she had ever seen.

With her pale skin, bright blue eyes and reddish hair in two, great long braids.

She resembled a Norse goddess more than a mere human being.

Somehow, this young giantess found a chair that would fit her and stretched out her incredibly long legs.

When she spoke, her accent was quite thick and finally, the tiny Nisei woman, whose husband had served with the vaunted 442nd Regimental Combat Team and was now intensely focused on his newspaper, spoke up,"I'm sorry if I'm intruding with my nosy old self, but where are you from? I've never seen anyone as tall as you are before, you look like some Viking goddess and your accent is quite interesting."

The huge girl smiled at her and replied, "'Tis nae problem, Ah'm frae Canada an' me friends're frae Portland, Oregon. Ah'm nae Viking goddess, Ah'm a Jotun lass. The wee fowk cawed us frost giants."

The elderly woman smiled and was about to reply when a group of Japanese tourists and their fancy cameras approached and one of them, a young and very cute woman approached and asked if they could take pictures of Freya.

Freya smiled and gamely stood up while the tourists clustered around her for several group photos.

After they had finished and thanked her with the appropriate 15 degree bows, they wandered away cameras at the ready, looking for the next photo opportunity.

"My goodness! Does that sort of thing happen to you often my dear?" asked the elderly woman.

Freya smiled and replied cheerfully,"Aye, it does. At me friend Lorna's ramen shop, Ah get asked tae pose fer photos aw th' time, Ah've gotten used tae it."

At the mention of her name, Lorna glanced over at them and asked,"Did you call my name? I heard my name just now."

Freya grinned at her and replied,"Nae, Ah was jist gabbin' wi' me neighbor haur an' Ah mentioned yer ramen shop."

"Ah."

The elderly woman smiled at Lorna and asked, "Do you have a ramen shop? Where is it?"

Lorna smiled at her and replied,"Actually, my family does, we're up in Portland and my Uncle Tamatsu has a shop down here. We just ate there in fact, and yes, Freya was asked to pose there too."

The old woman smiled and said cheerfully,"It's good to see young people still involved in their family's business. So many of them just walk away from their family's roots and traditions."

Lorna laughed and said roguishly, "My mom sends me off to Japan every summer to my auntie Meiko's to learn how to be a proper Japanese lady...One of these days, she just might succeed."

The old woman laughed and said, "My mother did the same thing to me in June of 1941 when she sent me to Japan to stay with her sister's family, then the war started. I spent the rest of the war in Japan. Thing is, I was American born and regarded as a suspicious foreigner. Kind of silly actually, I was just a child and only wanted to go home."

She glanced over at her husband with his nose still buried in his newspaper and said,"I came home in 1946 as a young teenager and met my husband after he was discharged. We had to wait until I was 16 to get married in 1951. We've been together almost 70 years."

Lorna executed a perfect seated bow and said softly, "Your story is much like my late grandmother's, except she was Japanese born and met my Sansei grandfather after the war, she would have been 92 this year."

"Awww, I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm sorry too. Every year Freya would have this winter solstice event and my grandmother would represent the crone, my mother would represent the mother and Freya would represent the maiden. There would be this bonfire and a pot of food for the feast. I would help make the hot pot while Roger and Freya would do all the rest."

She smiled, "We would all be bundled up like Eskimo's while Freya wore this gauzy little nothing outfit and was barefoot. She would pray in her own language and ring a bell twice, once just before midnite and once just after."

"Sounds like it was fun!"

"It was. My granny loved making her special recipes for Freya and watching her enjoy them. I always got a kick out of seeing the two of them together. My granny was only 4 foot 6 inches tall and Freya just loomed over her, yet they were such good friends!"

Lorna looked over at Freya, who was engrossed in her newest manga and said quietly, "I think she misses my granny almost as much as I do."

"Are you visiting anyone while you're here in L.A.?"

Lorna smiled,"My uncle Tamatsu has invited us to stay with him even though we already have a place to crash, I may stay with him because he's family and there's always room for me. My friends'll stay with another friend who has a big old house with high enough ceilings for Freya to stand up in. It's kinda complicated!"

"How long are you here for?" she asked.

"Just through the week end, "Lorna replied,"Then we're flying to Hawaii and a couple of islands across the Pacific to the Philippines and then up to Japan and my auntie Meiko's!"

The old woman smiled and said softly, "Oh, to be young again and having an adventure! Sounds like quite a trip."

"We're taking this huge old world war 2 sea plane they have, it's been fixed up almost like an RV. They can land it almost anywhere they like and they take it up to Canada fairly often to visit her people. They'll just land it on the nearest lake and drop anchor!" Replied Lorna with her big grin in place.

The old man 'harrumphed' and folded up his newspaper, his aging wife smiled at Lorna and said,"Well, we're going home now, our youngest is bringing over his family and they like my cooking. Enjoy your trip and make lots of wonderful memories!"

Lorna smiled at her and replied,"I will, and enjoy your grandkids!"

They returned to Anna's house after leaving Lorna at her uncle's ramen shop.

Roger and Freya would share a room while Christina would have her own room.

Anna played the charming hostess quite well and remarked,"This is almost like being up in Portland, only we don't have Silky or a pair of giant wolves snoozing in the front parlour."

Christina grinned and said,"Your house feels much like theirs, full of neat things and pleasant memories."

Susana looked a bit puzzled and she asked,"Who is Silky, and what are giant wolves? How big are they?"

Anna smiled and replied,"Silky is their housekeeper and the wolves are Jotun giant wolves, they're about the size of Shetland ponies, far larger than the more common grey wolf. They live with the Jotuns and protect them, once they accept you they'll protect you as well."

Anna looked around her place and said to Susana, "I'm afraid my house isn't as full of fond memories as Roger and Freya's, I do know I enjoy my stays up there when L.A. gets to be too much of a good thing."

She looked at Freya and asked,"So, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

Freya replied "we're gang tae pick up uir passes fer th' Anime convention thes weekend."

Anna grinned and said,"I'll be there near the artist's alley selling my books and meeting my 'adoring public', hopefully most of them will have bathed first!"

She smiled,"Sheila usually helps me out when my publicist is waaay too busy to help me out, feel free to stop by and say 'hello!'"

The next morning found Roger, Freya, Christina and Lorna all standing in the incredibly long line wending its way to the massive Los Angeles Convention Center where they would get their passes.

Freya naturally attracted a fair amount of attention due to her great height.

People all around her surreptitiously took photos and texted their friends about her.

"OMG! There's this reaally tall girl standing in line, she's like 3 feet taller than anyone else here!"

"Dude! Check out the legs on this hottie, she's a fuckin' giant!"

"Dig this combo, the tallest girl in the world is right next to me. Her friend is half her size. Both ur hotties!"

There was a moment of levity when a 7-1/2 foot tall man started laughing when he saw Freya and asked her to pose for a picture with him as she loomed over him by a head and a half.

He said cheerfully,"My parents are not gonna believe this when I tell them about you! I never thought I would meet a girl so much taller than I or one so pretty!"

Freya's fair skin flushed rather prettily when he said that and she thanked him for his compliment.

He grinned and said cheerfully, "I was just being honest. Of course my wife will think I used photoshop on this!"

His Facebook page soon boasted the photo of him standing next to a smiling Freya.

His comment?

"Yes boys and girls, there is a young woman who is taller than me. Suddenly I was the shorty again and I was looking up at someone. I haven't experienced this in ages!"

An overly zealous official spotted Freya looming over the crowd and hollered, "Hey! No stilts allowed inside, y'better get down now."

Freya looked down at her nearly 5-1/2 foot long legs and replied,"Ah'm nae standin' oan onie stilts, jist me own twa feet!"

For emphasis, she lifted one of her size 30 feet and showed it to the official who then gawped and beat a hasty retreat to the laughter of the crowd.

Freya's innate friendliness and ready smile was rapidly making her new friends among the people also in line.

Once inside and with badges in hand and swag bags secured, they headed towards the dealer's room looking for bargains.

Roger on the other hand, made his way to the artist's alley where he soon found Anna's table and made himself at home.

He figured the 'ladies' would gravitate towards her table once they had spent their money, hopefully wisely.

Anna was holding court with her adoring fans, signing books and posing for pictures, big smile firmly in place.

Nearby loomed Sheila Ericcson and another tall, flaxen haired, silvery grey eyed beauty.

Sheila smiled at him and asked,"Not going shopping?"

He smiled and replied,"Nah, I'd rather relax here and enjoy the show. The girls'll be easier to spot if they stick with Freya."

Sheila chuckled slightly and remarked,"Yes, she would be easy to spot wouldn't she?"

She asked, "Have you met Galatea?"

Roger smiled,"No, I haven't, may I presume this goddess is Galatea?"

Galatea's flawless lips curved into a heart stopping smile and she said cheerfully,"So, I'm a goddess now? When did I get promoted?"

When they shook hands, her grip was firm and confident, "So you're the legendary Roger Tate? Helen was quite taken with you, much to our surprise." she said.

Roger smiled, "I was also quite taken with Helen, she has a heart of gold once you really get to know her and I'm thankful we're still good friends."

Galatea smiled and replied,"Then you really did get to know her, just don't let her drive!"

He grinned, "Her driving didn't bother me any, her sense of timing is impeccable and she was always in complete control of the vehicle, even when everyone else around her was an idiot."

Sheila laughed and said,"Did I mention that Roger is also a pilot with multiple ratings? They spoke each other's language."

Galatea smiled and remarked,"And there was the attraction...They both fly."

Roger shrugged,"And that's why we're still good friends, we do speak each other's language. Although getting her to tell her story is like pulling teeth!"

"Oh? You collect stories?"

"Yes, it's what I do to justify my existence, collect stories. Finding Freya's people was a real bonus if you will. We have acquired quite the collection of Jotun artifacts and literary materials and we now know who built many of the megalithic structures seen over much of northern Europe and Canada. The Jotuns built them and still do." replied Roger.

He smiled and said almost wistfully, "Freya herself has built several in fact. One is outside our home in Portland, another one is out front of the library and one is in Arizona. That one was built in homage to a friend's family."

Galatea smiled and commented,"She sounds like quite a girl, a real force of nature."

Sheila grinned, "Somehow she's acquired another 25 acres of land near their home and the library property. All the old metal fences are gone now and rune carved boundary stones now mark the property line. The place has become quite the destination for visiting fae. It is like a 52 acre slice of old Albion if you include the 25 acres belonging to Anastasia here."

Anna, who was momentarily free of adoring fans, laughed and said, "I'm afraid I've lost any claim I had on that house and land, it pretty much belongs to the fae now. Officially, I donated them to the museum for a big tax break, but in reality the place is swarming with fae, even though the staff cannot see them"

Galatea smiled and remarked, "Sounds like quite the place, this little bit of home in the new world."

Roger chuckled,"Apparently the boundary stones Freya's put up have some sort of charm on them much like the ones seen all over the British Isles, only these have some potency in them and encourage the fae to visit while here in our lands."

He grinned,"I'll see our wolvies ambling along with a whole slew of sprites perched on their backs and the sprite children love to pester Old Poe, a huge raven who lives in our big pine tree out front. Poor thing, the little ones will flutter about him until he cries "Enough!" and flies away. He could easily eat them but will never harm any of them."

Roger smiled and said, "In fact I think he enjoys them too and protects them. I saw him go after an upstart crow who was trespassing and went after a sprite girl no bigger than a hummingbird. Old Poe tore him a new one and I guess he spread the word amongst the local crows and mocking birds "Stay away from that place, Old Poe is on guard!"

Their little confab was interrupted when some fans stopped by to gush over their 'favorite author' and take selfies with her while Roger relaxed with Sheila and Galatea.

Then a woman with frizzy, reddish purple hair, owlish glasses, and dressed in Victorian steampunk attire stopped by and said brightly, "Hello! I didn't see you at Fangcon, were you there?"

Roger noted that Anna's demeanor immediately became more formal and businesslike, she did not like this woman apparently.

Anna replied cooly, "No, I was not there, scheduling conflicts and deadlines do not mix well."

The woman, seemingly oblivious to Anna's tone, chattered for a couple of minutes about who she met and who she knows, and who she hangs out with.

Roger quietly marveled at how many names she was able to weave into her narrative about her adventures at various fan conventions while Anna smiled and nodded politely.

Freya unwittingly came to her rescue when the crowds parted before her with Lorna and Christina following in her considerable wake.

After dropping the proverbial anchor at Anna's table, Anna beamed at them and cried happily, "Freya, Lorna, Christina! How good of you to stop by, when did you get into the con?"

Freya grinned at her and replied, "We got haur abit twa hours ago an' went shoppin' first off. Ah figgered Roger'd be haur lookin' at th' ladies walkin' by."

The frizzy haired woman gawped at Freya's height, after all, how often does one see a person nearly twice one's own height.

Anna smiled at them and said cheerfully, "Come in, come in, sit down and get off your feet a spell, we've got plenty of chairs!"

Freya and the others came into her booth and grabbed chairs while the woman realizing she was not invited, stormed off in a huff.

When she was gone, Roger commented drily, "Now that the annoying person is gone, you two know each other? I got the impression you did not like her."

Anna smiled and said, "Yes, unfortunately I do know her and yes, I don't like her. She used to work for Josie as an assistant and she was always trying to worm her way into my life and personal business, which I keep very private."

Roger, well aware of her true background, nodded knowingly while Anna continued, "She's a gloryhound type who wants to bask in the glory of knowing important people. She dropped a lot of none too subtle hints about becoming my personal assistant and living with me. I was not interested in any way and she failed to get the hint. Josie finally let her go, not because of me, but because she was using Josie's connections to further her own agenda."

She smiled and remarked drily,"I had a feeling I'd bump into her at one of these conventions, sooner or later."

Roger shrugged and commented,"She sounds like someone Warren once described to me from when he was the head librarian of the club he used to belong to down here, before they sold their building."

Anna looked thoughtful and remarked idly,"Come to think of it, she did mention a club she belongs to and was always inviting me to come to a meeting with her. I see now that would have been a mistake."

"Yes, that would have been quite the coup on her part, bringing in a popular author to boost her standing in that club." Muttered Roger, "Of course if it came to it, measures would have been taken, I presume?"

Anna's marvelous lips curved into a smile and she murmured, "Yes, measures would have been taken. Fortunately, they were not deemed necessary."

Roger simply smiled, he knew of Anna's capabilities.

An invite for tea could lead to a brief drowsy spell and a selective fogging of memories before quickly recovering from the oh, so embarrassing drowsy spell.

He had seen it worked on Anita who for a time, remained blissfully unaware of Anna's true nature and took no notice of seemingly out of place things about Anna.

The world was simply not yet ready to accept werewolves and vampires as productive members of society.

The emergence of lamias, Jotuns, arachnes and just recently, Hellhounds from Great Britain was enough of a shock to the system.

The newly emerged Hellhounds had quickly been granted the protection of the crown and were accorded all the rights of loyal British subjects.

Werewolves and vampires would need a bit more time first.

Freya and her friends were chatting happily with Anna and Sheila about their purchases and what they saw while roaming the vast convention hall complex.

Galatea simply enjoyed listening in, little of it really meant anything to her and when Roger decided to do a 'walk about' as he put it, she joined him.

He grinned and soon they were swallowed up by the teeming throng.

Threading their way through the milling crowd, Galatea remarked,"The first time I came here it was with Sheila, Helen and Miria. We were wearing replicas of our old armor and our swords, and were asked to pose repeatedly. Helen had warned us about the fans and we thought she was exaggerating, when she was actually downplaying things a bit."

She looked thoughtful and said, "It was shortly afterwards we met up with George Bryce as a matter of fact."

Roger chuckled and said, "That was some ten years ago, right about the time I met Helen."

He glanced over at her, Galatea stood a few inches taller than him and had this otherworldly beauty about her.

Her flawless form was clad in a black silk sleeveless top that revealed her shapely arms, trim waist and superb bust line; among the surviving warriors, only Teresa rivaled her in bust size.

Black leggings proudly displayed her trim hips, pert fanny and long, long legs.

Combine that with her hip length flaxen hair, silvery grey eyes and flawless skin, Galatea was a knockout by anybody's standards.

Very few people knew she was a former number 3 claymore warrior and very, very old.

Even old vampires felt intimidated by her age, wisdom and beauty.

Roger laughed,"Don't feel bad, Helen warned me too. Clearly we did not listen and richly deserve her smart assed comments".

Galatea smiled and replied,"Helen does not concern me, I have more than enough Helen related 'incidents' I can remind her of, if she tries to poke any fun at me."

Roger chuckled and commented, "Yes, I'm sure you do, they didn't call you "God eye" for naught."

Galatea grinned and remarked cheerfully, "Oh, so you've heard my nickname have you? Was it Sheila that blabbed?"

"And if it was?"

Galatea smiled,"It doesn't really matter who blabbed, it's not like it's an embarrassing nickname like 'bean pole' or 'stretch', it's really more like a statement of fact."

Roger laughed and replied,"Okay, we'll go with that then."

He smiled at her, "If you ever feel like telling your story, we're all ears."

"I'm sure you will be, although my story like those of my sisters, will sound like an epic fantasy tale replete with monsters, villains, handsome princes and fair damsels needing salvation."

Roger smiled at her comment and remarked,"I've read portions of Sheila's manuscript, the one she's writing with Riful of the West? Admittedly, it does sound quite fantastic, but our research corroborates much of her tale. The tale of her encounter with one of the last awakened beings and her son in what became a part of Sweden, appears in the Jotun chronicles we now possess; trust me, we will listen"

Galatea smiled and was about to reply when. "I saw you two over at Anna's booth...Hi!"

They found themselves looking down at the woman who had regaled Anna earlier with her tales of fannish adventures.

She was smiling at them brightly and had a calculating gleam in her eyes, she was on the prowl.

"I thought maybe we could hang out and get to know each other better?" She said hopefully.

Roger smiled and said politely, "Actually, I was looking for something to give to my companion, a tee shirt that would fit her perhaps?"

The woman blinked a few times then said, "So, you're busy then?"

"Yes, we are I'm afraid and my friend here has only so much time for looking around."

Looking a bit crestfallen, the woman said, "Okay well, say hi to Anna for me!"

She had turned to leave when Roger said frankly,"I'm afraid that ship has sailed. You see, I know both Anna and Josie fairly well, in fact they've stayed with me and Anna has her own room at my place up in Oregon. In short, I've heard some things about you and they weren't very complimentary."

The woman's eyes blinked rapidly in her dismay and she suddenly sped away, her voluminous dress billowing behind her.

Galatea murmured, "That was a bit rough, did she really deserve that?"

Roger shrugged, "She'll get over it, her kind always does. She'll tell the story as if she was being the reasonable and charming one and we were the uncouth barbarians who failed to appreciate what she was offering us."

He smiled,"I've known more than my fair share of people like her and they've always had a back up plan. Doubtless, she's on her way to vent her spleen at whoever will listen."

A short time later they were looking at a booth selling game themed tee shirts sized all the way up to 5XL Tall.

Freya, with her 54 inch bust line could get away with 3XL although they were a bit snug across her bust line and a bit short on her towering frame.

4 and 5XL were her preferred tee shirt sizes, she liked them a little loose fitting.

He picked out four of the tee shirts he knew she would like and as he paid for them, he said to the woman behind the table, "They're for my companion, she loves these games."

The woman smiled as she slipped the size 5XL Tall tee shirts into a bag.

Galatea remarked quietly,"Are they going to be long enough? Freya's pretty tall."

Roger shrugged and replied,"5XL Tall's are usually long enough, it shouldn't be any problem."

Puzzled at their remarks, the woman asked hesitantly, "Just how tall, is this 'Freya' you're talking about?"

Roger grinned, "She's here, you might've seen her, a really tall girl with her friends."

The woman remarked, "I did see a really tall girl go by earlier, she was taller than everybody, a real giantess. It was funny how the crowd just parted before her, like it was Moses parting the Red Sea or something."

"That would be Freya!"

"And she's your companion? "

Roger smiled and said wistfully,"We've lived together since she was nine and a half, recently she turned seventeen. She's been the best thing that ever happened to me, I count myself very lucky!."

The woman smiled warmly and as she handed the bag to Roger, she said, "Gawd, that sounds so romantic, finding a companion like that."

Roger smiled and replied, "Her parents asked me to take her with me so she could represent her people "

"Her people?"

"Freya is a Jotun from Canada." Replied Roger.

"Jotun, as in Frost giant Jotun? Oh my god, how cool is that!"

"Actually, it's very cool for a kid raised in foster homes. Having her in my life has been an amazing experience!" Said Roger with his boyish grin in place.

Stepping away from the booth, Roger waved farewell to the woman and they resumed their trek across the dealer room floor.

A short time later Galatea muttered, "Ah, there he is..." and she approached a man armed with a high end camera.

She asked if she could look at his camera as she was interested in buying one like it.

The man, obviously dazzled by her great beauty, meekly handed over his costly instrument and leered at her prominent breasts while she turned the camera over and over in her hands.

When she smiled at him and handed it back, he seemed to snap out of his lurid reverie and mumbled his thanks as she walked away.

While walking away from him, Roger muttered, "Okay, so what was that all about? I saw you delete his photos by the way."

Galatea smiled and replied, "As you may already know, we warriors can sense auras, that was how we could detect yomas and awakened beings or even find or avoid each other. We can also sense bad intentions... That man was using his camera to take creep shots of underaged girls here at the con. I'd noticed him earlier lurking near Anna's booth and when you decided to go looking around, I jumped at the opportunity to find him and delete his photos. He ought to be noticing what I did right, about...Now."

Roger chuckled and remarked, "And here I was thinking it was my boyish charm."

Galatea smiled and was about to reply when they both heard a cry of anguish and a voice shouting, "YOU BITCH! You deleted my photos!"

Galatea smirked, "Right on cue!"

"You enjoyed that, didn't you."

"A girl's gotta have a hobby and tweaking guys like him is mine."

Roger smiled and said,"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

She laughed and replied gaily,"If both Helen and Sheila like you, then I like you. They wouldn't associate with an idiot."

They heard a commotion behind them and the man, his face reddened in his fury came rushing up to them screaming, "YOU BITCH! You deleted my photos, my fucking photos, you deleted them!"

Roger idly noted the droplets of spittle flying from his mouth as he shrieked in his fury. "I'm gonna sue you for this!"

He reared back as if he was going to swing at the six foot three inch tall, athletic looking Galatea.

She smiled and said calmly, "Do you really think I will let you strike me? I know you were taking creep shots of underage girls, I saw you!"

The man paused and yelled, "You're a fucking liar!"

A burly security official appeared and said firmly,"What's all this yelling about?"

The man said loudly,"She deleted all my photos from my camera, I want her arrested!"

The security official glanced at Galatea and she calmly replied,"I deleted his photos because he was taking creep shots of underaged girls. I saw him doing it and I asked him if I could examine his camera. I deleted them while he was leering at my boobs."

The security official glared at the man and said, "Is this true?"

The man vehemently denied Galatea's allegations then said, "Where is your proof?" and folded his arms across his chest in defiance.

Galatea laughed, pulled out her smartphone and scrolled through her photo gallery briefly before expanding an image.

It was a clear shot of the man standing behind a young girl with his camera aimed squarely at her tiny backside.

Galatea smiled and said sweetly, "I have more, care to see them?"

The man paled and shook his head quickly.

The security official spoke briefly into his radio then said firmly, "Surrender your pass and your camera please!"

The man briefly hesitated, then two uniformed and equally burly security guards arrived and he meekly gave up his pass and his camera without comment.

As they led him away, Galatea smiled and said cheerfully,"Like I said, a girl's gotta have a hobby!"

They resumed their leisurely trek among the crowded aisles and booths swarming with frenzied customers, eased their way past young cosplayers happily posing for a photo and paused while a group meet up momentarily blocked the aisle as they gleefully compared their acquisitions.

Roger naturally smiled to himself when a fire marshal swooped down on the gathering and ordered them out of the way.

Let the guy with the badge be the adult meanie instead of him.

Leaving the dealer's room, Roger and Galatea stood at the top of the grand staircase and looked out over the vast hall teeming with fans, all jostling for space.

There, smack dab in the middle of this colorful assemblage, was a large booth selling a line of fashion dolls, clothing and accessories for the dolls.

Roger grinned, he'd seen the company's logo on some of Dena's outfits and he decided to pay them a visit.

With Galatea right beside him, Roger descended the stairs and made his way through the roiling mass of humanity.

A few minutes later, he was admiring the doll maker's product line.

In particular he smiled at the names of two of the fashion dolls on display.

"Freya" was a slender doll with reddish hair in two long braids reaching nearly to her waist while "Dena" was a perky blonde with bright blue eyes and a bit more curvy in shape.

Galatea murmured in his ear, "So we're playing with dolls now?"

Roger chuckled and replied,"No, but I'm living with the two who inspired these two dollies."

He took a few pictures of the dolls in question and when a young woman working behind the booth counter asked,"Can I help you with anything? You seem to be interested in these two."

Roger smiled at the girl and replied,"I live with the real Freya and Dena and they were the inspiration for these dolls. I just stopped to say hi!"

She blinked a couple of times then turned to her boss and said, "This gentleman says he lives with Freya and Dena. And just stopped to say hi!"

Her boss, a slender Chinese man with a British accent, smiled at Roger and said brightly,"You live with Freya and Dena?"

Roger grinned and held up his smart phone, on it was a brief video of him sitting in a big chair with Dena happily sitting in his lap while noshing on pop corn as they watched a movie on TV.

She turned her head and made a comment to Roger then grinned at the person holding the phone.

The boss smiled and said happily, "That's our Dena alright!"

He extended his hand and said, "I'm Danny, Danny Chen, it's a pleasure to meet you..."

"Roger, Roger Tate, the pleasure's all mine."

Danny said to his helper, "Check out this video! I first met Dena and Freya several years ago when I was first starting out. Freya, this very tall girl had Dena with her and when she started talking to me, I nearly fainted in surprise!"

Roger replayed the video for the girl's benefit and her face was a study in wonder until she gasped,"Oh My God, she's real? I thought Dena was just this sexy fashion doll we were selling. Is she really that cute in person?"

Roger smiled and replied,"Yes, she is and so is her daughters and granddaughters and great granddaughters going waaay back!"

Danny was grinning from ear to ear, "Please tell them I said 'hello', I sell a lot of their types, especially in Northern Europe."

From behind him Roger heard Freya's voice, "Thaur ye ur! Ah figgered Ah'd find ye haur, a'gabbin abit Dena a spell."

He smiled as his towering companion came up behind him and loomed over all of them.

Danny smiled and exclaimed,"Freya, you've grown quite a bit since I saw you last! How wonderful to see you again!"

While everyone around them gawped at her, Danny took up the "Freya" doll and handed it to her.

"I named her after you!" He said proudly.

Freya smiled as she carefully examined the doll and said, "She's sae pretty! Dae Ah really look loch thes tae ye?"

Roger and Danny both nodded a 'yes' and Danny said cheerfully,"When I developed Dena, I had to give her a sister and so I had you in mind when I developed my Freya doll."

Danny took up his newest camera and took several photos of Freya posing with her namesake fashion doll.

He grinned, "If you don't mind, I'm gonna post these on my website!"

Putting away his camera, Danny spoke briefly to his helper who couldn't take her eyes off the towering Freya looming over everyone there.

Snapping out of her reverie, the girl smiled and she took up two boxed dolls, slipped them into a bag bearing the company's logo and handed them to Danny with a smile.

Danny then handed the bag to a blushing Freya.

A small crowd of onlookers had gathered around the booth, and many cameras and smartphones were recording the image of the nine foot two inch tall Freya bashfully accepting the gift bag from Danny Chen.

Danny cheerfully announced,"This is the Freya who helped inspire our 'Freya' and 'Dena' dolls. This is my way of thanking her!"

There was a smattering of applause and they waved goodbye to Danny Chen and his fashion dolls as they started back towards Anna's booth.

Freya muttered, "Dena's gang tae choke me when she sees these dollies."

Roger chuckled and squeezed her hand, "I don't think you're in danger of that happening my dear. Her little hands just aren't big enough."

Freya retorted, "Ye huvnae known mony wuid guid wives, if one takes a dislikin' fer onie man she can make heem verra sorry he crossed paths wi' 'er."

Roger smiled at first, then he recalled how Dena had reacted when that neighbor had shot and nearly killed him.

Dena had torn into him with an astounding ferocity that left him disfigured for life, his manly beauty now only a memory.

Roger said reassuringly, "I personally think she'll get a kick out of seeing her life size doll and will likely steal her outfit, the first chance she gets!"

Freya smiled at him and replied,"Ye dae know uir Dena, aye, she'll dae jist that, she will."

Galatea smiled as she walked alongside the couple and listened to their gentle banter.

Then her flawless face grew pensive as she recalled her many lovers down through the ages.

The men and the women who shared their all too brief lives with her, the heroes and the artisans, the dreamers and the poets, all of whom came to her in their youthful vigor.

Only to slowly grow old and weary in her arms and finally, to be wept over as she gently laid them to rest beneath the soil.

Galatea smiled as she thought about the beautiful young man she'd recently met.

A dancer with skin the color of polished ebony and the passion of his youth.

She hadn't told him yet, their relationship was still young.

She would tell him when he began wondering after many years, why she did not age while he himself was aging.

Galatea in a way, envied Roger and Freya, they would age and eventually pass on.

He would pass on before her as he was much older, yet she too would pass on.

Leaving Galatea and her sisters to keep them alive in their memories.

Even the oldest of the vampires seemed so youthful to Galatea.

Briefly, she wondered what Lord Dae would think if someone had told him that his creations, the warriors once known as claymores, would go on living long after he and his works had crumbled into the dust of the ages.

Once back at Anna's booth, Freya showed off the two dolls given to her by Danny Chen.

Roger could only roll his eyes while Anna, a vampire over 260 years old, Sheila, a former claymore warrior of indeterminate age and Freya's two school chums, both about her same age, broke into the giggles and gushed over the two 60 centimeter fashion dolls Freya had picked up.

Lorna quickly commented,"I can see Dena stripping this one of her clothes in a big hurry." as she admired the "Dena" doll.

Christina remarked, "If I hadn't seen her, I wouldn't have believed she could exist." She smiled and said,"My great grandmother used to tell my mom stories about the little people of the Philippines she had seen when she was a child. I always thought they were like the fairy tales from Europe, but then I learned about the so called 'Hobbits' they found on Flores Island in Indonesia. When I first saw Dena I began to think there was some truth behind the legends."

Freya grinned at her diminutive friend and said teasingly,"An' what aboot me? Am Ah nae a giant tae ye?"

Christina laughed and replied cheerfully,"I'll never forget the day I met you when I was telling my mom about you and you just came right up to me and introduced yourself!"

She grinned, "Until I met your parents, I thought you were the tallest person I've ever seen!"

"Hey guys! Finally, we found you!" Cried a girlish voice and Anna smiled at the sight of Susana Basa and her brother Ralph as they approached her table.

Susana was dressed as a sexy nurse wearing a rather abbreviated pink nurse's uniform designed to accentuate her very pretty legs, even prettier bosom and taut little figure.

From one hand, dangled a shopping bag from one of the larger booths in the dealer's room.

Ralph grinned, as usual he was laden with a rather nice camera.

After hugging Anna, Susana smiled at Christina and said, "How do you like L.A.?"

Christina shook her head and replied, "It's crazy down here and everything's so spread out, I'd get lost real easily down here. It took me long enough to learn how to get around in Portland, here? Woah, I'd need a GPS for sure!"

Susana chuckled at Christina's reply and said, "Yeah, I know what you mean. When I first started driving here, I got lost fairly regularly, but eventually I learned my way around here almost as good as a native born Angeleno."

Ralph held up his camera and said cheerfully, "Ladies? Can I get a group shot of all of you together?"

He grinned at Freya, "I have cousins in the Philippines who won't believe their eyes when they see your picture!"

Freya smiled and stood up.

There was a momentary flurry of gasps and muttered comments coming from the crowd as people realized just how tall she really was.

A few moments later, the entire group lined up behind Anna's book laden table and with Anna standing front and center with her latest book in hand and a big smile on her face, they all smiled as one and Ralph quickly fired off several photos.

He smiled and took more photos when Anna signed a copy of her newest book and handed it over to Susana with a smile.

Covering up his lens Ralph said cheerfully, "I don't know about y'all but I'm hungry, and I don't want any of this over priced crap they call food here. Anyone care for some Filipino food? Barrio Fiesta in Glendale is only about twenty minutes away!"

Christina's eyes lit up and she chimed in, "Is there one down here? You've got my vote!"

Sheila thought for a moment then said, "Is that the Filipino restaurant on Pacific avenue, south of Glenoaks?"

Ralph grinned and replied, "That's the place. I take it you've been there?"

"A couple of times with Susana, if that's the place you're talking about."

Ralph smiled, "Yes, that's the place I had in mind."

Sheila grinned, "Then I know where it is and we can meet you guys there."

She glanced at Anna and said apologetically, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take off, my passengers wish to go eat and the food here, if you can call it that, is crazy expensive!"

Anna smiled and replied, "I'd love to go with you guys but duty calls and I am presumed to be a responsible adult, so I have to stay until closing."

She grinned, "Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you back at my house later on."

After a brief flurry of hugs and kisses, Roger and company followed Sheila out to the parking structure and located her borrowed van.

The Harbor freeway in the afternoon was in its usual parking lot mode and they crept along in the dense traffic as they headed north.

Getting onto the Golden state freeway was little better as it too was crowded, causing Freya to remark, "Sae mony cars, whaur ur they aw gang aff tae?"

Sheila chuckled, "This isn't as bad as it would be during the work week, L.A.'s a pretty busy place, even during the weekends, the traffic sucks."

Sheila steered onto the Glendale freeway and there, the traffic lightened up considerably until she transitioned onto the 134 east bound and it piled up again.

Sheila grinned at her passengers and said, "We're almost there...Ah, here we are, Pacific avenue!"

Deftly she exited the freeway and a few minutes later they were pulling into the parking lot outside Barrio Fiesta.

Parking next to Susana's white BMW sedan, they exited the van just as Ralph and Susana were exiting her Beemer.

Sensibly, Susana slipped a light sweater over her abbreviated nurse's costume and Roger smiled.

No sense in raising the blood pressure of any older men in the vicinity by treating them to the sight of her taut little fanny in a skin tight, sexy nurse's costume.

There was a moment or two of silence as they entered the restaurant and Freya straightened up once inside the doors, her head close to brushing the ceiling.

While Christina, Ralph and Susana conferred on what to order, Sheila, Roger, Freya and Lorna pushed together a couple of tables to make one big enough for all of them.

Roger could hear the faint murmurings of the other diners in the restaurant and knew what the subject of their gossip was.

He knew there would be postings on social media about the pretty giantess seen at Barrio Fiesta in Glendale, California.

He as always, chose not to react so long as they were polite, he and Freya simply endured the friendly curiosity of strangers.

A few minutes later Susana came over with enough plates and silverware for all and said cheerfully, "We basically got a family tray of pancit bihon, a couple of dozen lumpia and grilled tilapia for all of us."

Ralph came bearing a heaping tray of the pancit noodles and Christina brought a tray of freshly grilled tilapia while one of the restaurant workers brought a heaping plate of lumpia and said, "Your drinks are coming, it'll be a few moments."

While she tried to be polite and not stare at Freya, her eyes still glanced over at the towering girl who had come in to eat, after all how often would she be seeing a nine foot two inch tall, Norse giantess, coming into the restaurant where she worked?

Lorna took one look at the family tray of pancit noodles and commented, "We should've gotten two of these trays!"

At Susana's questioning look she replied, "You haven't seen Freya eat, the girl can put away some groceries! I mean lookit the size of her and you haven't seen her on a ball court, she burns up whatever she eats, no fat will ever stick to her ass!"

Roger wanted to laugh at Lorna's somewhat crude analogy but refrained while Freya felt no such restraint when she replied drily, "Ah see yer auntie Meiko's efforts at makin' ye a proper Japanese lassie, hae finally paid aff, she'll be glad tae ken."

Lorna merely smiled and replied, "You should hear some of the things I've heard my cousins say, my auntie Meiko would be scandalized! Even I've blushed at times!"

Freya laughed and said gaily, "An' Ah'm sorry Ah missed 'at, seein' ye blush ay aw fowk!"

Lorna grinned at her comment and took a bite of the tilapia on her plate.

Her eyes closed briefly as she tasted the fish, then she smiled, opened them up again and said, "This is pretty good! It's grilled to perfection!"

Following her friend's lead Freya also took a bite then after a few moments, she smiled and said, "Ah 'hink Ah'm gang tae want maur ay thes fish! It's verra guid."

Raising her long arm and waving it, attracted the attention of the same worker who had brought their drinks.

"Yes, may I help you?" she said as she arrived at their table.

Freya swallowed her bite of fish and said, "Ah'd loch twa maur ay thes fish, please."

The girl blinked at her accent and Lorna came to her rescue by saying, "She'd like two more of the grilled tilapia please."

"Ah!" she smiled and said, "Coming right up!" then she dashed off to place the order with the cooks.

Freya glanced at Lorna and rolled her bright blue eyes, in response Lorna retorted, "I'm used to your accent, 'cos I've known you the longest. They just met you!"

To Lorna's surprise Freya leaned closer and murmured, "I can tone down my accent if I want to, I just don't feel like it and sometimes playing the big, dumb, funny sounding giantess, let's me see who my real friends are."

After winking at Lorna, Freya resumed noshing on her tilapia while suppressing a grin.

Lorna briefly gaped at Freya's remarks and she muttered, "Remind me to get you for this!"

"Hokay!"

By the time they all finished eating, they had become a legend in Barrio Fiesta's history and a group photo of all of them, staff included was taken to be framed and mounted on the wall.

Standing front and center was Freya towering over everyone by several feet, a big smile on her pretty face.

That evening they gathered at Anastasia's house and compared notes on what they saw at AX.

Anastasia reported that she'd sold and signed dozens of books, posed for many pictures, talked to a lot of her fans and had herself a blast.

Freya showed off her own acquisitions, including the two fashion dolls that were modeled after herself and Dena, that Danny Chen had personally given her.

She also remarked about encountering a frizzy haired woman wearing a Victorian era steampunk outfit and how the woman wanted to 'hang out' with her because she'd seen her at Anastasia's table.

As Freya put it, "Ah didna ken th' woman, an' Ah didna want tae ken th' woman, somethin' abit 'er seemed aff!"

"If nothing else, she is persistent!" Muttered Anastasia Karloff, AKA Anna Karlsen author of popular Gothic romance books and 263 year old actual vampire, a detail unbeknownst to most people.

Roger merely smiled and related his own experiences with Galatea, how they encountered the frizzy haired woman and he dropped his verbal bombshell on her causing her to leave in a big hurry.

He chuckled as he described Galatea's encounter with the pervert and his big camera and how she used her WMD's to distract him while she deleted all his illicit photos and his subsequent reaction and arrest by AX security.

"WMD's?" asked Susana in her innocence.

Roger grinned, "Weapons of Mass Distraction."

At her blank look, her annoying younger brother said gleefully, "He was referring to her boobs, sister dear. You did notice them didn't you? I sure did."

Susana responded to his playful remark by her usual slug on his arm and look of reproach while muttering, "Of course I noticed them, with them sticking out the way they do, who wouldn't notice them!"

"So, what's on for tomorrow?" Asked Anastasia, "I've got my table commitments for the weekend, so I'm booked solid."

Roger looked up from the travel brochure he was reading and said, "Me? I'm partial to seeing the natural history museum here and maybe a trip to a planetarium, I hear there's a good one in Griffith Park."

"Why those kind of places?" asked Susana, "There's Universal City, Disneyland, Knott's Berry farm, Magic Mountain, I could go on."

Shrugging he replied, "Two reasons, one is cost, the other is interest. Those places are expensive and we are traveling on a budget. Me? I'm just not interested, although I can't speak for Freya, Lorna or Christina."

Susana grinned and said, "Ralph and I have season passes for Universal City, we can take them there for free and we can treat them to food while we're there."

Freya said quietly, "Ah'm afraid Ah cannae gang. Ah willnae fit in onie ay th' rides, Ah ootgrew them when Ah was oanly twal years auld. Sorry."

She smiled at her friends and said, "Ah dornt min' if ye twa gang wi' them, nae sense in ye nae gettin' tae gang. It's nae yer fault Ah'm too big."

Lorna said quietly, "You sure you don't mind?"

Freya grinned, "Brin' me back a tee shirt. Ah wear a 5XL tall!"

Christina whistled and muttered, "If we can find one that big!"

Roger smiled and chimed in, "A tourist trap kinda place like that? If they didn't have any that size I'd be surprised."

Susana smiled and said brightly, "So it's settled then? Lorna and Christina will go with me and Ralph, while you two go hit your museums or whatever you want to do?"

"Works for me, just bring them back in one piece." replied Roger.

The next morning after a nice breakfast courtesy of Chez Anna Karlsen, Lorna and Christina rode off with Susana and her brother Ralph in her BMW sedan.

Minutes later Sheila pulled up in the tall Mercedes-Benz passenger van and after enjoying a cup of fresh coffee, also courtesy of Chez Anna Karlsen and a brief exchange of pleasantries.

Roger and Freya were taken downtown to visit the great Natural History museum of Los Angeles county.

After parking and locking up the tall van, three of them strolled towards the entrance of the massive building.

As they walked, people fell silent as they saw Freya striding along, a giantess in real life.

More than a few cell phones surreptitiously snapped photos as she walked past, her appearance inspiring a flurry of social media postings in several languages.

After stepping through the huge bronze doors of the museum, the young man at the ticket sales desk gaped as he looked up at Freya's towering height.

Sheila smiled and took out her bank card, "I got this!" she said as she handed the awestruck young man her card.

"Two adults, one student please!" she said cheerfully as the young man reluctantly took his eyes off of Freya.

He was about to ring up the bill when a museum official appeared and said, "I got this!"

There was a moment of confusion with the young man looking back and forth between his boss and Sheila.

The woman smiled and said, "It's okay Billy, this one's on me!"

Billy handed Sheila back her card and smiled at her.

The woman, a mature blonde with bits of grey frosting her hair said to him, "What you're looking at is one of the main reasons we had to completely revamp our hall of human evolution!"

Turning her attention to Freya she turned on a 1,000 watt smile and said, "You must be Freya! Welcome to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History! I'm Julia Summers, assistant director of the museum."

As they shook hands Julia looked over at Roger and asked, "And you are?"

"Roger Tate, ma'am."

She grinned at him and said, "You're the fellow who found her and her people! It's an honor to meet you, Roger. " Her hand pumping his up and down vigorously.

Roger smiled and replied, "It should be she found me, as I was quite lost when we met!"

He grinned, "It turned out that her people were known of, it was just that their neighbors figured they were best left alone. No sense in telling the government about them, was the attitude I encountered."

Julia smiled and remarked, "That seems to be the prevailing attitude in rural communities."

"Can you blame them? Too many times they've seen the government take the side of moneyed interests, who'd then take their land and develop it."

"So what brings you to Los Angeles?" she asked.

Roger smiled at the swift change of topics to discuss and replied,"We're stopped here just for the long weekend and then we're flying to Hawai'i, as part of our island hopping excursion before she goes to college in the fall."

Julia smiled and said wistfully, "I remember my last big trip before I entered Berkeley, it was wonderful touring the art museums of Europe with my aunt in tow."

She grinned and murmured, "Her intention was to keep my virginity intact, I didn't have the heart to tell her it was already too late for that!"

She gestured and they settled in alongside her as she led them through the museum's storied halls.

As they walked along admiring the exhibits, she asked, "So which islands are you visiting?"

Roger looked thoughtful and replied, "Hawai'i of course, then down to Wake island and maybe, a series of small islands and atolls until we get to Guam and a couple of days of rest and a total refuel, then it's the Philippines to visit a friend's grandmother. After that we're gonna surprise another friend's cousin by dropping in on her before heading up to Japan, leaving the friend with her aunt and then home."

Julia chuckled and said, "Do these small islands even have airports?"

Roger grinned at her and replied, "We have a sea plane, airports are optional!"

Julia guffawed, "That would certainly do it, a sea plane! Who flies it?"

Freya chimed in, "We baith fly it, Ah've hud a pilot's license since Ah was twal."

Julia laughed and said brightly, "You go, girl! My mother was a pilot during WW2, she was one of the WASP's and flew all over the country."

She stopped just outside the hall of human evolution and said, "I would like to add a photo of you visiting this exhibit, if you don't mind Freya."

Freya smiled at Julia and replied, "Since ye asked sae nicely, Ah dornt min' a bit!"

Entering the exhibit hall, Julia led them straight to the modest exhibit about the Jotuns.

In it were several photographs of Jotun settlements and a number of Jotun made artifacts along with a couple of dolls showing the size difference between an average adult Jotun and an average adult human.

Freya stood alongside the display case and smiled while Julia took several photos of her.

Roger joined her and several more photos were taken.

The next display case was of the lamias and it too contained numerous photos and artifacts.

Interestingly, it had a model of a lamia skeleton, no doubt it was based on the scans taken of Mia and her family when they first arrived in the U.S.

It also had a model of a lamia's anatomy showing the musculature, the internal organs and some of the features peculiar to lamias, like their retractable fangs.

After that case was one dedicated to Arachnes and Roger noted with interest that it was mostly based on Zenobia and held a sample of her weaving skills, in addition to the anatomical studies common to all three display cases.

The last case was dedicated to the recently revealed Hellhounds of Great Britain.

Not being familiar with them, Roger gazed at the case with interest.

Julia said quietly, "They were quite the eye opener as they really do seem to have supernatural powers, with their fiery gazes and all. I'm told their eyes are like glowing embers that flicker with flame when they're amused or burn like torches when they're upset about something. They're quite strong and very tough, a knight of old faced quite an opponent when he faced an angry Hellhound!"

"How did we learn about Hellhounds?" asked Roger.

Julia smiled and said, "An American named John Gaines inherited a huge old house in Wales. Apparently the Hellhound came with it as part of a curse or something like that. It seems he failed to uphold his end of the curse and the two became lovers instead of a tragedy.

"They contacted the English branch of the Museum of Cryptozoology and things just kind of snowballed from there, the end result was that the Crown recognized Hellhounds as being British subjects and therefore, under the Crown's protection."

She looked at Roger and said, "Aren't you affiliated with them, that museum I mentioned?"

"Yes, I am. In fact I was part of the expedition that found the lamia family in southern Algeria, my partner George Bryce ended up marrying the oldest daughter and we brought her back to the states."

He grinned, "They've got four kids now and I'm sure they're working on having more. Lamias are quite passionate about being passionate you see."

Julia was about to reply when they heard Freya call out, "Roger, cam see thes!"

Looking over at her they saw her standing at the exhibit of fossil human ancestors.

There, standing in a row were several skeletons based on fossil finds in various parts of the world.

She was pointing at the conjectural skeleton of a Gigantopithecus posed as if it was bipedal.

It was nearly as tall as she was.

Her bright blues eyes were shining as she said, "Is 'at whit Ah hink it is? Is 'at a Jotun?"

Julia smiled and replied, "That, is actually a conjectural skeleton, it is based on what we think may have been an ancestor to your people. We're calling it 'Giganthropus' for now. The name is based on Franz Weidenreich's theories about human evolution that he proposed back in 1946."

Staring at the towering skeleton Freya murmured, "Hoo auld is thes?"

"Between two million to three hundred and ten thousand years according to the fossils we've found in Southeast Asia. How your people ended up in the northlands, I have no idea." replied Julia.

Freya looked at them and said, "Ah want a picter ay me standin' next tae these. Tae show me fowks!"

Moments later she was standing next to the skeleton, her smile radiant.

Several pictures of her were taken and Julia said happily, "We're going to publish these photos in our museum bulletin and write up a brief article about your visit Freya."

They spent several more hours simply roaming the exhibit halls and marveling at what they saw on display.

Eventually they caught up with Sheila who was in the cafeteria enjoying a cup of coffee.

She smiled at them and said cheerfully, "Ready to head back?"

Roger smiled at her and said, "Been here long?"

"The whole time."

"Really?"

She remarked, "I'm not really much for museums, saw too many of them over the years. It was always a little strange seeing one of our swords on display, I'd look at the rune engraved in the blade and wonder if I had known her at one time"

"Ah"

On the way back to Anastasia's, Freya sat quietly thinking about what she had seen at the museum.

The conjectural skeleton of what may have been a very distant ancestor had her thinking.

What was her ancestral species and why was the fossil record so sparse? Had they always laid their dead out for the great bears of the north to eat?

When had they started eating meat, if their distant ancestors had eaten strictly plants?

Her own teeth were those of an omnivore, not an herbivore. Had their move north required them to adopt a new diet over time?

Roger's voice gently asking, "You okay? You're awfully quiet." broke into her thoughts and she replied softly,"Whit Ah saw today has given me much tae hink abit."

"Okay"

Once back at Anastasia's they noticed her Subaru parked in the driveway and upon entering the house she asked, "How was the museum?"

At Roger's puzzled expression she said gaily, "I ran out of books, so I came home early. Not to worry, I have more for tomorrow!"

Roger smiled and said, "Freya got a real kick out of some of the displays, especially the one about human evolution. They had a conjectural skeleton of a fossil ancestor of the Jotuns and she thought it was pretty interesting."

"I'll bet it was and if you two are up to it, we can drive up to Mount Wilson observatory, they're having a lecture tonight followed by a food truck and a look through their big telescopes."

She grinned, "I'll drive if you like!"

"I'm game, if Freya doesn't feel up to it."

Freya came into the kitchen and Roger asked, "We've been invited to go up to Mount Wilson observatory tonight for a lecture on astronomy, followed by a food truck if we feel like it and a chance to look through their big telescopes. Feel up to it?"

Freya looked thoughtful and asked, "Hoo big a telescope ur ye talkin' abit?"

Anastasia smiled and replied, "They have a sixty inch reflector and a hundred inch reflector, at one time both were the largest telescopes in the world for their time."

Roger whistled and said, "That's pretty big. We've visited the Haggart observatory near us and looked through their twenty-four inch telescope, which was pretty impressive.

"A sixty or a hundred inch? Woah, that's quite a difference!"

Freya asked, "Whit time dae we lae?"

Anastasia glanced at the clock on the stove and said, "At four P.M., sharp!"

"Gotcha, four it is!"

"I'll bring a thermos full of coffee!"

"Good idea!"

At four P.M sharp, they left for Mount Wilson with Anastasia at the wheel of her Subaru Outback.

With Freya sitting sideways in the back seat, she just fitted when Roger sat in front with Anastasia.

Once they left the freeway and began the long climb up to Mount Wilson's peak, Freya commented, "These moontains ur steeper than th' moontains near Portland."

Anastasia glanced at her via the rearview mirror and replied, "Yes, these are fairly young mountains with steep slopes so the road is a bit windy, but the views are terrific!"

Arriving at the observatory about an hour later, they spent a few minutes gazing out over the L.A. Basin stretched out below the mountains.

Freya murmured, "Thes reminds me ay when we flew o'er thes toon a few years ago, aw we coods see was th' city as far as uir eyes coods reach."

As they walked towards the lecture hall, other attendees glanced at Freya in amazement at her size and yet were polite enough not to snap a photo to show their friends on social media.

Anastasia pointed out the various domes and other structures scattered about the mountaintop, saying, "This was a working observatory, it was not a public planetarium meant to entertain while hopefully educating the public. The observatory at Griffith park was intended to do that with their planetarium shows and exhibits."

She glanced around and said, "This was where we discovered our place in the universe and it's no idle boast, they really did make some monumental discoveries up here!"

Arriving at the volunteer's desk, they looked up their names on the list and handed out brochures covering the subject being talked about that evening.

As the cheerful volunteer handed Freya the brochure she said quietly, "I'm afraid our seats are going to be too small for someone your size, you'll have to stand. Sorry."

Freya smiled at the volunteer and replied,"'Tis nae problem, most e'rythings too small fer me, Ah'll adapt."

Bending nearly double to clear the doors, Freya entered the lecture hall and stood at the back, smiling at everyone there.

Roger and Anastasia stood alongside her in a show of support for the young giantess.

There was a few minutes of polite banter and greetings from the director of the observatory foundation and at one point he said, "We are pleased to welcome a special guest tonight, a young lady who came all the way down from Canada to visit our country and she is here tonight to hear our speaker and of course, to look through our big telescopes. Please welcome Freya Sigurdsdottir!"

With that, he gestured and all eyes focused on Freya's towering form as she smiled shyly and waved hello.

Roger grinned and thought she probably wished she was Dena's size at the moment.

Continuing on, the guest speaker was introduced and after a brief bio on the gentleman, he took over the microphone.

The speaker, an older man with a long white beard and a booming baritone voice took a moment to ask Freya if she was indeed, a frost giant.

Freya without hesitation replied, "Yes, Ah am a Jotun."

He smiled and said as an aside, "This is a bit off topic and I'll be very brief. The tallest man who ever lived was Robert Wadlow, he grew to just under nine feet tall and was still growing when he died at age 22, due to an infection caused by an ill fitting leg brace. Medical science at the time was still fairly primitive and antibiotics had not been discovered yet."

He gestured at Freya and said apologetically, "I'm sorry to use you as an example Freya, but as you can see Freya does not have any sort of a brace and in fact, is except for her height, quite typical of a young woman in her late teens."

He grinned and said, "An old friend of mine is an anthropology professor at Pomona college and I am going to take great delight in telling him about meeting you!"

There was a tittering of chuckles coming from the audience at his remark, then silence fell as he said, "And now for the reason why we are all gathered here tonight...Astronomy!"

He launched into a fascinating lecture about the formation of the elements as part of stellar evolution and how as a star aged, the heavier elements formed in its body and when it eventually went nova or simply burned itself out, the elements were scattered amongst the remnants.

Over time the elements became part of a planetary body, such as Earth's and eventually, a clever ape evolved enough to begin exploiting the elements that had once been found only in the hearts of dying stars.

After the question and answer session was over, the speaker sought out Freya and she cheerfully posed for some pictures with him so he could show them to his old friend.

Feeling a bit peckish, they got in line with the other attendees at the food truck and when they got to the front of line, the cooks looked up at Freya in amazement and grinned when she ordered two burgers, two servings of fries and took two slices of pie, and a drink for her meal.

Again, she posed for a photo with the truck operators before she, Roger and Anastasia found themselves a table.

Eating under the soft glow of the lighting the observatory had put up, the trio enjoyed their food and occasionally glanced up at the massive white dome of the storied 100 inch telescope.

At the moment it was facing away from them so they couldn't see its giant tube pointing towards the heavens.

Finishing up their food, they got in line to look through the 60 inch telescope first.

Standing in line outside the dome, a portly gentleman regaled them with stories from the early days of Mount Wilson observatory.

He told them how the 60 inch telescope was the first large telescope designed to be a scientific instrument, in effect it was a giant camera mounted on a precision made fork mounting that could accurately track an object as it was either being photographed, or having its spectrum captured for later analysis.

He smiled at Freya and said cheerfully, "You certainly won't be needing to use the stairs to look through this telescope!"

Focussing his attention on her, he asked, "Have you ever looked though a large telescope?"

Freya replied,"Ah've looked through th' twintie fower inch telescope at Haggart observatory near Oregon city."

The portly gentleman smiled and remarked, "Well, this one is two and a half times larger with its mirror being sixty inches in diameter."

He grinned, "I think you'll enjoy looking through it! It's my personal favorite as I can't climb all those stairs to get to the hundred inch telescope, but I can climb these stairs!"

Freya grinned at him and said cheerfully, "Ah can carry ye oan me back, loch a bairn if ye'd loch."

He gaped at her and said, "But, I weigh over three hundred and forty pounds, I could hurt you with my weight alone."

Freya waved off his concerns and replied, "Ah've carried ower fife hunder poonds oan me back withit a problem."

The man looked at Roger with his eyebrows raised in a question to which Roger replied, "She's quite strong, don't let her slender build fool you, she comes from a very strong people. If she says she can do it, she can do it."

"Let me think about it." he replied.

A few minutes later Roger, Anastasia and Freya climbed the narrow stairs to the observing floor and beheld the 60 inch telescope for the first time.

In the dim light of the dome's interior they could make out the bulk of the telescope delicately poised as it followed its quarry across the sky.

The fellow in charge of the viewing session paused when he realized that Freya really was that tall, she wasn't standing on or near a ladder.

He cleared his throat and said, "The object we're looking at is the globular cluster M-5 in the constellation Serpens. It was first discovered in 1702 by Gottfried Kirch and was noted in 1764 by Charles Messier and added to his list. It is 24.5 thousand light years away from us and contains a small number of variable stars."

Freya stepped closer to the telescope's open lattice tube and gazed along its length, a few moments later she declared, "Ah can see it, it looks loch a wee puff ay smoke up in th' sky."

"Really?"

The fellow stepped over to where he could peer along the tube and raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes, "Well, I'll be. I guess you really can see it."

He grinned, "You've got pretty sharp eyes!"

"Wait'll you see it through the sixty inch!" he said cheerfully.

Anastasia went first and Roger watched in amazement as the slender blonde climbed part way up the stairs, threw a leg over the railing to plant a foot on the massive mirror cell body so she could lean way over and peer through the eyepiece.

When she was finished she climbed back down and said cheerfully, "And that, is how you do it!"

Roger chuckled and remarked, "I'll make note of that!"

When it was Freya's turn at the eyepiece, she simply stood on the bottom step and peered into the eyepiece.

"Och! It's loch a bowl ay diamonds, aw glittery an' sparkly." she said as she gazed through the eyepiece.

"'Tis a wonder, thenk you!"

"You are more than welcome, it's my pleasure and that's what we're here for, to share our telescopes with the public."

Roger climbed four steps and like Anastasia, he threw a leg over the railing to put his foot against the telescope's bulk so he could lean over and peer through the eyepiece sticking out the side of the telescope near the bottom.

After a few moments he said, "We saw something like this at the Haggart observatory, although it wasn't nearly as bright as this."

The fellow chuckled and said, "It's all about the aperture when it comes to brightness. The average human eye opens to about a third of an inch maximum, this telescope has sixty inches of aperture.

"Now, imagine all that light being narrowed down and focused into your eye. That's why it's so much brighter through a truly large telescope and just a short walk away, is our hundred inch telescope with its far greater light gathering power."

He grinned, "Go check it out!"

Roger chuckled and replied, "You talked me into it!"

When they came back down the stairs, the portly gentleman had wandered over by the 100 inch dome, which they could see rotating as it was being shifted to a different object in the sky.

Clustered near the massive dome was a number of smaller telescopes belonging to members of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, these instruments were pointing in various directions and each had a line of visitors waiting their turn at the eyepiece while its owner told them what they were looking at.

Upon seeing Roger, Anastasia and Freya approaching, he smiled at them and asked, "How did you like my favorite telescope?"

Freya smiled at him and replied,"Ah liked it, M-5 was verra sparkly an' glittery, loch a bowl ay diamonds, it looked tae me."

He chuckled and said, "That was my impression too, the first time I looked at a globular cluster through the sixty inch."

He looked up at the 100 inch dome and said ruefully, "My game leg won't let me climb all those steps to get up to the viewing floor of this telescope."

He looked back at Freya and said, "If you really think you can bear my weight up those stairs, then I am willing to sacrifice whatever dignity I have left, just so I can say I've looked through the hundred inch telescope!"

Freya smiled at him and said, "Ance we get inside, ye can gie oan me back an' Ah'll carry ye up those stairs."

When it was their turn to enter the massive dome, true to her word Freya hunkered down and after handing his cane to Roger and crossing himself, he clambered onto Freya's back.

She said, "Put yer arms aroond me neck an' hold oan, dinnae move whilst Ah'm carryin' ye, an' yoo'll be fine."

Doing as he was told, the portly gentleman grinned at the other two volunteers and said cheerfully, "My dignity is a small sacrifice to make when it comes to looking through the hundred inch telescope!"

They grinned at him and took a couple of photos 'for posterity!' one of them quipped.

Freya muttered, "Hold oan noo, haur we gae!"

She easily rose to her feet and began climbing the stairs with little effort, other than having to stoop low the whole way.

After all, the dome was not designed for a nine foot two inch tall person.

Roger and Anastasia fell in behind and followed the awkward duo up the long flight of narrow stairs.

As he climbed, Roger marveled at the massive concrete buttress that made up the base for the telescope and smiled at seeing the oddments stashed here and there, whereever they could find room for them.

This was clearly not an observatory meant to educate and entertain the masses, it was the real thing, a temple to science.

Entering the observing floor at last, Freya hunkered down again and the portly gentleman slid off of her and retrieved his cane from Roger.

Straightening up again Freya heard the low whistles as the telescope operator and the floor host muttered, "Woah, she's really tall."

The portly gentleman exclaimed, "And she's really strong too, how else did you think I was ever going to get up here!"

They chuckled at his remark and one said, "And congratulations upon your arrival, sir."

He looked up at the huge telescope so delicately poised, its great tube pointed towards the heavens and murmured, "We meet at last!"

When the rest of the small group had arrived and taken their seats, the floor host said,"Welcome to the hundred inch telescope. Completed in 1917, it was the largest telescope in the world until 1949 when the two hundred inch Hale reflector came into service."

Gesturing at the telescope he said, "It was with this instrument that Edwin Hubble discovered that the spiral nebulae as they were called, were actually other galaxies outside of our own. This telescope, like the sixty inch before it, moved us from being in the center of all things, to just another galaxy among countless millions of galaxies."

"Tonight's object, Messier 64, the Black eye galaxy is located in the constellation Coma Berenices and is about seventeen million light years away from us. It was discovered in 1779 by Edward Pigott and was added to Charles Messier's list in 1780.

"Because of its appearance, it is also known as the Sleeping Beauty galaxy or the Evil eye galaxy, whichever one works for you!"

As the floor host spoke, the portly gentleman sidled over to the eyepiece and began looking into it.

For some time he stood still, transfixed by what he was seeing and when he was able to tear himself away from the eyepiece, he toddled over to Freya, looked up at her and said hoarsely, "I cannot thank you enough, I never expected to be able to look though this telescope because of my weak legs, you have given me a wonderful experience and all I can say is thank you!"

Freya smiled at the man and said, "Yoo're welcome, it was me pleasure."

He bowed slightly towards her and toddled over to the operator to engage him in a conversation.

One by one, the small group took turns stepping up to the eyepiece and spending a few moments peering into the universe.

Anastasia took a bit longer when it was her turn and when she stepped down again she said,"It really does look like a black eye with the dark dust lanes strewn across its face like that. I can also see why it would be called the Evil eye, it really does have an evil look, almost like a witch's eye!"

Freya took a gander and after several moments remarked, "It reminds me ay th' look Ah woods gie frae me mammy when Ah was misbehavin'!"

Roger took his turn, chuckled and said, "Mother's stink eye, it's like the look we get from Silky, when she doesn't approve of what's going on."

Anastasia chuckled and said, "Even down here she's watching over you, Rodge!"

As they prepared to leave, Roger asked the portly gentleman, "Are you going to be okay going back down?"

He grinned and replied, "Going downstairs I can handle, it was the going up stairs I couldn't manage."

He smiled at Freya and said, "Thank you again, you really made my whole year to be honest and the momentary loss of dignity was a small price to pay!"

Freya grinned at him, then gave him one of her memorable hugs and afterwards, as he was recovering from the experience, she said, "Again, ye ur welcome an' Ah'm glad Ah coods gie sooch a happy moment."

They said their farewells and climbed down the winding stairs that exited out the back side of the massive dome.

The darkness outside was almost palpable with no moonlight to relieve the darkness, and it was a long walk to the parking lot.

Freya looked around briefly and took Roger's hand, "Cam wi' me." she said and they began walking back to Anastasia's car.

Apparently at ease in the darkness, Anastasia walked alongside them and she asked, "Did you guys like it?"

"Yeah, I liked it, this place is pretty cool. It sure beats Haggart observatory for sheer size and the sense of history up here is amazing." remarked Roger.

Freya said quietly, "Ah loched nae bein' gawked at an' havin' picters taken ay me withit askin' first."

She grinned, "An' Ah loched hearin' th' lecture, th' food truck an' lookin' through th' telescopes!"

Anastasia chuckled and said, "I'm glad you guys liked it. I enjoy coming up here for the lectures and the looking through the telescopes. It's an intellectual excursion if you will, I get to broaden my horizons and mingle with people who don't care who I am. They're all about supporting this observatory and not about fandom. It's really quite refreshing, to be anonymous, that is!"

They found her Subaru quite easily as both Freya and Anastasia could see quite well in the dark.

Soon after that, they were headed back to her house high above the storied intersection of Hollywood, Virgil and Sunset boulevards.

The next morning after Anastasia left for the con they slept in, ate a late breakfast and generally lounged about the house, while waiting for Christina and Lorna to rejoin them.

Upon her return from the con, Anastasia left them to their own devices while she slipped into her study and began typing on a story she was working on in collaboration with Anita Larsen.

Their last few collaborations had been well received and sold well, thus they were encouraged to continue writing together.

What Anastasia was working on was a movie plot and at the moment, she was building the world and its inhabitants to be portrayed on screen.

Lorna and Christina were dropped off by Susana and her annoying younger brother at around 3:00 P.M. And they were bearing gifts they'd bought for their relatives in foreign lands.

Shortly after that, Roger and Freya came back from the market with several bags of canned goods and groceries to be taken on the flight.

Flying at a leisurely 200 MPH meant the flights were long and they would need to eat and drink during those flights.

The heavy sea plane came with a well equipped, small galley with a two burner electric stove, a coffee maker, a sink and a small refrigerator.

There was also a toilet for bodily functions and several narrow, fold away cots for sleeping in relative comfort.

Neither Roger or Freya had any intention of going hungry or roughing it, while enroute.

As night fell, Roger laid a fire in the living room's fireplace and they spent a quiet evening sipping tea and gazing into the cheery fire until sleep overcame them and they slept in place.

Monday morning arrived a bit sooner than they would've liked, yet there it was.

Roger and company enjoyed a last home cooked breakfast as prepared by Anastasia who declared, "I'm always enjoying the breakfasts you guys make me when I'm visiting, this time, I get to play the hostess!"

Roger grinned and refrained from commenting about the times she had insisted on washing the dishes or cooking breakfast, while declaring that she would complain to the manager if he persisted in annoying her while she was enjoying herself!

Sheila arrived with the tall Mercedes-Benz passenger van and enjoyed a cup of coffee while they finished up their breakfast at Chez Anastasia.

After breakfast Roger insisted on washing the dishes and when Anastasia objected he grinned and gleefully retorted, "I'm a guest here I'll have you know and if you persist in annoying me, I'll be speaking to the manager!"

She grinned at him and muttered, "I'm sooo gonna get even with you, that's my trick!"

Roger winked at her as he put the last of the dishes in the drying rack and said, "And I'm counting on it!"

Sheila called out, "Alright you two, we've gotta flight to catch, the traffic's gonna be a pain and we're burnin' daylight here!"

"Yes dear!" Roger and Anastasia called out in unison then they helped load the van with the boxes of foodstuffs, the luggage and finally, themselves.

A mercifully short time later, they pulled up next to the gleaming white Martin Mariner and began loading their things on board.

With Roger acting as load master, he quickly stashed the foodstuffs where they'd be out of the way, yet easily retrieved.

The luggage and gifts went into the narrow crawlway leading to the former tail gunner's position and got secured by cargo nets.

After topping up the water tank for the sink and toilet Roger said, "That's everything, next stop Hawai'i!"

Ignoring the plane spotters who had gathered to watch, Roger and company said their good byes to Anastasia and Sheila.

Her kiss good bye was as always sweet and tender, her hug hard to forget and when they separated, Anastasia smiled at Roger and said, "Until we meet again, I'll be keeping you in my thoughts."

Sheila's hug and kiss were more physical in nature and after receiving a bone creaking hug from her, Roger commented, "That was a hug I won't soon be forgetting!"

She grinned and said, "I meant to do it that way. Take care of yourself out there and call us as soon as you get there, we'll both be waiting for your call!"

Roger grinned, "Yes dear!"

Once everyone was on board and seated, Roger and Freya went through the final preflight check list and started the left engine which soon cleared its throat and began running smoothly.

Shortly thereafter, the right engine was warming up and after getting clearance from the tower, they eased into the take off pattern and taxied into place.

Seeing the warning lights changing colors, Roger throttled up the engines and held them at 2100 RPM's, the entire plane vibrating in concert with the massive Wright Cyclone engines generating some 3,500 horsepower apiece.

Seeing the green, Roger released the brakes and engaged the variable pitch propeller at maximum.

The bulky sea plane surged forward and quickly gathered speed as its huge propellers bit into the air.

Moments later, the bumping and rattling from the landing gear ceased and the huge wings shouldered the load, lofting the Martin Mariner into the air.

Van Nuys airport dropped away and soon, they were flying over the Santa Monica mountains and heading towards the islands of Hawai'i far out to sea.

Among the plane spotters that sunny morning, was the same older man with his fancy camera and his ever so patient wife of some fifty years, smiling indulgently while he snapped photo after photo of the bulky white vintage sea plane as it started up, warmed up, taxiied into place and finally; took off with a roar from its twin 18 cylinder engines.

When it had disappeared over the Santa Monica mountains, he lowered his camera.

He smiled at her as he put away his camera and loaded his scooter onto its carrier.

He grinned at her as he opened her door and kissed her just before she slipped into their car.

Hobbling around to his side, he got in, started up the car and said with a grin, "Where do you want to eat breakfast?"

His tiny wife of half a century smiled coyly and said as always, "I don't know..."

He grinned, they had played this little game almost from the beginning of their relationship.

"Barrio Fiesta, the one in Glendale?"

She smiled and said, "Yes"

They drove off to get their breakfast.

45