Boda led Loki to a small table in front of the window to the left of the door of the tavern, sliding out one of the chairs for herself, gesturing to the one on the other side of the table. A stereo system connected to speakers mounted on the wall, complete with a turntable, radio, and cassette tape deck sat visible on a shelf behind the bar, a female vocalist adding her voice to the music originating from it.
“Cold, late night so long ago when I was not so strong you know, a pretty man came to me, I never seen eyes so blue, you know I could not run away, it seemed we’d seen each other in a dream, seemed like he knew me…” Ann Wilson sang.
“Have a seat,” Boda said, Loki reaching out and touching the chair, finding that it was solid and appeared real enough, seating himself.
“This isn’t an illusion,” Loki observed.
“A memory…our memories,” Boda explained.
A man and woman in their mid 20′s appeared at a table across the room, nearly empty mugs of beer in front of them. A doppelganger of Boda, her hair curled and teased in a style popular in 1984 and sporting clothing of that era now stood behind the bar, a bin of freshly washed mugs within it placed upon it. She stood drying each mug with a towel, replacing them under the bar. The couple finished their drinks before standing, the man placing a couple of dollar bills on the table, both retrieving their coats from the back of their chairs and donning them, Boda’s double taking notice.
“Thanks for coming in. Have a good night,” Boda’s double called to them, the couple both giving a short wave in acknowledgement before turning to walk to the door, “Be careful out there. It’s a mess,” Boda’s double finished as they reached the door and exited.
Boda’s double put the glass she had been drying away and sat the towel on the bar, reaching under it for a damp rag hanging off the side of a bucket, dipping it in the cleaning solution and wringing it out. Walking over to the table she putting the money into her pocket before grabbing the handles of both mugs in her left hand, picking them up.
“‘Come on home, girl,’ he said with a smile,‘I cast my spell of love on you, a woman from a child’ but try to understand, try to understand, try, try, try to understand, he’s a magic man, oh he’s got the magic hands…” Boda’s double sang along with the song playing on the stereo as she wiped down the table and pushed in the chairs, checking the floor beneath them, Loki looking over to the real Boda with a smirk.
Boda’s double roamed about the tavern, wiping the wet rag over a few more tables before returning to the bar, placing the dirty mugs beside the bin and the rag back with the bucket, returning to drying the clean mugs just as the telephone on the wall behind the bar began to ring. Boda’s double sat the mug in her hand and the towel on the bar, stepping over to the stereo, turning the volume down a bit before walking from it to the phone, answering the call.
“Talk of the Town Tavern. This is An–” Boda’s double began before going silent, listening to the voice speaking through the corded receiver.
“You never told me where you came up with that name,” Loki said to the real Boda.
“It’s the name of a song.”
“Of course it is,” Loki replied.
“Will, hi….no, it’s ok. I’m not busy. Far from it. There’s only been a few come in since I opened. The last two just left. It’s a weeknight and the weather’s bad. I think I’ll cut my losses and close early. No sense paying to keep the lights on. How’s New York?” Boda’s double asked as she spoke into the phone, pausing to listen to Will’s response.
Boda’s double, cradling the phone between her chin and shoulder as she stretched the cord, stepped back over to the bar and picked up another mug, drying it.
“You’re welcome,” Boda’s double said, pausing to listen, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been doing all right. You’ve helped me out enough times. It makes me feel better since you never let me pay you. You have to give it a go. If it doesn’t work out there’ll be other shows, at least you’ve got people’s attention, that’s the hard part,” Boda’s double continued as the mug she was drying slipped from her grip, shattering on the floor, “I’m fine, just clumsy, dropped a mug,” she said, beginning to chuckle, “Nothing…it just reminded me of a custom back home. See you Saturday. I hope you hear good news….you too. Bye.”
Boda’s double hung up the phone and returned to the stereo, turning the volume back up before drying the two remaining mugs in the bin. She placed the two dirty ones into it, picking it up and walking around the shards of glass on the floor through a swinging door behind the bar.
“He was an actor. He acted in one of the local theaters in the evenings. He worked as a cook at a restaurant during the breakfast and lunch shift to save money to move to New York. Someone attended a show he was in and invited him to audition for a show on Broadway. I’d given him some money for the trip so he wouldn’t have to dip into his savings,” the real Boda informed Loki.
“Did he get the part?” Loki asked.
“If he had, he wouldn’t have been here that night…”
The door of the tavern opened, the song that had been playing coming to an end, another beginning after a pause, Loki turning in his chair to witness his own doppelganger enter wearing a black tailored wool coat, a green scarf around his neck, snow and sleet spotting his hair and coat beginning to melt as he closed the door, standing in front of it.
“Come take my hand. You should know me. I’ve always been in your mind. You know I will be kind. I’ll be guiding you…” Olivia Newton John’s smooth, sultry voice sang as Loki’s double looked around the tavern.
“Hello?” Loki’s double called out after a few moments.
“I’ll be right out!” Boda’s double’s voice called from the back room.
“I don’t need to see anymore. I was there. We both were,” the real Loki said, turning back to the real Boda across from him who looked past Loki at his double with a wistful expression.
“I need to know if our memories align,” the real Boda replied.
“Why does it matter?” the real Loki asked, the actual Boda ignoring him.
“You have to believe we are magic. Nothing can stand in our way. You have to believe we are magic. Don’t let your aim ever stray, and if all your hopes survive, destiny will arrive. I’ll bring all your dreams alive for you…” Olivia Newton John’s voice sang sweetly as Loki’s double stepped forward, reaching the midway point between the bar and the entrance, halting as he heard Boda’s double’s voice as she pushed open the swinging door, entering the tavern from the back room with a broom and dustpan.
“Sorry. I didn’t think anyone would brave the weather. What can I—” Boda’s double abruptly ceased speaking as she laid eyes on Loki’s double, “How...you’re in New York…”
“Not recently,” Loki’s double replied, confused, Boda’s double rendered speechless once again.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Loki…?” Boda’s double finally said, dropping the broom and dustpan before striding to him, throwing her arms around him and kissing him passionately, catching him off guard and knocking him back a step.
Ending the kiss, Boda’s double stepped back, raising her arm and preparing to slap him, Loki’s double swiftly raising his own to grasp her wrist before she could complete the maneuver.
“if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather skip that part,” said Loki’s double, releasing her, his coat and scarf vanishing as green magical light traced them, revealing the black early 80′s style dress shirt he wore beneath it with matching trousers.
"I like what you've done with the place," Loki's double replied.
“It looks the same as the first and last time you were here...four years ago. Sit,” Boda’s double said, turning and walking to the bar, picking the broom and dustpan up from the floor, quickly sweeping up the broken mug.
Loki’s double made his way to the bar and seated himself on a stool, watching Boda’s double as she dumped the remnants of the mug into a trash can under the bar.
“What happened?” Loki’s double asked.
“I was drying a mug and it slipped. Not the first time,” Boda’s double replied, “Can I get you something...Wait! I’ll be right back!” Boda’s double exclaimed, carrying the broom and dustpan through the swinging door.
Loki’s double stood, walking around the bar to the stereo as the song that had begun playing soon after his entrance ended. He glanced at the swinging door before he stopped the tape deck and opened it. Removing the cassette tape he examined it, noticing it was a recordable cassette, ‘Loki’ written on it in black marker. Grinning, he placed it back in the stereo and restarted it, the next song beginning as he returned to the stool awaiting Boda’s return.
“We are young, heartache to heartache we stand, no promises, no demands, love is a battlefield…” Pat Benatar’s voice spoke with an echo effect before proceeding to sing as Boda’s double reappeared, a bottle of wine in her hand.
“I can get rid of one of these,” Boda’s double said, setting the bottle on the bar as Benatar belted out the next lines of the song.
“You’re making me go, then making me stay, why do you hurt me so bad? It would help me to know do I stand in your way or am I the best thing you’ve had? Believe me, believe me, I can’t tell you why but I’m trapped by your love and I’m chained to your side…” Benatar sang, Loki’s double turning his head to stare at the stereo.
“What is it?” Boda’s double asked, noticing the pained expression on his face as he listened to the music.
“Nothing,” Loki’s double replied, forcing a grin as he turned his attention from the stereo back to her and the bottle of wine, Boda's double retrieving two wine glasses and a corkscrew from under the bar.
“I don’t sell much wine, beer and mixed drinks mostly. I only order a few bottles every couple of months but my supplier made a mistake and sent me two cases of this in the last delivery. they didn't charge me. They said it would cost them more to send someone to pick it up and to restock it. It’s better than what I usually get,” Boda’s double explained as she picked up the corkscrew.
Loki gripped the neck of the bottle, a green glow tracing it before the cork popped out, landing on the bar. Boda sat the cork screw down and picked up the bottle, filling both glasses, sliding one in front of Loki who raised it to his lips, sampling the wine, as she sipped from her own glass.
“Not bad…for Midgardian wine,” Loki’s double stated, taking another drink as Boda's double made her way around the bar to seat herself on a stool beside Loki’s double, both Asgardians silent for a time as they drank.
“You didn’t come here for the sun. Is everything ok? How is your mother? I won’t ask about your father,” inquired Boda’s double, breaking the silence as she refilled their glasses.
“She’s wonderful, as always,” Loki’s double replied.
“Your brother?”
“If his ego becomes any more inflated he’ll float away. I would enjoy seeing that, actually.”
“I think you’d rather stick a pin in him in that event,” Boda’s double responded with a smirk, Loki’s double returning his own.
“I may stick a pair of far sharper objects into him if he continues to test my patience,” Loki’s double said acidly.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Boda’s double replied, “It's never seemed to help.”
“How are...things?” Loki’s double asked.
“I’m doing all right. I’m running the place myself so I don’t have to pay anyone. It’s not as if I have anything else to do. I’m making enough to keep it going and take care of myself. Some months I even have a bit left over to put away for a rainy… or snowy day. Things could be worse…I thought maybe you’d forgotten about me.”
“I’ve been otherwise occupied,” Loki’s double explained.
“Doing what?”
“My father sent me on a mission to infiltrate a band of marauders who were making overtures to Jotunheim for assistance in their schemes. Thanks to me they now call the dungeon home. Not that my accomplishment garnered the least bit of appreciation,” Loki’s double responded.
“That didn’t take four years to accomplish, likely all of four minutes. Marauders aren’t known for their intellect.”
“I have other responsibilities along with the bones my father occasionally sees fit to toss my way,” Loki’s double responded, both falling silent once again as they drank.
“So who is she, or he, or they?” Boda’s double finally asked, gazing down into her glass of wine.
“No one of any significance. I made the acquaintance of an apprentice architect while commissioning a few additions to my wardrobe. He’s a pleasant enough companion and conversationalist. You might like him.”
“Maybe you can bring him along next time, if he’s still speaking to you by then,” Boda responded.
“I’m not sure Midgard would be to his liking.”
“If he can handle you, he could survive a visit here,” Boda replied.
“Perhaps I will. He seems to enjoy hearing about it, though hearing of something and experiencing it are two very different things.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Boda’s double said, polishing off her glass of wine, pouring herself more as Benatar's voice faded out before the haunting notes of a piano filled the tavern as the next song on the tape began to play.
“Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you’re never coming round. Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears…” Bonnie Tyler sang.
Loki’s double looked from his glass to the stereo once again as he listened. After a few moments he stood, offering his hand to Boda’s double.
“Would you care for a dance?” Loki’s double asked.
“We haven’t danced together since the revels celebrating your parents' anniversary,” Boda's double replied as she stood.
“In Buri’s Valley. I remember.”
“It was so beautiful, all the aureole lights, the fireworks…like a dream. Sometimes it feels like it was...that it was all a dream,” Boda’s double reminisced as she hooked her arms loosely around Loki’s double’s neck as he wrapped his own around her, the two dancing as the song continued.
"Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe as magical and wondrous as you. Every now and then I know there's nothing any better, there's nothing that I just wouldn't do..." Tyler sang on.
Boda’s double suddenly pulled away from Loki's double, attempting to flee. Loki's double took hold of her arm, gently pulling her back as Boda's double turned to face him, their eyes locking, sharing a kiss before vanishing, the tavern now silent and empty but for the real Boda and Loki.
Loki as if in a trance sat silent for a moment before snapping out of it, realizing their doubles were gone, the scene ended.
“I changed my mind. I’d like to see the rest…” Loki said as he turned to Boda.
“It’s all up here,” Boda replied, tapping her temple with her index finger.
The sound of voices began to fill the room as well as music once again, the opening of ABBA’s song ‘Waterloo’, tavern patrons appearing seated at a few of the tables and at the bar, some rising and putting on coats as they moved toward the door. Loki turned from Boda to look over the room, noticing Boda’s double once again, her hair style the same but now wearing a white blouse and jeans, standing behind the bar across from a young man with dark hair like his own, though a few inches longer, his back to Loki.
“I don’t recall…” Loki said, puzzled, before realizing what he was witnessing, his expression darkening, “No….Boda—” Loki began before Boda cut him off.
“I need to. I have to.”
“Some things are better forgotten.”
The dark haired man rose from the stool on which he was sitting, taking Boda’s double’s hand and kissing it before turning, Loki amazed to be viewing a face that was nearly a copy of his own, Will crossing to a long metal coat rack near the door, locating his and removing it from the hanger and putting it on, zipping it up before walking to the door. Turning he waved at Boda’s double, she returning it with a smile, before he walked out the door, closing it behind him. Boda’s double stepped over to another customer at the bar who handed her money. She walked over to the cash register, ringing up the patron’s tab.
One of two men sitting at a table on the other side of the tavern made a gesture to his companion seated across from him before pointing at the door, both men rising and walking to the coat rack, locating their coats and exiting. Boda’s double glanced at them for a moment before shifting her attention to another customer.
Loki stood from his seat at the table. Stepping over to Boda he kneeled before her, taking her hands in his.
“Vanar’s waiting for us.”
“Will was waiting….for someone…anyone...” Boda said, her voice quavering as tears welled in her eyes.
“Boda, stop this…” Loki pleaded.