Fletcher hopped off her hand and took flight to the cabinet where Dom kept his favorite unsalted peanuts, tapping at the door with his beak.
Nina didn’t bother to ask permission, she went and opened the cabinet, located the peanuts, popped the can’s top, and poured a couple into her hand.
Fletcher pecked at them, grabbing one with his beak, then hopped to Nina’s shoulder to press the nut to her lips, the same way he did with Dom.
This beautiful creature took the peanut from him and praised him, lavishing the bird with affection by rubbing her cheek against the top of his head.“Who’s so smart?”
Fletcher, her ride or die, looked into Nina’s eyes and preened.Preened.
Dom set the phone down on her countertop, her mouth falling open, forgetting she had the knife, forgetting there were beautiful strangers standing in her small living room.“I’ve never seen him behave like that with anyone but me.He’s…he’s usually so skittish with new people…”
A gorgeous blonde, dressed in a burnt-orange flared skirt with a wide belt, the collar of her chocolate-brown shirt turned up under her tan denim shrug, gold and silver bangle bracelets lining her arms, held out her hand with a warm smile, offering it to Dom.
“I’m Marty Flaherty.Andallanimals, friend or foe, love Nina.You’ll get used to it.”
Get used to it?How long did these people plan to stay?Getting used to something meant spending lots of time together—like getting a bad haircut or bangs.You got used to them…
“I’m Wanda Jefferson,” an elegant woman in a sophisticated pair of pleated navy trousers and a white silky shirt beneath her trench coat, her hair in a smooth updo, introduced herself.“And I’ll take that, thank you kindly.”She snatched the knife from Dom’s hand so fast, it made her head spin.
“And I’m Harvey Larsen,” the guy who’d fallen off a Brawny paper towel package said, extending his wide, tanned hand to her.
But Dom was too afraid to take it.Instead, she swallowed hard and tried to put her brave pants on.
She pointed to the hammer, glowing under her kitchen lights.“That’s yours?”
He smiled then, so suddenly it caught her completely off guard.Not only because it was unexpected, but because it was so warm and genuine, the grooves on either side of his mouth deepening when his lips lifted.“I’m more like its babysitter.I’m sorry if you were frightened by its sudden appearance.It has a way of escaping my clutches.”
“It?”the hammer jeered in a cultured voice.“Oh, Harvey, I’m so disappointed in you.I have a name, young man, and you know that to be true.Address me as such.”
Harvey leaned his large body down, eyeing the hammer with what Dom might label begrudging affection.“You do have a name,Mjölnir.”
“Hold the fuck on,” Nina growled, holding up a finger as she set Fletcher on the kitchen counter and came to stand in front of Harvey.“You mean like Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir?Like in the Marvel movies?ThatThor’s hammer?”
Harvey rasped a sigh, running a hand through his shiny chin-length hair.“This wasn’t the way I was going to go about explaining this.I’d planned on a more delicate entry to the bigger conversation, but yes.This,” he pointed at the battered silver hammer, “is Thor’s hammer.But we affectionately call himMC Hammer.”
MC balked with loud affront.“Can you imagine?A specimen such as myself, capable of fierce acts of power, with a nickname like MC Hammer?It’s outrageous!An egregious disrespect to my centuries-old existence!”
“You have to admit, buddy, it kinda fits.‘Can’t Touch This’ and all,” Harvey teased.
Dom didn’t understand the inside joke, but Marty must have, because she burst into a fit of giggles, her long blonde hair falling down her back as she chuckled.“MC Hammer?Oh, that’s priceless!”
Wanda, who had to stifle her snicker, reached out a hand to grasp Marty’s.“Stop,” she pleaded with a bubble of laughter.“We’re being unprofessional.”
Dom, now utterly panicked, looked at these people as though they’d all been gifted a group day pass from a psychiatric facility.“Thor’s hammer?”she crowed, her voice bordering on hysterical.“Are you all mad?Do you understand how insane you all sound, laughing at a hammer that talks—talks!—with the nickname of an ’80s rapper, that this giraffe of a man claims is Thor’s hammer.TheThor, from Norse mythology, as though this is an everyday occurrence?”
The room fell silent until Nina let out a long sigh, grabbing Dom’s hand.“Let me fucking show you why we don’t think a wisecracking hammer is a big damn deal.”
Dom tried to pull away, but this woman’s grip was made of steel.
“Relax,” Nina ordered.“It’ll all be over in like fucking two seconds.You’ll melt down, these two ninnies will make you something warm to soothe your upset tummy, they’ll hug you and give you sympathy, cover your cold-from-fear feet with a blanket, and then we’ll get to the business of figuring this shit out.”
Dom’s heart began to pound so hard in her chest, she thought she’d have a heart attack.
Fear coiled in her belly when Marty yelped, “Nina, no!Wait!”
But Nina didn’t, in fact, wait.
She, in fact, went full-steam ahead.
