I awoke the next morning very early, even before Algo had risen. As I opened my eyes, the image of Rune's sleeping face came into focus. We were facing each other, and his arm was around my waist. I watched his eyes flutter under their lids and wondered what he was dreaming about. I softly brushed the wisp of hair off his cheek. It woke him, and he smiled and said," Good Morning, my love." He sat up, the heavy down quilt falling to his lap exposing a bare, muscular chest. He stretched his arms and then turned to look at me. He grabbed a tie off of the small table next to the bed and handed it to me. "Put my hair back?" he asked. I sat up and took the tie from his hand. I moved around and sat behind him. I grabbed the brush from the table and began to run it though his silky blue hair. This brought back so many memories of mornings with him, doing this exact same thing.
I finished brushing his hair, and I pulled it back and tied it with the delicate silken strand. I handed him the brush, to put back on the table. He immediately handed it right back to me with a smirk on his face. I pulled on the ponytail that I had just made in his hair and replaced the brush to the table myself.
"Oooh, it's cold in here," I said to him, as I pulled the blankets around myself. Like always, the fire had gone out during the night. Usually, because a small child had stolen the blankets somewhere during the course of the evening, I would have noticed and started the fire again. But, with Rune there, he kept me warm throughout the night, and there was no need to tend to the fire. He got out of bed and ran to the fireplace, all the while muttering about "how damn cold the floor is."
He placed a new log in the hearth and tried to light the fire. Every match that he struck went out before he could get it anywhere close to the logs. He was obviously frustrated and became even more so when I could no longer hide my laughter. "Oh, so you think this is funny?" he asked. He blew the hair out of his eyes, scowled and stood up. Facing the non-obedient logs, he swooped his arm and said "Foi!" Instantly there was a raging inferno in the fireplace. He turned around with that "Rune Walsh smirk" on his face and said, "You're next if you don't stop that laughing." He got back into bed and underneath the covers. When he was situated, he purposely put his cold feet up against my legs. "Hey!" I screamed, as I pinched his arm in retaliation. The curtains on the forty-foot windows were open, and we laid there in each other's arms and watched Algo rise. It was so peaceful and quiet, just laying there...the quiet didn't last long.
From down the hallway, I heard tiny little feet racing towards our bedroom. "Uh-Oh," Rune said. "Here comes the monster." The footsteps stopped just outside the door. The doorknob jiggled as Araliya tried to hopelessly open the locked door. Rune got up and stood next to the doorway. "Sorry!" he said. "We're closed for today. Come back tomorrow." Araliya stopped jiggling the doorknob and proceeded to kick the giant door. "Let me in Daddy Lutz!" she screamed. "Oh Rune, let her in before she breaks her foot," I laughed. He turned to the door once again, and this time said, "I will let you in if you stop kicking my door." The kicking immediately stopped, and Rune unlocked to door.
Araliya stood there, in her long white nightgown, her green hair in a morning rat's nest. She matter-of-factly came up and stood right next to her father, looked up at him, and stuck out her tongue. "What was that for?" he questioned. "For not opening the door, Dad-dy!" "Oh yeah?" he quipped. "Yeah!", and with that she stuck out her tongue once more. Rune grabbed her and tossed her high in the air before catching her in his arms. Araliya kicked her feet in j y and giggled loudly. He then tossed her on to our bed, where she immediately crawled underneath the covers. "Stole your spot, Dad-dy!" she taunted.
Rune sat down on the end of the bed, hung his head and pretended to cry. "Why ya cryin' Daddy?" she asked, concerned. Rune sniffed and said in a sobbing voice, "You took my spot, now I'm sad." Araliya got up from underneath the heavy covers and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. "Oh I'm sorry Daddy! A thousand kisses to make it better!" Rune turned around and took his little daughter in his arms. The nice father/daughter moment abruptly ended when Araliya suddenly announced, "I'm hungreeeeeeeee!" I took her out of Rune's embrace and suggested that we go wake up Joaquin, and that she get dressed. Rune stayed behind to get himself dressed, and then was going to wake his companions.
