Finding Adolf

Seeing Freyr disappear into the distance, Dreufey felt at once lost and lonely. With both Odin and Freyr gone, she had no option but to stay on Earth until her mission was complete, and the mission they had given her was not to her liking. It seemed silly and a waste of time. But it wasn't up to her to judge the importance of her mission, and Freyr had outlined a plan that gave her some direction.

Dreufey sat down on a bench with a wide view of the nearby neighborhood. There were apartment buildings all around, with a backdrop of towers, domes and spires from taller buildings in the distance.

Sitting alone in silence, she gave Freyr's idea some thought, and pretty soon she had a plan figured out.

Instead of going straight home, she returned to the art gallery. She told the attendant at the counter that she wanted to buy Adolf's painting of a mother and child.

"There's something about it that I can't quite put my finger on," she said. "Do you by chance have the address of this painter? You see, I would like him to paint a portrait of me."
"He's not known to make portraits," the attendant replied. "But if you insist, here's his address."

The attendant found a business card in a drawer under the counter and handed it to Dreufey. He then invited Dreufey over to Adolf's corner of the gallery.

"Is this the painting you had in mind?" he asked.
"Yes, that's the one."
"Do you want it marked as sold, or do you want to take it with you right away."
"I'd like to have it right away."
"That will cost a little extra. Ten percent to be exact."
"Sure. Why not? I'll take it with me now."

The attendant took the painting with him over to the counter where he wrapped it in brown paper.

Dreufey paid for the painting, took it under her arm, and headed back to her apartment where she hung it in a corner of her dining room, next to the window. She had to take down a painting she liked much better in order to hang Adolf's painting, but this was business. The degradation of that particular corner of her apartment was something she had to accept as the price for doing the right thing.

Happy to have completed the first step of her plan, Dreufey wasted no time in going on to the next one.

She found Adolf's address on a map. On seeing that it was at some distance from her apartment, she decided to take the car left behind by Freyr.

It was early afternoon, with a lot of traffic, so there wasn't much time saved by taking the car. But at least she saved herself from what would've been a tiring and unpleasant walk through the poor and run-down quarters of Munich.

The area where she ended up didn't look very safe. The people out in the streets looked tired and menacing, and there were a great number of kids running around like untamed animals.

On stepping out of her car, Dreufey was immediately surrounded by greedy and hungry children.

"What's with the car, miss?" "Can I drive it?" "Do you have a penny for me?" "Please miss, I'm hungry." There was a barrage of begging and pleading.
"No! Get away from me," Dreufey said angrily, but to no avail.

Then she got an idea. She identified the biggest and strongest of the kids and told him to look after her car.

"Here's a coin for your trouble, and I have another coin for you just like that when I come back in a minute."

The kid smiled from ear to ear and went immediately about the task of clearing the way for Dreufey so that she could get to Adolf's place.

She found the man's flat at the top of the staircase, where there once had been a loft. The ceiling was low, and the place smelled of dust and damp plaster.

Dreufey knocked on his door.

She heard a rustle inside, followed by the sound of bolts being drawn and locks being unlocked. The door opened. A man, about thirty years old, tired looking, with brown eyes and dark untidy hair, stood in front of her. He wore a plaid shirt and worn trousers held up by suspenders.

"Yes?" he asked, bemused at the sight of a well to do lady.
"Are you by any chance Adolf, the painter?"
"That's me."
"I've just bought one of your paintings from the gallery downtown. I liked it so much that I was wondering if I could have you paint my portrait."
"I'm afraid I don't do portraits. It's not my thing."
"But why not? The painting I bought of a woman and child is so beautiful."
"You mean Maria and Jesus?"
"Is that their names?"
"Yes!"
"Thanks, I'll make a note of that... Anyway... Your work shows a lot of promise, so I want you to paint a portrait of me in that same style."
"Really? And how much are you prepared to pay?"

Dreufey suggested a sum five times what she just paid at the gallery.

"Are you serious?"
"Absolutely."

Adolf seemed suddenly divided as to his priorities.

"I'm afraid I don't have much time at the moment. I'm on my way out to meet a friend. But I like your proposal. Can we meet tomorrow and discuss this over a cup of coffee. Let's say at the Golden Swan downtown, ten o'clock tomorrow morning?"
"That's an excellent idea. We'll get to know each other better, and I can better explain what I'm after."
"Yes, yes. I'll see you there tomorrow, but I got to go. I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"Well then, the Golden Swan tomorrow morning at ten o'clock it is."

The next morning turned out to be rainy and miserable, but that put no dent in Dreufey's upbeat mood. She looked surprisingly perky despite a couple of sideways gusts that had thrown rain at her on her way down to the café. Adolf, on the other hand, looked as miserable as the weather where he stood waiting for her under an umbrella that had seen better days.

"Let's get inside!" Dreufey said as soon as she was within hearing distance. "Why are you standing outside in the rain?"
"I was afraid it was a prank. I didn't want to go in and end up drinking expensive coffee with no company and no purpose."
"Well, here I am. You don't have to worry any more, and that coffee is on me by the way. Why don't you order a pastry for yourself. You look like you need one."

They sat down at a small table by a window. A waiter appeared and Dreufey ordered two cups of coffee and a slice of apple pie with whipped cream for Adolf.

After some small talk, Dreufey revealed that she wanted her portrait painted in the style of a Norse goddess. The style was all the rage at the time, and she figured she might as well do her bit to promote it.

"That will be a challenge," Adolf said after some consideration. "There are so many good painters out there doing exactly that. I'm not sure I'm up to the task."
"But you like the style?"
"I love it! I'm a bit of a Norse mythology buff, you see. Thor, Odin, Loki, frost giants, great battles; it's the sort of stuff that we Germans are made of."
"But if you love it so much, why don't you try your hand at it?"
"I never really dared to go that way. There's too much competition. Cityscapes and architecture are more my thing."

Dreufey took a sip of her coffee.

"Why not take this opportunity to create something in the vein of Norse mythology. It doesn't have to be top of the class. I'll be happy with something like the mother and child painting I bought."
"Maria and Jesus."
"Exactly."
"But then as a Norse mythology thing?"
"Why not?"
"Well, I'll give it a try. Considering the amount you're willing to pay, I'd be crazy not to."

Adolf finished his cake.

"So, when do you want this done?" he asked.
"As soon as possible."
"At my place?"
"No. I want you to come to my apartment. I don't want to go back and forth across town every day just to sit for my portrait."
"That makes sense. I'll bring a canvas and my paint and brushes. I'll bring a rug too, to cover the floor so I don't spill any of my paint on it."
"That's very thoughtful of you. Shall we say ten o'clock tomorrow?"
"That's fine with me."
"Here's my business card. I'll be there waiting for you."

Dreufey paid for the coffees and the cake as promised. Then the two went their separate ways after a polite handshake.

Ten o'clock the next day, there was a ring of the bell over Dreufey's entrance door.

Without bothering to ask who it was, Dreufey pulled the lever to open the downstairs door. She turned to the mirror in her hall to check her appearance. Her green dress, draped elegantly over her body, made for a great contrast to the red ruby pendant attached to her gold necklace, her red lips, and her golden hair which she had knotted into a bun at the back of her head.

Adolf knocked on her door, and Dreufey let him in. He had walked across town with all his things. Sweaty and bothered, he practically stumbled into her apartment.

"Please sit down," Dreufey said. "You have to be more generous towards yourself. Had I known you would bring so many things, I would've arranged for a taxi."

Dreufey showed Adolf into her living room where she let him sit down in one of her sofas.

"I've made fresh coffee. Would you like some?"
"Yes please. I could do with a cup."
"Okay, I'll be right back."

Dreufey went into her kitchen to get two cups of coffee. On returning to her living room, and handing Adolf his coffee, she decided to sit down in the sofa next to him.

"I expected you to have a maid in the house," Adolf said. "Surely, you can afford one?"
"I can. But I like the privacy of having the apartment to myself."

After some small talk, Dreufey led the conversation on to the task at hand.

"We need to find a place with plenty of light, don't you think?"
"A place close to a window, so we get the light in from the side, would be ideal."
"How about over there?"

Dreufey pointed to the dining room.

"That's where I've hung the mother and child painting."
"Really?"
"Yes. Why don't you go and have a look?"

Adolf got up from the sofa. Dreufey followed him into the dining room.

"There it is," Adolf said with a mixture of surprise and shame. "I'm sure I can do better than this. It's not my best work."

Dreufey nodded in agreement.

"That's what I thought as well. Yet, there's something there. There's a lot more in you, I feel, and I would like you to get that out and onto that canvas you brought with you."
"That's a lot of pressure," Adolf said, looking around in the room and realizing that all of Dreufey's other paintings were of the highest quality.
"Don't worry," Dreufey said in a soft, comforting tone. "You'll do fine. You just need to loosen up and let yourself go. That's all."

Dreufey untied her hair. She let it fall freely down her back, and Adolf was at once mesmerized.

"Wow," he whispered. "You got beautiful hair."
"Can you put that onto your canvas?"
"I don't know. I've never... I mean..."

Adolf didn't know what to say, so he proceeded to look for a spot for Dreufey to stand.

"How about here, by this vase?" he suggested.

Dreufey took up position next to the vase.

"No. That's not it. How about there, in that chair? Yes. That's better."

But Adolf was still not convinced. Then he pointed to a sofa by a window in the living room.

"That's it! Go sit there!"
"Like this?" Dreufey asked as she sat down.
"Yes. Like that, " he replied. "Face the window!"

Adolf pushed some of Dreufey's hair over her shoulder before stepping back to take another look at her.

"Yes. That's it," he said with a smile. "That dreamy look into the distance. It's perfect."

Satisfied with his composition, Adolf proceeded to roll out his rug and set up his easel. He wasted no time. Eager to get going, he started roughing out a sketch of the composition in front of him.

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