“Is someone else joining us?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. But first, what would you like to eat?”
“Oh, whatever you have is fine with me. A roast pig? A side of beef? You decide.”
The goddesses hesitated. At last, Karma spoke. “Of course. Let’s have both.” She snapped her fingers, and both legs of lamb and generous slices of pork roast appeared on three plates. The fourth held a vegetarian meal.
“Now, we must invite our other guest.” Fate took a deep breath.
Here goes nothin’, Karma thought.
Fate ignored her and called out, loud and clear, “Gaia! I beseech you. Come and join us for lunch.”
As soon as Gaia appeared, Apollo rose. “Great-Grandma! How nice to see you!”
Gaia’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Facing her sisters, she screeched, “Are you insane?”
“Of course not,” Fate answered. “We just thought, you know, a handsome young god, a beautiful goddess… He’s not really your grandson, is he? I can’t keep track of them all.”
“And he is your favorite god…” Karma added.
Gaia dropped her face into her hands and mumbled, “Gawds, no.” Then she raised her head and shouted, “No gods! They’re almost all related to my grandson, Zeus. Maybe some gods and goddesses don’t care, but I do.”
“Okay, okay. We didn’t know how you’d feel about it, but we had to try.”
Gaia folded her arms. “Perhaps you shouldn’t try anymore.”
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’re giving up,” Fate whined.
Apollo’s gaze traveled from one goddess to the next. “Wait. Was I supposed to be my great-grandmother’s date?” He burst out laughing.
“Geniuses,” Gaia mumbled sarcastically, and then she disappeared.
Fate sank down onto her chair. “Oh dear. That did not go well.”
Karma rolled her eyes. “You think?”
“Great-aunties, I appreciate your invitation to lunch. I can’t wait to devour this appetizer and visit with you a bit.”
“You can take it to go,” Fate groused. All the food was wrapped and in a sturdy bag a moment later.
He shrugged. “Fine. Well, thanks for the snack and a good laugh—even if it was at my expense.”
As soon as he was gone, Fate let out a deep breath. “Thank goodness he thinks it was a joke.”
Karma rolled her eyes. “Probably because it was—however unintentional.”
* * *
Gaia wished she had someone to commiserate with, but who would believe what her stupid sisters just tried to pull?
Suddenly, Aaron popped into her mind. He’d been a supportive friend. She liked how he didn’t tell her what to do or how to think. He just listened and initiated reasonable discussions. Even if she didn’t know what he was talking about half the time, he didn’t treat her like a moron. When she didn’t understand much about his job, he simply explained what his noble cardiac surgery profession was like. He also shared his hopes and dreams with her. Could she make herself as vulnerable?
Maybe I could try…
Now, where was he? She closed her eyes and homed in on his energy.Ah! He’s visiting one of the Habitat for Humanity sites where his son-in-law is building something.She was curious about that too. Sometimes, her humans reminded her of her ants. Industrious. Never giving up. Never leaving a fallen friend behind. When humans came together like this, she had to like them.
She materialized behind the concrete blocks that were already stacked and reinforced. These walls would stand up to the next hurricane she couldn’t stop because she was busy elsewhere. Gosh, she still felt bad about that.
