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“I hear the centaurs are an unruly lot,” another girl put in. “They smell of animal sweat. They fight at the slightest provocation. They have knotted long hair and beards. And they…they…”
She wrinkled her nose and finished with a scandalized whisper, “They defecate as they walk.”
All the women made noises of disgust at that.
“Well, they are half animal,” Divina said reasonably.
“But I’m sure they can be taught to behave better by a patient partner. If my Chewie knows to potty in private behind a bush, and cover the evidence with dirt, I’m sure these centaurs can be taught similar manners.”
Everyone lavished more attention on the giant furball for a while at the mention of his gentlemanly manners, laughing as he joined them in the heated pool. They took turns scrubbing his body clean.
When they were done, they helped each other smooth scented oil into their skin, luxuriating in a light, comfortable massage.
“This is heavenly,” Divina moaned as Leila kneaded her shoulders and back.
“I could get used to living here.”
“Where are you from, Div?” the young woman asked. “You look like a goddess come down to earth. Aphrodite herself couldn’t compare.”
“Shh,” Divina admonished, half-teasing, half-serious.
“No telling which gods and goddesses are listening. And if there’s anything I know about the Greek pantheon, it’s that your deities are prone to fits of jealousy. I wouldn’t want a target painted on my back.”
“All right then,” Leila agreed, “You’realmostas beautiful as Aphrodite.”
“I’m not beautiful, darling,” Divina said gently.
“I’m glamorous, voluptuous, stunning, if you want to put adjectives to it. I know how to use all of my assets to their best advantage, that’s all. I only appear ‘beautiful’ because people are attracted to people who are attracted to them. And I can find something attractive in just about everyone I meet.”
Leila mulled that riddle over for a while.
And then she said, “Does this mean I can be beautiful too? Or at least attractive?”
Divina turned her head to look Leila up and down, taking in her brown hair, green eyes, and short, plump figure. As well as the embarrassed blush the girl wore under Divina’s thorough scrutiny.
“You are already beautiful, Leila,” she said sincerely with a smile.
“Your gentleness, passion and innate joy make you so. And to the right man, you will be irresistibly attractive, I promise.”
Leila sighed and started working through Divina’s thick waves with an oiled comb.
“But I don’t get to choose who chooses me,” she said. “What if the one who takes me isn’t the right man?”
“What do you mean?”
Divina frowned.
“Don’t tell me arranged marriages are the fashion here?”
“Of course they are,” Leila responded. “Isn’t that the case where you are from?”
Divina snorted in the negative. She’d like to see anyonetryto saddle her with a man.
She was the most happy-go-lucky angel in most circumstances. But she could be the fiercest, stubbornest demon when her ire was roused.
“But in any case, an arranged marriage will not be my fate,” Leila continued. “Nor will it be for any of us here.”
The other women heard enough of their conversation to nod in agreement, suddenly silent as Leila went on.
