“Perse . . .”
Persephone was locking up the shop when her mother strolled past, her hair bundled up in an apricot embroidered shawl that matched her green overcoat. “Mother dear, I do love you but, can I please just lock up in peace? I’m not going anywhere but home.”
“No, of course not. I’m your mother, one and only. Love of your little existence. I want to walk home with you and hear about everything you did. I want to keep you safe. The only way to keep you safe is to keep you with me.” Demeter laced her arm through Persephone’s as she thrust her arms into her pockets. “A mellow purple coat suits you, but the color green is growth. But enough with silly superficial things. Did you have any interesting customers today?”
“I’m not going to be honest with you, I do want them coming back.”
“I only do that for men, darling. I want you with me forever, now. Anyone you need mommy to take care of, you should let me know.”
Persephone sighed. She saw the same guy from that morning lounging along the side of a building that was in their path on the sidewalk. As Demeter walked past, she scoffed, and this caught his eye. Persephone noticed that he was wearing the flower wreath on his head as he leaned down and fed an abandoned rottweiler a piece of vendor-bought hot dog. The dog’s whole body was covered in terrible mange with one eye dropping from a cut.
The canine caught Persephone staring at him and barked. He jumped up on her as Demeter’s handbag swatted him back down. Persephone felt a weight suddenly added to her hand in her pockets. It was round and oddly-shaped. She knew from watching her mother slowly peeling them, the precarious fruit—he’d slipped a pomegranate into her pocket.
“Not just to see,” He repeated again, his voice like velvet. But the voice was so soft, Persephone knew Demeter wouldn’t hear. She smiled thinly, her hands pinned to her pockets by Demeter.
Demeter’s brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to say something, then thinking better of it, she yanked Persephone’s arm and quickened her pace.
“Mother, you’re going to sever my arm. He’s not following us, either.”
“You, take a care. Stay far away from that boy. He’s not what he seems to be. Nothing but trouble and torment. He’s a pathetic excuse for what he is. Not anything to worry about, I’m going to protect you and keep you safe from him.”
“He’s a mortal, mother. Of all things to be careful of—but where are we going in such a rush? Home is just ahead.”
“We’re going to pay a visit to your darling auntie and uncle for tea.”
“Tea with Hera, lovely. Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any more weird.”
The word ‘weird’ was probably not the best word to describe the woman who opened the door when they knocked on the ostentatious red-trimmed brownstone apartment. The whole outside was regal and elegant, but those words did little to describe the woman of the house.
“Oh my gods, Demi!! You wouldn’t believe it,” Hera was dressed in a figure-hugging satin gown with a neckline that bespoke fertility at its finest. Her ample curves and perfect features were of paramount importance to no one more than herself. Demeter had specifically said tea when she’d called on the way there, but Hera’s hand was curled around a martini glass. “He did it again. You know, got another girlfriend. He’s so sure that I’ll never find out about this one because she’s modern and got all the latest gadgets. They don’t think a goddess like me can use a phone.”
She slumped into Demeter. For a moment, Persephone’s arm was free and she massaged it to relieve the tension. Hera drunkenly winked at Persephone, her lipstick staining her glass.
Demeter rubbed soothing circles on Hera’s back, “That’s perfectly dreadful, I can’t imagine how a mortal could stand that type of thing. You know they have a thing called ‘divorce,’ where the mortal woman leave their spouses and take all their money and possessions. Then the man has to pay them anyways.”
Hera untangled herself from Demeter and laughed outright. “Who needs a divorce on Mount Olympus, we have the Fates! Gorgeous women, I just have a little chat with them and she gets run over by a truck or gets some incurable disease that a god couldn’t ever fix. It’s all a clean business, especially with healthcare nowadays.”
“I don’t understand how you can stand him . . . touching other women? It’s why I don’t bother with men. They’re so fickle, especially the ones we have to choose from.”
“Oh, but it’s mad fun, Demi. Killing the girls off one by one. It keeps him in line. I get whatever I want and I don’t have to nag—the mortals do it for me. He does his job, puts his member to good use and then after all that practice, I get to play the real game with the king of gods. I mean, it’s perfectly understandable; you’ve got a daughter to raise.”
They settled down into the small parlour with a self-serving tea set, Persephone listened to Demeter and Hera coo over each other with bile rising in the back of her throat. She saw Zeus quietly sneak out to the back deck. He was trying to avoid the women.
Persephone put her cup and saucer on the coffee table. She tapped Demeter’s shoulder. “Mum, I’m just going to talk to Zeus for a second.”
Demeter was too occupied with Hera to really notice her. Zeus was closing the sliding door as Persephone caught up to him.
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