Divine Misfortune

29

Lucky, in Bermuda shorts, lounged on the ethereal beach. The silver sand reflected the three moons hanging overhead.

The waiter brought Lucky the drinks just as Janet, clad in a bikini, emerged from the ocean. Lucky tossed her a towel.

“Right on time,” he said. “Hope you like nectar daiquiris.”

He put the glass to her lips, and she took a sip.

“Not bad. Though I think I prefer strawberries.” She pushed him over and sat on his beach chair. “I think that satyr was checking out my ass.”

“Why shouldn’t he?” replied Lucky. “It’s the finest ass, mortal or immortal, on the beach. Except for maybe the nymph bartender over there.”

She chuckled. “You do know how to flatter a woman.”

They clinked their glasses together.

“Next time, I think I’d prefer Tahiti,” she said, shaking the glittering points of light out of her hair.

He nodded. The Beaches of Eternity had become a little too rowdy. Gods and demigods pranced across the sands in drunken partying. Dionysus noisily ralphed into a trash can less than twenty feet away. And the hotel didn’t even have cable.

“Do you think she’ll ever get over it?” asked Janet.

“Who?” he asked innocently.

Janet smiled.

Syph hid just down the beach, lurking behind an umbrella. She’d been less insistent lately, less obvious. Perhaps it was her continuing inability to inflict any harm on Janet. Or perhaps it was the demands of her new temple. Either way, she was still a semi-regular presence lurking in the background of their lives. Never interfering. Never getting too close. Just watching.

“Kind of creepy, isn’t it?” asked Janet.

“Less creepy than it used to be,” he replied. “Give her some time. She’ll figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

Lucky leaned back in his chair. “Aw, c’mon, babe. Don’t make me say it.”

“Well, one of us should say it.”

“Be my guest.”

“I can’t believe that you’re having commitment issues,” she said. “It’s like me having trouble committing to a fruit fly.”

“A guy likes to keep his options open.”

She leaned in and ran her finger along his ears. “Oh, come on. Say it. You know I love it when you say it.”

“Relationship. Once Syph figures out that this is a real relationship, she’ll move on.” He grinned. “Although who can really blame her? I am hard to get over.”

Janet laughed. She grabbed his hand.

“Care for a swim?”

“You just got out.”

“I feel refreshed. Must be the golden apple pancakes I had for breakfast. Just one more lap around the center of infinity. You know you want to.”

“Oh, okay.”

Lucky and Janet dove into the ocean of stars.

“Last one to the edge of the universe is a rotten egg,” he said.

Together, they swam the backstroke across the heavens.