Matching Wits with Venus

by Therese Gilardi

  “You’re sure he wasn’t just a really skilled magician?” Jennie asked.

  Justin shook his head.

  “I used to live with a guy who was a headliner at the Magic Castle. Believe me this was no mere illusion.”

  Amelia slapped her hand across her mouth. The color drained from her face. She knew from years of listening to her father, a staunch believer in the supernatural, that if such forces did exist they could be anything but kind-hearted.

  “Ohhhh…” Amelia groaned.

  Her head felt so heavy she thought it was going to topple from atop her neck. She felt a vein twitching above her eye. Her breathing became quick and shallow – she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get enough air.

  She turned to Justin.

  “Are you sure?”

  Justin nodded as he spoke.

  “Colin was with a woman in a rather strange outfit and a guy dressed in a monk’s costume, though I could tell from the time I spent in Japan studying anime that this was no holy man.”

  Justin looked at the top of his black shoe. His toe was beginning to stick out through a small hole. He returned his gaze to Amelia’s white face.

  “The guy in the monk suit was the man who offered me five hundred dollars in exchange for not letting you out of my sight.”

  Jennie shivered.

  “That sounds like he was stalking you for Colin. But something’s not quite right here. If they were so obsessed with Amelia, why disappear? And what makes you think they’re Roman?”

  “I studied mythology in college. One of the minor gods is Inuus, the god of fertility. That’s the name the woman used when she referred to the guy in the monk suit.”

  Amelia’s eyes widened. She put her hands over her face and groaned.

  “Oh I really don’t believe it! All those years, willing myself not to believe in those deities…Now it all makes sense. His Italian mother, her demands on him to help him with her business, his freakish knowledge of small things about L.A., things you’d only know if you spent a lot of time traveling around the city, observing it from a bird’s eye viewpoint. And the way he stumbled over his name when he first introduced himself. Calling himself ‘Cumin, Colin Cumin’. And of course there’s his highly skilled knowledge of archery. How could I have been so blind?”

  Amelia pulled her hands down and stared, wide-eyed, at Jennie and Justin.

  “Colin Cumin is Cupid.”

  She ran her hand across her stomach.

  “So what does that make my baby?”

  Justin shrugged.

  “It’s unclear from what I recall. There are stories of gods mating with humans and producing mortal babies. But who knows?”

  Amelia stared at Justin.

  “I have to find him. For my baby’s sake, I’ve got to know.”

  Jennie turned to Justin.

  “What do we do now?”

  “I think Esmeralda can help us. If there’s anyone who would know how to enter the underworld it would be her. That’s where gods live, isn’t it?” Jennie asked.

  “Far as I know,” Justin replied.

  “Well, we’ll have to find Esmeralda,” Amelia said as she stood up. “He’s not around here; he’s got to be in the underworld.”

  “Lia, think this through! It could be dangerous.”

  Amelia’s eyes flashed.

  “It’s going to be dangerous all right. Wait ‘til I get my hands on him.” She looked at Jennie.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make it about ‘the relationship’. You know that’s not me. But I’ve got to find out what I have to do to ensure a safe delivery for my baby. Come on, I’ve have to get this pilgrimage to the underworld over with.”

  As they walked to Esmeralda’s, Amelia stole several backward glances at Venus’s hilltop villa. She felt her blood pressure rise every time she thought of her childish pleas to the goddess, all those entreaties to please restore her parents’ marital union. She was angry, disappointed and disgusted that the goddess had most likely been there all along and ignored her simple request.

  “Ironic, isn’t it?” Jennie asked in a low voice.

  Amelia pursed her lips.

  “Can you believe that’s the grandmother of my baby?” She said as she shook her head.

  “That Cupid! Did he seek me out because he’s used to matchmakers? He wanted a girl just like dear old Mom?” Amelia asked, a touch of hysteria in her voice.

  “And did he know about my offerings all those years ago? Has he been mocking me?”

  “No! I’m sure there’s some sort of explanation. He loves you. I know it. But I really wish you’d reconsider this trip to the underworld. Venus has quite a temper. And Cupid’s father is Mercury, the messenger god of the underworld. According to all of the literature he’s a bit of a loose cannon, one you would not want to see shoot off.”

  “Guess that’s where Cupid gets his strong shooting skills,” Amelia said bitterly.

  She stopped walking.

  “Do you guys really think I’m putting myself in jeopardy?”

  “It’s dangerous. Not only are you uncertain of what you’ll find in the underworld, but you could become lost trying to get there, or trying to come home,” Justin replied.

  Amelia sighed.

  “I was afraid you’d say that. In that case, there’s a stop I’ve got to make before we go see Esmeralda.”

  ****

  Stella was sitting on the tiny balcony off of her bedroom, touching up minute chips on her nails, which were the color of candied apples. She sighed as she watched her daughter approach. Amelia waved up at her mother. Stella raised her hand in return and motioned for Amelia, Jennie and Justin to come up. Amelia watched while Stella studied Justin as he walked next to Jennie. She knew her mother was thinking Justin was a bit scruffy but that stubble, scuffed shoes and ripped jeans were very popular with the young Hollywood set.

  “Hello darlin’,” Stella said as she stepped toward the little group.

  She kissed Amelia on the cheek. Amelia felt herself stiffen at her mother’s outrageous accent and false display of affection. She was even more surprised to see her mother reach over and kiss Jennie. Jennie and Amelia exchanged knowing glances as Stella turned to Justin and extended her hand.

  “No who might this handsome man be?” Stella asked as she revealed new veneers as white as a baby’s teeth.

  “This is Justin. You may know his animation work,” Jennie said.

  “Of course, of course.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Justin replied.

  He looked over at Amelia.

  “Jennie and I will wait downstairs. I know you’re in a bit of a hurry.”

  Stella glared at her daughter.

  “Nonsense! Y’all can join me for some of my famous sun tea.”

  Amelia bit her tongue. She was annoyed with her mother. However, she didn’t have time to get into one of their usual biting conversations.

  “Thanks anyway, Mom. But we’ve got to go. I have to talk to you, though.”

  “Honestly Amelia, where are your manners?” Stella asked as soon as Jennie and Justin left.

  “Mom! Listen to me! I’ve got to go away. I might be gone a while. If anything should happen, please promise me you’ll take care of Dad.”

  Stella frowned.

  “Make him come to you Amelia, or go after him for child support after the baby’s born if that’s your game. But a pregnant woman chasing down an unrepentant man is positively unseemly. It just smacks of desperation. And there’s no way it’s going to make him want to marry you.”

  “That’s not why I’m going!”

  “Of course it is. You can’t fool me. I know you better than you know yourself,” Stella said.

  “Oh really?”

  “You’re making a huge mistake. Make the man come after you.”

  “Yeah well, I can see how well that worked out for my father.”

  “Stop judging something you don’t understand. You’re an adult now. You
’re going to have to forgive me someday.”

  Stella pointed at Amelia’s stomach.

  “You know you’re going to find out soon enough that being the perfect mother is impossible.”

  Amelia sighed, then said, “I don’t have time to get into this. Just promise me you’ll take care of Dad if something happens to me.”

  Stella frowned.

  “Happens to you? Are you afraid this man might be violent?” Stella spread her hands.

  “If so, then I strongly recommend you don’t even tell him about the baby. Get as far away as possible.”

  Stella looked at Amelia and sighed. She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Amelia, and stroked her hair softly. Amelia closed her eyes. Somewhere in her mind her mother’s touch triggered a memory, of an incident right before Stella moved out, something she’d forgotten about for all these years.

  It had been a wet night, one of those rare rainy evenings when the air smelled like eucalyptus. Stella had been holding her tightly, running her fingers through her hair as she cried softly and begged Amelia to please forgive her. She remembered the feel of her mother’s tears on the crown of her head. After Stella left, she’d refused to wash her hair for a week so she could keep that one little piece of her mother.

  Amelia snapped out of her reverie, pulled away and looked into Stella’s eyes.

  “Just do this for me,” she whispered.

  “All right. But you’ve got to tell me why you’re so afraid something might happen.”

  “You know how I told you Colin looks like a god?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well it turns out he is. A Roman god.”

  Stella gave a small cry and grabbed at the golden pendant bearing a lyre, the symbol of Apollo, god of the arts, that she’d worn every day for the past thirty-five years.

  “I don’t like this, Amelia. Not one little bit.”

  “I know. But I’ve got to find him. I’ve got to know,” she said as she patted her stomach, “What this means for my baby.”

  Stella’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Only weeks pregnant and already you’re a better mother than I ever was. I’m sorry Amelia, for everything I’ve done that’s hurt you.”

  Amelia stepped forward and kissed her mother on the cheek. She’d finally heard it, the words of apology she’d longed for most of her life. A shiver ran through her body as she found herself wondering if this was a sign her world was about to come to an end.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “So what makes this woman so different?” Concordia asked as they sped through the center of the earth. “I mean you’ve been with, what, thousands of the world’s most beautiful women?”

  The elevator operator cleared his throat as he adjusted his gold braided epaulet.

  “Thank you, Enrique. I meant to say millions. You’ve been with millions of women over thousands of years.”

  Cupid hung his head.

  “I hope she won’t hold that against me. I wouldn’t have been with anyone else, ever, if I’d known about her.”

  The elevator operator whistled.

  “She sounds like something else.”

  “She is. I never knew anyone like her existed. Before I met her, I didn’t realize something was missing.”

  Concordia rolled her eyes.

  “Have you got it bad! Sounds like you’ve shot yourself with a dozen of your own arrows.”

  Cupid’s clear blue eyes flickered. He tilted his head to the left. Something about what Concordia said reminded him of something, something he thought he should know. He closed his eyes and repeated her words to himself. Whatever it was, it floated just out of reach of his consciousness. When he opened his eyes Enrique was waiting to the side of the open elevator door.

  ****

  Esmeralda was standing on the pavement in front of Esmeralda’s Out of this World Psychedelic Psychic Reading Room, surveying the latest flock of tourists. By and large they were a conservatively dressed lot, with conventional haircuts and colors and clothing culled from mid-range, mid-sized, mid-American department stores.

  She rubbed her hands gleefully; with any luck, this meant her evening could be lucrative. If there was one lesson she’d learned from her mother, it was that the women most receptive to psychic services were not the brash independent ladies who’d exchanged their power suits for yoga duds but rather the steadfast wives mothers, daughters and sisters who wished to know what the next scene in their scripted lives would hold.

  She’d tell them she was outside because their spirits had called to hers. No need to mention that the slightly moldy smell of incense in her shop had been what drove her out into the fresh air. Esmeralda shielded her eyes with a large Chinese fan and watched as Amelia, Jennie, and Justin approached.

  “We need your help,” Jennie panted. “Amelia’s got to get to the underworld.”

  Esmeralda looked at Justin.

  “Remember that boyfriend of hers?” He began.

  Amelia held up her dainty freckled hand.

  “I’ll handle this. Esmeralda, you were right.”

  “So now you’re a believer, after all this time?”

  Esmeralda shook her head.

  “I know what you think of me, Amelia. You believe I’m a charlatan. At least that’s how it’s always come off. Miss Fancy Pants Computer Matchmaker with her cerebral degree has no need for the likes of me,” she scoffed.

  “That’s not fair and you know it,” Justin said. “Amelia’s always been kind and gracious. I’ve seen her.”

  “Yeah, well, I have ‘the gift’ so I’ve been able to see what she’s really thinking.” The psychic trained her eyes on Amelia. “To you, I’m like Victor Hugo’s Esmeralda, a marginal outsider. Did it ever occur to you that scientific study may have led me to my belief in the unseen?”

  Amelia hung her head.

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I never meant to offend you. It’s just that, well, you know I believed once. My mom had her obsession with Apollo because he was the creator of the arts, and my dad was always going on and on about Venus, how she was the one who’d dictated he belonged with my mother. Between the two of them, they had me convinced that the Roman gods and goddesses were all around us. So after Mom left, I spent years and years appealing to Venus, hoping that she’d hear my pleas. I tried everything to get her attention; I was sure if she only knew how much I was hurting she would help me. After all, she was the goddess of love. Surely that meant she loved me too?”

  Amelia shook her head.

  “After a while it was just easier to think Venus didn’t exist than to accept that she was ignoring me. I’m afraid that I put psychics like you into the same category as the gods and goddesses; I assumed that if I couldn’t see it then I shouldn’t believe in it. It’s like that cosmic joke, the one that says the universe has a way of forcing us to learn the lessons we try to refuse, since I’m going to be tied to Venus for the rest of my life.”

  Justin turned to Esmeralda.

  “That’s why we need your help. Amelia is carrying Cupid’s child.”

  “Sweet mother of mythology! I don’t believe it!”

  Esmeralda grabbed the oversized emerald eyeglasses dangling from her neck on a green cord and thrust them across the bridge of her long nose. She kneeled down and studied Amelia’s abdomen. Finally she stood up.

  “I’ll help you get to the underworld. But I want to come.”

  Esmeralda looked at Jennie and Justin. They nodded their heads in agreement.

  “We’ll all go. You’re going to need back up.”

  Amelia shook her head.

  “No. I’m going alone.”

  Amelia turned to Jennie and Justin.

  “I’m going to find the father of my child. He’s not going to hurt me. At least not while I’m carrying his baby.”

  “But you don’t really know him,” Esmeralda said.

  Amelia closed her eyes. She saw Cupid’s big, blue eyes, tearing up as he
lay on top of her. She had heard him whispering, over and over and over, how much he loved her when he thought she was asleep. She felt his arms around hers, pulling her hand taut as she aimed her arrows that day at the shooting range. She opened her eyes.

  “I do know him. And now that I know he’s a god I’m not so concerned about his disappearance. He probably has no idea how long he’s been gone. Think about it. A mortal minute is less than a nanosecond to a deity. Right, Esmeralda?”

  Esmeralda pointed over her shoulder to a dusty set of slightly sagging wooden shelves that stood against the far wall of her shop.