Manitou Springs

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “Don’t worry!” Jacob yelled. “It will hold!”

  The building swayed back and forth. Things fell out of the kitchen cabinets and off shelves.

  “What the hell?” Jill yelled from the nursery.

  Anjelika and Jacob ran toward the nursery. Abi appeared next to Heather.

  “What is it that causes the house to shake and the earth to be still?” Abi asked.

  Perses pointed to Paddie’s sword.

  “Shut it down,” Abi yelled over the din. A vase shattered on the floor. “The house will fall.”

  “Jacob said it would hold!” Heather yelled.

  “We can’t go on anymore!” Perses said. “It’s too much.”

  “Just a few more . . .” Heather said.

  Eros’s dark split appeared. Heather grabbed the spirit, and they disappeared.

  “Shut it down!” Perses yelled.

  Paddie put his hand on the blade of the sword, and it stopped vibrating. The house slowly stopped shaking. When the shaking stopped, Jacob and Jill came running out of the nursery.

  The Olympians, including Perses, were gone. Paddie and Katy were standing in the middle of the house all alone.

  “Where’d they go?” Jill asked.

  Katy and Paddie shrugged. Paddie slid the sword into its holder.

  “Can we go play?” Katy asked.

  Jill gave her a worried nod of the head. Katy and Paddie ran to her room as Tanesha, Edie, and Fin ran into the loft. Anjelika came from the nursery carrying the twins. She gave one to Jill.

  “What was that?” Tanesha asked.

  “They cleared the negative spells with the use of the Sword of Truth,” Jacob said.

  “Then where’d they go?” Tanesha asked.

  Jacob shook his head. He looked at Fin and Edie. They shrugged.

  “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” Jacob said.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Tanesha said under her breath.

  Jacob’s head jerked to look at Tanesha. She gave him a mild smile. When he opened his mouth to ask, she shrugged.

  “I need to get home,” Tanesha said.

  She nodded to him and went to say goodbye to Edie and Fin.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Heather grabbed the shade around his waist. Laughing, the shade dragged Heather into the grey world just out of sight of human eyes. Aphrodite and Hera chased after them. The shade shimmied and rolled to loosen her grip. But Heather had vast experience in hanging on to a wiggling baby. He was no match for her skills.

  They flew fast and far for what felt to Heather like hours. Out of nowhere, Perses appeared in front of them. The shade ran right into him. Perses’s big hands grabbed the shade by the shoulders. He nodded to Heather to let the shade go. She let go of his waist. She and the shade gasped for air like fish out of water. Perses waited until she’d caught her breath.

  “What might you be?” Perses asked.

  “You know what I am,” the shade said.

  The shade’s voice was high and screechy, like fingernails on a chalk board. Heather and the other Goddesses shivered.

  “Speak,” Hera demanded.

  “Your highness, I didn’t see you there,” the shade said. “Move into the light.”

  The shade produced a long bow and an arrow. Heather knocked the bow from his hands. Aphrodite caught it before vanished into the grey. She lit the bow so that she could inspect it.

  “What is it?” Perses asked.

  “Dark arrows,” Aphrodite said. “This is clearly the source . . .”

  “A source,” Heather said. “I’ve seen Eros set them himself. Hell, I’ve seen him make them.”

  Aphrodite gave Heather a vague nod.

  “Yesss,” the shade said. “Disloyal Hedone. Are you here to kill me outright, duplicitous child? Or were you hoping to merge with my power?”

  “Oh shut up,” Perses said. He looked at Heather and Hera. “What do you wish to do with this?”

  “Ask him when he was made,” Heather said.

  “Ask him why he was made,” Aphrodite said.

  “Don’t you know me, mother?” the shade asked.

  “You are just a sliver of my child,” Aphrodite said. “How should I recognize you?”

  “I was with you every second you were torturing your son’s beloved,” the shade said. “I encouraged you, supported you, loved you through this important work!”

  Aphrodite blushed red. She opened her mouth to speak.

  “No,” Heather said. “His words are evil. They poison your memories. You are under no obligation to attend to his delusions.”

  The shade hissed at Heather.

  “You wish this shade to be responsible for all of the dark arrows,” Perses said to Aphrodite.

  She gave him a tortured look before nodding. The shade laughed.

  “I can’t do anything without permission from Eros,” the shade said. “I’m his better half. His muse. He needs me because his one and only child is so deceitful.”

  “How dare you!” Hera said.

  Heather put her hand on Hera’s arm. She shook her head.

  “This is what Eros says about me,” Heather said.

  “Why?” Hera asked.

  “She wouldn’t tell him where her mother was located,” Aphrodite said.

  “That’s crazy!” Hera said.

  “Eros has been out of his mind for a few centuries,” Perses said.

  “We can see why,” Aphrodite gestured to the shade.

  The shade gave her a wicked grin.

  “My mother loves me,” the shade said. “Come here, mother. Give me a kiss.”

  Aphrodite recoiled from the shade.

  “What will happen to Eros if we destroy this shade?” Hera asked.

  “I don’t think we can destroy the shade,” Perses said. “Love always has this dark side. The deeper the love, the deeper the dark.”

  “Without me, you would be nothing,” the shade said, pointing to Aphrodite. “You need me.”

  “Is that true?” Aphrodite asked Perses.

  “I’m not sure,” Perses said. “I’ve never seen one of these before.”

  “If this creature was necessary, wouldn’t I have a shade of my own?” Heather asked.

  The shade laughed.

  “The wittle baby finks she can be da boss,” the shade mocked her.

  Heather squinted at the shade.

  “You know that Eros gave up his role as a god, right?” Heather asked. “I am the goddess Hedone.”

  As she said the words, she began to shine with a yellow light. Horror stricken, the shade recoiled.

  “You are a half-breed,” the shade said. “Two-faced one.”

  “I am Hedone, the goddess of Love,” Heather said.

  Heather transformed into a golden beauty. Her yellow hair created a braided crown as it wrapped around her head and hung down her back. She wore a gown made out of what looked like shining gold. She had a long bow in her hand and a quiver filled with golden arrows over her shoulder.

  Having never seen her in this form, Perses took a step back from her radiance. Aphrodite looked her over with obvious approval, and Hera smiled.

  “Leave you as you are, and I support dark love completely disconnected from true love,” Heather said.

  Hera nodded.

  “We cannot allow dark love to continue on its own,” Aphrodite said. “The dark and the light belong together in one whole. The purest of love has all of the shades of love.”

  “It is time to return balance to love,” Heather said with a nod. “I send you, shade, back to Eros. You will combine with him and make him whole. If you delay your journey to Eros, you will die. If you try to exit him again, you will die.”

  Heather nodded.

  “Will you return him to Eros?” Heather asked Perses.

  “I can, but an order such as this requires all of our protection,” Perses said.

  “So be it,” Heather said.

  They flew through the grey to the i
sland were Eros and Psyche were together. The shade did everything within his power to get away from them, but Perses held tight. They were standing in Eros and Psyche’s bedroom.

  “What is it now?” Eros asked.

  “You’ve forgotten something,” Heather said.

  She nodded to Perses. As if he were throwing a football, he chucked the shade at Eros. The shade spun in a tight spiral until he hit Eros in the chest.

  “What trickery is this?” Eros asked of Heather before noticing the shade.

  “Look at your creation,” Heather demanded.

  The shade looked at Eros, and Eros looked at the shade.

  “Be whole,” Hera said.

  Eros and the shade merged. For a moment, Eros looked like he’d swallowed a pelican. Without saying another word, he rolled onto his side and seemed to fall fast asleep.

  Heather grinned.

  “Faker,” Heather said to Eros. He opened an eye. Eros flipped onto his back to glare at her.

  “You and your shade are bound together by the ultimate power — love,” Heather said with a solemnity reserved for a goddess. “The retired god, Eros, will never be able to create a new shade.”

  Eros glared at her with rage. She grinned at him. Walking to the bed, she put her hands over his eyes and closed them.

  “Be at peace,” Heather said.

  Eros’s head fell against the pillow. He fell into a deep sleep. They waited one last moment before leaving Eros and Psyche. They stepped back into the grey.

  “I need to return,” Perses said. “Hera, Aphrodite, you are welcome to come to my daughter’s wedding celebrations. You might enjoy it.”

  Aphrodite looked at Heather, who shrugged.

  “Sounds fun,” Hera said.

  Aphrodite nodded, and Heather smiled.

  “Come on,” Heather said. “We’re missing breakfast.”

  They flew through the grey and wound up standing in Jacob and Jill’s loft apartment.

  “Where is everyone?” Perses asked.

  “Downstairs,” Heather said. She changed back into her human body and usual clothing. “Follow me.”

  The gods looked at each other for a moment before following Heather down the stairs.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Saturday afternoon — 3:11 p.m.

  Wearing only a white bathrobe, a towel in her hair, and cucumber slices over her eyes, Honey was sitting on a lounger in the warm atrium of the spa. Jill and Anjelika were resting on the loungers on the other side of the empty lounger that Honey had saved for her mother, Tiffanie. Heather and her friends were on the other side of Jill. Yvonne was sitting next to the women from Olympia, with Tanesha and Sandy on the other side. Valerie lay next to Sandy. Not one for being in the middle of anything, Abi lay next to Valerie near the door. They were all wearing the same bathrobes and towel with cucumber slices on their eyes.

  Today was spa day.

  Truth be told, they were having a great time. Hera and Aphrodite turned out to be funny and friendly. Whenever anything seemed to be an issue, one or the other of them fixed it with a wave of their hands. They were truly being treated like queens. They’d had an amazing spa lunch and were now resting before their massages.

  Tiffanie came out from the back. She waved to the women from Olympia before sitting down next to Honey.

  “Have you seen more beautiful women?” Tiffanie whispered to Honey.

  Honey lifted a cucumber slice from one of her eyes to look down the row. She shrugged and lay back down.

  “They look like goddesses!” Tiffanie whispered.

  “They probably are,” Honey said.

  A spa comfort attendant brought Tiffanie cucumbers for her eyes and a glass of cool cucumber water.

  “How can they be Goddesses?” Tiffanie whispered when the attendant moved to check in with Anjelika.

  “Please,” the attendant said in a kind but firm voice. “This is your quiet time. Time for a moment of peace and self-reflection.”

  Tiffanie nodded to the attendant. She glanced at Honey and lay back with the cucumber slices on her eyes. Tiffanie waited until the attendant had left the room and closed the door. She leaned over to Honey.

  “How can they be goddesses?” Tiffanie whispered to her daughter.

  It hit Honey like a brick. Tiffanie didn’t care that these women were ancient beings with infinite wisdom, who ran the universe and beyond. She didn’t care that they were wise and funny, yet still oddly relatable. She was asking why they were so much prettier than she was. Used to being the prettiest woman in the room, Tiffanie looked decidedly human next to Hera — or Yvonne, for that matter.

  “Mother!” Honey said in an angry whisper.

  “There you go,” Tiffanie said. “I ask one question, and you’re angry with me. Can’t a mother ask her daughter a simple question without her blowing her top?”

  “Mother,” Honey said. “Shh!”

  Tiffanie lay back in her lounger. Honey knew it was only a matter of minutes before Tiffanie would blow her top.

  “Who’s paying for this?” Tiffanie leaned over to ask. “All these women. It’d better not be Sam, because that means he’s holding out on me and your sisters.”

  “He’s not their father!” Honey said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Tiffanie said. “Fair is fair. If he can afford all of this, he should be paying more in child support.”

  Absolutely defeated, Honey fell back to her lounger.

  “Who is paying for this?” Tiffanie asked Honey again.

  “I am,” Sandy said, in a firm, no-nonsense voice. “It was my gift to the amazing women in my life, and a treat for the goddesses who have gifted us with their presence.”

  “Thank you,” Tiffanie said in a meek voice. “This is quite lovely.”

  Tiffanie lay back on her lounger, and Honey began a countdown to Tiffanie’s explosion.

  1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

  Tiffanie took a breath at nine. Honey leaned up. Pulling off a cucumber slice, Honey saw that Heather was watching Tiffanie with an unveiled eye. Honey caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Abi was walking toward Tiffanie.

  “I wondered if I might . . .” Abi started.

  “I didn’t know they allowed colored people into the spa,” Tiffanie said to the mother of all humankind.

  Honey was so horrified that she wished she could simply die right there. She saw Tanesha bristle. Yvonne sat up from her lounger. Heather lifted her left hand and rubbed her thumb over her fingers. Tiffanie lay back on her lounger. She put the cucumber back on her eye and signed contentedly. Yvonne smiled and lay back on her lounger. Tanesha nodded to Heather, who smiled, before lying back.

  Only Abi stood in the middle of the room. Hera got up from her lounger. She walked to Abi and then dropped to one knee.

  “Mother,” Hera said. “We are weak and stupid. Please forgive us.”

  “Forgive you?” Abi asked. “I’m just waiting to make sure it worked!”

  Abi laughed. She touched Hera’s shoulders, and Hera stood. The women hugged. They went back to their loungers. The room was silent for a while.

  “I just think . . .” Tiffanie started again.

  Heather rubbed her thumb over her fingers again.

  “What is that?” Tanesha asked in a whisper.

  “Love,” Yvonne whispered to Tanesha. “Some people just weren’t loved enough.”

  Heather nodded in agreement.

  If Honey could have hugged every one of these women in one moment, she would have done it right then and there. She had never felt so lucky, so blessed, to be in such company. She glanced at her mother and could have sworn she was sound asleep.

  “Brides!” the attendant said at the door. “Time for your massage!”

  To everyone’s amazement, Tiffanie hopped up and helped Honey into her wheelchair. Honey, Jill, and Sandy followed the attendant out of the room. Heather kept her eye on Tiffanie, but the woman lay down on her lounger and went to sleep.

  Shrugging,
Heather lay back to enjoy the rest of the day.

  Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty-six

  Right Way

  Saturday evening — 5:40 p.m.

  “Honey?” MJ asked as he walked into their apartment.

  “In here!” Honey called from the guest bathroom.

  “In here! In here! In here!” Maggie said in her high-pitched voice.

  There was a splash of water. MJ grinned. Honey and Maggie were in the bathtub together.

  “How was it?” MJ asked as he nudged open the door.

  “Fun,” Honey said. “Fine.”

  “They had special lunch!” Maggie said with glee. “And I got a bubble bath.”

  Not sure what Maggie was saying, MJ shook his head.

  “Maggie, Jackie, Jabari, and Mack spent the day with Mike,” Honey said. “Her clothes are right there.”

  Honey pointed to a pile of muddy clothing in the corner of the bathroom.

  “True test of paternity,” Honey said.

  “That means you’re my daddy!” Maggie said. “I asked.”

  She flapped her hands onto the water and bubbles went flying. MJ laughed. Maggie grinned her big smile.

  “I’ll remind you that it’s Sam who works underground utility,” MJ said.

  “No paternity there,” Honey laughed. “All that dirt is on you.”

  “How did you . . .?” MJ asked, gesturing to the tub.

  “Auntie ’Nisha,” Maggie said. “Jab-ri and Auntie ’Nisha are in the grown-up bafroom.”

  MJ nodded.

  “We made mud patties, but Mack wouldn’t eat them,” Maggie grinned. “Jab-ri made the best ones.”

  His daughter loved it when she, Jabari, and Jackie ganged up on Mack. Always one for a joke, Mack adored being the center of their attention. MJ put the cover to the toilet down and sat down.

  “How was today?” MJ asked.

  “I had a great time!” Maggie said.

  “I was asking your mommy,” MJ said.

  “Oh,” Maggie said. “Mommy?”