It was a beautiful day and the waves sparkled under the Sun's warm beams. All around her the Nereides played, but Aphrodite was not in the mood for their antics today. Instead, she floated near a sandbar and crafted the foam there into shapes. She had created an intricate bower of the diaphanous sea spray by the time one of the nymphs noticed her separation and came over.
"What's up big A?" the girl asked. Her name was Kymodoke and she had probably come over hoping that Aphrodite had discovered some new diversion so interesting that she was keeping it to herself. In fact, foam-sculping was one of the first bits of amusement Aphrodite had learned upon joining the Nereides and she did it now more as instinct than with any real intent. Now however, she found that it did serve a purpose, because she could use it to cover the real reason for her isolation which was a despair over Nerites. They had fought yesterday, again, and his words were rolling through her head like thunder, a storm that would not end.
Aphrodite forced herself to greet the nymph and show her the fruits of her hands', if not her mind's, labors. But she soon saw that it was not enough; Kymodoke looked at her expectantly. Life on the ocean was monotonous and when new entertainment could not be invented, the divine inhabitants turned on whatever, or whoever, was convenient to entertain them. It was a natural fact that nothing was private and even the rulers of the Sea, Poseidon and his wife Amphitrite, were acceptable subjects of gossip for all. Although she was not interested in many of the trivial slights that inspired days of vicious opprobrium, it was expected that Aphrodite would do her part to fill the tedium of immortality on the open sea. And, truth be told, she could usually be counted on for a new word or at least opinion on some of the juiciest affairs and love triangles that were both common and officially proscribed. However, since Aphrodite was in the unique position of knowing even the most intimate details of the most recent scandal, today was going to be the exception.
Thinking quickly, Aphrodite plastered a conspiratorial look on her face and called up one of the clam shells from the ocean bed. As if she had been planning this bit of mischief all day long she pulled her companion close and whispered excitedly in her ear. The nymph laughed delightedly and then stifled herself.
"Oh, let me go first, Beauty!" she exclaimed. Recently, all the nymphs had begun calling her Beauty. There was no doubt that she was, and stunningly so, but Aphrodite never felt that it was a compliment. It was a name that set her outside the close-knit circle of impetuous and desultory daughters of Nereus and Doris. Still, it was not the sort of thing one could take offense at and she was beginning to get used to it.
Together the two girls called the Wind and Zephyr wasn't far away. The West Wind blew in the spring, and, unlike his brothers, never turned down an invitation to play with the lighthearted spirits of the sea. Kymodoke climbed up and shouted her instructions to the Wind and soon she was screaming with joyful terror and gripping the edges of the shell as Zephyr blew the bed of foam it rested on skimming dementedly across the waves. Soon the whole bevy of nymphs had lost interest in their game of tag and began fighting for a place in line for the shell.
Having fulfilled her responsibility to the amusement of the group, and convinced that she would not be missed any time soon, Aphrodite quickly made another foam bed and, climbing on, pushed off in the opposite direction. She lay on her stomach and put her head on her hands.
"If Nerites loved me, he would notice that I am not with the others and find me," she said out loud. This made very little sense given that she had just deliberately set out not to be noticed, but she felt that sense was not relevant to her current situation. Suddenly it seemed completely unacceptable to be alone, and Aphrodite pulled a passing mollusc out of the water and set it on the foam in front of her then she repeated her statement adding, "don't you think so?"
The mollusc said nothing, which was perfectly acceptable to Aphrodite who continued."Can you believe he left me? He had better not think that I will wait around for him!" She tossed her hair imperiously. "At least it wasn't one of those stupid bitches. At least it was someone who mattered."
She looked down at the mollusc through narrowed eyes, then said, "Do you promise not to tell anyone this?"
She took its silence for consent and then continued in a much smaller voice than before."I wouldn't have left him if it were me. I know Poseidon is a way better catch than me, but if he had ever come asking me to come back to him, I so would have stayed with Nerites."
Suddenly agitated she slapped the foam and her hand went through it and splashed the briny water below. "I know what the girls would say, they don't even think that I was ever with Poseidon in the first place but I was. I barely even remember it, but I know it was him because he raised our baby and why would he do that if he wasn't the father? I mean, most guys don't even do that, and it must mean that he cared about me ..." she trailed off.
"Do you think that Poseidon really cares about Nerites?" She waited for the mollusc's response for a moment, then continued.
"Nerites doesn't deserve him," Aphrodite started off angrily then caught herself. "Does that make me a bad person? I really do love Nerites. He really wants me, you know? And he treats me differently than the Nereides, but in a good way, like I'm special. And I don't care what they say, it's not because I'm easy. They're all hypocrites anyway because they are all having sex, too, they just act like they don't. I heard Actaea goes out and lies on the shore and just goes with whoever shows up. At least Nerites really cares about me. And Poseidon did too, more than that old Amphitrite anyway. Oh, don't look at me that way. Fine, I guess Amphitrite's okay even if she is just like all the others. I thought that maybe one day Nerites and me were going to be like them. And how could I be enough for him. I mean, every guy roams."
She paused for a long moment, then sat up and pushed her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "I didn't think he'd leave me though."
The sky was beginning to darken, but Aphrodite wasn't ready to rejoin the nymphs. Besides, at night Nerites might return to the grotto and she definitely wasn't ready to see him. Trailing her fingers in the water, Aphrodite sat and waited until the sun went down and then she watched the stars. When she finally got sleepy she kissed the mollusc on the shell and pulled the foam around her until she drifted off.