Her butt hurt. Coronis took a minute to stand up, her body stiff, and stretch. Multiple parts of her cracked like dry branches in a fire. A layer of gamsole and sticky paint caused her hands to itch. Flora, who was a strong environmentalist, refused to install air con in her flat. A bead of sweat trickled down Coronis' neck. It wasn't easy being an artist, but she had weathered much worse hardships, and she had been too deep in her element to notice until now, anyways. Standing back, she gazed at the painting with a critical eye. It was meant to be a interpretation of the most recent bacchanal, both otherworldly as well as viscous. An enormous black dog sat in the pit of an enormous bonfire, while the faceless forms of women blurred around him, red trees with hands swaying in the wind under a greasy green sky. She was always careful to be ambiguous about her work, enough imagery to give both mortals and immortals alike a taste of the wine god's aesthetic, as well as the world that accompanied him. At the same time, she would never correctly predict what exactly went on in the bacchanals, the secrets they kept. This way, she managed to earn a hefty sum while keeping Dionysus appeased. "A worthy enough advertiser," is what he said, causing her cheeks to warm even now.

"Fuck's sake," she muttered, chewing a fingernail without remembering that it was slick with gamsole. She heard feet shuffling down the stairs.

"Wow! Looks pretty good." Flora put down her watery bucket to analyze it. "It's, dare I say, magical."

"No, it's not. The trees aren't shaded well enough, the green's too vivid, and our body parts look all weird. We look like spiders."

"That's what you think." Above Coronis' whining, Flora shrugged. "From my standing, I know zilch about art, so I think it'll be just fine as long as you sell it to someone who isn't as uptight an artist as you."

"Oh, he looks like a goat. Do you think it will make him mad if I keep it like this?"

"Is it for him?"

"No."

"Then who cares? Just leave it alone and help me shuck these." Coronis looked suspiciously at the bucket.

"Oysters?"

"Snails. We're having escargot for dinner." Coronis made a disgusted sound and Flora laughed.

"No thanks. I'm going out to buy gold leaf soon, anyway. If you need something, let me know."

"A handsome boyfriend would be nice."

"Durhurhur." She went to the bathroom. Scrubbing the chemicals out from under her nails was a long and tedious process, especially when she heard Flora shout,

"Don't let the water run!" She groaned and grabbed some hand sanitizer off the shelf. Then she re-did her hair into a tighter ponytail, wiped the sweat from her neck. She only just grabbed her jacket when she heard her phone buzz. When she checked it she did a double-take. It was from Asclepius.

"Hello"

She pressed a hand against her clammy forehead. Truth be told, she'd actually forgotten about that night for the most part. At first she woke up in her bed, a migraine hanging over her like a black cloud and Flora scolding her for getting so drunk. She also begged her for details, although Coronis herself couldn't really remember at first. The more awake she was, the more she wished it had stayed that way. She couldn't believe herself, how stupid she was. Asclepius was probably seething with rage by now! If she was lucky, she would never see him again and if she wasn't, he would probably send some kind of vengeance her way for being such an unaccommodating date. Now, she realized she was the latter.

"How did you get this number"

"It wasn't that hard..."

"Just asked Dionysus"

"Do you think I'm a stalker?"

Oh my gods.

"I'm sorry about the other day.

I really wasn't feeling well."

"No, it's ok. I know I was

being insensitive."

"I didn't say you were"

"To be truthful, I want to

see you again"

"I was hoping

you would allow me to

make it up to you..."

Oh, man. Heart beating rapidly, she weighed the possibilities of turning him down versus the latter. Finally, she typed.

"Listen, I'm touched, I really am.

I really appreciate you understanding,

but if last week was anything

to go by, we wouldn't make

a compatible couple..."

"Is that you saying

you don't like me"

"No, just that I'm not

a dating person. You were

the exception"

"That must account

for something "

"I hope you don't get offended

but I wouldn't like to

relive the experience"

"I know I messed up and all,

but I was hoping at least we could

become friends. No hard feelings"

She felt like she was wasting a grand opportunity. If he wasn't just luring her into a false sense of security, he really was trying to apologize. And if she turned him down now, he'd definitely be upset this time. Now she was squatting on the closed toilet, chewing her nails off and then spitting the bitter gamsole out. It wasn't her plan for the next milliena to become pregnant, but altering her body in any way seemed like an unwise choice. The date hadn't been so bad, now that she was thinking back on it. Not really. He meant well, and from now on, she'd just have to work harder to hold back her tongue.

And really, what choice did she have?

Finally, her shoulders sagged as she sighed heavily. She tapped the next message with twitchy fingers.

"Do you like escargot"