Rob the Goddess
"Hello" Said the one with the pale skin and bright white eyes " You must be the new Goddess"
"uhm" Rob said "I think there's a been a mistake"
Her Partner smiled; brilliant pearls highlighted against her impossibly dark skin. Not black, Rob noted but a blue so dark like standing under the tides, looking up.
"What makes you say that?" she asked. "it seems to me that you are exactly where you're supposed to be"
The one with silver eyes laughed, and Rob was struck by a feeling of something so old and unknowable for a moment he almost lost himself
When he recovered he found himself standing in exactly the same space, and no idea how long he had been swept away. The feeling had not gone, but had settled around him, almost like an extra layer of skin. It coated the inside of his throat and his words lodged on the way out of his chest.
And then they where free, as if he had figured out how to speak for the first time. A moment of perfect clarity and the words rushed out before he could stop to think
"I'm Rob" he stuck out his hand "it's a pleasure"
"He wasn't sure what the pleasure was exactly but before his concerns could make themselves known his hand was being shaken by the one with dark skin, her grip was like a riptide, and it dragged Robs thoughts away from the issue that was bothering him.
"It's nice to meet you Rob" her grin was genuine, the white foam on a crashing wave "I'm Ocean. And this is my wife Moon."
Something in Robs head clicked, something deep and buried that might have never seen the light of day. In most people, it never does. It was all a bit much, and nearly short circuited his entire mind. He did what he had always done when he felt impossibly out of his depth, reverted to polite conversation.
"its lovely to meet you" the words were quiet and small, barely filling the space. He turned to shake Moons hand. "How long have you two been married?" it was a stupid question he thought, and realised this revelation had helped to ease the gridlock in his head.
Moon didn't seem to mind. She turned her head, and looked at Rob with her shining eyes and smiled like a cloudless night
"Oh Aeons" she said "Almost before time existed properly"
"she doesn't mean that" Ocean cut in, with the ease of an old argument with no decided winner and the clear lack of a loser. "when we got married time didn't exist properly, but people have been retroactively applying time all over the place so" she rolled her eyes
There was an implication that Rob was not able to deal with, so he didn't.
"I feel like I should be taking notes" he smiled, or at least, he tried his best "I mean, you must have been doing something right" and I must have been doing something wrong. The thought surfaced before he could stop it. Once his daughters where old enough his wife had divorced him. He was told it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but doubt it.
"Well," said Moon, with the air of someone who has a perfect answer to a question "We dance a lot"
"And spend time together" interjected Ocean "lots of quality time"
"and isn't that part of dancing?" Moon raised an eyebrow "or do you dance by yourself roughly the same amount?"
"I could" Ocean rebutted "I might just be very good at hiding it"
Moon turned away from her wife in mock outrage
"after all these years of marriage and you still keep secrets from me" she wiped away an imaginary tear "I'm heartbroken"
"Yeah, like you would ever ask" Ocean turned away with equal amounts of outrage "I happen to be a very deep person, not like you care"
As the argument continued, the flow revealed itself to Rob. Moon lead, softly and slowly, but with a firm guide. Ocean was the opposite, rolling and twisting as she talked, following where Moon lead, but with a fluidity that hinted at power. the exchange was almost delicate, with each playing her part. No clear winner was in sight. They where equal, perfect opposites yet almost identical. They almost reminded Rob of his daughters; the love was different but shone through in the same way.
"uhm" Rob was surprised at how quiet his voice sounded "sorry to interrupt, but er, well this uhm" he sounded so foolish, why had he even started speaking? But two pairs' eyes settled on him, one improbably dark, the other impossibly bright. The soft gaze leaving a space in the conversation, inviting him to speak.
"this whole Goddess thingy?" the word hung in the air "uhm well, what exactly is going on?" it was too late now, and it all came spilling out of him. "because, y'know, I'm not really Goddess material really, cos I mean, just technically I can't be, can I? just look at me, I'd know right? If I was? Besides, I don't think its really for me anyway, I don't really have the time for it, I've got work to do, I've signed the contracts for it, and what about my daughters? I can't just abandon them? So, I'd really appreciate if you could help me out, if your busy is there someone you could point me to, a customer service thingy or a phone number or something?
Moon was holding back a smile as she tried to look compassionate. Ocean didn't even try to cover her grin.
"No Rob" Ocean barely got the words out "there is not a customer service representative you can ring
Moon gave her a look.
"Of course, this must all be very stressful for you Rob" She gently took his arm and started to walk "But the fact of the matter is that the Universe doesn't make mistakes when it comes to things like this. Why don't we find somewhere to sit down and have a little chat?"
Rob looked around for the first time, Properly looked. There was a soft natural light that permeated the area around him,and he had no idea about the size of the space he was stood in. the walls seemed to shoot away from him and close in the more he looked and he started to panic. Really panic. He felt the familiar tightness in his chest, his legs felt weightless, and he could barely stand.
He needed a moment to himself. Before it got worse. But there was no separate room he could slip into for a few minutes. He tried to control his breathing but all he could hear was his pounding heart. It took all his effort to remain standing and keep up with Moon.
"Rob?" Ocean gently touched his shoulder "try not to think about where we are right now ok? It can get, confusing" her concerned tone was familiar, and Rob could barely nod. His vison was blurring anyway, there was almost an irony in it. He tried to smile but his mouth wasn't working properly. These poor women, left to deal with him. He was no use to anyone in this state. They should just go on without him.
He tried to untangle himself from Moon, but her grip on his bicep was firm, a constant pressure that he couldn't loose. Ocean's hand gripped his shoulder with an almost unbearable strength. There was an agonising moment where he felt pinned between them, a speck caught between a cruel sea and the infinite sky, then Ocean's hand shifted slightly.
He was floating. Tender currents delicately tugged him from either side. The slight rocking soothed him as a cool blue light illuminated the silver bubbles drifting slowly to the surface of the waves. His ears filled with a gentle thrum of the tides. A single moment that stretched for an eternity
Then Ocean lifted her hand, and Rob was sat on a white sofa with a pastel flower pattern, under a trellis in full bloom. All he could taste was the tang of salt.
"Feeling any better?" Moon sat across from him, occupying one half of an overstuffed loveseat. She leaned forward and offered him of tea in a delicate china cup, a ring of wildflowers across the rim. He took it, and placed it on a small table next to him.
"Thank you" and then added "Much better thanks"
"Ocean has that effect on people" Moon smiled and took a sip of her tea.
Rob looked around for Ocean, as she slipped past him and sat next to Moon
"Thanks Ocean, Sorry if I was a burden"
"No worries" Ocean lay her legs across Moons lap, prompting the latter to lift her tea out of the way "I've had decades of practice" she reached down and pulled out a giant plate of scones. "Hungry?"
Rob was. But some part of his brain tripped.
"I'm sorry to ask, but can I have this?" he lifted his teacup almost in apology "just, you hear stories about this sort of thing, well not exactly this but you know, the whole accepting food from beautiful and charming strangers"
"Hey" Moon teased "don't call my wife beautiful and charming"
"You don't think I'm beautiful and charming?"
"I do babe, but He doesn't get to say it" Moon winked at Rob "don't worry sweetie, no one here can bind you, or wants to". She shifted closer to Ocean, leaning her head on her wife's shoulder. "Now, we should talk about this whole Goddess thing."
