"Yes, I know, Mom," Sara puts her phone on the desk and thumbs through the tome.
"Are you taking all of your prenatal vitamins?"
"Yes, Mom," Sara finally found the page she had been looking for and stares at the cracked image.
"Mimi called me the other day and said you weren't feeling well. Said you were having some issues with morning sickness. She was asking me if there were any tips I might have. She is such a sweetie. Strange, but a sweetie. You'll tell her I said hi, right?"
Smiling at the thought of her adorable wife calling her mother for tips on morning sickness, Sara almost closed the book. Almost.
"Yeah, I will do that. Mom, can I call you back? I am going to head home," Sara soon hangs up the phone and makes a raspberry sound with her lips.
The woman in the cracked image of the tome she had borrowed from the university library is a coquettish vixen winking at her from centuries past. A knock at the door suddenly forces her from her thoughts.
"Hey Sarah, what are you doing here so late? Shouldn't you be going home soon?"
The Chinese folktale professor smiles down at her serenely, looming over her from her obnoxiously tall height, much like her wife actually, "Can I get my books back? I have a lecture on yokai origins tomorrow."
"Ohh yeah, sure, sorry I've been monopolizing them lately," Sara piles the books on her desk and then accidentally pushes them on to the ground.
"Are you alright? Feeling well?"
Sara grits her teeth. Everyone seemed to be asking how she was feeling lately.
"Yeah, just tired," Sara stacks up the books again and puts them on the desk.
"Why are you suddenly interested in this if you don't mind me asking? Not that yokai aren't fascinating, but you didn't strike me as the kind," Lydia sits down at the desk across from her.
How could she tell her colleague that she suspected her wife was an ancient creature from mythology?
"What do you think of kitsunes and fox spirits?" Sara asks, not looking Lydia in the eye and focusing instead on the woman's long white hair.
As if aware of the other woman's focus, Lydia wraps a finger around the length of her tresses.
"Fascinating creatures," Lydia croons, her black eyes flashing excitedly, "I was actually going to discuss them briefly tomorrow. Kitsune are complicated beings. Fox spirits that can often shapeshift into humans. You see reports in stories how they live to seduce men and are agents of chaos."
"And you don't think so?" Sara laughs at the sound of disgust in the other woman's voice.
"Agents of chaos I would agree with," Lydia sighs ruefully, "But I think that many historical texts we see depicting mythology were commissioned by men so that we don't often see a woman's perspective. It could be interpreted that men were curious about what is hidden under a woman's skirt and came up with the idea of women hiding foxtails."
"What do you mean?" Sara scoots the tome she had been looking at towards Lydia for perusal.
"Take Greek mythology, for example," Lydia sits back in the chair, making excited gestures with her hands, " the origin story for Medusa is a fascinating example of this."
"But wasn't she an evil monster who killed people? In the myth, Perseus ends up killing her by using his shield, so he isn't turned into stone?" Sara offers trying to remember her high school English class.
"Yes and no," Lydia exclaims, "You see, most historians believe that Medusa's origins are more tragic than that. It is believed that before she became a gorgon, Medusa was a beautiful woman who devoted her life to the service of the goddess Athena. One day Medusa is raped by the god Poseidon in Athena's temple. Well, Athena is put into a difficult position. Her father Zeus and the other toxic dick wielding chuckleheads in Mount Olympus expect punishment for Medusa. Being the goddess of wisdom, Athena decides to please the toxic patriarchy by taking away what they think matters most to women, their beauty. In changing Medusa into a "monster," Athena has given Medusa the ability to protect herself. Medusa is put on an island so that she can stay away from people. Of course, that doesn't stop would-be warriors from trying to kill the ugly monster, and unfortunately, her looks once again doom her. Her head becomes a weapon for her murderer."
"You feel strongly about this," Sara says with a little awe.
"I think monsters are fascinating and are often judged by their looks," Lydia smiles a little sadly, "Plus, I think it is a fascinating coincidence that Medusa's face was often used as a symbol of protection for women's shelters in Ancient Greece. Adding to this theory."
"So, you think kitsune are mischievous tricksters who have a bad reputation from the men who were unable to control them?"
If she had blinked, she would have missed it, but Sara could swear that Lydia's eye twitches.
"Kitsune can be both men and women," Lydia begins carefully, "but I think power of all kinds can lead to the jealousy of others."
Lydia takes the tome from Sara's desk and smiles at the image, "She looks a little like your wife. Tails and all."
"That's what I thought," Sara laughs, rubbing her stomach out of habit, the child within kicking her firmly in the bladder.
"Did you know that kitsune are immortal, and the number of tails coincides with how long they live and the wisdom they accumulate? If they live longer than a hundred years, they can grow more tails," Lydia shrugs, "but usually they only have nine. Your wife, The Golden Phoenix, has eleven, correct?"
Sara blushes and nods, taking the book from Lydia to look down at the image of the kitsune. It did look a bit like her wife, truth be told. She shoves the book into her bag, "I have to use the restroom. Do you mind continuing?"
"I was on my way out," Lydia grins, " I don't mind escorting you out again. I enjoy the company."
"You always seem to be right on time to walk with me out," Sara says happily.
Both women enter the bathroom, Lydia inspecting her appearance in the mirror while Sara gratefully enters a stall.
"With all the money they give the sports department, you would think they would be able to fix the blinds with something other than duct tape," Sara mutters, watching Lydia's long dress weave across the floor.
Lydia makes a strange barking noise, and Sara realizes the woman is laughing. She laughed so rarely it took her off guard.
"Where did she get that name, if you don't mind me asking?" Lydia presses as Sara finally emerges from the stall.
"What name?" Sara washes her hands and looks in the mirror. If she wasn't mistaken, Lydia's reflection looked a little off.
"The Golden Phoenix. I just thought it was an interesting choice," Lydia smiles, and Sara is immediately put at ease.
Lydia opens the door for Sara, and they walk down the empty hallways.
"I think she said it was a family name."
They step out into the darkness, and Sara finds herself stepping closer to Lydia, who did not seem to be troubled by the lateness of the hour or how dark the campus was.
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you drive. You always escort me to my car," Sara laughs, "do you want a ride?"
Lydia shakes her head fondly and gestures over her shoulder at a red motorcycle that glitters dangerously in the moonlight.
"I have my own way of transportation," Lydia nods casually at her, "Perhaps you should attend my lecture tomorrow if kitsunes are still an interest."
"I will do that," Sara agrees gladly, but it was not to be.