Chapter 8: Annabeth and I Babysit Lance

I sensed Annabeth rushed to the small living room as I opened the door, wondering who the visitor was, no doubt.

I smiled brightly at the beautiful woman standing right in front of me. "Hi, Cynthia!"

"Percy, darling!" Cynthia gave me her so-called power hug.

"Er...Cynthia...can't breathe," I managed to choke out.

She released me from the hug. "Oh, sorry, darling. So, how are you these past few days?"

"Great," I said, beaming. "How 'bout you?"

Before she could answer, Annabeth interrupted her. "Percy, who is she?" There was a dangerous edge in her voice.

I turned to her with a comforting smile. "Oh, right. Annabeth, this is Mrs. Cynthia Smith, my neighbor." I faced the visitor again. "Cynthia, this is Annabeth, my girlfriend and best friend at the same time."

"Oh," Annabeth said in a low voice.

Cynthia smiled at her. "Hi, darling. Is she the Annabeth that Sally and Paul are always talking about, Percy?"

I nodded in response, then turned to Annabeth with a playful wink.

She blushed slightly, and I was still amazed that I could get a reaction from her even with just a simple gesture.

"Please come here. And for your information, I'm already married, and my husband and I have a son," Cynthia added.

Annabeth gaped as she went to her. "Hello to you, too. I heard the 'Mrs.' part, but you look so young, like Sally!" she exclaimed.

Cynthia giggled. "We always get that compliment, Sally and I. Well, the two of us have the same age, and we always go to spa together." She examined her, and then hugged her. "She's magnificent, darling. When are you two getting married?" she added when she released my girlfriend from the hug.

Annabeth and I blushed furiously when we heard the word "married." I imagined we were in Mt. Olympus—with all the wedding outfits, decorations and gifts. Aphrodite was singing for joy, and Poseidon and Athena were crying happily. All of the demigods at Camp Half-Blood were invited, and then Zeus was—

I heard Cynthia's laughter in the background, bringing me back to reality.

"Look at you two with those red and dreamy faces," she said cheerfully.

I blushed again and turned to Annabeth with a look of disbelief. "You, too?"

She replied with a glare, "Don't ask, Seaweed Brain."

Cynthia clasped her hands together. "Anyway, good timing your girlfriend is here, Percy. I have favor to ask the both of you darlings. And no, I'm in a hurry. Thanks," she added when I indicated for her to go inside.

"What is it?" asked Annabeth and I in unison.

"Would you mind to take care of my baby, Lance? I need to go somewhere, and my husband is away. No one could take care of him while I'm gone."

"You mean, babysit?" the two of us verified at the same time.

"Yes. Don't worry, though," said Cynthia. "I'll be back this evening. And it's a wonderful exercise for the two of you, since you'll be having a baby in the near future, yes?"

We blushed for the third time, but Annabeth said, "Of course we don't mind, Mrs. Smith. We'll take care of your baby."

She nudged me on the ribs. "Er, yeah, we'll take care of Lance," I replied sheepishly.

"Great!" Cynthia said brightly. "Oh, and Annabeth, just call me Cynthia, please. Wait a minute." She went back to her apartment in a rush.

"She also said that to me when I called her Mrs. Smith the first time," I shared with Annabeth. "Said she doesn't want any formalities."

"And I thought she was still a teenager," Annabeth said, dumbfounded. "Well, judging from her looks and all."

I turned to her, smirking. "You were jealous a while ago, weren't you?"

She did an eye roll. "Jealous? Me? Who are you kid—"

Annabeth was interrupted for the second time when Cynthia returned, carrying her baby. "Here he is. Lancie, this is your sister Annabeth. And do you remember your brother Percy?"

Annabeth's eyes twinkled as she pinched Lance's cheeks. "Hi, Lance. Aren't you a cutie?"

I ruffled his hair. The baby had his mother's black hair, and, by the color of his eyes (which were gray), he'd inherited it from his father. "Hey again, Lance."

Annabeth carried him. "Gutchie gutchie goo!"

Lance laughed and clapped his hands in the air. This was unusual that I saw Annabeth like this—carrying a baby and being motherly.

"Aww, he likes you, darling," Cynthia said while wiping a tear from her eye dramatically. "I'm just happy to see you two with my Lancie."

"We're also happy to be with Lance," I said while pinching his nose lightly.

"Thank you, darlings. He's two years old, so he already knows how to walk. I highly suggest you two take him to Central Park," she said while looking at her watch. "I need to get going now. I'm sure that you'll take care of him. Well, I'm off. Be a good boy, Lance." Cynthia kissed her baby's forehead.

"Bye and take care, Cynthia," Annabeth and I said at the same time.

She waved at us, and then left swiftly.

I closed the door and turned to Annabeth. I wasn't that good with babies, to be honest, so I'd have to rely on her judgment. "What now, Wise Girl?"

She was still carrying Lance. "Let's do what Cynthia suggested. And I told you while we were eating breakfast that we should go to Central Park."

I suddenly had an idea. Another picture taking would be great. "Let's go!"

000

It was a perfect afternoon as the three of us were strolling in Central Park. Annabeth held Lance's right hand while I held the other. There were many children with their parents having fun. Others were biking. There were also couples having a picnic. We saw two violinists practicing their musical piece.

Annabeth and I were talking about where we should eat this when Lance released my hand and then pointed at the violinists while jumping up and down. "Goder!"

I gave Annabeth a confused look. "What's he trying to say?"

She gave me a flat look. "Isn't it obvious? Lance wants us to go there. C'mon."

As we neared the violinists, they stopped playing to look at us properly.

"Hello," the male violinist said with a smile.

The female violinist looked at Lance. "Oh, he's so cute! Your child?" she queried. "Well, the black hair and gray eyes..."

Annabeth and I looked at each other, then at Lance, who was jumping all around. Oh, my gods! People would think that Lance was our baby!

"N-no," I stuttered. "We're just b-babysitting for my neighbor."

Annabeth nodded immediately. "What he said."

Lance was clapping his hands. "Music...good!"

"Was that Edgar's 'Salut d'Amour'?" I asked, regaining my composure after a moment.

"Yeah," the male violinist said. "Perfect weather to play that piece."

"I didn't know you liked classical music," said Annabeth.

"Well," I responded, "Paul always plays that kind of stuff using a music player in our apartment. They're great."

"Of course they're great. Most of the famous musicians are a child of Apollo. Look at Mozart, Bach, and Perlman."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"Play...more!" Lance whined.

The two violinists gave us confused looks, making sure that they'd heard what Annabeth had said correctly, but dismissed the idea immediately when Lance whimpered.

"Since you three like classical music, we'll play another one," said the female violinist with a wink.

They positioned themselves and started stroking the bow on the strings of the violin. Many people were now crowding around us, listening to the beautiful, calming music.

Annabeth closed her eyes and whispered, "Pachelbel's 'Canon in D.'"

I also closed my eyes and held her hand.

After the music had ended, the audience was applauding loudly. Even Lance cried joyfully while jumping up and down. "Weeeee!"

"Thank you, thank you!" the two violinists said with a grateful bow.

000

(Third person point of view)

Meanwhile...

"Yes, Sally. They finished listening to the violinists and are now sitting on a bench while eating ice cream," Cynthia said, her phone beside her ear.

"Do they look like a real family?" asked Sally on the other line.

Cynthia grinned. "Oh, yes. They're gorgeous! The three of them look so cute together. But, of course, my husband, Lancie and I look cuter than them."

Sally laughed. "Stalk them while you can. I want to know the full details when we return. I hope I can see them personally. Can you take a picture of them and send it to my phone?"

"Of course, if I can get closer to them without knowing my real identity, that is."

"You're wearing your perfect disguise, I believe."

"Of course I am," Cynthia said, grinning. "Say, are we continuing the plans?"

"Of course,"replied Sally."I'm sure you'll do it perfectly. Oh, you didn't lie to them, did you?"

"Hi-hi. Don't forget that we're talking about Cynthia Smith here—great at disguising and acting. And of course I didn't lie to them. I told them that I needed to go somewhere, and here I am, stalking them. It wasn't lying or anything, right?"

"Yes. I'm sure the gods, especially Aphrodite, will be with you."

Cynthia looked flabbergasted. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing,"she added hastily, "Bye for now, Cynthia."

"Bye, Sally. I'll call you again later. Say hi to Paul for me." Then Cynthia ended the call with a sly grin on her face. "Operation 'Percy and Annabeth to Act like a Family' will now begin!"