Chapter 27 - Time Passes

For as horrible as those creatures were, and the gods awful stench of burning shoes, we did our best to enjoy the remaining days. Uncle Joe had taken us out during the afternoon to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner. Apparently we weren't the only ones to have that idea, though we were the only group to open presents at our table.

The other patrons were good natured about it, promptly chorusing "oooh" and "aah" at the appropriate moments. I had gotten the usual new clothes set (thankfully nothing unmentionable in public), an unadorned thin silver bracelet, a metal-plated Gameboy with a pocket monster collecting game, a set of Tolkien hardcovers, as well as a make-up kit and tutorial book, and a special holiday edition Barbie. The Barbie, uncle Joe had told me, had been a gag gift since my friends in the Hunt called me Skipper. I didn't know what to think about the make-up kit.

It had come as a complete surprise to Hunter and Phoebe when he pushed two small wrapped packages toward them as well. After jokingly threatening him if they got make-up kits too, they opened their gifts. Inside were matching thin silver bracelets like the one I had received. At their looks of confusion, uncle Joe chuckled and brought out a small envelope pouch from his breast pocket.

"I got these for all of you," he said, emptying three silver letter charms onto the table. There were two Fs and a single B. I quickly snatched up the B for myself, pushing the two Fs to the hunters.

"You two are 'Friends' and 'Forever'," I said. "It just makes sense."

"And you get the 'B' because...?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm the 'Best', obviousl-eep!" I cried out, nearly toppling out of my chair as Hunter jokingly shoved me.

Everybody in the restaurant was laughing at our antics. It was a wonderful Christmas.

For the New Year, we were happy to stay inside and watch the ball drop on the T.V. Even without a horde of imps scratching on the windows and door, the crowds in Time's Square would have been too much for us to properly enjoy the setting.

The Siege of the Christmas Goblins lasted right up until daybreak on the sixth of January, just as the book had said it would. The creatures trembled and glared at the first rays of sunlight, a couple of them hissing like feral cats as they all scrambled away in retreat. I could have sworn I heard one of them making threats about coming back during the next Winter Solstice, but since not even Ari had heard it, I figured I must have been imagining things.

That day Zoë Nightshade came knocking with the rest of the girls from the Hunt. Apparently Lady Artemis recalled them from the camp, so Hunter and Phoebe had to leave again. Whatever was going on on Olympus still hadn't been resolved, but the goddess couldn't talk about it - having been sworn to secrecy by her father.

FEBRUARY- Missed Connections

Over the next month our days quickly returned to our usual, normal routine. Uncle Joe and I cleaned up and fully restocked the restaurant, and we were finally able to properly reopen the Cocina, much to the relief and enjoyment of our regular customers.

Though, with February came Valentine's Day. Uncle Joe, elderly son of Aphrodite that he was, had very strong opinions on the day. Ari, airhead that she was, delighted in sharing these opinions and joining in teasing me about a certain curly haired demigod that I may or may not have been thinking about. Honestly! I hadn't even seen her since the Winter Solstice - and even then, it was from a distance. She probably didn't even remember me.

I found it safer and easier to make a hasty escape from the restaurant once we'd closed for the afternoon. Truth be told, I didn't dislike the day, I just never understood the hype. Though I guess it would be cool to get candy from someone you like? I wondered what Lady Artemis and her hunters were doing today. Likely killing some monster or chasing squirrels in the woods. They didn't seem to do romance and things like that. Without anywhere in particular to go, I ended up wandering down Fifth Avenue staring at all the pink and white decorations in the store fronts until I found my feet had taken me once more to Central Park.

I recalled uncle Joe mentioning casual strolls in the park with Elena in their youth, and decided 'why not'? With a mental shrug, I turned toward the park and set off along the first path. After a while, I started to enjoy myself. The weather was pretty nice, and if you could ignore the carts selling flowers, candies and balloons, the park was almost peaceful. Of course, my peace of mind was shattered instantly the moment I heard her voice.

"Mom's going to be really upset if we're late again," Andromeda said.

The boy next to her, her brother Andros (or was it Annabeth? Maybe that was a nickname?) said something too quiet for me to make out, but Andromeda just shook her head - those dark curls swaying with the motion. As focused on their conversation as they were, neither of them had noticed me, so I quickly ducked away down a different path.

My heart was hammering in my chest while my brain screamed to a screeching halt. Of course she would be here, today of all days. What should I do? I could go over and introduce myself again. No. I shook my head. I didn't want to come across as creepy. I looked up and blinked in confusion as I was handed a small, heart shaped box of chocolates from one of the cart vendors. What? He grinned and handed me my change. Oh, I must have bought them without realizing it.

Wait, why did I buy a box of chocolates while thinking about... Her? Oh. Oh! Well, now I had a good ice breaker. It was Valentine's Day, I had chocolates. All I had to do was go over and give them to her. Unfortunately, by the time I got back to where I had seen her, she and her brother were nowhere in sight. I tried looking around with my Aura sight, but their colors were too dark to pick out against the typical greyscale background.

I wandered a while longer, picking trails at random, until the sun started to set. The box of chocolates in my hand had already started melting, so I discarded it on my way out of the park. I felt sad that I didn't get a chance to give them to her, but at least I also didn't make a complete fool of myself.

MARCH - Princess on Parade

After my Valentine's Day fiasco, I found myself returning to Central Park every chance I got. Truth be told, I couldn't even say why. I guess a part of me really hoped to see Andromeda again and actually make an effort to say... well, anything, really. I felt like if we could just have a conversation about anything, I wouldn't feel like such a creep.

Today, however, I hesitated as I approached the Empire State Building. I still carried the spare keycard in my pocket. I even had a small pouch of my remaining drachma from my eating competition win with me. I wondered if Olympus was still closed. Surely not, right. Well, what could it hurt to try? With a shrug, I walked up the steps and into the lobby, noting the security god barely paying attention to the comings and goings of the mortals around me. Remembering the golden rule of going where you don't belong, I straightened my spine and walked for the elevator with my chin up and eyes forward. As luck would have it, I managed to get to an elevator right as someone else was getting off.

I pushed the button to close the doors and quickly inserted the keycard into the proper slot, pushing the button for the six hundredth floor when it appeared and taking the keycard back. I wasn't sure when the other one vanished, but I was going to try to hang on to this one if I could. The trip back up to Olympus was long, and the music wasn't as good (sorry, Celine Dion, my ears just can't go on), and I breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator chimed and the doors opened.

This was exactly what I needed to get my mind off of things. The view of the gods' city was just as breathtaking as I'd remembered, and I took my time exploring the twisting streets. At one point I saw someone that looked just like George Washington wearing purple robes, but quickly dismissed the thought as ridiculous. As I approached the main road, however, I noticed a huge procession of nymphs and satyrs dancing and sprinkling flower petals all around.

"What's going on?" I asked a nearby nymph with a bouquet worth of flowers braided into her long, green hair.

"It's the return of the Spring Queen," she said, smiling. "Lady Kórē is back!"

A loud cheer erupted all around, and I looked back to see two goddesses walking down the street arm in arm. Upon closer notice, I could see the older of the two seemed to be practically hanging off the arm of the other, seeming to drag the younger goddess along while smiling and gesturing animatedly at the crowd. She was wearing robes of bright green and yellows, with a delicate crown perched around her head. The younger goddess wore darker colors and a crown of black iron rested on her head. She seemed... sad, somehow... despite the cheering crowd.

One of the dancing satyrs drew too close to the pair and stumbled over his own hoof, falling into the two goddesses and causing the entire crowd to instantly fall silent. The younger goddess staggered slightly, her crown slipping from her head and rolling to stop right in front of me. Nobody else seemed to notice, though, as all eyes were on the satyr who had immediately fell to the ground at their feet, crying and pleading for forgiveness. Feeling slightly uncomfortable as the scene played out, I quickly snatched up the crown and made my way over. The black metal was cool to the touch and very heavy, with every sort of gemstone imaginable embedded in it while somehow not looking gaudy.

"Um, excuse me, milady," I said, holding out the crown. "You dropped this."

The young goddess turned her attention away from the grovelling satyr to the heavy iron crown in my hands. She frowned slightly, brushing her fingers along her hairline before offering me a very small smile.

"Thank you, little one," she said, taking the crown back, then addressed the older goddess; "Mother, we should continue. I am sure Father would not like to be kept waiting."

"What? Oh, yes. Of course," the goddess' mother replied, her fury evaporating instantly as she turned her attention back to her daughter. "Yes, come along now. We mustn't keep him waiting. Oh, and please do something about that crown. You're in public, dear."

"Yes, mother," the younger goddess said with an exaggerated sigh, shooting me a small grin as she turned the heavy iron crown into a wreath of vines and oak leaves. "Better?"

"Much better," the older goddess agreed. "Though, would it hurt to incorporate a few grains into the motif? Wheat is very popular, you know?"

The music and dancing started back up as the two goddesses continued their procession up the mountain, but I felt I had already seen enough. I decided it was probably time to head back down to Manhattan.

"Hey kid, you wanna try some deep fried Ambrosia on a Stick?"

On second thought, maybe I'd stick around just a little longer.

OMAKE

"Gran, Gramps," Andromeda called out as she entered the Brownstone building with her twin brother right behind her. "We're here."

"Go on up and get changed," Gran said. "I've already got a snack set out for you when you get back down. Jerry's down in the basement working on one of his projects and your mother's still with a client at her gallery, so if you don't tell her you were late coming in, neither will I."

"You're the best," Andromeda said, giving her grandmother a quick hug before hurrying up the stairs.

She paused in the doorway of her room. Something was off. It only took a moment to notice the small, heart-shaped box of chocolates sitting on her bed.

"Gran," she called back down the stairs. "Has anyone been in my room?"

"Not since you left it," came the reply. "Why?"

"No reason," Andromeda answered, closing the door and crossing the room to her bed. Strangely, there was no note attached to the chocolates, but it didn't seem to be tampered with otherwise.

"Well, I wouldn't want to waste good chocolate," she said and, with a shrug, opened the box. The chocolates inside were soft and slightly melted when she went to pick one up.

"On second thought," she said, licking the melted chocolate off her fingers. "I think I'll stick them in the freezer first."