“How can you be so sure? Half of marriages end in divorce!” Ra objected.
Jesus winced again.
I shrugged. “I am sure. My bolts are so rarely used anymore, I might as well use them for the special love.”
“So explain Kim and Kanye then!” Ra demanded. Kali looked over, interested. She had been part of that debacle.
I turned to look at Ra. “That was your fault,” I reminded him. “You thought it would be funny. I objected, remember?”
Ra blinked; the lights turned up. Talk about wearing one’s emotions.
Even Zeus had to agree. “That was a bad idea, yes,” he said.
Jesus flickered; any time we talk about people who either have forgotten him completely and treat him in disdain he flickers like that. I don’t know if he knows.
“So yeah, none of that celebrity playmaker stuff.”
Kali rumbled, “I still think that you should make Putin and Trump…”
The reaction around the table was noteworthy. There might have been vomit.
“So what IS a good match then?” Jesus wanted to know. “But not an ordinary one.”
“An extraordinary match?” I asked.
He nodded.
“And you want to watch?”
Every head at the table – including pious Jesus – nodded.
I sighed. The ultimate in porn. Zeus would wank openly..
I closed my eyes and let the thoughts of humans fill my brain. It did not take long.
The screen filled. A young woman sat on a couch. At that moment, she was decidedly unattractive; her hair was two days unwashed, and her face was pale and drawn without makeup. Her eyes were a little red from crying, and the clothing she wore – gray shapeless sweatpants and sweatshirts – made her look and seem dumpy. She was not an unattractive woman in general but at that moment, she was far from attractive.
A knock at the door. Her head picked up and looked over, her face masking into a question. She stood and walked towards the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s, uh, Mike. From our English class?”
She opened the door, only a small way, enough to poke her face through and look. “How…how did you find me?”
He sighed. “I did not. Professor James asked if anyone lives in this building, and I do. She asked me to give this to you,” Mike said.
***
“And now,” I interceded, “the arrow.”
“These two?” Ra demanded, incredulous. He has no faith in me.
“Shut up and watch, birdboy.”
***
“Are you okay, you look a little rough?” Mike asked, his voice concerned.
“I’m not okay,” she said.
“I mean, I know we don’t know each other that well,” Mike said softly, “but I’ll listen if you want to talk.”
“Why?” she demanded.
He shrugged. “You look like you could use a friend. And you’re in an efficiency,” he added.
She looked back at the mess of her single room apartment. Back at Mike, her lip between her teeth. There was a quick, noisy exhale. “It’s not the nicest tale,” she warned.
“I’m free, lay it on me,” he said.
We saw her thoughts, jumbled and angry. She wanted – needed, really – to talk and none of her girlfriends had called her back. He was there, he was offering, and he was…not hard to look at. Something about him gave her hope; she needed hope.
“Fine.” She opened the door, and ushered him inside. Her place was tidy but cluttered. There were a lot of items, and the dishes in the sink that she spotted while guiding him to her futon made her wince.
After flopping heavily to either arm of the couch, she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “My parents are divorcing. Finally,” she added caustically.
Mike nodded soberly. “Mine did when I was sixteen,” he said.
“So did you hate them?”
“Yes,” he replied simply. “Both of them. So blind to each other’s qualities, wrapped up in their own hatred and selfishness.”
“Yeah, that’s about what I’m feeling. And seeing.”
She rambled on without interruption for nearly thirty minutes. The tears, they came and went. He handed her a box of tissues when necessary, and wordlessly plucked the used ones out of her hand as she wailed and held her hand out blindly. Towards the end of her diatribe, he opened his arms and she instantly slid across the futon, and laid against him. His arm draped protectively over her shoulder began to get her under control.
Finally, after a tremendous honk of her nose, she looked up at his face. “Thanks, Mike.”
“You’re welcome, Rachel,” he said seriously.
“You didn’t say anything!” she said.
“I didn’t need to. I hoped that you’d get all that built-up poison out. Funny thing though.”
“What?!” she demanded.
“I found myself wishing that I’d had someone like you on my darkest days. Someone to hold me and just listen. I was glad that I could do that for someone else.”
“Awwww, that’s the nicest thing,” she said.
***
“How,” Zeus demanded, “are they going to fuck?”
“ZEUS, please!” Jesus snapped.
“Sorry.” He looked appropriately chagrined for a second. “The question still stands.”
“Deep emotions can lead to things,” I replied softly. “It will take a while. And we’ll be in their heads for a while, too.”
“Can’t you just like fast-forward to the good parts?” the eternally horny Zeus whined.
“Shut up, Zeus,” Ra, Kali and Jesus said in unison.
***
“Can I make you anything? A tea or something?” Rachel asked. They’d been talking lightly for fifteen minutes after the end of her rant.
“A tea would be wonderful,” Mike said. “I can…”
“No…no!” Rachel sat forward as Mike’s arm fell away. “My apartment!”
“All right.”
“A nice Christmas present from my mom, though,” she said next. “Do you want to see?”
“Sure!” he said, rising. There was a little stainless steel pot with pre-arranged temperatures. After the tea was selected, Rachel turned the device on and they waited for a surprisingly short amount of time before the water was at its proper temperature. The tea was in the cup and she poured the water into the second glass carafe, and the two watched as the brown coloring swirled slowly through the heated water.
Rachel explained how the match of the temperature to the tea was an important one for different types of tea. Three minutes later, both had a steaming hot cup of tea, brewed perfectly, and both had added a hint of sweetener. They returned to the couch, and to Mike’s surprise, Rachel snuggled up against him.
“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked, pressing her body to his. “It feels safer this way.”
He smiled “No, I don’t mind. I rather enjoy it.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Rachel asked.
“No. Do you have a boyfriend?”
She smiled. “No.”
“Well, that’s good.”
***
Us gods could see the thoughts swirling in both minds. That little question and answer, confirming both were single, had sparked the ignition of both of their minds, and their libidos. Mike’s “she smells good” and Rachel’s “his arm is so nice” were known to us. These were little things, but it was clear that in both minds, the physical touch and the confirmation of availability were leading to things.
***
“So, that’s why I like Professor James’ class so much,” Rachel concluded.
“She’s a great professor,” Mike had to agree. “Tough, too.”
“Very tough. That look she gives you.”
Mike actually shivered briefly. “Yeah, I got that once or twice. Not wanting it again.”
“She’s so pretty, I think,” Rachel said.
“She’s very attractive,” Mike agreed. “Something about that short hair, those glasses. Her posture, maybe. Almost regal.”