The Weight of the World (21 page)

In
protest he refused to use his arrows

to
pierce mortals with the affliction of love.

As
a result, Aphrodite’s power waned

and
she relented.

But
the goddess had placed a curse on Psyche

that
despite her beauty she should never wed,

for
her supernatural grace should frighten

mortal
men away.

Unable
to find her a suitable match,

her
parents went to the city Oracle.

The
Oracle told them to sacrifice her

on
the mountain side.

Princess
Psyche was dressed in ritual garb

and
chained to a mountaintop tamarisk tree.

The
procession abandoned her there in the

wild
to die alone.

Eros
called upon the Zephyr to free her

and
bring her to a new home in the forest.

Obscuring
his true face, he made her his bride

and
made love to her.

Every
night hence he returned to her side

and
in darkness they consummated their love.

But
Psyche was forbidden to see the face

of
her own husband.

Her
presence was discovered by her sisters

who,
grieving, visited the sight of her death

and
discovered that she was freed from the chains

as
if by magic.

Jealous,
Psyche’s spiteful sisters convinced her

that
she must have been bedded by a monster,

so
they coaxed her into hiding a lantern

to
glance his visage.

As
Eros dosed beside her that evening,

she
lit the lamp and held it over his face.

Then
a drop of hot oil landed on his cheek

and
roused him from sleep.

Eros
fled by beating wings from the window,

for
his heart was wounded by his wife’s mistrust.

His
mother took offense to this betrayal

and
punished Psyche.

Psyche
wandered the earth in search of Eros

until
she called directly on his mother.

Eager
to see Psyche pay, Aphrodite

consented
to help.

The
tasks she gave Psyche to redeem herself

were
purposefully crafted impossible.

Yet
somehow fair Psyche accomplished each one

with
help from others.

And
when, at last, Psyche had ventured below

to
gather some beauty from Persephone,

she
peaked in the container she was given

and
was charmed asleep.

Eros
took pity on his Psyche’s hardships

and
forgave her for her vile act of mistrust.

He
held her, ran his hand across her face, and

wiped
the sleep away.

Next,
Eros appealed to the almighty Zeus,

who
took pity on his love for the mortal.

Psyche
was carried up to Mount Olympus

and
fed ambrosia.

“
Let
love steal in disguised as friendship.
”

-Ovid

XV.

Jason
emailed Celene the next day to tell her that he was done with
Till
We Have Faces.
They
exchanged a few cryptic words about the Adam situation in reply
emails. Finally, after supper, Celene decided to pop by his house to
discuss the issue in more detail
.
She
emailed to let him know that she was on her way and then headed out,
leaving Penny at home by herself.

“Did
you like the book?” she asked when Jason opened the front door.

“I
did. I'll admit, it was a slow start, but it really picked up.”
Jason invited Celene in and offered to get her a drink. He came back
from the kitchen with two cups of coffee.

“Where
are the kids?” Celene asked, surprised not to hear shouts from the
twins.

“My
father and aunt have them for the week. They're probably being
spoiled rotten as we speak.”

“It's
quiet here.”

“I
know. It doesn't feel like my house. So what exactly is going on with
Adam?”

Celene
filled Jason in on what Penny had told her the night before. Astin
had a second, very useful ability, and Adam knew about it.

“Then
it's time to bring him in,” Jason said. “Maybe we need to ask him
outright if that dog-throwing trick was a fluke of adrenaline or an
actual ability.”

“He
trusts Devon. Devon should be the one to talk to him,” Celene said.
“We don't need to freak him out by revealing all fifteen of us
straight away.”

Jason
nodded and sipped his coffee. “I'm a bit worried about the kids. I
mean, fighting in public? They're going to expose you all if they're
not careful.”

“I
have no doubt what Peter and Teddy were fighting about,” Celene
said.

Jason
knew exactly what she was getting at, and he didn't disagree.
Everyone in The Pantheon knew that Peter was in love with Penny, and
his temper was notorious. “People say they wish they could go back
and be a teenager again. Forget that. I'll take twenty-five
gratefully, but I never want to go back to fifteen.”

“Hormones,
anger, acne,” Celene shook her head. “I did it once. I paid my
dues.”

Jason
laughed.

“I
have a hard time imagining you as a wild teenager,” Celene said.
“You always seem so... mellow. Like nothing can get you riled up.”

“You
didn't know me three years ago,” Jason said, his smile fading.

“When
your wife died?”

“I
had a bit of a come-apart. I did some reckless things, lost my job.
Most people with a license to practice medicine don't become school
nurses.”

Celene
set her mug down and folded her hands in her lap. “So it wasn't
just to spend more time with the kids?”

Jason
shook his head. “Right after my wife died, they brought me on to
help with a study for an experimental treatment, a new drug to shrink
tumors. It was too late for Felicia, but this woman I was working
with, who had kids to think about, she was perfectly qualified. She
didn't have great insurance, they refused to cover the treatment and
the hospital sponsored trial was full, so I brought her in and
started treating her anyway. Her tumor shrank and she went in to
remission, but when the hospital realized nobody was paying for it,
they came down on me.

“Legally
you have to treat everyone, regardless of whether they can pay. You
can't refuse a gunshot victim because he's not insured. But the law
isn't so righteous when it comes to experimental treatments, and
hospitals aren't too keen when they get stuck with a bill for that
kind of money. I kept my license but no hospital will take me and
nobody would give me insurance for my own practice. So now I'm a
school nurse.”

Celene
didn't know what to say to that. It had been a foolish move, risking
his job with three mouths to feed, but she knew he had done the right
thing. She knew that being a school nurse couldn't pay that well.
“Did she survive?”

Jason
nodded. “She sends me a Christmas card every year.”

“Well,
you're her hero, at least. And some day your kids will know what you
did.”

Celene
was certain that she saw Jason blush. He finished off his coffee and
set his mug down close to Celene's.

“How
old was Penny when you lost your husband?” he asked.

“Nine,”
Celene said. “Richard was there for her birthday, and then, the
week after, he went downhill fast. I think he was holding on so he
wouldn't ruin her day.”

“Haley
wasn't really old enough to know what was going on. She kept telling
people that Mommy would come back when she felt better.”

Celene
closed her eyes. “Penny knew and she dealt with it as healthily as
you can expect a nine-year-old to. I held on to my stony face for
over a year before I dealt with it.”

“Have
you been out dating?”

Celene
shrugged, “A little. I went out with one guy three times, which was
the record. It's just not so easy to get back on the horse.” Her
eyes opened again, locking with his. “Have you?”

Jason
shook his head.

“This
is depressing,” Celene said. “I usually don't get this
sentimental without a glass of wine in me.”

“I
have a bottle of red. Nothing fancy.”

“If
you pour a glass we can talk more about that book.”

“Like
a ladies' book club?”

Celene
laughed. “Just like that.”

Jason
got up and went to the kitchen. He came back with two glasses and a
bottle of local wine. “It has a bit of a tart aftertaste, but the
first sip is sweet.”

He
poured two small glasses and sat back on the couch. “Do you know
what the best part about my job is?” he asked.

“What
is that?” Celene took a tentative sip of her wine and nodded. It
was good.

“Summer
vacation. Haven't had that since my undergraduate studies. I get to
spend summer vacation with my kids instead of shipping them off to
day care.”

“I've
enjoyed having the summers with Penny, even if she's dating and
babysitting and going off on her own, now.”

“I
don't think I'll ever be ready for Haley to start dating.”

“I
still don't think I'm ready, but I have to accept it.”

“Penny
brings up a whole host of never-before-seen parenting questions, you
know, with The Pantheon,” Jason said.

“Do
you feel guilty that none of the other kids have told their parents?”
Celene asked.

“A
little,” Jason shrugged, “But all it takes is one well-meaning
parent to not believe it and haul their kid in for testing. Some
people are very good at denying what's right before their eyes.”