Than was waiting for her on the chair beneath her window. He had changed into a comfortable t-shirt and loose cotton trousers. He smelled clean, and his hair was wet.
“That’s not fair.” Therese leaned over and took in his scent, touched his hair. “You took a shower.”
He gave her a devilish grin. “We have all night. Go ahead and shower, if you want.”
As anxious as she was to be in his arms again, she wanted to smell good, too, and after all their travels, she could use some refreshing. “I won’t be long. Oh, and while I’m in there, I want to try something.”
He stood up and gave her a look of surprise. “What?” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and clasped his hands together like a juror about to read the verdict.
She could tell then that he was as inexperienced as she. Of course he had never been with anyone, she thought. He said she was the first to ever touch him, to ever kiss him. “Relax and wait here. I’m going to try to pray to you, to see if you can hear me.”
“Oh.” He seemed a little relieved, but disappointed, too, as he unclasped his hands and fell back into the chair.
She turned on the shower and undressed as she waited for the water to get warm. Once inside with the curtain closed, and as she shampooed her hair, she whispered, “Than, I hope you can hear me. I figured out how I can thank Aphrodite and Pallas Athena for their gifts. We’ll have to go to Greece, though. I hope that’s okay. I want to donate my parents’ clothes to charities that support their temples or their memories or something. I’ll have to do a little research to get the specifics straight.” She rinsed her hair and babbled on, hoping he could hear. She soaped down her body and rinsed herself, all very quickly and eagerly, and turned off the water. “Anyway, my aunt and her boyfriend will be gone tomorrow. I told them you were going to help me go through my parents’ clothes. You should have seen my aunt. She seemed really glad.”
She took her nightshirt from the hook on the back of her bathroom door and slipped it on along with a pair of fresh undies. Then she opened the door to her bedroom. “Did you get that?”
He smiled at her from the chair. “Every word. No one has ever prayed to me like that before.”
She crossed the room and sat on his lap, appearing more confident than she looked, for she still found it hard to believe that this handsome god was her boyfriend. “Do you like my idea?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. There’s a group in Acropolis devoted to memorializing Athena and supporting her values of peace and justice. They clothe the poor. There’s another group on the Cyprus Island that raises money to hold an annual festival in Aphrodite’s honor. They would take your donations as well. The goddesses are going to love you for this.”
She played with his wet hair and kissed his forehead. “I’m glad you like my idea. So can we go to Greece tomorrow?”
“Absolutely. And that gives me an idea as well.” He gave her a playful look.
She narrowed her eyes. “What are you smiling about?”
“While we’re in Greece, we can go to Mount Olympus and maybe persuade my parents to meet you. My mom should already be there, so it would just be a matter of convincing my dad to leave the Underworld.”
She frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m a little nervous. You’re my first boyfriend. I’ve never had to meet the parents of a boyfriend before, and, well, meeting yours sounds a bit, I don’t know, daunting.”
“Don’t worry.” He kissed her neck. “You’ll do fine. Maybe we’ll take your flute along.”
Like the notion of performing for the gods of the Underworld was supposed to make her less worried. “And chocolate?”
He laughed. “Yeah. And chocolate.”
She kissed his cheek and sighed. “I want to know more about you,” she said.
“Like what?”
“What’s an average day like for you as the guide for the dead? I mean, do a lot of people die in one day?”
“On average, and only considering the past ten years, about a hundred thousand people and maybe twice that amount of animals.”
Therese frowned. “Per day?”
He nodded.
She looked down at the floor, her mouth suddenly dry.
“What?”
“That’s so sad. What do they mostly die of?”
“Hunger.”
“That seems so…preventable.”
“Yeah.”
She continued to gaze at the floor.
“Is there something else bothering you?”
“This is going to sound so selfish.”
“Tell me. I want to know.”
“Well, how would you ever have time for me?” She blushed. “Sorry. That sounds so, selfish and immature. But, I mean, think about it. When would we ever be together? It sounds like you have to work nonstop.”
He laughed. “Now don’t freak out, okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can be in several places at once.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I don’t understand. How is that possible? I mean, are you somewhere else right now?”
“Right now you have my undivided attention, but when I’m acting as the death guide, I can be at many places at the same time.”
“That’s hard to grasp. So there’s like a whole bunch of your clones running around?”
He shook his head. “No, no, not clones. In each instance, it’s me, only me, and completely me, and not an imitation of some sort. I disintegrate into many selves. Right now I am integrated into one.”
“I still can’t picture it.”
“You know how you can be on your computer, on the phone, and listening to music at the same time? You might also be petting Clifford, eating a snack, and glancing out the window.”
Therese nodded. “So?”
“Well, I can do a million more things at the same time as a human, even though I have one brain that is aware of the million things I’m doing and the million places I am at.”
“Okay, I think I’m beginning to understand. But then why can’t you be with me and be the guide for the dead at the same time? Why did Hip have to take over for you?”
He moved a strand of hair from her face and pushed it behind her ear. “Because as the death guide, I would endanger your life. As long as one part of me is acting in that capacity, no human could survive my company.”
“Oh.” She thought about that for a moment. “Then why can’t you do Hip’s job and be with me?”
“Because then you’d fall asleep around me.”
She laughed. “That’s hard to imagine.” She touched his cheek. “So is there anything you can do while you’re with me?”
He cracked a smile. “Oh, I can think of something.”
She laughed and lightly slapped his chest. “I mean somewhere else!”
“No. As long as I’m in my mortal form, I can’t disintegrate. I have to shift into my godly form.”
Her eyes opened wide. “This isn’t your usual form?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m brighter. Too bright for your eyes. Any more questions?” He leaned in.
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
He kissed her neck again, enkindling her quickly and unexpectedly. Her body felt like it was inflamed, the heat rising within her and flooding all of her senses. She ran her fingers through his soft, wet hair and met his lips with hers. He dazzled her, overwhelmed her, made her want to soar across the sky. Their slow, romantic kisses turned into feverish, passionate ones, and he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He gently laid her down on her bed without moving his mouth from hers. He moved on top of her, his body hot and hard against hers. She clung to his hair, keeping his face next her hers.
“Mmm,” she moaned.
He pulled away and collapsed beside her on his back.
She turned on her side to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop,” he said breathlessly.
“Oh.” Then, with her heart speeding up even more in her chest, she whispered, “That’s okay.”
He looked at her with a mixture of shock and desire. She was afraid but overcome. He kissed her, fervently, and she felt like she would overflow with passion. Then he stopped and collapsed on his back again.
“You’re killing me,” she said with frustration.
He laughed. “I’m sorry, Therese. But there’s something you don’t know.”
“Oh no. You’re already married.”
He broke into a boisterous laugh. “Oops. That was too loud. I hope Carol and Richard didn’t hear that.” He covered his mouth with his hand and they both sat there, listening for the other humans in the house.
After a few minutes of silence, Therese said, “Tell me what’s wrong.”
He turned on his side to face her, propping himself up on an elbow. “I talked to my dad a little yesterday about…things. You have to know that every time a god has ever made love to a human, it has always, invariably, ended in pregnancy.”
Understanding washed over her, along with disappointment. “Oh.”
“Human forms of birth control are powerless against the seed of gods.”
She giggled at that. It struck her as funny. Not that she had any birth control anyway.
“What?” he demanded.
“Nothing. That just sounded kind of hilarious.”
“But it’s true. And you’re not ready to have a baby.”
She bit her lip. “No. You’re right. I’m not.”
He sat up. “I should go.”
She grabbed his arm. “No. Please don’t go. Stay. Sleep here with me.”
He grinned. “You want to drive me crazy, huh?”
She giggled again. “No.” Then she was somber. “I just don’t like being away from you.”
He lay back down beside her and stroked her hair. “Okay. I’ll give it a try. Maybe if you talk to me, you can distract me from what it is I really want.”
She giggled once more and then called to Clifford, who had been curled up in the corner on his pillow. “Come here, boy.”
He jumped on the bed between them.
“Can you translate?” she asked Than.
“He’s just glad you’re finally paying attention to him again. He was whining a minute ago, full of jealousy.”
She pet Clifford. “I already knew that.”
“I know,” Than said. “You can read animals really well. That’s what I meant when I said you had a gift. Your conversations with the horses in the pen made sense both ways. The horses love you, especially Sugar.” Then he said, “By the way, Jewels is wondering when you’re going to remember to turn off her lamp. She’s tired and wants to go to sleep, but she’s too warm.”
Therese jumped up. “Oh my God!” She snapped off the lamp. “I’m sorry, Jewels! Is that better?”
“She’s sighing with relief,” Than said.
“You should have said something earlier.”
“I was distracted.” He gave her a lusty smile, and she nearly lost herself again.
Therese flopped back down on the bed beside Than and Clifford. “What about Puffy? Has he said anything lately?”
“He wishes we’d shut up and go to sleep so he can have peace and quiet while he works. He’s miffed, but he’ll tolerate it. He really likes you and is glad you’re finally home. He’d just rather you go to sleep.”
“He said all that?”
“Here and there, throughout the evening. I had to finally tune him out.”
“Why don’t I hear anything?”
“He speaks on a different frequency. Most animals do.”
She turned off the lamp on her nightstand and made the room dark. “That’s for Puffy, of course,” she whispered.
“Of course.”
She climbed beneath the covers. “Coming in?”
He cleared his throat. “Um, I think I’ll sleep above the covers.”
She moved around beneath the sheet until she was comfortable lying against his chest. She made Clifford lie down on the other side of her so she could be against Than.
“He’s jealous again,” Than said.
“I know. He’ll live.” She nestled against Than’s chest. “Are you sleepy?”
“A little.”
“Gods do sleep, don’t they?”
He stroked her hair. “Yes, just not as much as humans. You go to sleep, though. Don’t worry about me. We have a big day tomorrow if we’re going to Greece.”
She kissed his chest and closed her eyes.
Therese awoke after a dreamless night to the bright sunshine coming through her bedroom windows. It took a minute for her to remember that Than was supposed to be there, that he had been beside her when she had fallen asleep. Clifford gave her a cursory glance as she sat up and wondered where Than was. Do gods use the restroom?
“Than?” she called softly as she climbed from the bed. He wasn’t in the bathroom.
The clock on the night stand said it was 9:30. She wondered if Carol and Richard had left for their day of sightseeing. Only one way to find out. She and Clifford went downstairs to see if they were alone, except for the officer she knew would be on the deck.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” Carol said as she emptied a half-eaten bowel of cereal into the sink. She was dressed in jeans and a button-down blouse, her red hair pulled back in a short ponytail, make up perfect. “I was hoping to see you before we left. You sure you don’t want to come along?”
“I’m sure. He’ll watch out for me.” She pointed to the kitchen window through which they could see the police officer sitting with a pastry and coffee, his feet propped on a cooler. Then Richard walked in from the guest bedroom. “Hey, Richard.”
“Hey.” He sat at the granite bar and opened the newspaper in the same spot her dad had always sat. He too was dressed and ready to go.
Therese sucked in her lips and sighed. “No, I really want to do this. I’ve decided donating mom and dad’s things to charity might give me some…I don’t know…closure.” She put the leash on Clifford. “I’ll take him to the front to do his business. Come on, boy.”
Carol kissed Therese’s cheek as she passed and then took Richard’s empty cereal bowl to the sink. “Call me on my cell if you need anything.” Then she asked, “You won’t be alone, right? I mean, except for him.” She nodded her head toward the officer.
“No. Than’s coming to help.”
“Okay. Don’t hesitate to call 911 if anything suspicious happens. Even a police officer may need help. Promise?”
“Promise.”
As soon as she came back inside with Clifford, and after Carol and Richard had left, Therese poured herself a bowl of cereal and said out loud, “Than, where are you? Will you please come back?” She was startled by his instant appearance by her side. “Geez, you scared the crap out of me.”
He gave her a smirk. “Sorry.”
“Why did you leave? I thought you were staying the night.” She ate some of the cereal while she waited for his explanation.
He took her face in his hands. “You look so cute first thing in the morning.” He kissed the top of her head.
“How would you know? You weren’t there.” She couldn’t hide the slight hostility in her voice.
“Was too. I didn’t leave you till dawn. I wanted a quick shower and a moment with my sisters. They had news.”
Clifford put his paws on Than’s jean-clad shins.
“Hey, boy. Good morning to you, too,” Than said, patting the dog.
“So, what was the news?” Therese stood to rinse the bowl in the sink. “Want some?”
“No thanks. I already ate.” Then he said, “The news is complicated and I’m not sure…”
She left the bowl in the sink, turned, and pressed herself against him. “Tell me. I want to know.”
He toyed with her mussed up hair, straightening it, smiling. “You’re so cute, and you’ve been so happy. I hate to…ruin that.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist. “As long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy.”
The doorbell made her jump. “Who could that be? I’m not dressed.”
Hold on. He vanished and then instantly reappeared. “It’s Pete Holt.”
She sighed. “Oh God. Will you get it while I run up and get dressed?”
“He won’t like that.”
“Too bad.”
She dashed up the stairs and quickly changed into a knit top and matching short skirt. She brushed her hair out, glossed her lips, and hustled back down.
Pete lingered at the front door, a wide space between him and Than. He wore jeans and boots and no shirt and was sweaty and grimy, as though he had just finished cleaning the barn. “Hey, Therese.” Pete’s voice was sobered, nearly grave.
“Hey, Pete.”
“Sorry to barge in…”
“Don’t apologize.”
“My mom sent me to deliver your earnings. She would have given them to you yesterday, but…Hey, are you feeling better?” He glanced at Than and back at her.
“Yeah, thanks.” She gave him a hesitant nod. “And thanks again for covering for me. I hope it wasn’t too much of a drag.”
“Not at all.” He gave Than another glance.
They all three shared a moment of awkward silence without looking at one another.
Therese finally said, “Well, hey, thanks for coming by.”
“Oh, sure. Here’s the money.” He held up a white envelope. “I don’t want to get your house dirty.”
She crossed over to him and took the money. “Thanks.”
“I’ll give you a call later. And hey, Mom says you’re welcome to come visit any time if you get bored and want to, I don’t know, hang out while we work the horses.”
“Thanks. Sounds good.”
She followed him through the screened porch, where Pete turned to her and muttered, “Are you two going out or something?”
Therese blushed. “Um, or something, I guess.”
He glanced once more in Than’s direction. “Bye, then.”
“Bye. Thanks again.”
She felt sorry for him as she watched him leave. When he was in his truck, she waved once more before going back inside. Than was waiting for her. He, too, appeared sobered.
“You could have a good life with Pete.” He said this without looking at her. “He’d make you happy, and you wouldn’t have to leave. You could live among the living. You could see sunrises and sunsets. He could give you everything I can’t give you.”
She stood in the living room across from him. “Don’t. Please.” She could see the diseased elm through the kitchen window and a sudden urge to chop down the dying branch overcame her, but she pushed it down, thinking she was losing her mind. She couldn’t chop it down.
He met her eyes but said nothing.
“Is that what you want?” The hostility from earlier crept back in her voice.
“This is about you, about what’s best for you.”
“Then quit talking like that.” She stormed off to her parents’ room. In her mind, she thought, “If you can hear me, Than, please follow me. Please come in behind me and put your arms around me and tell me you will never say such a thing again.”
She stood there just inside her parents’ room waiting. Seconds later, he swept in behind her with his arms around her waist and clasped across her stomach.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She turned in his arms and kissed him, closed her eyes, and touched his neck with her hands. “Me too.” Then she played with his shirt and asked meekly, “Are we still going to Greece today?”
“If you wish.”
“Then we better get busy. Why don’t you tell me what your sisters learned about McAdams while I start bagging some of these clothes?” She went into the closet and grabbed four or five hangers with clothes and laid them on the bed. Before Than had begun his story, she said, “Oh. I remember the last time my dad wore this shirt.” She swiped the tears away as they fell unexpectedly down her face.
“Maybe you’re not ready for this.”
She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands. “I want to do this.”
Than sat on a chair in the corner of the room and talked as Therese created piles of her parents’ possessions and then bagged them in giant black yard bags she found beneath the kitchen sink. While she worked, Than explained that McAdams was the CEO of a corrupt pharmaceutical company in Texas that bought counterfeit drugs at cheap prices from a manufacturer in Pakistan and sold them to customers at regular market prices. McAdams then split the profits with the Pakistani manufacturer, who was also able to provide forged approval certificates, valid samples for occasional testing by regulatory agencies, and pay-offs to agents when needed. The manufacturer had connections with various foreign rebels and so was able, through McAdams, to develop and sell the mutant anthrax to them. Than explained that when McAdams got wind of her mother’s research at Fort Lewis College, he ordered her execution because he feared he wouldn’t get paid if his customers heard that an antidote was being developed.
Then she asked, “But why would McAdams still want me dead?”
Than stood up and put his hands on Therese’s shoulders. “His men weren’t after you that night. They were after your aunt.”