Unexpected

Unexpected Part Two

A look of awe was plastered on Janelle's face as she gazed around the star-covered room that showcased the Solar system and numerous constellations.

Zeke grinned as he watched his date before tapping her shoulder as he pointed up to a certain spot. "You see that there? Those are the constellations of Andromeda and Perseus," he explained.

Janelle nodded and narrowed her eyes as she turned her head and saw the playful look in Zeke's eyes. "What?" she questioned.

"You have no idea why I'm showing you this, do you?" he asked with a laugh.

Janelle joined in as she shook her head and said, "No, I don't...but you already knew that, didn't you, Mr.Goofypants."

Zeke laughed again. "Guilty as charged," he said with a smile.

"You see, Princess Andromeda was a very beautiful woman and was the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia and King Cepheus," he began to explain. "Queen Cassiopeia liked to claim that Andromeda was more beautiful than Poseidon's daughters, and of course, Poseidon didn't like that, so he sent out Cetus the sea monster to attack their kingdom. And in return for their own safety, Cassiopeia and Cepheus sacrificed their daughter."

"What the hell?!" Janelle exclaimed. "What kind of story is this?!"

Zeke chuckled and said, "Just wait, Darlin'. It gets better, I promise."

Butterflies erupted at the pet name that flew past his lips before Janelle shyly turned her head away to hide her burning cheeks, though she quickly realized the action hadn't mattered as the room was still darkened.

"Go on," she mumbled while gazing back at the stars.

Zeke smiled and followed her gaze. "Just before she could get attacked, Perseus, son of Zeus, came by on his flying horse Pegasus. He was immediately enamored by Andromeda's beauty, and so he struck a deal with her parents. He'd save Andromeda by killing Cetus in exchange for having her hand in marriage...The thing was, Andromeda was already set to marry another man."

Janelle frowned. "Aww. That's so sad."

"It's still not over yet, Darlin'. There's still that better ending I promised," Zeke said with a chuckle.

She shook her head with a smile.

"You see, Perseus was so determined to marry Andromeda, he was willing to fight her fiance to win her over."

"Did he?" Janelle asked with curious eyes.

Zeke smiled. "Here's that better ending," he said and nodded. "He did, and he won. And they lived happily ever after. Now, their constellations stay close together and rotate around the North Star."

"Wow," Janelle said. "Minus the horrible beginning, that's actually a really sweet story. Where'd you learn it?"

Zeke shrugged. "Spent most of my high school years in the school library buried in books about the stars. That and I practically grew up listening to stories my papa James would tell about his adventures in space."

"Wow," Janelle repeated with a smile. "It must've been pretty amazing to get the information straight from the source."

"Yeah," Zeke said with a nod. "It honestly was...I miss him a lot...Papa James was like my best friend growing up."

The saddened look that cast over his eyes caused Janelle to shake her head as she placed a comforting hand on his arm and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's quite alright, Janelle...I like to remember him like that," Zeke reassured her with a smile. "The good memories, you know? Helps to outweigh the bad."