The Daughter of the Sky // Wattys 2016

Chapter 23

"So let me get this straight," my father shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth, "you were late to breakfast because you were all out fighting a three thousand year old giant? In the middle of the Pacific Ocean?"

"Yeah."

"Basically."

"Sounds about right," my friends and I spoke in unison. 

My father raised his eyebrows. "Productive morning, then."

Nico, Paris and Danny nodded in unison, taking their places at my kitchen table. My father passed them a stack of waffles while my friends began to tell him everything; the weird serpent ladies, being able to breathe underwater, Antaeus, his throne, and Percy being put under a spell.

 I assumed Paris had broken the news about Percy trying to kill me, judging from the sputtering sounds of my father choking on orange juice.

After breakfast I helped my mom clean the leftover dishes. She stood quietly by my side as I passed her plates. She dried them with a white cloth before carefully placing them back in our cabinets. It felt good to do something normal again. Even if it was doing dishes.

Laughter erupted from our kitchen table; Percy's head was tilted back and his eyes were clamped shut. He clutched his stomach while Danny continued to speak. 

Percy didn't look like a hero. I mean, he was. Undoubtedly. But right now he looked like a regular teenager laughing and joking at my kitchen table. It was hard to believe he was the chosen one of The Big Three's prophecy and the protector of Olympus. The guy was only a year older than I was. 

"He's cute," my mother's eyes followed gaze. "Is he single? Do you li-iiiike him?" Gods, she sounded like a thirteen year-old school girl.

I grabbed a pan and began to scrub it viciously. "What? Percy? No," I shook my head, "no way! He's just a friend. And he's the son of Poseidon. Zeus would totally kill me."

'And he'd never look at me like that. I was just a kid he was helping out at camp. That's it', the nagging voice in my head made sure to speak her mind.

My mom studied me with her light green eyes. "You look like him, you know. It's scary sometimes."

"Like who?"

"Zeus. You have his big eyes and his hair. Every single time I look at you all I see is him. You're just as stubborn and proud as he is. Maybe even more. Everything you do is the embodiment of him."

It was odd to think of powerful beings like Zeus coming down to earth just to hook up with mortals. I thought of my mother and father together. I could see them walking and laughing on the streets of New York City and grabbing a drink at a local bar. As weird as it was, I tried to imagine them in love; holding hands, kissing each other on crowded streets. I pictured Zeus' stormy eyes and solemn expression lightening at the sound of my mother's contagious laugh.

"Did you love him?"

My mother stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to look at me, studying the look on my face.

"I did. I knew he'd had..." she paused to chose the right words, "a volatile relationship with another mortal woman. I knew he had other children. Mortal relationships with the gods are complicated, Orion. They're never simple, and they usually never end well but I loved your father. We deeply cared about each other. It just wasn't...real true love." 

She looked over at John sitting at the kitchen table. There were clumps of egg and breadcrumbs all over his shaggy beard. He was the complete opposite of Zeus. John was clumsy, goofy, and had an incredible sense of humor. I couldn't imagine Zeus sitting at his dining table cracking jokes and laughing amongst the other gods.

"I love that man more than he'll ever know," she nodded towards  John. "He fixed me when I was a  broken mess after Zeus went back to Olympus. He helped me raise and protect you. That's more than I ever could've hoped for."

I nodded. "I guess I'm lucky to have two pretty cool dads."

My mother rolled her eyes. "Honey, there are a lot of words to describe John but cool isn't one of them."

We continued to wash the dishes in a comfortable and peaceful silence.