Ch. 6- The Swing of Things

Ugh this one came out burned too.  When Armando got back from vacation I was going to have him get that oven looked at.  I hadn't realized so much time had gone by since the last time I had and raised children.  Everything was so different and I found myself a little rusty at it.  I’d yet to get around to planning and throwing a grand party for the reopening of the temple.

Luckily for me the triplets kept themselves entertained playing tag and hide and seek while I was learning how to be a parent in today’s modern world.  So much had changed with the upbringing of children in today's world.



Children traveled to school in large yellow vehicles called school buses.  One would come every morning Mondays through Fridays at eight to pick up the children.



Alesia missed the bus the first day of school so I had to drive her there myself.  I opened up the engine on the way there and we wound up getting to school before the bus arrived.  Alesia quite enjoyed speeding up to the school in a pink sports car on her first day.



Since I was there already I signed the triplets up for after school activities.  I signed Alena and Alesia up for ballet and Alcander in the scouts program.



While at the school I saw a lot of posters promoting organic fruits and vegetables and an ad for gardening classes at the local science facility.  The newspaper said the classes were discounted today, so I stopped by to attend and bought some indoor planter pots on the way home.  My little demigods deserved the highest quality food I could provide for them. 



I tried my hand at cooking again before the children returned from school.  An advertisement on the television showed children’s love of grilled cheese sandwiches.  The ingredients and process seemed simple enough so I thought I’d surprise the triplets with a treat after a long day of education.



In the end the supposedly state of the art stove still managed to burn the food.  I was still proud of my progress none the less.  When I replaced the hunk of junk the guests at my parties would be blown away by my culinary prowess.  



The triplets came home in the evening and fell on the sandwiches like Cerberus on a steak.  After devouring dinner they sat at the table and did homework together before baths and bed.



It took a few days but we eventually established a schedule that got everyone fed and out of the house in time to meet the school bus.



It had been a while since I had a gentlemen caller, so I decided to visit the local health club to see if there was anything there worth sampling.  It was still early in the day when I arrived. The only other person there was a paparazzi photographer.  I allowed him to take pictures of me as I lounged by the pool waiting for the club’s patrons to arrive.



I was heading over to the spa across the street for a quick massage when I ran into a handsome young fairy.

"If you’re the club’s new personal trainer I think I've just died and gone to heaven,” he said openly admiring my swim suit.

I laughed taking in his trim physique in turn, I did enjoy a good flirt.  “No, you haven’t quite reached heaven yet but you’re close.  I’m Aphrodite, the Aphrodite. And you are?”

“I’m Monte, Monte Clemens,” he said taking my hand and kissing the back of it.  “Its an honor to meet such divine beauty.”



I decided to cancel my plans for a massage and watched Monte workout with his trainer instead.  We sat by the pool chatting together for the afternoon afterward.  I learned that Monte was employed in the athletic career and a complete bookworm.  His dream was to someday achieve a perfect mind and perfect body.  After a little more flirting we exchanged numbers and parted ways.



There was mail waiting when I got home.  I received a letter of resignation from Armando.  His reason for wanting to go to France was to visit a long time pen pal in person.  They had fallen in love with each other over the years and had eloped.  I sent him a letter and a wedding gift wishing him and his new wife well.



I told the children the news and asked Alesia if she would continue to help keep the house clean until a replacement was found.  Alesia didn't mind at all, it gave her practice and helped her expanded her powers.  

All the cleaning from before had unlocked her ability to magically clean others.  She was making side money at school freshening up children that had forgotten or didn't have time to bathe before school.  Being the “smelly kid” at school was a offence one never lived down the children informed me.



On a walk around town while the kids were at school I heard a familiar voice.  “Hello again beautiful,” Monte said as he flew over,  He was taking a break from practice for his upcoming game.



He asked me about my day and we talked for a bit about the bookstore.  Monte recommended some of his favorites to me, he was on the book club list and could get me any book I wanted.  Before he went back to practice we made plans to meet that night for a dinner date.





“You look dazzling in that dress goddess,” Monte said when we met in front of the restaurant.

“Thank you.  You don’t look too bad yourself.”  I loved his smile and couldn't wait until I had him in nothing but that smile and those fantastic wings of his.



“Shall we?” He asked just as a zombie walked past us and into the restaurant.

“Is that regular occurrence around here?” I asked.  I hoped the children wouldn't be upset by them.

“What can I say?  People are dying to eat here.” 



Later that night Alesia came running across the house to my bedroom screaming about monsters under her bed.

“Mom!  Mom help! The monsters under my bed are going to eat me!”



She’d been so afraid that she fainted right outside my door.



I brought her into my room to calm her down.  “Mom you have to protect me.  I checked under my bed for monsters before bed and there were these huge red eyes staring back at me.”



“Of course I’ll protect you sweetie.  You look exhausted, you can sleep with me in my room tonight. I won’t let anything happen to you Alesia.”




The next morning while seeing the kids off to school I saw Monte jogging along the beach and invited him inside.

“I saw your game the other day, you played wonderfully,” I told him.  “Why are you out running instead of resting and celebrating?”

Monte gave me that winning smile of his again.  “I want to make MVP so I've got to stay on top of things.” 



“I’ll give you something to stay on top of all right,” I said before pulling him into a kiss.



Since it was an activity day for the triplets Monte and I played personal trainer and gave each other a very thorough work out.



I could still feel the delightful burn in my muscles as I served up more grilled cheese sandwiches.



The triplets were throwing a slumber party for their friends at school. 



 They stayed up most of the night pillow fighting and telling ghost stories before finally rolling out their sleeping bags.



The next morning while making pancakes for breakfast the smell of the pancake batter sent my stomach rolling.




Soon there was going to be another crack in the philosopher's stone I thought as I brushed my teeth afterwards.  I hoped he or she would have Monte's smile and wonderful golden wings.

 
After breakfast with the triplets I was delighted to find another set of keys on my table.



It was another vehicle done in my favorite color and big enough drive the children around in.



The children also received gifts in the mail from Octavio.  They were adorable little stuffed genie bears.  Octavio was seeing the world and climbing his way up to becoming a master magician and loving every moment of it.  If his current tour continued on schedule he’d be in town for the triplets next birthday.



That weekend I decided to take the children to the park.  They had an eventful week with their after school activities and deserved a day of play.



Alena had a recital coming up in a week and had auditioned and got the position for lead dancer.



Alcander had earned several badges in the scouts and was presented with and outstanding scout award.



Alesia had danced her lead part in her recital beautifully.  The music was lovely and performed live by a professional singer.  Alesia loved it so much that she decided then and there that she wanted to be a vocal legend when she grew up.



So far my vacation to the mortal world wasn't  the everyday party I had originally planned but I liked what I had now even better.