Page 30 (1/2)
"Uh…and that is?" Annabeth ventured
"Why, have tea and chat, obviously Come with me!"
Aphrodite kne to do tea
She led theazebo, where a table was set with silverware, china cups, and of course a stea as easily as Aphrodite’s appearance--sometimes cinnamon, or jasmine, or mint There were plates of scones, cookies, and ured, were incredibly fattening; unless, of course, you were the ioddess of love
Aphrodite sat--or held court, rather--in a wicker peacock chair She poured tea and served cakes without getting a speck on her clothes, her posture always perfect, her s
Annabeth hated her irls," the goddess said "I do love Charleston! The weddings I’ve attended in this gazebo--they bring tears to ant balls in the days of the Old South Ah, they were lovely Many of these h they called me Venus"
"Which are you?" Annabeth asked "Venus or Aphrodite?"
The goddess sipped her tea Her eyes sparkled rown into quite a beautiful young lady You really should do soh And, Hazel Levesque, your clothes--"
"My clothes?" Hazel looked down at her rumpled deniine rong with the oddess said "Just because you don’t appreciate my fashion tips, Piper, doesn’t mean the others won’t I could do a quick owns like mine--"
"Mother!"
"Fine," Aphrodite sighed "To answer your question, Annabeth, I am both Aphrodite and Venus Unlike ed hardly at all froed a bit!" Her fingers fluttered around her face appreciatively "Love is love, after all, whether you’re Greek or Roman This civil on’t affect me as much as it will the others"
Wonderful, Annabeth thought Her own , vicious scatterbrain in a subway station And of all the gods who ht help them, the only ones not affected by the Greek–Roman schise, wine Very helpful
Hazel nibbled a sugar cookie "We’re not in a war yet, my lady"
"Oh, dear Hazel" Aphrodite folded her fan "Such opti days ahead of you Of course war is coether They are the peaks of huliness"
She smiled at Annabeth as if she knehat Annabeth had been thinking earlier about the Old South
Hazel set down her sugar cookie She had a few crumbs on her chin, and Annabeth liked the fact that Hazel either didn’t know or didn’t care
"What do you oddess laughed as if Hazel were a cute puppy "Well, Annabeth could give you so And didn’t I?"
Annabeth almost snapped the handle off her teacup For years, her heart had been torn First there was Luke Castellan, her first crush, who had seen her only as a little sister; then he’d turned evil and decided he liked her--right before he died Next ca but sweet, yet he had seeirl named Rachel, and then he alotten Percy to herself, only to have him vanish for six ," Annabeth said, "is ait"
"Well, I can’t take credit for all your troubles," the goddess said "But I do love twists and turns in a love story Oh, all of you are such excellent stories--I irls You do me proud!"
"Mother," Piper said, "is there a reason you’re here?"
"Hmm? Oh, you mean besides the tea? I often come here I love the view, the food, the atmosphere--you can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can’t you? Centuries of it"
She pointed to a nearby mansion "Do you see that rooftop balcony? We had a party there the night the A of Fort Sumter"
"That’s it," Annabeth remehting of the Civil War happened The Confederates shelled the Union troops and took the fort"
"Oh, such a party!" Aphrodite said "A string quartet, and all the ant new officers’ uniforms The women’s dresses--you should’ve seen them! I danced with Ares--or was he Mars? I’ht across the harbor, the roar of the cannons giving the htened sweethearts!"
Annabeth’s tea was cold She hadn’t eaten anything, but she felt like she wanted to throw up "You’re talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in US history Over six hundred thousand people died--more Americans than in World War One and World War Two combined"
"And the refreshments!" Aphrodite continued "Ah, they were divine General Beauregard himself made an appearance He was such a scoundrel He was on his second wife, then, but you should have seen the way he looked at Lisbeth Cooper--"
"Mother!" Piper tossed her scone to the pigeons