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May could truly say that she hadn’t been to a party in decades. It was so long ago that she couldn’t remember where it was or what they were celebrating or who she was with. Her life before the disastrous attempt to host the Oracle was shrouded in the fogs of time. Now that the last little piece of Oracle had been removed from her body, even May’s future was striped bare. The unknown left her feeling exposed and vulnerable.
A party - being surrounded by a lot of loud people - sounded terrifying. After spending so many years alone in her quiet house, May wasn’t sure that she could handle a party.
May rang the doorbell to Sally’s apartment. She looked down at the doormat, which featured a picture of Santa’s reindeer pulling the red sleigh. Christmas and other mono-god holidays weren’t May’s cup of tea, though she remembered being a little girl and celebrating them. That was before Hermes.
Sally opened the front door. Her smile was radiant. Sally wore a cream colored sweater and a nice pair of deep red slacks. “I’m so happy you’re here!” Sally said. She pulled May into a hug. Then she stood aside, “come inside.”
May stepped inside the apartment. She was glad that she’d been here before and it was a familiar space. Sally wasn’t wearing shoes and there was a pair of mens shoes by the door, so May slipped off hers as well. When she was done, she met Sally’s gaze. Then she leaned forward and kissed Sally’s round cheek. “It’s good to see you again,” she said.
A roguish blush appeared on Sally’s face. Her smile grew even wider. The wrinkles around her eyes were full of happiness. “Oh, you. I missed you too.” Sally placed a kiss on May’s lips. “Now, go into the living room and relax while I finish making dinner.”
May obeyed the order and padded into the living room. She was somewhat surprised to find a man there. Really, the shoes should have clued her in.
He was young and handsome for a mortal. “Hi! You must be May Castellan. I’m Paul Blosfis.” The man had salt and pepper hair. His eyes were hazel and filled with friendliness. He wore an ugly sweater that was department store bland. According to Sally, Paul knew about the Greek gods even though he had no personal connection to them himself and no clear sight yet he accepted it without question. May decided that he had to be a little bit insane.
“You’re Sally’s best friend,” May remembered. She felt proud of herself for hanging onto this memory. So many things slipped away and she knew that it was frustrating for Sally, though the darling woman never said so.
“Yes!” Paul laughed. “Though she likes to call me her soundboard.” He winked. “All I’m good for is bouncing ideas off of, isn’t that right, Sally?” His attention turned to someone over May’s shoulder.
“That’s right,” Sally said with a smile. She joined them and slipped an arm around May’s waist. In her hands were a glass of sparkling cider and one of champagne. The cider she handed to May, the champagne went to Paul.
Sally’s presence helped to ground May. She sipped her sparkling cider. It was nonalcoholic as per May’s request. “Thank you, love,” May said quietly.
Sally beamed. Then she went back into the kitchen.
Paul turned his attention back to May. “You got lucky with that one,” he told her. There was a bit of wistfulness in his voice. “I’m happy to be her best friend but I’ll never forgive Poseidon for turning Sally away from men.”
May wondered how seriously she should take Paul. She shuffled nervously. “I’m rather pleased with the arrangement,” she said lightly.
Paul grinned, face full of humor. He laughed. “I’m sure!”
Before they could continue the conversation, the doorbell rang again. They both listened as Sally’s footsteps moved across to open the door. “Frederick! Jennifer!” Sally sounded so happy to see her friends. “Oh, you brought the boys.”
“Sorry we’re late, Sally,” a male voice said. “Our sitter canceled last minute and we couldn’t find a replacement. I hope you don’t mind that we brought the boys.” A chorus of footsteps came toward the living room.
May took a deep breath to brace herself, then she turned to greet the newcomers.
Sally was at the head of a group of four people. Two adults and two teenage children. The children looked just like the woman. They were also identical twins; same hair color, hair cut, same eye color, same dimples on their cheeks. “Matthew, Bobby, feel free to play Percy’s PlayStation. He won’t mind.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Jackson,” the twins said in unison. They moved past May and Paul with mildly curious looks. The lure of video games was stronger than their interest in the strangers.
Sally presented the man and woman. “May, Paul, this is Frederick Chase. He’s Annabeth’s father and the husband of Jennifer Chase. Jennifer, Frederick, this is May Castellan, mother of Luke, and Paul Blofis, high school English teacher.”
There was a round of hellos and greetings exchanged. Frederick had the look of a man looking to recall something. May saw the moment that he realized who she was. “I’m sorry about your son,” he said diplomatically.
May glanced down at her glass but not before she saw the look of confusion on Paul and Jennifer’s faces. She didn’t know what to say. After so many years, May was supposed to pretend like the loss of Luke wasn’t a hole in her chest, but it was still raw and festering. She missed her son so much that sometimes she couldn’t breathe. The guilt that she felt was still strong.
“How’s Annabeth doing?” Sally interjected smoothly.
Frederick sighed.
Jennifer rolled her eyes but it seemed to be masking some other emotion. “How would we know? She doesn’t call or write to us.”
“She’s going to college in California. A demigod place called New Rome,” Frederick added. “We haven’t heard so much as a single word from her in two years. Unfortunately, that isn’t new.”
The couple had the air of people who were trying to pretend that their daughter’s silence didn’t hurt. May did not like the implications for how their daughter and her son got along if this was how the girl acted.
“Percy and Annabeth don’t talk anymore?” Paul asked, trying to break the tension.
“Not since the break up,” Sally confirmed. “Percy still Iris-messages me regularly. He hasn’t heard from Annabeth either, but people he knows in New Rome say she’s doing alright.” This was said with a sympathetic glance at Mr and Mrs Chase. Her son was still in New York and still in contact with her.
May wanted to tell the Chases’ that there were worse things than silence. She didn’t speak, though, only sipped her sparkling cider.
“Let me get you all some drinks. Do the boys like sparkling cider or cokes?” Sally said in another attempt to bring the tension down.
Everyone seemed relieved to jump on the topic and moved on to less loaded conversation. It was almost pleasant, how they talked about work and life outside of their demigod children. May did her best to keep up without revealing too much about her situation. She didn’t want to say that she had spent the past twenty-three years out of her mind. So she talked about her hobbies and how she was lucky to have the house paid off.
When she spoke of tentative plans for a garden, Sally ran to the fire escape and returned with a cutting of a white flower that appeared to be glowing faintly. “It’s moonlace,” Sally said. “It glows and grows in the moonlight.” She pressed the clipping into May’s hands.
May carefully tucked it into her purse. The conversation carried on.
She thought that she was doing rather well keeping up with the conversation and acting like a normal adult. She and Jennifer wandered into the kitchen and ate two-bite cupcakes, giggling about how much they liked them. Jennifer wasn’t as old as May but she was easy to talk to and tactful about what she didn’t bring up. After eating a dozen cupcakes between them, Jennifer went to refill her champagne glass.
Back in the living room, Frederick was excitedly telling Paul about the time he saw Atlas and how he’d shot celestial bronze bullets from a plane. May stood quietly in the kitchen, a half-eaten cupcake in her hand, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. It was her son that Frederick had been aiming at. Luke was on the ‘wrong’ side of the war. Was Luke scared when the mortal with the plane came out of nowhere? May stared into her glass of sparkling cider and tried to hold back the tears.
Carefully, she set her cupcake and glass down on the counter and hurried through the living room, into Percy’s bedroom. His was the one with the fire escape and May suddenly needed air. She opened his window and climbed out onto the grated metal that hung off the side of the building. A glance at the sky revealed that light pollution blocked the stars so she couldn’t even take comfort in them. May looked down, head spinning when she realized how high up they were. Part of her wanted to follow Luke into the Underworld, just to see her son one more time and apologize to him. Then she caught sight of the potted moonlace, glowing brightly in the darkness. As much as May hurt, as much as Luke was an open wound for her, she couldn’t leave Sally.
Sally was a godsend. Maybe literally, but May wasn’t completely sure about that. She suspected Hermes - who loved Percy Jackson - may have set her up with Sally Jackson. Jumping off of the woman’s fire escape was rude at the very least. Especially after all that Sally did for her, knowingly and unknowingly. It was toxic, dangerous, but May would live because she loved Sally and Sally loved her.
Shortly after May went out onto the fire escape, Sally came out to join her. She stuck her head out the window and smiled when she saw May. “Getting some air?” she asked.
May nodded.
“Can I join you?” Sally asked.
May nodded again.
Sally climbed onto the fire escape. She leaned against the wall beside May and after a moment, slipped her hand into May’s. Her chin was tipped up, eyes to the polluted sky. Whatever she saw didn’t seem to disappoint her. “Thank you for coming tonight.” Sally fixed her blue gaze on May’s face and she gave a fond smile. “They aren’t bad people, you know.”
“I know,” May said. Because while Frederick talked about shooting Kronos’ army and his genius with the plane, he didn’t talk about shooting the beautiful boy with blond hair. And even if he had, May probably could have forgiven him. She’d known Luke’s Fate since he was an infant, knew everything that would happen in his short, unhappy lifetime. If Luke had been shot it would have just been a drop in the bucket. “I’ll go back inside in a minute. I just...needed a break.”
Sally nodded in understanding. She held May’s hand and waited in companionable silence until her girlfriend was ready to rejoin the party.