In Dreams (16 page)

The three of us squeeze into my bed. It’s king-size anyway, so it’s not too bad. We climb under the covers and pull them up and spread our feast over the quilt.

We let Aphrodite pick the movie. She opts for an old Hollywood musical,
Guys and Dolls
. Turns out she knows all the words to all the songs. And she sings along. Her voice is beautiful, like Celine Dion or Barbra Streisand.

We eat popcorn. And Thin Mints. And we laugh at the movie’s funny parts. Aphrodite swoons over Marlon Brando. When the movie is over, I click on Jimmy Fallon, and we start talking boys.

“So Henry Wu and I had a moment,” Annie says.

“I know.”

“But you said we wouldn’t get together until I was twenty-six.”

“Nope. You’re going to go to the Valentine’s Day dance together, and you’ll never be apart ever again.
You’re going to go to Boston College so you can be near him while he’s at Harvard.”

Boston College is Annie’s first choice of school, and she beams.

“But then my fortune wasn’t true, what you said.”

“Oh, it’s
mostly
true. He will be the inventor of the next Facebook. He will fund your charity. But I knew if I told you the story the
first
way, you would be curious enough to give Henry a chance. Now your story will unfold the way it’s really supposed to. Oh, and your first kiss? Henry is going to surprise you. That boy has had a
pent-up
love for you for so long, and all that passion is going to be in that kiss. I may move it up my list.”

“Your list?” I ask.

“I keep a list of the top one hundred kisses of all time. They were at number thirty-one. But I might move them into the top twenty.”

“Wow,” Annie breathes out.

“In fact, Annie, like all couples, you’ll face difficult times. Sadness. Loss. There’s no escaping that for any of us. You will be mad at each other sometimes. But for both of you, the memory of that kiss will be so powerful, so strong, neither of you will
ever
, not for one second, consider leaving the other.”

My throat constricts with happiness for Annie. I
squeeze her hand over Aphrodite, who is wedged between us.

I think of my kisses with Sebastian. The one in the club. I think it is the kind of kiss that could sustain me for a lifetime, too. If only a kiss like that could happen in the flesh. In my real world.

“So your turn, Aphrodite. You must have some amazing love affairs to talk about,” I say.

“Well, you all know the one about Adonis and me, of course. Such a beautiful, beautiful man. But that was when I was . . . ahem . . . younger and more impetuous. I had a bit of a temper. I was the jealous type, too.”

“What about Nico?” Annie asks.

“Oh, my.” Aphrodite’s cheeks turn red.

“All your lovers, and Nico makes you blush?” I ask incredulously. “But you’ve been with
gods
.”

“When I came here to live among mortals,” Aphrodite says, “I think I matured. I mean, if you can’t learn something from centuries and centuries of existence . . . I am almost embarrassed by the stories and myths of me of old. Though don’t believe every myth you hear, girls. Anyway, I came to see that there is something
incredibly
beautiful about a mortal man giving you his heart—openly. Nico has been hurt. He was married, briefly, in his early
twenties. His wife was unfaithful to him with his own brother. He walked in on them in bed together three months after the wedding. They split up; she married the brother. Tore the family apart for quite some time.”

Annie and I gasp.

“My God, but he’s so hot,” I say.

“His brother is, too. Maybe even hotter. But his brother has that bad-boy edge. Anyway, for a long time, Nico was a very wounded person. He carried this pain tucked in his heart, a scar. And every time he even thought about letting himself love again, that scar would throb—it would ache and remind him of how much he had been hurt.”

“And?” Annie snuggles down, her head on her pillow, hanging on to Aphrodite’s every word.

“And he met me.” She beams. “And little by little, he shared his heart, until he gave all of it, totally, to me. And I know what an act of courage that was. And it might be the most beautiful, most precious gift a man or god has ever given me. I have had my naked body draped in diamonds and rubies and pearls. I have had men worship me. But Nico is different. He has a pure heart. Not to mention, we’re number one.”

I raise an eyebrow at her, questioningly.

“The hottest kiss,” she squeals, and the three of us laugh.

I yawn.

Aphrodite looks concerned.

“If I see you having a nightmare, I’m waking you up,” she says. “These Red Bulls? I just may be awake all night.”

“I’ll be okay,” I whisper. “If I come to the hallway, I’ll turn back. I promise.”

“Just the same, I’m going to stay up awhile. You two girls go to sleep.” She glances over at Annie, who is already exhaling the heavy breaths of sleep.

My eyelids flutter. I feel Aphrodite gently stroking my hair.

“Hush, Iris. Go to sleep. Your aunt Aphrodite will protect you tonight.”

I realize how the exhaustion and emotional upset have caught up with me. And finally, I succumb to the blackness.

14

Man is a genius when he is dreaming.

AKIRA KUROSAWA

M
y eyes flutter. I wake up. Aphrodite is next to me, asleep. Even in slumber, I notice how exquisite she is—whereas Annie tells me when I sleep I sometimes snore and occasionally drool. Aphrodite’s lips form a perfect bow, her eyebrows are an elegant arch. Her skin is flawless. I realize now that she’s ageless. I can’t tell whether in her mortal form she’s twenty-five or thirty-five or forty. She has not one wrinkle. And yet, her confidence is the confidence of a woman with wisdom.

Annie yawns and stretches. Then she realizes Aphrodite is right next to her, and she tries to be quiet and move as little as possible.

But Aphrodite’s eyes pop open. They are as glittery
and alive as sapphires under light. I guess she never really tires.

“Good morning, my angels.” She reaches out her arms and gives each of us a squeeze. Then she furrows her brow. “Did you sleep?”

“Yeah,” I say. “But I didn’t dream. Not that I remember anyway.”

The three of us get up. Annie and I wash and brush our teeth and get dressed. Annie raids my closet and picks jeans and a sweater in a soft gray that looks great against her skin. I pick a pair of black jeans and a vintage T-shirt. I put a black cardigan on, and we make our way to the kitchen.

I start a pot of coffee. “Want eggs?” I ask Annie. Usually, we would just have cereal or Pop-Tarts, but I feel as if a goddess probably wants eggs and bacon and a whole spread.

“Sure,” Annie says.

I take out the skillet and start cooking breakfast. When it’s just about done, Aphrodite emerges in a strapless bustier and dressy black pants, perched on rhinestone-encrusted Louboutins, by the looks of them.

“I’m famished,” she announces. She takes orange juice from the fridge, pours us all glasses, and makes toast. Then I bring the eggs and bacon to the table and we start eating.

“I’ve decided how it is we’re going to get back your mother and grandfather.”

“How?” I ask.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. You’re going to ask your father for help.”

I practically choke on my piece of bacon, and Annie spews a little of her orange juice.

“Aphrodite,” I say when I recover after a couple of coughs, “I’ve never met him. I mean, just a couple of times—snatches, when I didn’t even know he was my father. And what am I going to do?” I pull my cell phone out of my back pocket. “Call him? In the Underworld, the dreamworld? ‘Hey, Dad, even though you’ve never been a part of my life, and you’re a god and all, I need a favor.’ And I—I mean, if he’s warring with Epiales, then he hardly has time to fix this problem for me.”

“Trust me. He’ll come.”

“Still, how can I reach him?”

“We’re going to have Koios come here, hypnotize you, and tell you how to get in touch with him. Morpheus may already know about your mother, but if he doesn’t, I can promise you, there will be hell to pay. The Underworld will have a full-scale war on its hands. And that will mean Hades and Zeus will have no choice but to intervene to keep the balances of power in
effect, and force Epiales to behave himself.” She snaps her fingers. “Problem solved. One, two, three.”

Annie looks at me anxiously. “Sounds risky. And not so simple.”

“We have no choice, Annie,” Aphrodite says softly. “I love both you girls. I don’t want anything bad to happen. But I have no idea where Epiales may have taken Iris’s mother and grandfather. It could be the Underworld; he could be hiding them in this realm. And until he gets what he wants, they are in danger—and if not real danger then certainly they are beside themselves with worry. And Iris surely isn’t safe. And neither are you.”

“Me?” Annie asks.

“Yes. You and her grandfather and mother are the three people Iris loves more than anything in the whole world. And there is nothing more powerful than that—and Epiales knows it.”

Aphrodite’s phone rings—her ringtone is Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater.”

“Hello?” she answers in a singsong voice.

“Yes, Nico, I’m fine. . . . Yes, they are lovely girls. Excellent students . . . Yes, I’m not sure yet when her mother and grandfather will be back. Visiting a sick relative, touch and go. But as soon as they do, I’ll be back in Queens in your arms where I belong. . . . No,
you cannot stay here. Yes, of course I miss you. No, no visiting. Just too much going on . . . Yes, I know how much you miss me.” She lowers her voice. “But just
think
of how hot it will be when we are finally reunited.”

I exchange glances with Annie, slight smirks on both our faces. To give Aphrodite a little privacy, we begin to clean up from breakfast. I wash the skillet, and Annie loads the dishwasher. We can hear Aphrodite whispering sweet nothings to Nico.

She and Nico finish their call, and the three of us take our cups of coffee into the living room. I forgot about the snow globes and knickknacks, so when I see all the chaos on the coffee table and bookcases, I laugh to myself for a second.

Aphrodite makes a phone call.

“Koi? It’s me. Aphrodite.”

She explains the situation. When she hangs up, she says he’ll be here in about thirty minutes. We drink our coffee and read the paper, and Aphrodite gives herself a manicure, now painting her nails a scarlet color and putting a tiny rhinestone on each of her pinkies. She’s blowing on her nails to dry them when Dr. Koios arrives.

I let him in, and he gives Annie and me hugs, then kisses Aphrodite on each cheek. He blushes a light
pink when he does so. I think he has a little crush on her.

He decides I should sit in Grandpa’s La-Z-Boy and recline it so I can relax into my hypnosis. Aphrodite stands and comes over and kisses me on my forehead.

“Remember you are powerful. You are
my
niece. And I love you. Come back to us when Koi tells you to, no matter what is going on in the dreamworld.”

“I know.”

“Promise me.”

I don’t like to break promises—ever. I think about it. Could I leave my mom or Grandpa, or Sebastian, if any of them were in trouble and Dr. Koios was calling me?

“I promise.” I hope I can keep my vow.

Aphrodite and Annie sit on the couch. Dr. Koios pulls the desk chair over so he is right next to me.

“You know the drill, Iris,” he says. This time he takes my left hand and squeezes it. “We’re all here for you.”

“How will I find my father?”

“The same way you found Sebastian last time. Trust yourself.”

I exhale and shut my eyes. His soothing voice goes through the same routine.

“Relax into the chair. As you enter the deepest part of your hypnotic state, go down the hallway of many doors.”

I am in the long, dark hallway, only this time I have the sconces to guide me. I walk down, pausing at each set of doors to look left and right, staring at each door, hoping one will feel like the portal that will take me to Morpheus.