Page 2 of Hera

“You are a lifesaver!” Chloe declared dramatically, taking a carrot stick and dipping it in the cinnamon. She took a big bite and moaned. “Delicious.”

Hiding her amusement behind her glass of lemonade, Hera watched her guest demolish another two carrot sticks in the same fashion before she apparently felt sated enough to put the plate down.

“Thank you so much,” Chloe said cheerfully. “I’m really glad you were home today. I wanted to talk to you, professionally, if you don’t mind.”

“Professionally as the ButterNut Bakery’s accountant, or...?” Hera let the question hang between the two women.

“Perhaps, as both. When we have the baby shower, will you provide the cupcakes?”

“Of course. We would be delighted.” Hera couldn’t resist teasing a bit. “We’ll make carrot cupcakes with cinnamon icing.”

Chloe chuckled. “My cravings will be drastically different by then. Don’t even get me started.” She rolled her eyes. “One day last week, all I wanted for dinner was lettuce. Nothing else would do.”

“Sounds like you’re thirsty. Keep drinking your fluids,” Hera advised.

“Oh, I am.” Chloe poured herself a glass of lemonade. “But sometimes that isn’t what I want.”

Hera nodded sympathetically.

Chloe fluttered her hand not holding the glass. “You’ve distracted me! I didn’t come here to talk about that. I need your help with a potion.”

“What kind of potion?” Hera asked, curious.

“We had an ultrasound today.” Chloe traced the condensation on the glass.

When she didn’t say anything further, Hera prodded gently, “Is everything all right with the baby?”

“Oh! Yes, everything’s fine.” Chloe smiled. “She’s doing just fine.”

“A girl!” Hera clasped her hands.

“Yes. She’s a bit larger than expected at twenty weeks, though.” Chloe bit her lip. “I’m worried it will be a difficult birth. Hera, will you promise me that you’ll come when I call for you? Will you please attend her birth?”

“Of course I will, dear.” Hera took Chloe’s hand in hers. “I will give you a potion in a few months—fresh is best—for you to take when you feel contractions. Real ones, mind, not Braxton-Hicks. The best time to take it... Oh, never mind me telling you, now, there’s no way you’ll remember. I’ll write it all down and give it to you with the potion.”

“That is such a relief!” Chloe relaxed back into the cushioned back of the chair. “I’ve been all over the place since the technician told us that she was a few weeks bigger than expected. Now, I can breathe.” She sat up straight again, the lemonade sloshing in the glass. “How are you? With Demi moving out, I mean. This place is going to feel awfully big with just you in it.”

Hera looked around at the twelve-foot ceilings, giant windows, and greenery everywhere. “I welcome all the space. Maybe I’ll install silks from the ceiling. I’ve heard there are classes that you can take topside that will teach you how to twist yourself up in them and do acrobatic maneuvers.”

“Why?” Chloe raised an eyebrow. “That sounds an awful lot like you’re trying to distract yourself from being alone. Why don’t you try an easier way of doing that by picking up a guy at Athens Bar?”

Hera wrinkled her nose. “No offence, but I’m not interested in the type that hang around at the bar. I know Achilles has been throwing pick-up lines at me for ages, so it would be a matter of snapping my fingers at him, but that’s soboring!”

Chloe chuckled. “You want more of a challenge?”

“A challenge and not clingy. I want a nice, reliable guy that will fuck me and leave afterward.” Hera nodded decisively.

“You certainly don’t make it easy, do you?” Chloe said, rubbing her belly as she thought. “If you wanted something long lasting, I would recommend—”

“Don’t say it,” Hera interrupted warningly. “Demi and Charles have been after me to tryspeed datingsince your wedding.” She shuddered and spat the words out as if they left a bad taste in her mouth. “I know that the one for this month is coming up in a couple days. The date’s been mysteriously circled on every calendar in the apartmentandthe bakery.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t go there.” Chloe raised her hands pacifyingly. “What about...” Chloe trailed off and tilted her head, examining Hera appraisingly.

“What?” Hera looked down at herself. She was wearing a simple work robe. It had a few tendrils of plants left on it from her time in the lab. She flicked them off impatiently. “What?” she asked again.

“How do you feel about Valhalla’s Throne?” Chloe asked.

Hera paused. “The fight club?” She was about to shake her head dismissively, but caught herself. She rarely frequented that area of Purgatory; the area was gritty and dank. But the types of people, of supernatural beings, that would attend such a place would be vastly different from the patrons of Athens Bar. “I hadn’t considered it, to be honest.”

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