Anteros


Aaron sighed as he looked into the mirror for the third time in the last ten minutes. This damn hair. It just won't stay in place. As he was brushing it, the doorbell rang. She's here! With a quick final check in the mirror, he tossed the brush into the medicine cabinet and hurried downstairs to open the door. Jessica was as beautiful as always, and a broad smile came to his face the moment he saw her.

"Hello Aaron".

The sound and movement made Aaron's hair stand on end with excitement. He moved aside to let her in, and his eyes never left her for a second. Her long brown hair swayed as her nearly perfect figure walked past him. She turned her head and their eyes met, and the familiar feeling of ecstasy washed over him. He had the dinner table all set up, crystal and china reflecting the flicker of candlelight.

"This is nice", she said blithely, passing the table by to sit on the couch. "What are you making for dinner?"

Nervously, Aaron listed the proposed menu: homemade cheese pizza, with a tossed salad. Jessica was a vegetarian, and very unpredictable.

She frowned a bit and shook her head. "I was really more in the mood for something light, like spaghetti maybe."

He recovered quickly. "No problem. I'll put it on right now. Do you still want the salad first?"

She paused a moment to think. "What type of dressing do you have?"

Aaron knew she liked a certain type of Ranch dressing but hadn't been able to remember the exact type. "Umm...Hidden Valley Ranch."

"No, that's not the one I like", she sighed. "Just the spaghetti please."

Aaron cursed himself silently but managed to keep his voice sounding light and cheerful. "OK, coming right up!" He moved around the kitchen as fast as he could, changing the preparations. He called over to her, "Would you like a drink? I've got tonic water and fresh lemon!" He knew this was one of her favorite drinks.

"Alright, sure".

He brought the drink over to her on the couch, happy that he'd done something right, and returned to the kitchen to finish making dinner. He heard the television snap on.

They talked a bit during dinner, between mouthfuls.

"So Jess, how is the car doing?"

She slowly finished a forkful of spaghetti. "Not so well. I've been trying to use it less until I can get the new one, so when David comes over we use his Jeep. I had to use the car tonight though, since he has that mechanic class. By the way, I had the most fabulous time with David last night."

Aaron cringed, trying hard not to let it show. Jessica finished another mouthful and continued, oblivious to his pain.

"He took me out to play pool. We went home and I took one of the Valium you gave me. Oh, you wouldn't believe how incredible sex is on those!"

Aaron felt his chest constrict in anguish. "Umm...excuse me for a moment." He sat down on the floor in the bathroom, holding his head in his hands, waves of pain and upset washing over him. He turned on the water and splashed some cold water on his face, breathing slowly as he dried off. He came out of the bathroom with the closest he could come to a smile. "Well, let me clean up these dishes. Want to watch a movie?"

She moved to the couch but eyed Aaron closely. "Is everything alright?"

Aaron replied hastily. "Of course, sure everything's alright. Let me just finish getting these out of the way." He concentrated on moving the dishes into the kitchen as Jessica shrugged and moved back to the couch and turned the TV back on. He took a little longer than usual to finish with the dishes, to give himself more time to get calm.

Finally Jessica was growing impatient. "Are you almost done with those dishes?"

Aaron turned off the water and walked toward the couch. "Just finished!", he said with forced cheerfulness.

She picked out a movie and Aaron put it into the VCR. He sat down close to her on the couch, so that they were almost touching, but then Jessica leaned on the arm so that there was more distance between them. They watched the movie, mostly in silence. When it was time to go, Jessica gave him the usual upper body hug, thanked him for a nice evening, and left to go home. Aaron shut the door behind her and collapsed, holding his head in his hands and crying. Knowing he would not get to sleep that night without it, he went to the medicine cabinet and took out two Valium. As he went to put them in his mouth, he saw them in his hand and his chest constricted again. It took three tries to swallow them, painful thoughts of Jessica being with David while on them closing up his throat.

Even with the Valium, Aaron tossed and turned for a long time before getting to sleep. The sleep was deep, though, and Aaron dreamed.

He was in a forest, walking down a trail. A meadow was just ahead. He felt afraid of the sunshine and stopped, remaining under the dark shade of the trees, not knowing what to do. It was beautiful here, and yet it didn't feel that way. Aaron felt as if he was somewhere he wasn't supposed to be, as if he had wandered down the wrong path. Thinking that perhaps he should leave, he turned around and saw that he wasn't alone. He stumbled and the shock nearly made him fall over.

A winged cherub floated behind him, the size of a baby but with more mature features, dark haired, with deep eyes and a transfixing gaze. The cherub didn't seem to radiate happiness, but rather gave off a rather ominous feeling, with a grave look upon his face. There was a moment of silence that seemed to last forever.

"I am Anteros", the cherub intoned in a voice that was much deeper than Aaron would have expected. "Son of Venus, brother of Cupid. I punish those who scorn love, or do not return the love of others. Who is it that seeks me out?"

Aaron was taken aback. "Uhh...I'm Aaron. But I don't know why I am here." Even as the words left his mouth, Aaron realized that he did, in fact, know why he was there. He had found his way there. Asked to be there. But he felt as if he was on a large dose of Valium. It was hard to think, and as soon as he'd realize something it would dance away from him again.

Anteros seemed to hear his thoughts more loudly than his words. "What do you want of Anteros?"

Rage and frustration welled up in Aaron. He had offered himself to her so clearly, and been rejected so many times. She didn't even care about him enough to stop talking about sex with her damn boyfriend. The one that treated her like a piece of furniture. The one who never had anything nice to say to her. The one who she had said she was going to leave. The feelings rose up in Aaron's throat, and as they exploded out of him, the words flew out.

"Anteros! I demand justice! She has used and abused me and my kindness! She has scorned love! Let her know pain and suffering for what she has done! Avenge my broken heart!"

Anteros stared deeply at Aaron and his grave expression changed to a wicked smile that sent shivers crawling up Aaron's spine. "So be it", he intoned.

The scene faded out and Aaron found himself next to a playground filled with laughing children. They seemed to take no notice of him. As he went on in his dream the meeting with Anteros faded, and became harder to remember.

Aaron woke the next day feeling that something big had happened. He knew he must have had a nightmare of some kind but he couldn't remember it. Anyway, he had overslept and had to get to work so there wasn't time to think about it.

Weeks went by and Aaron and Jessica didn't see each other again. There was no fight or formal end to their friendship, but somehow they just stopped calling each other at the same time. Aaron was less upset than he thought he'd be by her absence. From time to time he drove past Jessica's apartment. He always saw David's Jeep parked outside. Unbelievable. She's still with that jerk.

Jessica sat there in her kitchen, rattling the ice in the bottom of an empty glass. The alcohol helped but it wasn't as good as the Valium she used to get from Aaron. Aaron... she looked down at the floor and then shook her head. Time for another drink.

As she was pouring it, David called out from the bedroom, annoyed. "Hey, are you coming to bed anytime soon?"

She sighed. "In a minute, I'm just finishing my drink." She looked at the glass for a moment, as if thinking about something, and then downed it quickly. It was going to be another long night.

Sunday afternoon, Aaron was at the bookstore wandering around to find something to fill up his newly increased spare time. He walked into the art section to look at some books on how to draw. There were many of them and it was hard to choose. He started thumbing through a few of them.

Lisa had spent the morning sitting at home. Her apartment was in its usual state of chaos, with her artwork in-progress spread out everywhere. It was a nice day outside and she was restless and feeling very alone. She decided to head for the bookstore as a first stop.

As she browsed, Cupid was hovering nearby, invisible. He had taken an interest in Aaron ever since his brother Anteros had punished the girl who had broken Aaron's heart. He didn't care particularly for what Anteros did, and they often quarreled over it. Today he was out for his usual sport, his quiver full of the dove-winged golden arrows that he enjoyed so much. He caught sight of Lisa and his smile widened. Yes...she's perfect. He readied his bow just as Lisa headed for the art section.

Lisa decided to go and browse the art section when she felt a sudden shock, as if something had struck her. She was disoriented for a moment but forgot about it quickly. There, sitting in the art section...Oh... Her hair began to stand on end with excitement.

Aaron was thumbing through a beginner's guide when a shadow fell across the book. He looked up. The shadow was cast by a woman who looked to be about his age. She had short brown hair and nice blue eyes. If she lost a little weight and grew her hair longer, she could be pretty.

"Hello", she said enthusiastically. "Are you interested in drawing, or is that a gift for someone?"

Aaron looked her over quickly. I don't see a name tag. Who is she? "Well I've had a lot of spare time on my hands lately and I thought I'd pick up a new hobby. I don't have any particular talent for it but drawing might be fun anyway."

She smiled at him. "My name is Lisa, by the way. What's yours?"

Before long they had passed the afternoon away talking there in the art section. Lisa was a professional artist who had travelled a lot and had some great stories to tell. Suddenly Aaron noticed the time.

"Oh...you know it is getting really late. I have some things to do at home tonight."

Lisa's expression became more serious. "Yes, I suppose I ought to get going myself. You know, I had a really great time talking to you Aaron. Maybe we can get together again sometime."

Aaron thought about it. Why not? What have I got to lose?

They exchanged numbers, and Lisa left the bookstore with a big smile, waving goodbye to Aaron at the exit. Aaron brought his book to the register with a bounce in his step that wasn't there when he came in. The encounter with Lisa had made him feel attractive and confident. As he left the store, he had already decided to let her call him instead of calling her.

A few days later Aaron came home from work and found a message on his answering machine. "Hello Aaron. This is Lisa, remember me? I thought I'd call to see how you were. I'll be home around eight tonight if you want to talk."

He grinned and raised his hands up toward the ceiling. SHE called ME! He danced around his apartment for a while, chanting, "SHE called ME...she CALLED me...she CALLLLLED MEEEEE..."

Instead of calling at 8, Aaron waited until 8:25. He dialed the number slowly.

Lisa picked up on the second ring. "Hello?", she said in a cautious voice.

"Hi Lisa, this is Aaron."

She perked up immediately. "Aaron, hi! How are you?"

They had a nice conversation and ended up making plans for him to come over and see some of her artwork and for her to help him learn to draw.

Friday night Aaron didn't bother going home from work to freshen up. His hair was a bit out of place but he didn't care. He had no partcular designs on Lisa other than to see her artwork and to have an art lesson.

Lisa hurried around her apartment, anxious to make sure that everything was in place. She had spent the last two days in a frenzy, cleaning and reorganizing to make the place look perfect. One final check in the mirror...her favorite dress, the slimming black one. Makeup all set. Alright, here I go! The doorbell rang and a feeling of excitement coursed through her. He's here!

Aaron watched the door open and was surprised to find Lisa in a fancy black dress. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that needed a bit of ironing.

"Hi Aaron, come on in!", she gushed as she stepped aside to let him in. "Make yourself comfortable. I've got dinner cooking."

Aaron sniffed the air. "Mmm, smells good. What are you making?"

She beamed at the compliment, knowing that cooking was one of her talents. "Lasagna and meatballs, with an apple streudel for dessert!"

Aaron's eyebrows raised a bit. "You didn't have to go through all that trouble".

Lisa waved a hand at the floor. "Oh, it's no trouble at all. I like to cook!"

Aaron shrugged and sat down at the table.

The converation meandered from their own lives to the possible effects of the Euro currency on the American economy. Aaron enjoyed the food thoroughly and complimented Lisa on the meal several times. After dinner they walked around her apartment and she showed Aaron some of her best pieces, explaining their inspirations and talking about which techniques she'd used on them. Aaron was genuinely impressed with her work and lost track of time. When she mentioned moving on to the art lesson, he noticed that it had grown quite late.

"Oh...well can I take a raincheck on that? It is kind of late and I have to get up early for work tomorrow. You're lucky being able to get up anytime you want."

Lisa shrugged. "In some ways it's nice, but I'll tell you, when you don't feel like working it's a lot harder."

Aaron nodded; this made sense. Still, I'd take her schedule anyday over mine!

At the door, Lisa's heart was beginning to race. Aaron turned to face her in the doorway.

"Thank you for dinner. I had a really nice time tonight."

Lisa searched nervously for what to say. "I feel bad that we didn't get to that lesson though."

Aaron chuckled. "Well that means we'll have to get together again. How about next Friday night?"

Lisa's heart sped up a little. She looked right into his eyes. "I'd like that very much Aaron."

Aaron held her gaze, smiling. "Great! See you around the same time then." He moved forward, but instead of giving Lisa the goodnight kiss she had hoped for, gave her a quick hug instead.

Lisa's head sank behind the closed door. He didn't kiss me. She walked over to the couch and sat down, staring at the paintings she'd arranged so carefully. Maybe he just likes to take things slowly. Her mind was going over every detail of the evening, looking for something she might have said or done wrong, but she couldn't think of anything. Well, he did say he wanted to come back again. That's what's really important. She closed her eyes, thinking of his smile.

Aaron walked to his car, whistling happily. It had been a fun evening, and he felt he had found a great new friend. The only thing was...hmm. I wonder if she has some ideas about this getting...romantic. He drummed his fingers on the roof, thinking, before opening the door. Well, I guess it doesn't matter, as long as I don't do anything to lead her on. I'll just keep acting like a friend and she'll understand.




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