Fate nodded. “That’s true. But how do we get around that and still find someone who even comes close to being her equal?”
Karma giggled. “Who says only a god can stand up to her? I think it would be an interesting twist to set her up with a paranormal.”
Fate grimaced. “Is this about karma again, Karma?”
“Busted. But wouldn’t it be perfect justice?”
Fate jammed her hands on her hips. “We’re not looking for justice. We’re looking for a mate who will make her happy. I think that will benefit us all. Not just you and your twisted sense of humor, Sister.”
Karma shrugged. “Oh well. You can’t blame me for trying. It’s what I do.”
“Maybe you can sit this one out,” Minerva suggested. “The rest of us can come up with a plan, and you can weigh in on the possibilities. Is that fair?”
“Fine. I’ve got things to do, people to punish and reward. I don’t just look for bad behavior, you know.”
“We know, Sister. Toodles,” Fate said and wiggled her fingers at Karma.
Karma disappeared, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“All right, now that she’s out of the way, what other ideas can we come up with? I’m willing to listen to any and all possibilities.”
“How about online dating?” Aphrodite said. “That way, she can pick from any number of men. I think the more control you give her, the more likely she’ll be to follow through.”
Fate scratched her head. “I hadn’t thought of that. That’s actually brilliant. However, I’ll have to set up her profile myself. You know how she feels about technology.”
The goddesses groaned.
Minerva smiled. “That makes sense. Let’s not bog her down with the details. We want to get this off the ground before she has a chance to rethink her decision.”
“Yes,” Fate agreed. “I’ll look at the questionnaire and ask her to write the answers with her favorite quill, but I won’t tell her what it’s for. I’ll just say I’d like to get an idea of what she would like in a man.”
“Perfect,” Aphrodite said. “I have a list of questions from some of the human dating sites.” She snapped her fingers and produced a sheet of paper with all the pertinent questions and room to write Gaia’s answers.
“Thank you, Aphrodite. Thank you all. I appreciate your ideas and feedback. I think this is going to go so well.”
From somewhere in the ether, Karma cackled.
* * *
Sitting in a trendy tavern in the middle of the day was so out of character for Aaron, he couldn’t remember doing it—ever. But here he was, nursing an imported Dutch beer and his ego.
Aaron had gone to Boston’s best neurologist and had been handed the provisional diagnosis of ET. Essential tremors. It used to be called familial tremors because it was an inherited condition. Fortunately, it was fairly benign. He remembered his great-aunt shaking when she tried to do something that required fine motor skills.
To say he had mixed feelings was an understatement. He had hoped his condition wasn’t something degenerative, like a form of Parkinson’s disease with initial symptoms that behaved a little differently. Ruling that out was a great relief. But with no cure for ET, his career as a surgeon was over.
His leave of absence was not only a blessing but also a form of torture. Now he had nothing but time to ruminate over his life. His choices. His career. He’d never wanted to be anything but a doctor.
There were other things he could do with his MD, but did he want to? He had been thinking about retirement at some point anyway. Whether forced on him or not, this was that point. He was trying to look at it in a positive light. The whole world and all its possibilities were opening to him. This was an opportunity. Right?Sure, his inner sarcasm answered. He had to wrestle his attitude back into something positive.
He needed to make the necessary calls to arrange everything, like drawing on his savings until he could use his 401K, looking at whatever liquid assets he had, possibly talking to a Realtor about selling the large family home in Brookline… That brought up having a conversation with his daughters. He nearly groaned aloud.
The bartender must have noticed. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah. I’m just thinking about my options now that I’m an empty-nester. I hate the thought of downsizing, but living with just my cat in a big house doesn’t make sense.”
“Ah. Yeah, I hate to move. All that packing, and of course nobody is willing to help. Unless—you said you had kids?”
“Yes. Two daughters. Both of them are out of the house and living on their own, but they’ll certainly have feelings about selling the place where they grew up.” It was also a physical tie to their mother, who had died when they were children. “However, I raised two smart, practical young women, and I’m sure they’ll understand.”
