The restaurant was fancy. The name was in Italian, so I won't bother butchering that in front of you, but it's across from the M&M shop in Times Square, so if you're ever in the area, knock yourself out. Aphrodite led me in, still talking to me about some of the nuances of being immortal.
"There's a moment of peace, and then, you just sort of, I don't know, boom."
"Boom," I repeated, smiling at Aphrodite's look of indignation. "Sounds good."
She bumped my hip with hers. "You know what I meant. I'm very happy our date, Percy. I think you're helping me become more...human."
The host interrupted our banter and asked us something in what I'm guessing was Italian, but Aphrodite stepped up again, answering in the same language.
"Wow," I complimented, following behind her as the waiter led us away. "That sounded good. How many languages do you speak?"
"All of them," Aphrodite winked at me, still holding my hand as we walked through the restaurant. I was blasted with the scent of paprika and tomato sauce as we continued deeper into the restaurant. "It's one of my powers."
The waiter eventually led us out of the building and onto the terrace, where there was only one table, with Hestia, my mom, and Hades sitting around it. The waiter bowed out, and Aphrodite and I walked over to the table.
"Oh, my beautiful boy!" My mom stood up, rushing over to me and wrapping me in a hug. I laughed and returned the hug, squeezing her tightly. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, Mom," I mumbled, tears forming in my eyes as she rocked us back and forth. Her scent was so comforting—I'm pretty sure she quit her job at the candy store but somehow, she still maintained that wonderful smell.
I looked up and Hestia joined in the hug. "It's good to see everyone."
"The man, the myth, the legend," Hades called over from the table as we all took our seats. He didn't bother standing up or hugging me, but he threw up a lazy hand as a greeting.
"Uncle!" I settled in between my mom and Aphrodite. "It's good to see everyone!"
Hades laughed, "Percy. Glad to see you in one piece."
"What?" Both Hestia and my mom said as Aphrodite passed me some garlic bread.
"Oh, what, Poseidon didn't bother IMing you?" Hades said. "Dude was pissed. Percy took out a big bad, like, three hours ago."
"Oh…"
"Uh…"
"Why don't you tell us more about this big bad?" Hestia spoke up innocently. "I'm sure your mother and I would love some background."
"Well," I began, taking a drink of water. Aphrodite squeezed my hand under the table. "It kind of began when Dad told me to get some extra training…"
The dinner passed by way too quickly. It felt good to sort of let loose, and just relax with people I love. No monsters, no fighting, just relaxation, and some good pasta.
"Take a walk with me?" My mom asked toward the end of dinner. She gave the rest of our guests a tight smile. "I'm sorry, I just have a few things to discuss with my son."
"By all means, Sally. He's your kid," Hades joked from his seat, sipping a Shirley Temple. His eyes met mine. "We'll be here. We have some things to discuss, as well."
"Thank you," I followed my mom to the other side of the terrace. We both leaned against the railing, the city bustling underneath us.
Again, I couldn't help but marvel at how far we'd come. If you told me, like a year ago, that my mom and I would be eating lunch at a place like this with goddamn Olympians, I don't even know how I would've reacted. Well—not in a good way, that's for sure.
"What's up, mom?" I said a moment later, eyeing her curiously. I'd have to be blind not to notice that she had some stuff on her mind.
"I put down a deposit at NYU," She spoke up a few moments later, playing with one of her rings. I noted, with a pleasant grin, that she seemed a lot less stressed than she had been when I saw her a few weeks ago. "I'm going to take a few classes in creative writing. I figured, now since we have a house, I could just focus a lot of my savings into getting an education."
"Mom, that's great!" I exclaimed, giving her another hug. A warm feeling bubbled up in my chest. "You're going to be the best writer around!"
"Thank you, son," My mom smiled kindly at me, but I still noticed some doubt in her eyes. "I, uh, I also saved some more money…I was hoping to put down a deposit for you at one of the schools in the area."
That threw me for a loop. "Mom, I don't think that's the best idea…"
"Why? Because you're in Atlantis now? Because you're dating a goddess? Because you're training?" My mother said with a bit of steel in her voice. "Honey, you and I both know that isn't how things work. You could do this if you really wanted to."
"Mom, I can't just throw all of this behind me and go back to school in the fall like every other kid," I argued, my hands gripping the railing tightly. "I've seen and done things that no other kid my age have done. I don't know how I'd ever be able to just go back to being normal."
"Percy, you're still a mortal," My mom reminded me sternly. Her voice broke a little. "We used to talk Percy. You used to tell me what was on your mind. Your friends, your bullies, your crushes—don't you see, Percy? We don't have that! You don't have that anymore!"
"Mom, what are you—"
"Who's your best friend, son?" My mom cut me off. "How many friends do you have? What do you do for fun? When was the last time you did something, I don't know, for the sake of it?"
"Uh, Annabeth is my best friend..."
"Percy," She deadpanned. "All you do with Annabeth is train and read. Tell me, what's her favorite color? Hopes and dreams? Middle name?"
Uh.
"Piper?"
"After the laurel fiasco?" My mom sighed softly, placing a hand on mine. "Honey, I love you, but you're moving too fast. Growing too fast. You're losing your connections to the mortal world. I know you're under a lot of stress and scrutiny, but you need to keep some sort of relations to, well, mortal things. You're in a special position here, and leaning too strongly into the immortal side of things could ruin you."
I was silent, opting to rather watch the cars drive by. Every time I wanted to say something, I just ended up biting my tongue. I didn't want to drop the prophecy bomb on her, even if it would make her understand, and without that bit of information, everything she said was basically irrefutable.
"You feel strongly about this."
"Son, you're everything to me," My mom said quietly. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so beyond proud of everything you've done, but I'm worried. I know you're a hero now, but you're still human. It's my job as your mother to look out for you, no matter how heroic you get, and I've been feeling this way for some time now. You need more human interaction. You can't…can't keep just training and fighting. You're a kid, damn it. You need to go to an amusement park, or play some video games, or swim or something!"
Oh boy. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "You really think so?"
"Percy, your only friends can't be immortal beings and your own mother," She joked. "You're not a Spartan, and you're not some tool of war, okay? Your greatest strength as a hero, your edge over every immortal and monster you fight is your humanity. If you were to lose that…"
"Okay, Mom, don't worry," I cut her off, flashing her a smile. "If this eases your mind…I'll do it."
"Really?" My mom smiled brightly. "You mean it?"
I didn't love it but, "Yeah! I understand what you mean. If this will help you be a little less worried, I'll do it."
The prophecy can wait, I decided when I saw the happy look form on my mom's face. I can keep getting stronger and all, but if I still can't make my mom happy at the end of all of that, I'd be a pretty lame hero—definitely not the kind of hero I want to be, at that.
What kind of hero can't save their own mom?
Okay. Cool. Train in the summer, go to school in the fall. Camp in the following summer. Simple enough. I can do this.
I don't know how much longer I'll be around, but I'll be damned if I leave my mom feeling anything but happy.