By Chance: Fate Finds You

Ariyana woke to her phone buzzing obnoxiously. She peeked one groggy eye open, and saw the clock on her nightstand showing the numbers one, zero, zero, and four. Ah hell no. She threw her extra pillow over her head and snuggled down further into her fluffy comforter. Eventually, the buzzing stopped. Just as she was about to drift off, it started up again. "For f**k's sake!" she yelled to no one, dramatically throwing her covers off across the bed. She picked up her phone from the nightstand angrily, not even bothering to check the screen before shaking it twice and answering. "Yeah?!" she said loudly, not even bothering to hide the irritation in her voice. "Happy birthday, Sweetieeeeeeee!" Goddamn it. "Hi, Mom," she replied, softening her tone. She did not want to be awake. Did not want to be reminded that today was her birthday. That's why only two people on the planet knew when it actually was. Her mom was not the one of those privileged people she wanted to be talking to at the ass-crack of dawn, even if it was after 10:00am. "How do you feel? Any wiser?" The joke was the same since her 20th rock around the sun, and her reply was the same as well. "Nope, only more like a wise ass." "Rayray! Watch your mouth!" Ari always loved riling her mom up. It was the only time the woman lost hold of her stick-in-the-mud demeanor. Mom was so...uptight. Ari giggled to herself what she might be like if she was single and had some regular d**k. But Mom was nothing if not steadfast. Goals, ideals, and image in line until the bitter end. "Calm yourself, Mommy Dearest." Ari play-chided into the phone. "What's up? Couldn't you have waited two more hours like a decent human being? I was working late last night." "Of course it could, but then who would remind you that you still have the sleep schedule of a college freshman?" her mother teased back. "Oh, Rayray, come on already. When are you going to sell your little nightclub and do what you were meant to do?" And there it was. This wasn't a birthday greeting. This was a reminder that Ari's mother had plans for her. See, in her mother's eyes, Ariyana couldn't be just a regular girl who got good grades in school and then went off to run her own successful business three states away. Ari was a means to an end. A way to force a promise made 36 years ago. "Mom, cool it. I've got 4 more years." "Oh, Honey, really? You've already waited so long. Wouldn't it be better to be immortalized at 36 than at 40? Four years can really take a toll on your looks from here on out." Ari, stifled an irritated sigh. Godssake. No, really. Ariyana didn't ask to be what she was. And what she was, was a demigod. Demigoddess? Whatever. Ari shook her head. "Mom, I might not even do it. I still have my gifts, that won't change. I have my club. I could start a chain someday. I have my friends. I have Cady-" "Pssht," her mother stopped her, "Friends. Those are for regular people, Rayray. Not people with a purpose. Not people like you," she emphasized. "I could BE a regular person!" "Ariyana Maxine Fion!" her mother snapped. "I did not agree to marry your father, doomed to a life of solitude while he goes and does whatever he wants, just to see you be a regular person!" "No, Marian Eunice Fion. You did it because you were promised youth and beauty if you could sell Dad's kid off as some hot s**t to the gods." Ari's mom was silent, for a really long time. Long enough for Ari to feel a hard punch of guilt. She knew her mom had made the deal in a fit of youthful brazen fancy. But then why be so forceful sticking it out? If she had divorced her husband, Dionysus, Ari wouldn't have the option to ascend and join the gods. If she gave up her promise, Ari wouldn't have to have the decision to carry it out or not. "It's more than that, Ray" Marian said quietly, as if reading her daughter's mind. "It was that, at first, and for a lot of years. But as time went on, I just got so...lonely. The curse of a mortal-immortal love is that the mortal is the one who has to stay faithful in order for the deal to be met. If I knew that you were ascended, I could go run off to be with your dad...or to find someone else who loves me." Ari's voice pitched high, "Then why don't you just DO THAT?!" she squawked. "I'm fine, Mom, I really am. I don't need to be a god. I still don't know if I want to be." Marian went back to her old self, with another dismissive sound, "Pah! Of course you do! What normal human wouldn't kill to be a god?! Think of all the good you could do! You would be an amazing goddess, Rayray" she said in her no-arguent tone. Ari gave up. There was no changing her mother's mind. The woman thought she had the best of intentions, and that was that. "Okay, fine. I'll keep thinking about it," Ari acquiesced. "But no promises. Unlike Dear Old Daddio, I don't make promises I'm not sure I can keep. It's not like I have a god or demigod pounding down my door, so the point is pretty moot-" "That's what I was calling for!" her mom interrupted. "I did a LOT of digging, and found another demigod looking to ascend soon! I forwarded your information for a date. He should be contacting you soon!" she was so pleased with herself, Ari could practically see her beaming through the phone. "I thought you were calling to wish me a happy birthday." "Of course, of course, Honey. But also to tell you about the wonderful gift I'm handing to you!" "What's the gift, then?" "THE DATE! Ariyana, really. I'm giving you the perfect gift, trust me." Ari hoped her mother couldn't hear her eye roll through the phone, "You got me a man for my birthday? Mom, that's illegal here in Oregon." Marian gave in to a full belly laugh, "Ray!" she cried. "I'm not gifting you a man, I'm gifting you a golden opportunity!" "I'd prefer a new car." Her mother came back to serious-mode, "Rayray, if you get this right, you won't need a new car from me. Or even you. This is a big chance." Ari was angrily resigned, "I said I'd think about it. No promises. Remember?" "Fine fine. Just give it a chance, yeah?" "Yeah." Ari had no intention of giving anything a chance, but her head was beginning to hurt, and she was hungry. "That a girl, Ray!" her mother near-screamed in excitement. "Okay okay, calm down, Mom. I need to hunt food. I gotta go." "I love you, Honey! HAPPY BIRTHD-" Ari hung up the phone and tossed it on her pillow as she got up to go take a shower in the master bathroom. She didn't have the energy to talk anymore. This was a common ending to their phone conversations. "I love you, too, Mom," she whispered as she grabbed a towel from a hook on the door. --{-@ Ari stepped out of the shower and wiped the fog from the large oval mirror to look at herself. Her thoughts turned back to her mother, as she dried off her body while standing on the fluffy bathmat in front of the large tub. Her mom wasn't bad. She was just also wasn't good at not doing things that served her own interests first. "She's selfish," Ari said to her reflection as she wrapped the towel around her head. "Mom is sweet, but selfish. It's okay to say it between you and me," she winked at herself and grabbed the cocoa butter lotion from the counter before walking out to her room again. Sitting down, she put the lotion on her arms, still frustrated. Why did this have to be the deal? Deals should made between adults, not 19-year old waitresses and ancient gods. And not about kids who haven't even been born yet. She frowned as she added lotion to her chest and stomach. Ugh. 36 years old was not what she dreamed it would look like. Her breasts were too heavy, and had lost their youthful perk. She was softer than she wanted. As she started in on her legs, though, her outlook improved. She had great legs. Decades of being a short 5'3" and making up for it with a strong heeled-shoe addiction, in addition to walking a club floor every night (interspersed with trips to the floor when her tastiest jams were playing) had honed them into great, shapely rays of sunshine on the otherwise mediocre landscape she considered her body. Ari shook her head, muttering to herself, "Let it go Ari. You still got it. 36 is the new 20-whatever or some s**t. Make it work." She heard her phone buzz again, and picked it up, making sure to check the screen this time. It was a text from Cady, her best friend in the entire universe. This. This was how you gave Ari a birthday greeting. Ari chuckled as she read the "sw" again. SW was their code. It meant Soul-Wife, because they had met the third day that Ari had moved out to Portland. They were both 19 at the time, and instant friends. Despite the fact that they had both dated several people over the years, some even long-ish term, they were still single. They'd coined the term after about a dozen colorful cocktails one night, when Ari had just been dumped by a particularly pretty Australian girl she'd met at work. Ari texted. The reply was almost instant. Ari gave a little clap of excitement. Day improved. Dim sum! --{-@ Ari pulled her bright auburn hair into a messy bun as she walked into the restaurant. She found Cady at their regular table, a little two-top by the window, and smiled brightly. Despite them both wearing jeans and sweaters, Cady was obviously the more put-together in this relationship. Her chestnut hair was perfectly straightened, showing off expensive caramel highlights, and her red chenille top and tight black jeans looked brand-new, even though Ari had given them to her as a Christmas gift six years prior. Cady looked up and returned her smile, waving her over. As Ari took her seat, Cady bounced a little, excitedly handing over a gift bag that she had been keeping under the table. "Birthday girl! Birthday girl!" Cady chanted, her coffee eyes sparkling as she Ari began to pull out the plentiful items. "It's going to be perfect, because you are," Ari replied, squinching her nose at her friend. And it was. There was a gift card to Powell's, to sate Ari's bibliophile needs, along with three books already purchased. Then came a bottle of perfume that smelled mostly of oranges (Ari's favorite), and a gorgeous rose-gold sequined top that tied together in several places in the back. "Cade! This is....omigosh!" "I saw it yesterday and I thought of you. We have to go out soon so you can wear it." "Where would I wear this?!" Ari gushed, turning it over and over in her hands. "The goddamned Grammys?" "You could wear it on a date," Cady leaned in and waggled her eyebrows. Ari lost her jovial attitude, "Don't remind me of dates," she said glumly, carefully putting the top back in the bag. "My mom is setting me up on a blind date." "Mommy Dearest found herself another demigod? She must have gotten a f*****g nosebleed!" Ari giggled. Cady knew how to turn her frown upside down. She was the only mortal Ari had ever told about her 'origin story,' and she didn't even question it. Yet another reason they were soul-wives. The dim sum arrived, and they dug in. "For realsies, though," Cady said around a mouthful of food, "What're you gonna do?" Ari sipped her soda to cool her mouth, "Blow it off, of course. If Mom picked him, you know damn well he could look like a goblin, or be a complete asshole. She's not exactly going to be picky on the Available Demigod front." "Ooorrrrr," Cady teased, "He could look like, you know, Hercules." She made a chef's kiss with her fingers, splaying them at the end before turning them and waving them at Ari's face, "Bellissimo!" They dissolved into laughter for a bit, causing the few other customers in the restaurant to look at them quizzically, before Cady got her serious face back on, "But, you know, Ar...it might not be a bad idea." Ari nearly spit out her soda, "What?! You better explain yourself, traitor!" Cady didn't take the bait.m, but rather put her chin in her hands thoughtfully, "You haven't been on a date in a while -" She put her hand up as Ari tried to interrupt, "You're Busy Big Nightclub Owner, I know. But would it be so bad? Go to a nice dinner. Get away from work and the house for a bit. Maybe," she twiddled her fingers against her cheeks, "Relieve some pent up stress. It could be fun," she winked for emphasis. "And if he actually does look like a goblin?" "He pays for the steak, you go home and break one off on your own like you usually do. Flim flam flamingo." "And then, what, tell my mom thanks but no thanks? She'll have a conniption!" "Okay, so then you marry him, ascend as the Goddess of Whatchmacalit, and then do whatever you want anyway because you're an all-powerful being of majesty," she smiled and blinked her eyes lovingly, "You know, more than you already are." "Oooorrr," Ari countered, "We could chop off my thumbs and call it day!" She went to take another taste of her cooling dim sum, but had found she'd lost her appetite. She shoved it to the side, "I don't feel like being pimped out by my own mother, Cade. It's such bullshit." Cady obviously couldn't argue with that last point, but still shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just saying it really isn't gonna hurt anything to do it. Might get the pitbull off your ass for a bit. Worst case, you have either really hilarious or really dirty stories to tell me over fondue." Ari took a sip of soda, rolling the idea around her head a little. "Maybe. I don't know. We'll see. i have a feeling it's going to be traumatizing and terrible, but we'll see," she grabbed Cady's wrists, feigning a soulful look, "If it sucks, you pay for the therapy and alcohol." Cady shook her head in agreement, "Deal. Now, eat your food. You have to work tonight."