Chapter 7
Gillian quickly acclimated to her life at the spa. She received several treatments at the advice of Catherine of Alexandria. Some of them were performed by John the Evangelist, like on her first experience, but others were performed by many other beings with various talents. When she wasn't receiving a procedure or relaxing in her suite, she spent her time with Amon. She had broached the subject of Amon being a god with Amon the human on several occasions. Every time, Amon denied it vociferously. He was certain, in his version of reality, that that sort of possibility could not be true. It was not even a possibility. He could have a higher self, like Athena described. He could be recovering from the procedures during his helping find Gillian. He could even be weakening simply from catching a virus. However, the idea that he was actually Amon-Ra, or that Amon-Ra slept within him, waiting to awaken, and take over his body at a moment's notice, was far too much for Amon to accept.
Gillian, of course, wanted him to understand, accept and prepare for his future as, well, a god. From the little she had learned about this place, while she was a child of the gods, or as Athena had described, the Source, she was not a god herself. Amon was. Gillian thought that was awesome. Instead of dying by being abandoned by his birth parents, Amon was reborn as a god. Now, from Amon the god's description, Gillian was unsure the little spirit that was the Amon she was getting to know was the spirit originally intended to inhabit his body, or something else, but she liked him well enough to keep him company, no matter which one it ended up being.
During the three weeks, Amon's condition slowly improved. Gillian was extremely worried about him for at least the first week and a half, because there seemed to be absolutely no change in his condition. Since his condition was fairly poor, not being able to stand or sit up easily, ragged breathing, and turning down most meals, Gillian had plenty of reason to worry.
For Amon, however, these were the best weeks of his life. Even when Gillian was grilling him, he had a friend to spend time with, he wasn't capable of doing anything that would cause Athena to yell at him, and he could sleep or meditate whenever he chose. In a lot of ways, Amon did not wish to improve, but he also knew if he didn't, he could possibly die, which he didn't want more. So, after a week and a half, he slowly began to improve.
On Amon's last day at the spa, Gillian was lying on his bed, with her head over the side, looking at Amon upside down, while Amon was sitting in the bath. During Gillian's time at the spa, her typical human responses to nakedness had just about vanished. She now acted much like Amon in that she acted exactly the same around him if he were clothed, or not. Amon saw this as incredibly convenient, because then he didn't have to act in an entirely different way when Gillian was around. Frankly, he didn't want this to end, ever, if at all possible. So, he decided that he should tell Gillian how he felt. Even if she couldn't accept it, it was better to know now and be rejected, than have false hopes. Athena would not approve of him being distracted from his work anyway, but if she was interested, then it would be worth it. Amon looked up at Gillian. She was so very beautiful. This was going to be very difficult. He cleared his throat, and promptly fell asleep.
Gillian double blinked. It had been clear Amon had wanted to say something, but Amon the god had taken over. She decided to initiate the conversation to prevent Amon the human from coming to any harm. "Amon," Gillian began, "is everything all right? You seemed like you were going to say something very important, and then you fell asleep."
Amon looked about the bath, and smiled to himself. "Well, this was a heavenly choice. I'm not sure I agree with Loki that this version of me is a complete idiot. What are you doing all the way over there, Gillian? I mean, the sundress is lovely, and I'm sure lying like that is comfortable, but this... this feels heavenly. Come join me!"
Gillian tilted her head to the side. Amon the god was so very different from Amon the human. She wasn't sure if that was something Amon the human was ready for, and she really didn't want to hurt him. She had grown quite comfortable around him in the last few weeks, but last they had spoken, Amon the human wanted to be friends, nothing more. Joining Amon the god in the bath suggested more, much much more. She sat up on the bed, turned towards Amon, and smoothed the front of her dress over her legs. "I am not certain all parts of you are ready for such a proposition," Gillian said, blushing slightly. "This is probably something we should talk about. With you popping in and out, how is my being friends with Amon the human going to work? Especially considering that the two of you are so very different, and probably have different comfort levels on, well, everything. Furthermore, I have spent much less time with you than Amon. I know him better than I know you. How is all of that going to work?"
Amon the god shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea," he laughed. "I suppose it is entirely up to you if you wish to be involved with us as anything more than friends. It is also entirely possible that you will want a relationship with one of us, and not the other, although that would be slightly tricky, because if both of you are in danger, I will pop in unannounced. So, yeah, I have absolutely no idea. I suppose the place to start is: what would you like to know? My memory at this time isn't complete, so if I don't remember something, I can't tell you, but I promise to be truthful." Amon jumped out of the bath, and looked himself over in the mirror. "Gods, does the boy ever eat meat?" Amon said, trying to flex his biceps, and not getting the result he wanted. "How much energy do I have to make adjustments? Well, this body isn't that large... I should have enough in here." Amon produced a vial of something sparkly, and drank its contents. He then closed his eyes, and while meditating in mid-air, adjusted Amon's body to the point that he was unrecognizable from the Amon the human. "Okay, now it is obvious who is speaking to you: now I look like me. Does that help at all?"
Gillian stood and walked over to Amon the god. She was amazed at the changes she had made in Amon's form. He now had dark hair, was just as tall, his whole frame was thicker and more muscular, and his eyes had changed color from blue to golden. Gillian touched Amon's arm. It was a physical change. "I guess this is one of the perks of being a god," Gillian thought. "Will you transform back once Amon the human takes over?" Gillian asked.
"Yes," Amon the god said. "Amon's concept of himself is not yet this flexible. I enjoy the perception my creators had for me, so I generally emulate that. However, I can also transform into just about anything you can think of. It keeps things more interesting that way, being so old. I am certain once you begin your training, you will acquire the same gifts. You just need a lot of energy to do so, which is why I drank the stardust."
"Stardust?" Gillian asked, confused.
Amon smiled. "An old gift from a friend," he said, implying that friend meant much more than friend. "I wonder what has become of her... Anyway, I now require meat, and lots of it. Are you capable of manifesting a meal in the spa, or shall I ask one of our hosts to do so? I am starved, and do not think it would do this body good to manifest my meal."
Gillian thought for a minute, and decided Amon was not using meat as a euphemism. "Would you like it cooked or not?" Gillian asked.
"Cooked is fine," Amon said, manifesting a chaise for him to lay on, and immediately dressing in a light silk robe. "I am not feeling particularly barbaric today."
Gillian turned away from Amon to concentrate on manifesting steaks. As she was finishing the 12th steak, because she assumed Amon the god would be at least as hungry as Amon the human, she overheard, "Loki! How nice of you to call! What is up, my friend? ... Ah, you and your friends are to safety. That is fantastic! ... I will join you shortly. I just have some loose ends to tie up here. ... Yes, Gillian is here. I am sure she would like to speak with you as well. She thinks about your offer of education often. We're about to eat, would you like to join us? ... I sincerely doubt that with a proper distractor on this room that Athena would take any notice of your being here partially. Good gods man, you are the expert at such things, I have no worries. ... Too busy? Ah, that is too bad. Well, I will give Gillian your regards. ... Yes, yes, I will be sure to let you know. Ciao." "Gillian," Amon said, directed towards her, "are the steaks done? They smell heavenly!"
"Yes," Gillian said, manifesting a platter and carrying them over to Amon. She manifested a table in front of his chaise, and set the platter down. As soon as she stood back up, the steaks were gone.
"Those were delicious," Amon said. "Could you please manifest three times as many? I am starved, quite literally, in fact. You don't eat much while you are asleep, you know?"
Gillian nodded, and a giant mountain of steaks appeared, then disappeared just as quickly.
"Very nicely done," Amon said, smiling widely. "I especially enjoyed the marinade. You are extremely talented, Gillian. I assume you overheard my conversation with Loki...?"
"Yes," Gillian said. "What did he want to tell me? Why are you leaving here to meet with him? I think Amon the human would be terrified by that proposition."
Amon the god smiled. "Loki and I are old friends. No harm will come to me if I were to go meet with him. However, I believe you are correct in that Amon the human is not ready. So, I will wait until he is. Loki and I were speaking about time as gods. 'Soon' can very easily mean four of your natural lifetimes. Don't worry about the little spirit, I have already done extensive work on his wounds. He should be brightening up quite nicely in the next few weeks. Please, sit," Amon commanded, manifesting a chair directly behind Gillian. Gillian sat, and was surprised by how comfortable the chair was. "Now, tell me, are you interested in Amon the human? He was about to ask you himself, but his word choice was so clunky, I decided to take the fall for him if you said no. I will not be crushed by such a dismissal, even by a beautiful woman like you. I know how many good women there are, and I have been fortunate enough to entice many into my bed, sometimes many at the same time. So, I am a better being for this conversation. Oh, you're blushing, how cute! So, you do like Amon the human! I am very happy for him. He has been so very lonely for so long. You should tell him on the first occasion you have! Life is so unpredictable; you don't know what will happen next! Leaving such a thing unsaid creates great knots in the fabric of both of your lives. It could cause you to reincarnate for thousands of years looking for each other, not making any progress, because your love is unrequited. Humans are so very tragic-romantic in that way. So, do you know what you are going to say to Amon? Would you like to practice? I love a good love story!"
Gillian looked at him quizzically. "So, you're not going to intervene? Like, if I were to be kissing Amon the human, I wouldn't a second later being kissing you?"
Amon laughed, then stopped and became more serious. "That would be immensely fun, but I am not that cruel. Amon the human spirit won your heart by being himself. It is the most precious thing in the universe. I would not spoil that for an instant of selfish sexual gratification. I am honored to be able to watch something so beautiful unfold after being asleep for so long. So, what are you going to say?"
Gillian sighed. "I am not certain what I am going to say. Amon the human didn't tell me, you did, and well, that makes it incredibly awkward..."
"You want to talk to Amon, got it!" Amon the god said, and immediately Amon changed back into his thin ginger self, sleeping lightly on the chaise.
"I will have to practice manifesting a chaise like this, so Amon doesn't end up with a stream of concussions from switching back and forth like this all the time," Gillian thought. Gillian sat beside Amon, and slowly wrapped her arms around him.
Amon woke with a start and sat up abruptly. "What am I doing out of the bath? What am I wearing? Gillian, what happened?" he asked, looking at the robe like it was spider webs on his clothing.
Gillian thought for a second how to word what had happened, then began, "Your higher self woke because he was hungry. He ate a lot of steaks, and he told me that you had something very important to tell me. What was that?"
Amon blushed furiously. He took a deep breath, and said as quickly as he could, "This has been the best week of my life. I never want it to end. I love you." His eyes widened and he looked absolutely terrified of what Gillian would say.
Gillian smiled really big, and grabbed him, kissing him hard on the mouth. "I love you too," she said as she pulled away to breathe.
Amon smiled back at her. He was so relieved, and so happy. He had not hoped for something so wonderful to happen in his life, let alone after so much pain, frustration, and loneliness. He was so very happy it was possible, and it was real, but... "Gillian," he asked, "is this real?"
"Yes," Gillian laughed, "this is real. I knew I loved you the instant you wrapped me in that big fluffy towel. You are the kindest man I have ever met. You really care about me, and you show it in so many ways. In the hard cruel world I lived in for so long, it is breathtakingly amazing to spend time with you. While I never want to spend this much time in the spa again because you are sick, I don't want our time together to end either." She kissed him again.
Amon wrapped his arms around Gillian, and moved her two inches so that their heart chakras were aligned. As he did so, the whole world disappeared, and he was completely at peace. He continued kissing Gillian, hoping that perhaps he could manifest longer moments, then longer hours, and then longer years.
***
"YES!" Amon the god exclaimed.
Athena jumped three feet above her desk. "What the hell, Amon-Ra!? You cannot just appear in my office unannounced, and yell at the top of your lungs. I am thrilled you are capable of being in more than one place at once too, but holy poptarts, do not do that!"
"Poptarts?" Amon asked. "What is a poptart?"
"An absolutely disgusting thing that Amon the human ate once so I could convince him that human food was not in his best interests. Now, what the Hel are you doing here?"
"I just had great success with helping Amon the human come to terms with his episode of torture with Loki. It was fueled by the 30 steaks Gillian manifested for me and sex. They were so delicious!"
"What!? You're not having sex right now, are you? If so, what the fuck are you doing here? Whatever girl you have seduced now is going to be so pissed that you are telling me all about your sex life, while having sex with her! Seriously, Ra, this is low, even for you..."
"No, I'm not having sex, Amon the human is! It had enough energy that I could heal him. I was excited... things have really changed to make you bitchy, Athena. You should watch that... worry lines..." Amon the god said, poking Athena in the cheek.
"I will not get worry lines!" Athena exclaimed to an empty office. Amon was already gone. "Well, good for Amon," Athena thought. "Maybe this will make him less of a liability. If he has sex regularly, he will be less likely to revert to his post-torture self. While I am thrilled beyond belief what Amon-Ra has said, I am not certain healing something as significant as that could ever be that simple. However, only time will tell..." She turned back to her paperwork. She had received a blue notice that said the water bill was late. She had no idea why they needed to pay for water when she could manifest as much as she wanted. She was so, so very ready for Amon to resume work.
***
"Amon-Ra," Loki purred. "It has been far too long. How are you, my dear friend?"
"I am well, and Athena is entirely distracted at the moment. How are you? What required my presence to discuss?" Amon asked, giving Loki a big hug.
"I wanted proof that I still have your complete support in keeping Athena from influencing Gillian, so she can successfully help us. Your presence here tells me you can possibly be of more help than I believed you were capable of," Loki said. "What is your body up to right now?"
"Having sex with Gillian," Amon said with a big smile. "I believe I now have plenty of reasons that Gillian will be listening to Amon, and not Athena, when it comes to the most important questions. Why did you advise her to stay in Athena's employ?"
Loki smiled back. "Because I knew you would be there, and I wanted to be less overt in my actual plans. If Athena thinks I am up to no good, she will throw resources at me to stop me on accident. I will happily take those so I can further our aims. To have an unlimited source of her resources, I need to keep up appearances. You know the drill, it has been a while for you, but it was your mode of operations when you were fully functional."
"How long has it been, my dear? I have not gotten a straight answer out of anyone," Amon-Ra said, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder.
"About 250 years," Loki said, looking sad. "I have missed you horribly, Ra Ra. It has been so very boring without you!"
"Thank you, my friend," Amon-Ra said, hugging Loki again. "Unfortunately, I must return to avoid detection. If you require my assistance, please contact me when I am with Gillian alone. She seems to be sympathetic to our aims already, so that will be the wisest time for you to speak with me."
"Done," Loki said. "Be well, my friend. I will contact you whenever you are required."
With that, Amon-Ra returned to his body, and promptly fell asleep. 30 steaks, splitting to be three places at once, and helping Amon heal had been quite a lot after so long. He smiled to himself: he was out of practice, but it was all coming back so quickly. "This is all going to be so much fun," he thought. "I love being me."
Chapter 8
Amon woke with Gillian in his arms. He was surprised for a moment, and then remembered all that had happened yesterday. This had been one of the best moments of his entire life. He didn't want it to end, but he felt someone materializing into his room, and he knew he had to be ready if that was the case. He kissed Gillian on the forehead. "Good morning," he said quietly. "I think someone is going to be joining us shortly. I know the gods won't care about this, at all, but if you'd like to be dressed..." Amon felt Gillian manifest a fluffy robe for both of them, grabbed him more tightly, and fell back asleep. "All right then," Amon said, preparing to fall back asleep himself.
"Amon," Athena barked. "You were supposed to be at work two hours ago. I have this horrid blue paper that I have no idea what to do with, and without you at work on time, I cannot make it go away. What is ... this? Why did this make you late?"
Amon looked at Athena, doubleblinked, then decided he would do something he had never done before. He had his higher self to back him up, and if Athena tried to hurt him, he had a pretty good feeling that his higher self would take care of it. "Shh," he said, "Gillian is still asleep. I need to take care of her this morning. I'll be in around noon."
"It is already 10 a.m. Are you asking to be fired?" Athena said, absolutely furious.
"No, I'm asking for understanding. I have never been late to work. I have no precedent of being unreliable. I do not intend to be late in the future. This morning is special, and I owe it to Gillian to remain here until she is ready to wake up. Those are my priorities for this morning, and there is nothing you can do to change them."
Athena opened her mouth and then closed it. Finally, she asked, "Is this Amon or Amon-Ra?"
Amon looked Athena in the eyes. "This is Amon," Amon said. "I apologize that I have not responded with my usual response of how high, but today is special. If you continue to ruin it for me, I will not come in at all today, and you will have to find someone else to pay the water bill."
Athena growled, "Noon is fine," and left.
Amon began stroking Gillian's hair. "I hope two hours is enough time for you to wake up," he said. "I didn't even think to ask about when you should arrive at work, but I assume, like me, you frankly don't care this morning."
"Nope," Gillian said clearly, still hugging him tightly. "Don't care in the least. It was quite funny to think about how frustrated Athena was with the water bill. That was my life until I came here. I paid bills, took care of Persephone, and ... oh crap... How is Persephone?"
"Athena told me Red was taking care of her," Amon said. "He really likes cats, and she grew quite attached to him once she figured out he was really warm. Having fire inside makes most dragons cat magnets if they don't eat cats for snacks. She may not want to come back..."
"I love you," Gillian said, burying her face in his chest.
"I love you too," Amon said, kissing her on the head. "I'm just so happy this morning. I can't stop smiling. I know I set an alarm to be awake by 7 a.m., and be at work by 8 a.m., but..."
"I may have turned it off," Gillian said, peeking one eye at Amon, then burying her face back in his chest. "I'm not sorry," she said into his chest.
Amon laughed. "I'm not sorry either," he said. "It felt really good to stand up to Athena. I never have..."
"Never?" Gillian asked, propping herself up on an elbow and looking at Amon. "What changed?"
Amon smiled, and kissed Gillian. "Everything," he said, getting out of bed and manifesting his clothes for the day. "What would you like for breakfast? I'm not much of a cook, but I can manifest us anywhere you'd like and have someone who knows what they are doing make breakfast."
"We can leave 101 Pemberley Place?" Gillian said, also getting out of bed and putting on clothes. "I thought this was your home and you never wanted to leave?"
"Well," Amon said, putting on a jacket, and some sunglasses, "everything has changed, and my higher self waking up has given me less reason to be afraid, and lots of reasons to live. I'd like to live while I have the chance. As long as I am back by noon to pay the water bill, Athena will not give a shit if we go out for breakfast. So, where would you like to go? I have been saving my earnings for eons, so money is no object, and we're obviously not paying for transportation."
"Paris," Gillian said. "I'd like to go to Paris for crepes."
Amon smiled. "I have no idea what a crepe is, but I will take your word that they are delicious. Can you imagine them clearly for me?" Gillian thought clearly and intently on the perfect crepes. Amon placed a hand on her head and closed his eyes. "Yum," he responded, having received her image, "I can smell them. Take my hand," he said.
Gillian grabbed Amon's hand, and seconds later they were in Paris, in front of a little cafe, with people eating breakfast outside under umbrellas. Gillian smiled. "Smells delicious," she said.
Amon walked up to the maitre d', and said, "Bonjour, une table pour deux, s'il vous plait."
"Oui, monsieur," the maitre d' said. "Une moment."
"You speak French!?" Gillian whispered, as soon as the maitre d' had left to go find their table.
"I feel amazing this morning," Amon said, kissing Gillian. "It is like some giant weight has been lifted that I carried for a very long time. I don't know if sex is always like that, but I suddenly feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. I haven't felt this way..."
"Monsieur, votre table," the maitre d' said, pointing to a table on the patio.
"Merci beaucoup," Amon said, smiling at the maitre d', and pulling out a chair for Gillian.
"Amon, did more happen last night that I don't know about?" Gillian asked, once they had both been seated, given menus, and the maitre d' had returned to his post by the entrance. "I mean, that wasn't your first time..."
"Yeah, it was," Amon said, looking over the menu and not at Gillian. "They have 35 different varieties of crepes, Gillian! I think you will be able to find one that you want for breakfast!" Amon exclaimed with a laugh.
"I would say so!" Gillian said, seeing that the menu was entirely in French, but some of the crepes had pictures with descriptions beneath them. She was suddenly very glad that menus had been made to make her hungry with images of food. She decided on the original recipe crepes, figuring if this was the best place in Paris, their original would be the best for her to try. Once she decided, she realized what Amon had said before mentioning the different varieties of crepes. "Wait, Amon, you never... you dated before me?"
Amon looked at Gillian quizzically, then responded. "I wouldn't call what we did last night dating, but no. I have not dated any of the gods and goddesses, and they certainly weren't interested in me. This," he said, grabbing the table with both of his hands, "this is date."
Gillian was about to mention how she was amazed that Amon was a virgin before last night, but quickly decided that was not a conversation to have in a public place. Nor did it matter, because if she had not asked him, she would not have known. He certainly seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and Gillian had not had much time to think, at all. So, no complaints on that front... then Gillian noticed Amon looked worried. "Is everything okay?" she asked, grasping his hand and giving it a light squeeze.
"Am I doing everything backwards?" Amon asked, looking at her very worried. "We were supposed to go on a date first, right? You deserve the best, Gillian, and I don't want to mess this up for you. Is backwards, with the first date being in Paris, okay?"
Gillian laughed, then laughed harder. When she looked at Amon and realized her reaction was making him uncomfortable, she stopped, and said, "Amon, I have not been on a date with someone who even cared that much. This is lovely. I would not change last night for anything. Being with you on a date this morning is just a bonus. I am very happy."
"But you will let me know if you are unhappy, at any point?" Amon asked, still worried. "I really don't want my inexperience to cause me to accidentally not meet or hopefully exceed your expectations for what dating should be."
"Amon, look at me," Gillian said, squeezing his hand harder. Amon looked up, saw how beautiful Gillian was, and smiled. "Expectations exceeded," Gillian said.
"Monsieur, mademoiselle, votre commande," the server requested, appearing beside Amon.
"Gillian, have you decided?" Amon asked, still smiling at Gillian.
"Yes, I would like the original crepes please," Gillian said, looking at Amon, expecting him to order for her, since she did not speak French.
"Okay," Amon said, squeezing her hand, and turning to the server with his menu. "Elle aimerait les crepes originales, et je voudrais un de chaque."
"Excusez-moi, monsieur..." the server stuttered, surprised, "Tu as dit, 'un de chaque.'"
"Oui, je voudrais un de chaque," Amon said, still smiling. "Je voudrais essayer les 35 crepes. Je vais payer en especes. Y-a-t-il un probleme?"
"Non, monsieur," the server stuttered. "Un de chaque, et les crepes originales, tout de suite." The server left, looking back at Amon with a look of disbelief.
Gillian double blinked at 35. She was not certain, but she believed Amon had just ordered all of the crepes. "Amon, did you just...?" Gillian began.
"I wanted to try them all," Amon said. "I told you money was no object, and if there are 35 varieties, why wouldn't we try them all? It will be so much more fun that way."
Gillian looked at Amon. He had seemed so simple to her in all of their other interactions. How did he have so much money to throw around suddenly? Well, she had never seen him outside of 101 Pemberley Place, so maybe that was the difference. She decided to ask him about it. "How do you have this much money to spend on breakfast?" she asked gently.
"Well," Amon began, "I never ate breakfast until you made me Egg in Toast. So, I haven't spent money on, anything. Athena pays me the current rate for an executive secretary with my experience added in, so currently, I make about $500,000 a year. None of it is taxed, because 101 Pemberley Place is not technically in this dimension, let alone on earth, except for the building. So, I help Athena pay taxes on the building, but I don't have to pay any taxes to Earth governmental agencies, because I do not use any of their services, and according to any of their governments, I don't exist. Athena doesn't see any reason to tax her employees, because their exerted energy towards her business is technically their tax. Most of them give freely, so it has never been an issue. I haven't spent any of my earnings, because at home, I can manifest anything I require. Nor have I had any reason to leave, until now. I am certain that this breakfast will not cost $500,000, even if I ordered everything on the menu several times. Most of the crepes on this menu cost around 10 euros, so I will owe around 400 euros with tax and tip. That's nothing."
Gillian doubleblinked. "You make $500,000 a year, as a secretary!?"
Amon smiled. "I have a lot of experience," he said quietly. "I showed Athena the numbers. Since everyone in her corporation, who has a contract defining monetary compensation as their method of payment, receives a yearly raise, plus adjustment for inflation, my figure has grown substantially since I started working at 101 Pemberley Place. I started only making $100 a year. Being a master executive secretary at 101 Pemberley Place is a position of great influence in the running of the agency, put more simply, Athena's stress level, so she has never argued with me when I asked for a raise, or to reevaluate my compensation."
Gillian was still dumbfounded. She had no idea Amon was rich. She had fallen in love with him for is character and kindness. She had no idea that not only would paying for Persephone not be a problem, but that she could have asked him to buy her a jet to fly her to Paris, and that would have been met with the same enthusiasm. She finally decided she had to say something. "Amon, with that kind of money, there is no reason you would have any trouble making your way in the world if you chose to leave 101 Pemberley Place. I mean, you would never have to work again, and you would be just fine."
Amon thought for a second. "That is probably true, but I like my job at 101 Pemberley Place. I like being useful, and I am compensated handsomely for my work. I am not certain I could find such varied work as a secretary anywhere else."
Gillian had another question, because the defining monetary compensation portion of Amon's description was curious to her. "What else does Athena pay her employees in? How does she have money to pay everyone?"
"Investments," Amon said. "When 101 Pemberley Place was founded, many of the gods and goddesses were already wealthy from tributes of old, that were then invested, or became priceless artifacts by virtue of age and condition. It was more than enough to fund the salaries of everyone at the agency indefinitely. It just required the appointment of someone to handle the investments to reinvest the funds and make more capital to pay everyone for the following year. After that, it has been simple."
"Who runs the investments?" Gillian asked. "None of the gods or goddesses I have heard of seem to be that savvy with money."
"I do," Amon said. "That would be my another of my salaries. Athena, as she has added job titles to what I do for 101 Pemberley Place, has added additional salaries. It is incredibly fair, and I wish humans reacted the same way to hoisting all the responsibility upon one person. I have researched very clearly that they do not, and it makes me feel very badly for them. However, I am probably boring you with the minutiae of how I am compensated for my work. In short, I am Athena's executive secretary, accountant, investment broker, envoy to Earthlings who do not possess sight, and errand boy. The last one actually pays the most, because it is my least favorite job. So, it took long and detailed discussions to come to a figure that I was comfortable with."
"And you haven't spent any of this money?" Gillian asked, shocked that Amon knew so much about money, and basically hadn't touched it.
"Nope," Amon said, apparently hungry, because he looked around for the server. "I reinvest it along with the large sum to pay for the salaries of all of Athena's employees, after approving the stock portfolio for the year, but other than that, I don't touch it. It's my security blanket if I ever must leave. I am at an awkward position of being born in a time that no longer exists. I have done my best to keep up with the times through various means, and most of it, out of necessity to pay bills in a modern fashion. However, I am not a product of your culture, society, or era. I am different. I would much rather be eccentric and rich, than poor and insane. Athena understands that completely, and has provided for me generously to ease my anxieties over ever having to leave."
Gillian imagined Amon in a bed full of $100 bills, and falling asleep exactly how she had watched him for the last few weeks. It wasn't that far of a stretch, frankly. She was impressed by Amon's ability to work out a solution to his odd employment to save himself from a lot of trouble if he ever did need to leave. She remembered Athena's warning, and saw how it applied to this situation too. She wondered how much of Amon's memory had been released and healed by Amon-Ra. He had made it clear that he was going to help Amon, but she was not certain in what way. This morning's Amon was so very happy and alive. It was wonderful to see. Gillian was just slightly leery of what other changes were on the horizon, if Amon could change overnight like this. She felt Amon's hand on her shoulder.
"I hope it's a good daydream," he said. "The food has arrived. Look at how beautiful they made it look! Do you just want to eat the original crepes, or would you like to try any of the ones I ordered that look interesting to you?"
Gillian looked at the table. It was covered in crepes. There were crepes with every imaginable filling, and perhaps some she had never heard of. She was definitely very hungry, because several days at the spa had involved fasting for various procedures, but she wasn't certain she could ever be that hungry. "Um..." Gillian began. "I don't know."
"Well, I am starving," Amon said, "I'm not exactly sure why, because I was very full yesterday after I woke up from my nap. However, no matter, we have plenty of food for breakfast. Shall I save you a bite of each?"
"That works," Gillian said. "Thank you."
Amon stopped, and put down his knife and fork before eating anything. "Gillian," he said, turning to face her, and clasping her hands in his, "have I made you uncomfortable with buying all the crepes? I can send them back. I can have one order, just like you, if you'd prefer. What would you prefer I do?"
Gillian looked into his eyes. She took a deep breath, and decided she wanted a relationship that was based on trust with Amon, so she would tell him the truth. "Amon," she said, "I have been barely able to afford what I ordered for breakfast in a restaurant my entire adult life. When a date would ask me to split the check with him, I would have to budget differently all week, even if we were eating fast food. This... this grand gesture... I am uncomfortable because it is so foreign to me. However, I would much rather get used to this, than go back to worrying about money all the time. Can you reassure me that you are still the wonderful man I got to know, and this simply adds to my knowledge about you?"
Amon kissed her hands. "If we had had breakfast at home, it would have been the same except no money would have been exchanged. I am the same man. The rest of Earth simply requires a different method for attainment of goods and services, that's all. Once we have returned to 101 Pemberley Place, you will have the same abundance as me, because you are equally capable, or even more so, to manifest anything you desire. I had only wished to explain that if this... well... I'm not sure what you would call it... grows, I would share any of my accumulated security blanket with you. You too would be safe, and able to be eccentric and rich. We'll just have to see, and I do not want to put any pressure on you. Please look at this as added knowledge. I think that is absolutely the best way, at this time."
"Thank you," Gillian said, smiling at Amon. "That helps a lot. Could I try that one?" she asked, pointing to the crepe with raspberry filling falling out of it and powdered sugar on top. "It looks really delicious."
Amon cut off a bite sized piece of the crepe, skewered it with his fork, put a hand beneath the piece to catch any drips, and held it out to Gillian. Gillian ate the bite off of Amon's fork. She smiled. It was even more delicious than she had imagined.
"Do you think that I could manifest any of these at home?" Gillian asked, pointing to another crepe, this time with blueberry filling, and eating it off of Amon's fork again.
"Yes, definitely," Amon said. "Just make sure you make a clear mental picture of exactly how they taste here. Then, we can have them every morning!"
"We," Gillian murmured, wiping some of the powdered sugar off of her face. She smiled at Amon. "I like it. I think that's what we are right now: we. It's fluid enough to not put pressure on either of us, but incredibly inclusive."
"We," Amon tried it. "I like it!" he exclaimed, taking a large bite of one of the crepes. "Wow! These are delicious! Now, I really want to have them for breakfast every morning!"
Gillian and Amon devoured the crepes. Gillian tried most of them, before coming entirely too full to have any more. Amon, however, seemed to be a bottomless pit, and easily finished the rest. "I guess my higher self is really hungry," Amon laughed as he finished.
"Monsieur," the server said, assuming the pair was finished eating. "Je suis heureux d'announcer que votre facture a ete payee par M. Loki. S'il vous plait prendre tout le temps dont vous avez besoin pour terminer votre repas, et dites-nous si vous voulez quelque chose d'autre." (tr. I am happy to report that your bill has been paid by Mr. Loki. Please take all the time you require to finish your meal, and let us know if you require anything else.)
