Jennie's visits to Kalonice Fine Arts became a weekly affair after that. She maintained a standing appointment at 12:15 every Tuesday to see Lisa and browse the gradually less and less crowded back room of the gallery.
And, each time, she brought a gift.
One week it was new maternity clothes. The next, fresh fruit from the farmer's market Expensive oil paints, jewelery, baby clothes and bassinets, it was always something. By the end of July, Jennie had spent close to half a million dollars on art, and thousands in gifts for Lisa, which the younger woman accepted with ever increasing reluctance.
On Olympus, meanwhile, Jennie's acquisitions had spilled out of her sitting room, and now decorated nearly every part of her grand hall. Behind close doors, their Queen's obsession with mortal art was the talk of the gods.
Hermes and Dionysus giggled about it behind her back, the Muses has begun to fear Jennie was angling for their domain, and Hephaestus and Jennie's other children were close to wit's end with concern for their mother's sanity. Finally, he went to the only person he could trust to talk to her. The only person he hoped might be able to help.
"Yes, it's quite lovely," Athena said, regal in her classic white robe and simple, silver crown as she walked alongside Jennie through the corridor,
"This is a vista of Venice, correct? One of my favorite places to visit."
"Isn't it great? The artist is from San Francisco, and only visited Venice once, but look how well she captured its essence."
"Indeed. So, I must ask, what's the inspiration behind this newfound...obsession?"
"Call it a whim, I suppose. You know I've always enjoyed the arts."
"Sure."
"And I suppose I've been...inspired, lately"By what, if I may ask?"
"I...I'm not really sure."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but father had a liaison with an art dealer in California recently, did he not?"
"He...he did."
"Is she the source of these...acquisitions?"
"I..." They had reached the sitting room, whose walls bore more resemblance to a gallery than a home now. The goddesses took a seat on adjacent cushions. "I went there to assess her, as I do."
"Of course."
"Most of Zeus' mortal conquests, they're..."
"Simple?"
"I was going to say repulsive, but Lisa, she's different. Smart, creative, entertaining."
"That hardly sounds like father's type," Athena grinned.
"Precisely! So many of them fawned over him like school girls, whether they knew who he was before or after he'd knocked them up. But for her, it was just a mistake in a moment of
weakness. I think, even if she knew who he was, she wouldn't care."
"So, you saw fit to show her mercy?"
"Yes."
"Then why keep visiting her? If art were your interest, Jennie, you have the means to buy the Louvre and make it your own playground. Why stick to that little gallery? Why her?"
"Perhaps I just like granting attention to the lesser known artists."
"Then what of those in Iowa? Or subsaharan Africa? What of those unable to even show in a gallery in the first place?"
"I..."
"Is there no other reason, Jennie?"
"I...I don't know."
