Poseidon and Sally: Love Story

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Percy sat on the park bench, ten years old, and scowling.

Because his mother had decided to take him out today – she had promised, actually. But then stupid, idiotic Smelly Gabe decided to tag along. His mother seemed to relent quickly for him to come, too. That did more to anger Percy. For a ten year old, Percy Jackson had an oddly short fuse, temper wise. His Mom, Sally, had gone to go and get Percy an ice cream, and had left Gabe to look after him. Of course, Gabe being Gabe, had left Percy by the bench – after making him swear not to move a centimetre – to go and talk to one of his poker buddies he recognised across the park.

Which made Percy left alone, sat on the bench, and practically boiling with anger. He kicked at a pine cone by his feet, kicking it too hard eventually, and sighing as it rolled out of his foot's reach. Percy folded his arms, kicking his feet alternately and throwing his head back in exasperation. Where had his mother got to?

'Do you mind if I sit here?'

He looked up to see a familiar looking man staring down at him curiously. He was smiling and wearing a Hawaiian shirt . . . Percy felt he had seen him before. There was that weird feeling he got sometimes. Like somebody was watching him, and he just couldn't see them. But he shuffled aside on the bench and said a relenting, 'Sure. Go ahead.'

The man sat next to him and Percy glanced at him cautiously. His mother would more than likely shout herself hoarse if she heard he had let a stranger sit next to him. But this was different. This man seemed familiar. It was as though he gave an aura of familiarity to Percy, in fact. Percy couldn't help the nudging question from pouring from his mouth.

'You seem familiar.'

He smiled at Percy widely and Percy relaxed a little. 'So do you,' said the man, seeming amused by Percy's words. 'Maybe we've run into each other before.'

Percy thought deeply for a second. Some memories seemed triggered by this man's face, but he couldn't bring them to the surface. He frowned and shook his head. 'Sorry. I don't remember. But you do seem familiar.' The man smiled again, and Percy couldn't help but smile wryly, shielding his eyes from the sunlight as he looked up to talk to the man.

'I shouldn't really talk to you,' he said. 'My Mom doesn't like me talking to strangers. And Gabe will be back soon.'

'Gabe?' asked the man, his smile lessening slightly. 'Is he your step-father?'

'Yeah,' said Percy, his eyes narrowing. 'How do you know that?'

The man shrugged. 'I have good instincts, I guess. But this Gabe – do you like him?'

Percy glanced around, checking that Gabe was nowhere near – his Mom too, thinking about it – and then sighed. 'No, I hate Gabe. He's horrible. He – he smells.'

This made the man laugh loudly, and Percy felt like laughing too when he did.

'Good description,' he said. 'I can imagine him well. Is he nice to you?'

Percy laughed – well, snorted really – bitterly. 'No. Gabe hates me. He just wants me out of the house, most of the time. He wants me to go a boarding school that's even further away than the one I go to now.'

'Maybe that's for your own good,' said the man slowly, turning to look away, glancing at the sky momentarily – almost warily. 'Maybe boarding school would be good for you.'

Percy snorted again. 'Do you think that I'm an idiot as well?'

'No,' said the man, sounding so surprisingly firm that Percy looked at him curiously. 'You're not stupid.'

'But I am,' Percy insisted, folding his arms and staring into the distance, where he could still see Gabe talking to his stupid poker buddy. Percy hated Gabe's friends, too. They all smelt, and they all kicked Percy out of the living room during the holidays when he wanted to watch TV. The only reassurance after these events would be when his mother brought him blue lemonade. It made Percy happy to know that secretly, he was disobeying Gabe's stupid thoughts by even drinking the stuff. 'I have ADHD and I'm dyslexic. That doesn't really make me top of the class, does it?'

The man seemed amused by this, again. 'Perhaps those things will come in handy, one day.'

'Doubt it,' muttered Percy, scuffing his trainers along the gravel path. He heard an intake of breath, guessing that the man was going to say something else, but then he heard another voice that was most certainly not his. Because he knew whose it was instantly. Percy looked up to see his mother, looking shocked.

'Pos –' she started, before catching herself and shaking her head. 'Percy, where's Gabe?'

Percy shrugged and pointed in the general direction of Gabe. He could still sort of smell him. He wrinkled his nose at the thought.

'Dumped me for that creepy guy who ate the pizza off the floor, he said to wait here.'

Sally Jackson pursed her lips, her gaze darting from Percy to the man she thought about at least once a day. It was hard not to, seeing as how he was the father of her – their child. Percy. She yearned to tell him, now, but Poseidon was giving her a look, as if he knew what she was thinking.

'Er, whose this, Percy?' she asked instead. Percy glanced up at the man sat next to him and turned back to his mother.

'I don't know. He's nice, though.'

Sally almost sighed with the innocence of her son. His naivety – he didn't know what kind of people were after him. For once, the idea of Camp Half-Blood almost appealed to her, in the way that she knew Percy would be safe, safe from trouble and informed of what to do in bad situations where his God of a father wasn't there to save him. . .

'Really?' asked Sally, raising one eyebrow. Poseidon smiled at her almost sheepishly, and as she went to say something else – she dreaded to think what – she caught a whiff of the smell that had encouraged her to get married in the first place. It smelt of stale beer and potato chips. Gabe.

A voice in her head – sounding suspiciously like Percy's – said Smelly Gabe. Sally almost laughed at the thought.

'Who's this?' asked – no, demanded, really – Gabe, pointing accusingly at Poseidon. Sally felt the need to defend him – how dare he just talk to him like that? He was – he was Percy's father! And . . . and . . .

Sally felt the urge for Poseidon to lift the water of the fountain near them and dump it onto Gabe. But Poseidon had stood up, looking – Sally noticed – almost longingly, at Percy, before looking at Gabe – she noticed the look of disgust in his eyes and almost laughed again. Almost.

'Sorry. I just needed somewhere to sit down.' He nodded at Percy. 'It was nice to meet you, Percy.' He gave Sally a nod, his eyes glinting familiarly. Sally found herself smiling at him as he walked down the path, past the fountain . . . and then he was out of sight.

'Rude,' muttered Gabe. Percy was frowning, and as Sally passed him his ice cream, he looked up at her curiously.

'Mom,' he said quietly, obviously not wanting Gabe to hear. To be honest, Sally didn't blame him. She hated Gabe as much as Percy. Perhaps more. After all, she had to share a bed with him every night . . . she cringed at the thought. 'Mom, I didn't tell that guy my name.'

Sally nodded. 'It's OK. He – it doesn't matter, Percy.'

Percy accepted it and carried on walking, but Sally didn't miss the looks of confusion in her son's eyes. Gabe barged forwards, standing in between Percy and Sally. Sally tried not to glare at him. Percy did it enough for her, anyway. As they approache the fountain, Gabe glanced down at Percy's ice cream and snorted.

'Blue? What is it, bubblegum? Doesn't ruddy exist, I say.'

Sally exchanged a look with her son, who looked about ready to shove his ice cream in Gabe's face. Thankfully, Percy seemed to gain his cool, but suddenly, one of the spouts of water from the fountain lurched far more forwards than it usually did, and squirted into Gabe's face – namely his eyes. Percy looked astonished for a moment before starting to laugh. Sally had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. Gabe glared at her son, and started to mutter a string of curse words. Sally threw him a disapproving look and raised a finger to her lips while facing Percy. He stifled his laughs slightly, but didn't stop completely.

That was enough for her.

She glanced back as they passed the fountain, towards the way they had just left. Poseidon was stood there, smiling as he watched his son carry on.

And Sally found herself smiling back.