Stay (I Missed You)

Four

Hera rearranged the pillows on the couch, scooching her mother a little to the side so she could fluff up another pillow. Tonight at 11 PM, Zeus and her children were arriving at Kneebone. A week ago, Zeus asked her in a letter if he could come. Now that her children were on board, she decided that it was time. She already explained to them that there would be no Internet, no TV, barely any electricity, and they all had to sleep in Hera's childhood bedroom. She instructed everyone to learn the basics of ASL, such as signing their name and asking basic questions. Their fancy clothes were not permitted since the washer and dryer broke down years ago, so all clothes had to be washed in a bin with soap and hung on a clothesline. Oh, and it was cold. Regardless, Zeus booked the earliest flight to Saskatoon to see her as soon as possible.

Hera was nervous meeting Zeus again. Realistically, any couple would be delighted to be reunited with their loved one after days physically apart, but she wasn't ready to see him. She wasn't sure if she should return to her sassy queen behavior, or try out a new thing and show verbal affection like in her letters. If they had petty fights again, the children would definitely hear every word and derisive scoff through the walls. Before, Hera had countless screaming matches with Ixion since Rhea couldn't hear, but it was different now. So many things could go awry on this trip, and adding this to the stress of mother's situation, Hera would explode.

Zeus did seem to truly miss her though. A few weeks ago he almost begged in a letter for her to call him because he missed her voice so much. She used a payphone at a disgusting truck stop and talked with him for about an hour, then talked to the children. Unbeknownst to Zeus, she occasionally called her children and talked on the phone when she could. The letters to them were just for show, or stories about her childhood she wanted them to keep on paper. The thought of talking to Zeus for hours on end terrified her. Pouring her heart out to him was too uncomfortable for her, and for now she could only do it a little bit through writing. The comfort of being emotionally vulnerable with him only existed in the early years of their marriage, and rebuilding it sounded like too much risk for her.

Overall, Zeus hadn't picked many fights with her. It was difficult to do so in letters anyways, but the only time he was angry at her was when she sent him some tasteful Polaroid nudes of her at 20. They were taken right before she left Kneebone. She thought it would be amusing for him to see her younger body, but his reaction was the opposite she expected. Zeus being the jealous overreactor demanded to know who took those pictures and got to see her naked, but it seemed he got over it by himself in LA. As if he had the right to be jealous. Looking back, Hera assigned a little bit of the blame on herself. She'd known Zeus for years and should've known what would've peeved him off.

After Hera fluffed up the pillows for a second time, she went ahead and dusted everything in sight. She must have circled the living room five times because Rhea gave a yelp to catch her attention, and said Hera, why are you so nervous? It's okay. Everything is fine.

Hera set down the duster and kneeled in front of her mother. Mom, four important people are coming today. My husband and my three children.

Hera had put on makeup for the first time in weeks. Her waves were tied up in a ponytail and she was wearing the windbreaker suit along with her signature star dangle earrings from her younger days. Whenever Hera wore her old clothes, Rhea remembered more and more, but it was hard to have her connect to present-day Hera. One day, Hera showed her a letter Rhea had written her 14 years prior to jog her memory. She brought it to Kneebone in case she would need it. Mom, it says here that you wrote this. This is your handwriting. It says here "I am so happy to hear about your third child, a daughter. I always wanted a granddaughter. Hebe is such a beautiful name, I will cherish this photograph you gave me forever." Hebe is 14 now. You wrote this when she was just born. She will be coming soon, so you get to see her. Rhea replied that Hebe was indeed a beautiful name, and she couldn't wait to meet her. On some days, Hera's 90s attire didn't do much to help Rhea's memory, but those kinds of days were rare. It seemed like today was a good day. Rhea knew Hera's name, and she said she was excited for the big day. Hera prayed that her mother could keep this up till the nighttime.