To see Hera looking absolutely radiant, as if she were glowing from the inside out, made Emily very happy. Wearing black elephant bell bottom slacks with a sleeveless white blouse tucked in to accent her small waist and large hips, her makeup was flawless on her tan skin, and she smelled like jasmine and lily. But the thing Emily noticed right away was that the wedding diamond she wore on her left ring finger was replaced with a gorgeous large star sapphire ring. “Yes, it is official that Zeus and I are finished. Hecate gave me this ring that belonged to her mother, Asteria, Titan of falling stars, to commemorate my release from my horrible marriage. After holding on for such a long time to something I never wanted in the first place, it is a relief to know that it’s done. Hecate has stated flat out that, if we survive the upcoming war, she is launching a revolution and she is taking the place that belonged to her all along as queen of heaven and earth. In many ways she has already taken back her crown. I have not heard anyone say that, if Zeus wants to do this the difficult way and start a war, they will side with him. Everybody adores Hecate. She is perhaps the only one of us that loves everyone and is loved by everyone in return. I cannot imagine anyone, even Ares, lifting a finger against her. I, for one, would be happy to assist her. She has said that She wants me to retain my title as Queen of Heaven and it will be my job to keep Zeus from her throne when she isn’t in Olympus. I have so much hatred in my heart for him, I think I would tear him apart with both hands if he gave me one reason to do it! I know I will need to work through that hatred eventually but if it helps me for now, I’ll hold on to it.”
“I am so happy to see you like this! That sparkle in your eyes is beautiful to watch. I was very worried about you the first time you came in here. You looked so beaten down. Now you look completely different in the best way. You’ve taken your power back. And that’s beautiful.”
Hera smiled brilliantly. “Thank you. Olympians have never divorced before. If a deity wanted to leave their spouse, they just left. But the connection is never truly severed. Hecate and I are changing that. From here on out, if a deity in Olympus wants a divorce, she has only to speak with Hecate about it and then the proceedings will go through Athena to ensure a just and fair split and then it is done. I am keeping my title as the Goddess of Marriage and Children but I will be adding to it things from the other side of that coin and the day of my divorce, I will also be crowned the Goddess of Divorce and Divorced Women as well as Single Mothers.”
“Really?” Emily questioned, genuinely surprised. “I didn’t realize that you could do that...take on new roles, I mean.”
“Hecate is already making some wonderful changes, including that. She has been around humans, closely watching them all of these years, and she knows better than most of us how the world down here has changed. While it is a great fight, and one we are eager to join, we all have our hope that this world will revert back to being a matriarchy as we all intended it to be. So long as all of you human women can push back the ugliest forms of this patriarchy while it makes its last stand, we believe that women may yet be able to save your world. But you must fight. Do not let those terrible men, all of them with a bit of Zeus inside of them, win their ridiculous war against you...and against nature Herself.” Hera shook her head as she pushed her hair back from her face in a gesture that reminded Emily of Athena. Hera smiled a sad smile as soon as Emily mentally took note of the similarities in the gestures. “Ah, speaking of Athena...Once the divorce is done, I would love to come here and tell her how very sorry I am for the way that I treated her. I want to wait until the divorce is final, though, because it won’t mean anything to her if she thinks I am simply trying to get her to side with me in the proceedings and I need her to know with all of her heart that I mean it. I am truly sorry. There are many I owe apologies to, including Aphrodite, but none more than sweet Athena. I know how important words are, how they can heal when someone acknowledges the wrong they have done to you, and if I can lighten Athena’s spirit in any way with my apology, I need to do that.”
Emily handed Hera a tissue for her tears as she marveled at the transformation that a few therapy sessions had over the Goddess. Emily felt it was a case of ‘right place, right time’, really. Hera was done with her marriage, done with the abuse, done with the lack of love...and Emily was just the person who listened to her long enough for her to come to that realization. “I would love to be here for both of you when you tell her what’s in your heart.”
Hera nodded and then she perked up. “Oh, and congratulations on the demi-human you are growing in your womb! Olympus is all abuzz with the news! Hecate said my daughter Eileithyia will assist in your labor and that she, Hecate I mean, will be the one to monitor your pregnancy since demi-humans can grow in an unpredictable way and human doctors are not equipped to handle it. I am very excited for you! I agree with your anger over the way that you heard the news but I am glad that you and Hermes made up. He is a good boy. He is much better than his father ever was!”
Emily was surprised to hear Hera mention her pregnancy but she smiled, saying softly, “Thank you for the congratulations. I am excited but…”
“Apprehensive?” Hera offered when Emily couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence. “I understand that. It has been a very long time since a demi-human was born and carrying one can be an ordeal for a human woman. From what I understand, they often grow larger, quicker, they take much more out of the mother...I even heard once that Hercules’s mother ate as if she were eating for four because she was constantly hungry and tired carrying him. But each one is different. With Hecate by your side, I am sure you will be fine. We will have to have some sort of celebration...like the humans do..like a baby shower. A gender reveal would be silly for us because once the gender forms, we will all know...Oh, do you want us to tell you or are you one of those foolish humans that wish to wait and be surprised with gender neutral colors all over the place?”
Emily chuckled, trying to accept that, because of the situation, the Olympians would always know everything about her child before she did. “I want to know. But I would like you to warn me before you blurt it out.”
“So don’t ask Aphrodite to tell you, then?” Hera asked. They both had a good laugh over that.
“Exactly! I won’t bother giving you an appointment time. I’ve learned that it’s pointless. I would like to know when your divorce is over. I cannot wait for you to be free. Whenever you are ready for your session with Athena…”
“She will be seeing you soon. Could you ask her about the session? Ask her to meet me so I can tell her I am sorry?”
Hera seemed so uncertain in that moment, as if her fragile newfound confidence was shaking a bit, and Emily couldn’t tell her no. “If I see her before you see me, yes, I will ask her.”
Hera’s smile returned as she stood up to shake Emily’s hand. “Very well. Thank you so much, doctor. Good luck with the baby. I’ll see you soon.”
“Good luck with the divorce and taking on your new roles. No matter what Zeus may do now, it doesn’t matter, because you have finally found the strength and the real you. Don’t forget that. I don’t think he will let you go without any sort of fight so even if he comes to screw a girl on your lap, don’t let him get to you.”
“He can fuck whomever he pleases...just like when we were married.” Again, Hera laughed at her own joke while she left the office, the new bounce in her step was evident to Emily. It was a shame that it took so long, that it took until the world was on the brink of ending, for this beautiful Goddess to find herself. If it took thousands of years for a Goddess to leave a terrible marriage, it was harder to imagine how any woman anywhere managed it. But Emily had a feeling that now, with Hera taking care of such women, they had a better chance at walking away and building new lives.
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