Everyone in the restaurant, including Lucky, looked in Syph’s direction.

“Spaghetti,” said Steve. “Got it.” He bolted for the kitchen.

Lucky stood and started walking over to the table.

Bonnie whispered to Syph, “Be strong.”

He stood before them.

“Hi,” Bonnie said and immediately regretted it.

Syph pushed forth a smile. “Oh, hi, Lucky.”

He took a seat at the table, steepled his fingers, and frowned. “What are you doing here, Syph?”

She fiddled with her fork. “Nothing.”

Bonnie wondered if she should say something, but she decided to let the situation unfurl on its own. She would’ve excused herself, but she had a vested interest in how it turned out.

Lucky’s ears fell flat. “Syph…”

“We’re just having dinner,” replied the goddess lightly, unable to look in his direction. “This is Bonnie. She’s my follower.”

“Syph…”

“We’re allowed to have dinner!” said Syph a bit too eagerly. “I don’t care what that restraining order says.”

Caught in mid-drink, Bonnie sputtered and choked.

“We’ve been over this,” said Lucky. “I get North and South America, Asia, and Antarctica. You get Africa, Europe, and Australia.”

Syph spoke into her chest. “ Australia is barely a continent.”

“Fine. I’ll trade you Antarctica for Australia if it bothers you so much.”

“Whatever. I’ve been thinking. We’re two mature, immortal beings. We should be able to work this out in a reasonable way without all the drama, right?”

“We should,” said Lucky suspiciously.

“Honestly, I don’t even see what the big deal is. Maybe I overreacted a bit at first, but that was before I realized that you’ll come to your senses. Eventually. All I have to do is be patient.”

“Fine. Be patient. Just be patient somewhere else.”

Syph laughed. She tried to pass it off as casual and light, but it was forced and high-pitched.

“You always were a witty one.” She nodded at Janet. “Who is that?”

“Nobody,” said Lucky.

“Is she your date? Are you dating a mortal?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I can’t believe you’d actually stoop to dating a mortal.” Syph chuckled coldly and elbowed Bonnie in the ribs. “What century is this anyway?”

Bonnie made a noncommittal gruntish sort of noise.

Lucky forced an impatient smile. “She’s nice.”

“I’m sure she is,” said Syph. “She’s also doomed to dust.”

“Syph…”

The goddess threw up her hands. “It’s true, isn’t it? She is mortal, after all. They all find their way into the grave sooner or later. Usually sooner.”

Lucky stood on the chair, put his hands on the table, and leaned forward. “You’ll leave her alone.”

“Of course, of course. She seems lovely, doesn’t she, Bonnie?”

Bonnie stuck her beer in her mouth by way of reply.

Lucky’s fur bristled as an electrical crackle passed between the god and goddess. The dim lighting flickered.

The manager, a tall woman in a pantsuit, approached the table.

“I’m sorry. Is there a problem here?”

Bonnie expected the manager to be blasted to atoms by a withering glance from the god and goddess. Lucky and Syph both smiled.

“No problem.” He hopped off the chair. “Just a couple of old friends catching up. Nice to see you, Syph. Sorry you couldn’t stay longer.” He walked away, and all the divine energies dissipated from the atmosphere.

The manager exhaled, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. She made an offering of complimentary bread sticks to the goddess, but Bonnie turned them down. She grabbed Syph by the arm and dragged her out of the restaurant. Syph protested, but Bonnie ignored her. She knew it wasn’t at all wise to manhandle a goddess, but she didn’t care. She shoved Syph into the car and didn’t say another word until she’d driven a few miles away.

“I was actually looking forward to the spaghetti,” said Syph.

“What just happened in there?” Bonnie tried to keep the edge from her voice, but it didn’t work.

“I talked to him. Just like you wanted me to.”

“That wasn’t what I wanted.”

“It wasn’t?”

Bonnie was so distracted, she ran a red light and was nearly hit by a truck.

Syph suggested, “You might want to drive carefully when your passenger is a goddess of tragedy. You never know when a bus full of orphans is nearby.”

Bonnie pulled into a supermarket parking lot.

“What was that thing he mentioned? Something about a restraining order?”

“Oh, that.” Syph folded her arms and shrugged. “That’s nothing. Just a little misunderstanding, that’s all. I did some things, some embarrassing things. Maybe I overreacted when we had our problems. I admit that. Anyway, it’s not a restraining order per se. It’s more of a voluntary territorial division arbitrated by the Court of Divine Affairs.” Syph turned her head away and mumbled, “More silly than anything else.”

“What did you do?” asked Bonnie despite herself.

“Oh, I just kept him from making any mistakes until he realizes he really does love me. Lucky always did fancy the mortals a bit too much. I just helped him to understand how fleeting their affections were.”

“You’ve done this before, haven’t you? To him. That’s why he wasn’t surprised to see you.”

“It was your idea to talk to him,” said Syph. “Really, it’s your fault.”

“I notice you didn’t mention the restraining order-”

“Voluntary territorial division,” corrected the goddess.

“This is what you do? You follow this god around, ruining his love life, along with whatever random mortals you come across?”

“You make it sound so…”

“Pathetic?” interrupted Bonnie.

“The pursuit of love is never pathetic.”

Bonnie laid her head on the wheel and laughed for a solid minute.

“And to think that I was actually feeling sorry for you earlier tonight. Now I find out you’ve devoted your endless life to making everyone as miserable as you are.”

“You don’t understand, Bonnie. The path to true love is never easy. Not even for immortals. He loves me. I know he does, even if he doesn’t. If I can help him to realize that then everything will work out the way it was always meant to.”

“Okay, you’re creeping me out now. Do you have any idea how unbalanced that sounds? You can’t make someone love you.”

Syph chuckled lightly. “Don’t be absurd. Of course I can. I’m the goddess of love.”

“More like the goddess of stalkers,” replied Bonnie. “Did you ever stop to think that if you’d just let this go, stop fixating on this one rejection as the defining moment of your unending life, that you might be able to leave this trail of doom and gloom behind you? Maybe what happened to you has nothing to do with Lucky. Maybe it’s your own damned fault for refusing to move on.”

Syph’s brow furrowed. Her jaw clenched.

“You just don’t get it, do you? But you’ll see. I’ll show you.”

She stared straight ahead at a little old lady carrying a bag of groceries in front of the parked car. The bottom of the sack fell out, spilling oranges, a carton of eggs, and a jar of jelly that shattered on the pavement.

“Oh for cryin’…” Bonnie exited the car and helped the woman salvage what groceries she could. When she returned to the car, the goddess was gone. Gone, but not forgotten. The heaviness still weighed on Bonnie’s heart. And three words were burned into the pleather cushions of the passenger seat.

I’ll show you.