Harold stared at Aphrodite, the goddess of love and felt his satiated penis rise to life again. Her luscious body was covered by transparent gauze like dress which left showed more than it covered. Her creamy breasts were topped by large red nipples that reminded him fresh cherries and the blazing mound demanded his undivided attention.
He licked his dry lips and tried to focus on the issue at hand and not at the voluptuous vision emanating such raw sexual energy that he wanted to overlook his instinct to grab his daughter and Melissa and get the hell out of the cabin.
Pushing his daughter behind him, he crossed his arms across his chest and stared at Aphrodite bravely and yet a part of him felt like a hare in front of a hungry mountain cat.
Clearing his throat he said "I think an introduction is in order. Yes, I am Psyche's father and you are?"
Dismissing him with a cold look, Aphrodite said to Psyche, "The number you stated was correct and I am surprised that you were able to finish the task. Now for the second one, you have to get me wool from the sheep that graze near the stream down the hill."
Then she smiled and her eyes seemed to harden as she stated "Further more, the wool has to be from the males and not females. Easy task and I will see you tomorrow night."
Harold was not used to being dismissed and spoke up "Hey Lady, before telling my daughter what to do how about talking to her father?"
Aphrodite's beautiful face seemed to cloud over with anger and her hair came alive like angry hissing snakes. She approached Harold, gliding across the floor as if not touching it. As the distance between them reduced, he felt his hackles rise and his heart began to race. He stood his ground and reminded himself that he had faced enough bullies since his childhood and she was just another bully trying out the intimidating tactics that he was familiar with and had incorporated in his persona.
Folding his arms, legs apart, he refused to budge and faced her like a fearless lion willing to subjugate an angry lioness. She moved close enough to breathe on his face and struck her venom with the precision of a cobra "You are a fine father to talk about parenthood. You, who had taken your own daughter to bed."
A deafening silence fell in the room. A gasp escaped from Psyche and she stuttered in a little girl voice "What is she talking about Daddy?"
Harold clenched his teeth and spoke to Psyche without taking his eyes off the all knowing eyes of Aphrodite "She is lying to you darling, nothing ever happened between me and your sister."
Walking back towards the mirror, Aphrodite touched the jewel that opened the portal and before flashing through it she said to Psyche in a soft deadly voice "Ask him what was so devastating that drove your mother to take her life."
With that she left the room with the same blinding light that indicated her exit.
Blind rage engulfed his being and he picked up a chair to shatter the mirror. Lunging towards it he was about to throw it when Psyche held him back and took the chair away from him.
His shoulders drooped and he no longer seemed like a man who could take on the world – just an old man who was about to face up to a dark and buried secret from his storied life.
He stumbled and then sat down on Psyche's bed heavily. Rubbing a shaking hand across his temples he began to speak "Your mother was such a fragile woman, not only in appearance but also emotionally."
Psyche stood over her father and asked his stooped figure "What has that got to do with Cybil?"
He raised a pleading hand and said "Please listen to me. I've already lost one daughter and don't want to lose another."
Psyche nodded and turned and looked at Melissa who was tip toeing out of the room and said "Stay Meme, I want you to hear all of it as my psychiatrist."
Melissa felt a bit uncomfortable but decided to be a silent audience and not judge Harold by her own past experiences. She leaned against the wall and listened to Harold's confession.
Psyche sat down next to her father and said "You better explain yourself Dad."
Crossing his legs Harold began to talk "Your mom was delicate both physically and mentally. But as a young man I did not know how ill she really was. Her fragile beauty coupled with what I thought to be an intriguing brooding quality had enthralled the callow youth that I was. Your grandfather had tried to warn me about her mental condition but I was in love. Ah - young love blinds the best of us. Our marriage was happy till the honeymoon and then paranoia set in. She thought I had affairs with anything that wore a skirt, from chamber maids to the women who worked in my firm."
He sighed and held his head in his hands and continued gruffly "I tried my best to be a good husband. But she began to lose touch with reality. Her psychiatrist wanted to admit her in an institution but my selfish love wouldn't let her go. I continued to share her bed despite her taunts, sullen silences and threats of suicide. Was it love or lust for a female body?"
Getting up from the bed he began to pace around the room, picked up a photo frame stared at blindly and continued "By the time you girls were teenagers our marriage was over. She was no more than a ghost, flitting around like a lost wraith in her own home. You do remember that don't you sweetheart?"
