Chez Jackson

                                    

                                          
   Tyson came over to the chez Jackson at least once a week. Sally would fuss over him, Paul would badger him with questions about the people he'd met, Percy would ask about sailing, and Estelle would ask about the things he saw. There was even talk about him moving in. Percy hoped it would happen; he'd never had a brother before, but he liked it. 
                          
    One evening when Tyson was over, he announced he was getting married. "To whom?" Percy asked. 
                          
      "Ella," Tyson answered. 
                          
      "Old Phineas' slave girl?" Paul asked. 
                          
      Tyson's jaw set at the mention of Phineas. He was an old man who had once been a seer, but now was believed by nobody. He was blind and lived in a large house. His favorite things to do were yell at his slaves and whack them if they didn't get him food fast enough (which was most of the time since he had the patience of a god). "Phineas is a bad man," Tyson said. "Ella is good. She is smart and pretty. She taught herself to read. She says she'll teach me how."
                          
    Paul blinked in interest. "She taught herself to read?"
                          
     Tyson smiled proudly. "Yes, she did."
                          
     "How?" Percy said, remembering how frustratingly the words had swam before him at first . 
                          
     Tyson shrugged. "She is smart."
                          
    Paul let out a low whistle. "You can say that again. Athena must have blessed her with a sharp mind."
                          
      Percy smiled. It seemed the men in his family had a type: intelligent women. Estelle burped. "Scuse me," she said. 
                          
    The adults exchanged warm smiles. "How did you meet Ella?" Percy asked.
                          
     His brother furrowed his brow as he tried to remember. "It was after a hard day of work," he recalled. "I went to the taverna, the one run by Hestia, to get a bite of food. I saw Ella there with Phineas. He makes her walk alongside him as if she is his Antigone or Ismene, his walking sticks in old age."
                          
      "Phineas was rude as usual," Tyson continued, "and Ella looked downright miserable. Well, I don't blame her. Phineas is the meanest-spirited man I've ever met. May he go to Tartarus!"
                          
     Percy chuckled, but Sally threw Tyson a look. "Let's not curse at the dinner table," she said.
                          
    Tyson nodded. Sally had the ability to make people want to obey her (not that they always did so). "I shared my dinner that night with Ella. While Phineas was busy eating, we talked and I realized she was the most remarkable person I've ever met. I wanted to know her better, so I kept frequenting the taverna. One day, I met her at the agora, so I started going there too, walking around and pretending to be looking for goods to purchase when all I wanted to see was her."
                          
     Percy's lips stretched to the sky. Tyson's words made him think of Annabeth. He closed his eyes and he could see the steely glint of intelligence in her eyes, the blonde curls falling from underneath her pallas, her back straight and proud. He wished he could be with her now. 
                          
    What he wouldn't give to have her eating dinner with his family right now. His mother would fawn over her, Paul and Annabeth would make intellectual small talk, Tyson would compliment her, and Estelle would probably say something embarrassing. Percy smiled; it all sounded perfect in his head. "Why are you smiling strangely?" Tyson asked, cutting off Percy's daydream.
                          
     Percy wiped the smile off his face. "I'm not smiling."
                          
     "You were," Tyson said. "You had this big, goofy grin on your face and your eyes were all soft like mist over the Mediterranean."
                          
    "Your eyes did look like that, dear," Sally agreed. "Is it the priestess?"
                          
     "What?" Percy said. "Of course not!"
                          
       Sally smiled, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Denial is the first stage towards accepting love."
                          
     Paul smirked. "When I first met you, I knew I wanted to be your husband."
                          
    Sally smiled back, her blue eyes slight with mischief.  "Well, some men are more mature than others."
                          
     "Hey!" Percy protested. 
                          
     "Not you," Sally said. "I am speaking about your father. His first words to me were, 'that's my fishing net you got in your hands.' I was just trying to help him."
                          
     Tyson snorted. "Sounds like dad. My mother told me he had a mood as changeable as the sea."
                          
    Sally nodded, her eyes misting up as she was caught between the sadness and joy that came with remembering. Estelle broke the fragile moment by spilling her bowl of soup. "Estelle!" Sally exclaimed, but there was no force in her chastisement. 
                          
     Estelle met her mother's gaze. "Oops."
                          
     Percy got up to grab a cloth rag. He found two by the hearth and returned to the table. The soup had spilled over the side of the table and was now dripping onto the floor, a puddle already formed. "Can I help?" Estelle asked. 
                          
     Percy handed one of the rags to his duster and pressed his own, using it to mop up the spilled soup. Estelle copied him, more slowly, but her mouth curling as she realized she was doing it right. When the rags were soaking wet, Tyson took them and handed Percy and Estelle clean rags which he had wetted with water. They used it to wash the remnants of soup from the floor and table. 
                          
      When Percy and Estelle finished, their mother gave them a wide smile. "I'm grateful to have such wonderful kids."
                          
     Her warm gaze swept the room, landing on Percy, then Estelle, then Tyson. "You three are all so considerate."
                          
      "Yeah, me nice!" Estelle said proudly. "I clean good!"
                          
      Paul leaned over to ruffle his daughter's hair. "Yes, you clean very well."
                          
     Estelle was grinning, loving the attention. Then, her stomach growled loudly. She shifted. "I'm hungry. Can I have another bowl of soup?"
                          
     Everyone laughed and Sally got up to ladle another bowl of soup for Estelle. Estelle quickly thanked her mother. This time, she was careful and didn't spill a single drop.