Summer in Montauk

Confessions of A Real-Life God

I drive up to Don't posh mansion, feeling out of place in my beat up car and dirty Converse. The entire house gives out an air of perfection and cleanliness, not from hard work, but from Don't wealth. I walk up to the door, and before I can even knock, the door is pulled open by Don. "Come on in," he says, gesturing to the inside of the house.

I walk in, wondering whether to slip off my shoes before I step onto his immaculate hardwood floor. I decide to just keep going until we make it to the open floor plan kitchen/living room area. I sit down on a bar stool, and Don settles into an armchair. "So, what do you want to tell me?"

I might as well get straight to the point. I fidget and slightly spin in the steel bar chair. There's no sense in beating around the bush, even if I'm having second thoughts about telling him before I adjust. "Well... I'm pregnant," I eventually sputter out.

Don looks shocked. The blood drains out of his face, but for some reason, he doesn't look overly shocked. He starts muttering to himself, and then he looks at me, his face filled with sorrow. "I promised myself that I wouldn't do this to you."

"What do you mean? This baby..." I trail off.

"I'm going to tell you something. And you need to know that it's the truth." Don starts. "This child is only going to have a hard life. He will be forced to be a hero from a young age, due to my... background in greek mythology. You know about that, but what you don't know is who I am, and how I tie into all of that. Well, the truth is... I'm a god, Sally."

The entire world is quiet for a moment. I can hear my heart beating, but in a way, it all made sense. "Who exactly are you?" I asked hesitantly.

"I am Poseidon, god of the sea," he says. This time, a sharp breath of air escapes my mouth. In a way, it all makes sense: we met at the beach, he fought with a trident, and is extremely powerful. But Poseidon is an extremely powerful God, one of the three huge gods. What would be of the baby?

"My brother, Zeus, doesn't approve of our relationship, even when we were only friends. Right after World War I, Zeus, Hades, and I all promised we wouldn't have any more children, they're too powerful. We need to keep this child hidden, at least for a while. I want to protect you both."

"I..." I'm overwhelmed with information. I don't know how to respond to this. I can see a baby I don't even know, dead on the ground, from a monster, a god, or any other reason at all. I feel a lump form in my throat, and my picture of Don, the baby, and me as a happy family flit away.

"I won't be able to stay with you forever. But I'll stay, for as long as I can, okay?" He pulls me in for a hug, and I nod into his shoulder. He strokes my hair, and it feels so natural. I realize that we can still feel a bit of normalcy. I can wait a while to mull over all of the other "god" stuff.

I look up at his face and grin. "I'm still calling you Don."