That made her eyebrow lift even higher. “You do?”
“Yeah, when I know I’m wrong. And I’m not one of those people who don’t understand how time works.” He’d seen a millennia of progress in the world, after all. “See?” He fished out his own phone from his pocket. “I have one too.”
“And who do gods call, exactly?”
“Don’t you know, no one calls anymore?” He grinned at her. “We all text nowadays, grandma.”
That earned him the faintest hint of a smile, just a tiny tug of the corner of her mouth.
One more win for my side.
“What are you looking at, by the way? Scrolling through Instagram? Watching funny videos on TikTok?”
“Ugh, no. Why would I waste my time on that?” She pulled up her screen and showed it to him. “If you must know, I’m rewatching a favorite movie.”
“Which one?”
“Midnight Garden.”
Apollo had heard of the award-winning film that had been released a few years ago. It was a heavy biopic and had gotten a lot of praise from audiences and even the hardest-to-please critic, as well as won most of the major award shows. “Oh really? I didn’t think you’d be the type to watch that.”
“Is that so?” Geri’s tone shifted. “What, you don’t think a girl like me could be into serious stuff?”
Oh fuck. He had once again put his foot in his mouth. “N-no, not at all.” Damn it. “Sorry, I just thought you’d be into action flicks.”
“I do like action movies,” she said. “Actually, I like all kinds of movies.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yup. I even have a subscription to an app where I can watch an unlimited amount of movies at the theater. It’s how I spend most of my days off.”
“By yourself?”
“Yup,” she said, popping her Ps.
“Well, if you ever need any company, I’d be happy to join.” Then, just to show her that he wasn’t such a ‘grandpa,’ he added something he’d heard the other day. “We can Netflix and chill.”
Geri’s eyes grew wide. “E-excuse me?”
“Yeah.” After all, it was much cozier to watch a movie at home than in some theater with other people around. “I’ll even bring the popcorn.”
Once again, the corner of her mouth quirked up. “I?—”
“Pardon me.” A servant came up to them, interrupting Geri. “Ms. Andersen, you said that I was to bring you any concerns about the reception.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“We’ve run out of chairs for some of the guests,” the servant said. “And I’m afraid we don’t have any spare ones.”
“What’s wrong?” Persephone asked, leaning toward them.
The servant repeated her words. “I’m afraid we’ve used all the available seating, my queen.”
Persephone placed a hand over her chest. “Oh dear. Let me?—”
“No, no, it’s your big day.” Geri stood up. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I know where the extra chairs are.” Apollo offered. “They’re in the linen closet.” He recalled seeing stacks of folding chairs there.