might move to Long Island, too.
“So?” Eros asked as soon as Ryan disappeared.
Sybil blushed but the three of us stared her down. “I’m not the only one who had an interesting evening,” she protested. “What about you? You spent half the night with Beliel.”
Eros rolled her eyes. “What about Lily? What about her Aruba fling showing up like that?”
Sybil’s eyes became very large and dark with worry. “What if that happened to me? If one of my Aruba flings showed up at the party and I was there with Vincent . . .”
Eros waved her hand. “It won’t happen. You had actual flings. Even if they did show up in New York, they wouldn’t have been at that party.”
“But Lily’s was,” Sybil protested. “Is he a demon?”
“He’s not a demon,” I told them. “He’s a ceremonial magician, or so Azoked said. And I really don’t know what he wants or why he’s here, but he seems to be hanging out with Hatuman, which could be dangerous.”
“Do you have a date with him?” Desi demanded.
I hung my head in shame. “But that’s only because I promised Meph that I’d look into what’s going on politically,” I protested.
Desi patted my shoulder, since she was sitting next to me. “It’s okay. You can admit to having a date. He’s very attractive and he was wearing Helmut Lang. And besides, you need a little fun and pampering now.”
“And there’s no reason to be ashamed,” Eros added. “If you want to go out and have a good time and forget the creep who treated you badly, that’s the best thing you could do. I, for one, am all for it. If I’d thought of it, I’d have sent him a ticket myself.”
“I’m seeing him,” I admitted. “But he’s only here until Tuesday. And what about Sybil? What’s up with Vincent?”
But we were thrown into silence again as Ryan arrived with a busboy and four huge, steaming plates. Waffles and French toast swimming in syrup, fruit stuffings, chopped walnuts sprinkled on top. And our Bellinis, which always make life and embarrassment easier to endure.
Not only did we not talk in front of the waiters, but we were too engrossed in our food to waste a moment on chat. Brunch at Public is delicious and while gluttony is a guilty pleasure, it is a pleasure indeed; for a mortal sin, it’s fairly low-level. Pride, lust, and greed are the power trifecta in Hell, and sins like gluttony and vanity are at the bottom of the list. Sloth and wrath are in the middle, respectable enough for a demon to admit to the specialization, but they’re never going to catapult anyone into the higher ranks.
Though, truth to tell, with the rising rates of obesity in the world, the gluttony demons are starting to organize and demand some respect. We had always discounted them as losers who couldn’t manage a real sin, and here they were slowly taking over the world and causing more death and misery and despair than the big three. Quite a shake-up in the boardroom. Perhaps Meph will be able to come out of the closet as a fan of gluttony any day now.
Or not.
“Okay, Sybil, spill,” I said when I had finished half my Bellini. I gestured to Ryan to get us all another round. I thought Syb might need it.
“Really, there’s nothing to tell,” Sybil said to her plate. “Vincent and I are dating now. The only thing different is that it’s official, that’s all. He’s still a doorman at Lily’s building, he’s still working on his Level Three qualifying courses, and plans to take Level Four as soon as he passes the exams for Three. That’s it. No big announcements.”
“Yet,” Desi said, her eyes gleaming.
Sybil shook her head and her soft honey-blond waves fluttered around her shoulders. “Not yet. Not now, anyway. We’re just going to see how it goes. Where it goes. He hasn’t been a demon very long, but if he doesn’t make at least upper tier in a year or so we may have to rethink this. I think he’s still traditional enough that it would be very hard for
“So?” Eros asked as soon as Ryan disappeared.
Sybil blushed but the three of us stared her down. “I’m not the only one who had an interesting evening,” she protested. “What about you? You spent half the night with Beliel.”
Eros rolled her eyes. “What about Lily? What about her Aruba fling showing up like that?”
Sybil’s eyes became very large and dark with worry. “What if that happened to me? If one of my Aruba flings showed up at the party and I was there with Vincent . . .”
Eros waved her hand. “It won’t happen. You had actual flings. Even if they did show up in New York, they wouldn’t have been at that party.”
“But Lily’s was,” Sybil protested. “Is he a demon?”
“He’s not a demon,” I told them. “He’s a ceremonial magician, or so Azoked said. And I really don’t know what he wants or why he’s here, but he seems to be hanging out with Hatuman, which could be dangerous.”
“Do you have a date with him?” Desi demanded.
I hung my head in shame. “But that’s only because I promised Meph that I’d look into what’s going on politically,” I protested.
Desi patted my shoulder, since she was sitting next to me. “It’s okay. You can admit to having a date. He’s very attractive and he was wearing Helmut Lang. And besides, you need a little fun and pampering now.”
“And there’s no reason to be ashamed,” Eros added. “If you want to go out and have a good time and forget the creep who treated you badly, that’s the best thing you could do. I, for one, am all for it. If I’d thought of it, I’d have sent him a ticket myself.”
“I’m seeing him,” I admitted. “But he’s only here until Tuesday. And what about Sybil? What’s up with Vincent?”
But we were thrown into silence again as Ryan arrived with a busboy and four huge, steaming plates. Waffles and French toast swimming in syrup, fruit stuffings, chopped walnuts sprinkled on top. And our Bellinis, which always make life and embarrassment easier to endure.
Not only did we not talk in front of the waiters, but we were too engrossed in our food to waste a moment on chat. Brunch at Public is delicious and while gluttony is a guilty pleasure, it is a pleasure indeed; for a mortal sin, it’s fairly low-level. Pride, lust, and greed are the power trifecta in Hell, and sins like gluttony and vanity are at the bottom of the list. Sloth and wrath are in the middle, respectable enough for a demon to admit to the specialization, but they’re never going to catapult anyone into the higher ranks.
Though, truth to tell, with the rising rates of obesity in the world, the gluttony demons are starting to organize and demand some respect. We had always discounted them as losers who couldn’t manage a real sin, and here they were slowly taking over the world and causing more death and misery and despair than the big three. Quite a shake-up in the boardroom. Perhaps Meph will be able to come out of the closet as a fan of gluttony any day now.
Or not.
“Okay, Sybil, spill,” I said when I had finished half my Bellini. I gestured to Ryan to get us all another round. I thought Syb might need it.
“Really, there’s nothing to tell,” Sybil said to her plate. “Vincent and I are dating now. The only thing different is that it’s official, that’s all. He’s still a doorman at Lily’s building, he’s still working on his Level Three qualifying courses, and plans to take Level Four as soon as he passes the exams for Three. That’s it. No big announcements.”
“Yet,” Desi said, her eyes gleaming.
Sybil shook her head and her soft honey-blond waves fluttered around her shoulders. “Not yet. Not now, anyway. We’re just going to see how it goes. Where it goes. He hasn’t been a demon very long, but if he doesn’t make at least upper tier in a year or so we may have to rethink this. I think he’s still traditional enough that it would be very hard for
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