Chapter 7: Exaltation

Four Months Later

"I don't understand, what exactly is this 'Exaltation of Venus' business?" asked Henry, as he drove out of Omaha, in the late afternoon sun.

Ember, patting her baby bump, looked across from the passenger's seat. "I told you. It is one of the days sacred to Venus."

Henry sighed. "I know. But why today, of all days."

Melissa leaned over into the front seat. "It is the day when the planet Venus is farthest from the Sun. You see, Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth. As a result, it is never in the sky in the middle of the night. It either follows the sun down at dusk; it's called the Evening Star then, or precedes it up at dawn. Then, it is the Morning Star. In either case, it is never more than 45 degrees away from the Sun. Usually it is much closer. Tonight, Venus, the Evening Star, is at its furthest from the Sun and highest in the sky. Thus it is exalted in the sky. That is why it is called the Exaltation of Venus.

"Did Dr. Klingman teach you that?" asked her father.

The girl nodded. "He even has a model, called an orrery. It shows how the planets move. Makes it easy to see how it works."

He smiled. "I knew we did the right thing, hiring him."

"Especially after what happened at her old class," said Ember.

Henry glared at her.

"What happened at my old class?" Melissa asked.

"It's complicated."

The voice from the GPS in the car called out. "Turn right in a half mile."

Grateful for the distraction, Henry said, "'Lissa, can you look out for where we turn?"

Ember lightly touched her lover's hand. "You need to tell her."

He nodded. "I know, but not now. We're here."

A break in the long line of hedges, on the right, finally appeared. At the break was a drive, and a wrought iron gate. Standing at the gate was Grant Phipps, one of the many new members. He was a big man, standing about six foot five, but was also very kind and gentle. He had an unruly mop of brown hair. While he wasn't retarded, he was not the brightest of men. He worked as janitor in the church, and groundskeeper for this new property.

Grant looked through the window. "Hi, Henry."

"Hey, Grant. Is everyone here?"

"You're one of the first." The large man pushed the button on the remote he held. The gate opened, letting Henry's new gold Ford Taurus into the grounds.

- --

Much had happened in the four months: Altena had returned to the home church in Chicago. Gloria had stabilized emotionally, and was performing her duties as an acolyte with enthusiasm.

The church in just five weeks had outgrown its capacity on the strip mall. As a stopgap, the church had a second service on Sunday night. After a brief search, they found a small empty protestant church just two blocks from their current location. By week eight they had a rent-to-own agreement with the bank, and moved in, in time to hold services that Sunday.

The worship area was much larger than the old one, and with the pews removed, it could hold one hundred loveseats. There was much wasted space behind the pulpit, since they had no need for a choir or a baptistery. There was debate among the clergy about whether to undertake a large renovation, or build another church, custom suited for their needs, from scratch.

At work, Henry got a major promotion. His boss decided it was time to retire, and advocated, to the owners, that Henry be his successor. The parent company agreed, and he got a new job, with more responsibility, but also a new salary, that almost doubled his income. Overnight, the baker's pay woes disappeared. Henry attributed his change of luck all to Venus.

Melissa's class now included four other students. Dr. Klingman hadn't anticipated having more than one pupil, but quickly embraced his new charges.

The driveway went for a quarter mile before it stopped in front of a large ranch style house. Five cars were parked alongside the drive. Henry pulled up, and parked behind the last car.

As they were getting out, Livia came running up, and gave her child a hug. "How are my daughter and grandson?"

Ember hugged her back. "About the same as I was when you saw me two days ago."

A deeper voice broke in. "How about someone you haven't seen in almost a year."

She turned around and saw an older man, with bright red hair, wearing a priest's robe.

"Daddy!" she cried, and jumped into his arms.

Livia talked to Henry. "May I present the senior priest of Eros, Eric Love."

The man broke free of his daughter's embrace to shake his hand. "So, you're the one who knocked up my little girl," he said with a grin.

"Guilty as charged."

Eric, while obviously older than Henry, had an ageless quality that people, such as Dick Clark and cruise directors possess. It made it hard to peg down his exact age. The only thing that betrayed his age was few gray hairs interspersed with his red.

"So, are you going to make an honest woman out of her?"

Both Ember and Livia exclaimed their dismay together.

He smiled and raised his hands. "Just kidding! It's something a father has got to say at least once in his life.

"And you must be Melissa."

She nodded and shook his hand. "That's me.

"I like you pendant."

Around his neck there hung an arrow with wings on it.

"That's the symbol of Cupid."

The girl nodded. "I know. It's just the first time I've actually seen one."

"What brings you away from New York City?" asked Ember.

"I'm giving away another one of these pendants."

Ember gasped. "Bernard is becoming a full priest?"

"I thought you'd already know."

Livia cleared her throat. "I've been trying not to overplay it, given her recent loss of her status."

She held up her hands. "No! I'm good! Good for him."

Melissa pointed to the western sky about halfway up from the horizon. "There's Venus."

The Sun had just gone behind the trees, and the sky was starting to darken.

"Where?" asked several people, at once.

The blonde girl pointed, and everyone tried to follow her line of sight. Finally, they saw it, small and white, high in the sky. "Don't worry; it will get brighter as the sky gets darker."

"That's right," said Livia. "It is the third brightest object in the sky, behind the Sun and Moon."

"Is my teacher here?" asked Melissa.

Bernard shook her head. "Not yet. He should be here soon."

"Darn! I wanted to show him Venus."

Henry stroked her shoulder. "Be patient."

Gloria came running out of the house. "Welcome to my old house." She greeted and hugged the Martin family.

"This is your house?" asked Melissa.

"It was. I grew up here. It belonged to my mom, until she died a while ago. Her death led to the crisis that caused me to become a priestess. It was much too large for me when I was single; and doesn't fit into my lifestyle now, so I donated it to the church."

Livia patted her shoulder. "And we're very grateful for it. We have not yet decided what to do with it."

Eric broke in. "As a matter of fact, we have."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I got here only ten minutes before you, Henry. I haven't had the time to tell anyone.

"The consensus of the leaders of the churches is that the international headquarters of the church should be moved to here. The house will be converted into the main office."

"You're kidding!" exclaimed Bernard.

"It only makes sense. Our only high priestess is here, by order of the goddess herself. How can the church run if its head is in one city and the headquarters is in another?"

Livia sighed. "I was afraid of that. I am not an administration kind of person."

"Don't worry. Anna was the same way. Her office staff covered the paperwork for her. All you'll need to do is sign some forms, from time to time. Your job will be our spiritual leader."

She smiled. "I can handle that."

"Would anyone like a tour of the property?" asked Gloria.

"Sure," said Henry, who had never been here before.

"You did bring some food for the potluck, didn't you?" the new acolyte asked.

Ember opened the back door of the sedan. "We bought some chicken. I was going to make some potato salad, but it didn't work out."

Henry put his arm around her shoulders. "She's getting better, but all this domestic stuff is new to her."

"At least I have all of his ex-wife's recipes to work off of."

Gloria led the group around the house, showing a newly planted garden. Tiny sprigs of green were just starting to poke out of the ground.

"What are you growing?" asked Henry.

"We're trying to grow the herb that we make our incense from. We've tried to do it in other cities, with no success." Livia pointed at ground. "It only grows in Greece and Turkey."

"It looks like it's growing here."

"So far; I don't want to get my hopes up."

A twelve foot high hedge surrounded the property. The only breaks were at the front gate, and a small gap behind the house. "Where does that go?" asked Henry, pointing to the latter.

"There are trees behind the hedge," said Gloria. "I used to sneak through and play back there, when I was a girl. Now Grant has cut a proper opening, so we can initiate Bernard into the priesthood."

"There's going to be about a hundred people. Can they all fit back there?"

"Initiating priests is a ceremony only conducted by the clergy. So that won't be a problem," said Livia. "But you can go back there now, and look around."

Henry, Melissa, and Ember all walked back to through the gap. On the other side of the hedge was a group of tall elm trees. Unlit tiki torches lined a short path that led to a clearing...

"Looks cozy," was all Henry could think to say.

Walking back, they saw more cars pulling in, including Melissa's teacher. The girl ran to greet him.

Looking up, Venus shone brightly in the western sky.

As soon as everyone arrived, the potluck supper started in the spacious kitchen. Though it was early April, it was still too cool in the evening to be really comfortable outside. So, most of the activities took place indoors. People spread out in the kitchen, dining and living room.to eat their meal.

After everyone had their fill of food, the kids, including Melissa, were ushered to a game room, where there was a pool table, pinball machine, and a TV with both movies and video games.

Livia, Eric, Gloria, and Bernard excused themselves, saying that the initiation of Bernard had to be done before Venus set, which was around 9:30. They headed into the backyard.