Chapter Four
As the scheduled brunch approaches Charlie is a complete wreck. She’s not sure how or her mother will arrive, but she said to expect her around 11:00 a.m. and it was now 10:59 with no sign of anyone approaching the hotel. Is she running late? Did she decide not to show? Did something happen to her? Wait…could something happen to her? She’s Lilith, the Queen of Hell. Her mom’s as impervious as her dad, right? No one can hurt them.
Unfortunately, it was starting to look like maybe her mom wouldn’t show after all. Just as the thought began to creep into Charlie’s head, a portal opened up in the hotel lobby. Oh! Right! A portal, of course! As Lilith stepped through nearly everyone held their breath with anticipation, except Alastor. He was nonchalant as ever, of course.
Lucifer standing beside him noticed his stoic appearance. Seriously what’s with this guy? Has he no regard for his queen? This guy just doesn’t give a duck about anyone, does he? Always so unimpressed. Who does he think he is? Ack! Never mind that dumb red guy, my Lily is back! I should be focussed on her! What’s wrong with me?! Stupid loudspeaker! Oops! There I go again. Nope! Not going to think about Bambi today. I need to pay attention to Lily and show her how much I missed her and that I still love her.
Just then her voice broke through Lucifer’s intrusive thoughts as she beamed at Charlie and greeted her with open arms. “Look at you, Charlie, my not so little girl!”
“Mom! It’s so good to see you! Here! At least! I missed you so much!” Charlie practically flung herself into her mother’s awaiting embrace.
“I have miss you too, sweety. Oh, how lovely you’ve grown to be! I bet you’ve really become a fine young woman!”
Before either Charlie or Lucifer could say anything, Alastor materialized beside Charlie preening like a proud damn crimson peacock. “Indeed she has, my queen! We are all very proud of her. She’s really come into her own, I must say, and oh, where are my manners? I haven’t properly welcomed you yet, I’m afraid. Welcome back! It’s quite the pleasure to be seeing you again! It has been some time.”
“Of course, Alastor. It’s nice to see you again as well.”
Nearly everyone present simultaneously shouted in a mix of shock and disbelief, “AGAIN?!”
Charlie looked at Alastor unsure of what to feel. Hurt? Betrayal? Why had he never said anything about knowing her mom? Then again, this is Alastor, so he probably didn’t think it was important. Charlie sighed, “Alastor? Why didn’t you tell me you knew my mom?” Then it hit her, “wait…Mom? Why didn’t YOU tell me you know Alastor?”
Alastor put the back of his hand to his mouth in a dainty fashion and chuckled coyly. Lilith also gave a small chuckle and said, “I thought you knew. I thought everyone knew.” She looked at Alastor with some amused confusion.
“Yes, so did I.” He added. Then explained, “It would appear neither your daughter or husband tuned into my broadcasts.” He tsked, “such a shame.”
Lilith’s smile turned into a perplexed grimace as she asked, “my husband?” then looked at Lucifer for an explanation.
He, of course, was sweating bullets having just been caught in one lie he’d rather NEVER have to admit; that he did, in fact, know who Alastor, the radio demon, was and that he did, in fact, listen to his broadcasts. Oh boy, his duck was cooked…or something like that.
Alastor noticed that instead of the jealous tantrum he’d expected from the king upon seeing himself on friendly terms with his wife, Lucifer instead looked like a sitting duck about to go bottoms up and drown in the nearest lake. Odd.
Lilith spoke gently, “Lucifer, did you never mention to Dear Alastor how much you adore his broadcasts?”
The room was so quiet you could hear a fly fart while everyone was processing what Lilith had said and pinning Lucifer with ore eyes than high seraphim. He was too afraid to even glance at Alastor, his pride would not allow it. However, he couldn’t block out Alastor’s oh to overly amused voice.
“Oh, that’s funny! Surely you must be mistaken, my queen. I clearly remember Dear Lu saying he’d never heard of me or my radio show when Charlie first introduced us.”
Oh, how I wish I could smite that cocky too tall overly tailored sinner. Or if not sinners at least myself because, right now, being smote seems like a blessing. Lucifer ground his teeth.
Lilith’s voice now also seemed far too amused as she replied with a sly smile, “Oh my! Really, Lucifer? You told him you never heard of him?” She turned back to Alastor eyes bright with mischief, “Oh, Dear Alastor, I can assure you my husband simply ADORES you! Isn’t that right, Lucifer.?”
Both Alastor and Lilith stared at him with knowing giddy faces in such a way they practically looked identical. If he didn’t know better, Lucifer would swear they were siblings or something the way they resembled a matching pair of naughty children up to some shenanigans. Lucifer did feel jealous about their apparent closeness, but at present he overwhelming panic he also felt was keeping the jealousy at bay. He had to give an answer now. Even Charlie had gone quiet with shock and obviously expecting him to say something. So he said meekly, “I wouldn’t say adore…”.
The words barely left his mouth before Lilith called him out on it, “oh now don’t try to downplay it now, you prideful thing, you are his biggest fan! I’m telling you, Dear Alastor, I don’t think he ever missed a broadcast. He’d be locked away tinkering with something in his workshop with that radio of his on and tuned in awaiting your show.”
Lucifer could help thinking that was a bit much. Why was it that the first time seeing his wife in eight years she was standing here with his nemesis teasing him without having even greeted him yet? She greeted Alastor. And what’s with that ‘Dear Alastor’ bit? How dear is he? Or maybe she mean deer, yea, that could be it. Lily also enjoys a good pun. Ha! Okay, why didn’t I think of that? But then, what’s with that ‘Lucifer’ thing? Why is Alastor Dear, or Deer, Alastor, but I’m just Lucifer? What happened to Lu?
Alastor chimed in again, “You don’t say? Why, if I had known I would have been more understanding of his, shall we say, less than civil way of greeting me upon his arrival here.”
Oh, no. That did it, for sure. He knew it was coming and all Lucifer could do was brace for the inevitable and try to maintain his composure.
Lilith asked, “less than civil? Whatever do you mean, my Dear Al?”
Oh, come on! What the duck? So, it’s ‘my Dear Al’ now? She’s doing this on purpose! Wait…is she? Huh. Maybe she missed me and she’s trying to make me jealous to see if I missed her too.
Alastor interrupted Lucifer’s thoughts again, “not just to me, my queen, though…particularly towards me, I suppose…still, he seemed rather unimpressed with all of us really. Though, he has since come around, thanks to our Dear Charlie, but I’m afraid his attitude towards myself is as it ever was. Admittedly, I am, at least, partially to blame. You see, upon our first meeting I misinterpreted Dear Lu’s behaviour towards me as distain rather than admiration. I didn’t realize he was just too shy to admit he was a devoted listener and I took his affront to heart. My apologies, my queen, and to you, my Dear Charlie, as I know the tension between your father and I has been a bit uncomfortable for you.”
This mother ducker! Whatever panic attack Lucifer might have been on the verge of a minute ago was now gone and replaced with that oh so familiar urge to drop this guy from a great hight onto spikes made from angelic steal. He did that on purpose! Tattled on me to Lily, cozied up to Char Char again, and made me look bad in front of everyone! To think that, yes oaky, I did once admire the voice of the radio demon and his choice of music and his wit and his humour and his show with that dark sense of poetic justice and how he played those screams of the really bad sucky sinners who totally deserved it and…wait, where was I going with this…oh right, yes I did want to meet Alastor, the radio demon, and I was nervous and maybe put on some airs when I realized he was right here in Char Char’s hotel. I mean, as soon as I walked through the door he was right there! Right in front of me! I panicked! That doesn’t give this guy the right to mock me in front of everyone and try to steel my family. Jerk!
Charlie beamed at Alastor. “Oh, it fine, Alastor. I know how you guys are and…”
Lucifer had enough, “No, Charlie, it’s not fine and this dumb red speaker is the one being a jerk, not me! And I…”
Alastor cut in, “What? I have only ever tried to be a good host at this hotel. I admit, I may not have been as hospitable to you, but I did apologize, didn’t I?”
“TO THEM! TO MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER, NOT TO ME!”
“Oh my, I suppose you are correct. How terribly absent minded of me…”
“OH, DON’T EVEN TRY IT! WE BOTH KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND…”
“I assure you I’m not doing anything. I simply…”
“OH YES YOU ARE AND YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT, YOU SNEAKY CREEPY MANIPULATIVE…”
“Now there’s no need for name calling. If you believe I’m doing something, then do tell us all what.”
“YOU KNOW WHAT!”
“What is it I’m doing, Lu?”
The two had once again moved closer and closer to one another throughout their exchange and, just like before, were now pressed nose to nose seething at one another. Lilith watched on with absolute delight. When Charlie moved to step in and separate them like she had done before, Lilith held her back with a gentle arm around her shoulder and her index figure to her lips in a quieting gesture. Charlie blinked at her mom in confusion, but when she saw Lilith’s smile she understood. There was a twinkle in her mom’s eye that Charlie couldn’t remember if she had ever seen before.
Before her husband could push any further, Lilith erupted into a fit of laughter. At first, everyone just looked at her with surprise, but one by one they all followed into their own laughing fits. All except Lucifer and Alastor, that is. They just looked at Lilith from where they stood, practically in each other’s arms, Lucifer holding onto Alastor’s jacket lapels and Alastor to his. Between gasps for air and continued laughs Lilith asked, “are they always like this?” to which she received various nods, snorts and pained ‘mmhmm’s from everyone present.
Vaggi, having only lost her composure a bit, managed to pull herself back from the laughter and redirect everyone towards the dining hall. “We should really make our way to the brunch now while it’s still fresh. Besides, I’m sure your mom is hungry, especially after all that.”
“Oh! Right,” Charlie snaped out of it, “I haven’t introduced everyone yet! Mom, this is Vaggi, my girlfriend! And this is…” Charlie introduced everyone one by one. Lilith greeted each of them with enthusiasm, but never quite took her eyes off the blatantly obvious situation between her husband and Alastor, well, blatantly obvious to everyone but the two of the it seemed. Some of Charlie’s friends looked at her and then to them and back apparently wondering if she had clocked it. Noticing that she had, but didn’t seemed bothered by it they relaxed.
Lilith was not only unperturbed by it, she was clearly enjoying it. It seemed even Charlie had picked up on something between the two, though Lilith suspected her daughter either hadn’t quite guessed what or just didn’t want to think about it. Perhaps Charlie was still holding out hope. Lilith supposed she’d have to address that issue sooner or later. Eight years she’d been away, but both Lu and Charlie were very much the same. Though, Charlie has grown and it looks as though she’s finally blossoming. No doubt thanks to the radio demon, even if he didn’t intend it. Seeing Charlie and Lu with Alastor, Lilith knew she made the right choices and felt relief, and even a bit of gratitude towards Alastor.
Follow me on X/Twitter https://x.com/AlienAnatomyTC
Leave a Reply