Epilogue

It was the night before the grand opening. Most things had settled, although not everyone hired had shown up. Gloria had decided that having an assistant was not bad, especially considering all the new plans for regular videos using many demons. They had started developing a relationship, and he thought it would be good. Lu was pleased to know Tammy had worked as a waitress and could be called on in an emergency. The same thing was true of Gloria, but Gloria also could cook in the kitchen. He'd not known that she was a cook, and she had never made much effort to cook when she was on the island.

They had taken a roster and discovered what any of those living on the island could do if they needed to, and a few of them had even started training a couple weeks ago in jobs that they had never done before. It looked like that would be a good idea because twenty percent of his new employees had not shown up. Unfortunately, two were in management, which would be a serious shortage. Dori would not be available to help because she was doing much work to prepare for the coming vids. Had she been able to, she had also been a waitress at one time when she was younger.

Homer could help with the cooking if required because he had also trained at Olympus at the same time as Abe. He noticed that Homer had cooked meals a couple times in the cafeteria and a couple of times in his room for Dori. It made him think that maybe he should do the same for Gloria at least once in a while. Dori and Homer were growing closer, but it felt like they needed a big push, and he wondered what Lu would do to make that happen. Abe had no doubt that Lu would make it happen in any way he could.

Homer was hooked. Dori was the holdout. Abe had his own problems with his reluctant mate, but he was afraid that maybe Gloria had been much easier than Dori would be. That didn't mean that Dori wouldn't choose Homer, only that he would have to work hard. He had already been working hard for it, and it didn't look like he intended to give up. The gods and the demons were all willing to work for what they wanted the most, which was obvious now. While it was true that Homer was a god, in spirit, he had been accepted as a demon, and that was how he was treated. After all, all demons were gods, but not all gods were demons. That didn't mean that a god could not be accepted as part of the demon community.

Homer had fit in right from the beginning, and it was clear that he didn't intend to leave any time soon, if ever. Part of that might be that he was romancing Dori, but he had come here before he knew about her. Maybe his fate was with the demons, and this was where he would prosper. Abe had to admit that the demons were beginning to prosper, and many were putting aside the hurt of the past and trying to build a future. He knew he was, and those demons Risa had been working with were also doing that.

Now, these new videos are making more of them come out into the light and begin to live a real life rather than the half-life they were living in the basement. One of the problems was that too many people needed help for Risa to do it all. Maybe the two new doctors, one who had just come today, could do some of that work. It would be so exciting if some of those demons that had given up on life could claw their way back and maybe even have a family of their own. That was what they wanted for all demons.

It was time for supper, and he knew the cafeteria would be loaded. Everyone wanted to talk about tomorrow when they would have that grand opening at the hotel and the restaurant and then another at the Amphitheatre where some of the demon bands would begin to play weekly. You could cut the excitement with a knife but there was also a nervousness running under the surface where everyone was concerned that something or maybe even a lot of things could go wrong and the whole resort could crash and burn.

Abe was one of those warriors, but Gloria was not, and being with her helped keep his spirits high and made him hope for the future, not only for himself but for all of his kind. There were so many new people coming into their lives. It was both exciting and worrisome. Some of the injured demons had even been coming up to the cafeteria and eating there, where they could enjoy the company of others. Those were the ones that he was the most concerned with because he had to admit that his life was pretty darn good, and he had reason to hope that it would continue to improve.