“But we do have something to talk about. And I didn't want the kids to interrupt us. And I didn't want to wait until we were in bed tonight.

We might be otherwise occupied," she said with a smirk.

“Want me to hang out the sign?" he asked. When she nodded, he picked up a simple piece of wood hanging from a string. The words ‘Go Away’ were carved in large, bold letters on one side. He hung it on the outside doorknob and shut the door firmly, then turned the deadbolt for good measure. Ordinarily, he used the sign when he was working on a project and didn't want to be bothered. When it was up, the kids knew better than to knock for any emergency Less pressing than ‘alien invasion’ or

“house on fire.'"

When he turned around, he saw that Rachel had taken off her skirt and was in the process of pulling down her panties. He grinned at her. "I thought you wanted to talk? If you wanted to have some fun, all you had to do was say so." His smile faded as she met his eyes. They were deadly serious, and a little...afraid?

“Josh, I have something to show you. And then I have something to tell you. And I want you to keep an open mind."

He blinked, confused. After the last few days, now she wants me to keep an open mind? "Sure."

She turned her back to him, giving him a wonderful view of her shapely rear. Despite his activities with Sarah, which had Lasted so long into the night they hadn't fallen asleep until the early morning, he itched to take the firm globes into his hands. The dark red ink of her tattoo seemed to almost glow in the May sunshine coming through the windows

"Look," she said.

“Look close."

The sound of his head hitting the wooden floor as he fainted was the last thing he heard.

Rachel managed to drag Joshua's unconscious body across the floor and heaved him into the ratty old armchair he had hauled around for the past two decades. She wrinkled her nose at the musty smell. Bought at the Goodwill in Champaign to help furnish their first apartment, he had insisted it accompany them on every move since

“We've got to have continuity, Venus." She could hear his voice as the movers lugged the smelly, stained thing into the workshop.

Her husband frowned, then blinked his eyes, smiling up at her woozily.

“Hey, Rachel. I just had the wildest dream. I was in here, doing a sketch of Sarah, and you came in. You told me you had something you wanted to talk about, and the next thing I know, you have a tail!

Pretty crazy, huh...oh my fucking God," he whispered, as she pirouetted to show him her new appendage. His eyes, when she faced him again, were wide and fearful.

She could see his throat work convulsively as he swallowed. "Rachel, what the hell is going on? What...where did that come from?"

“I wanted to show you first," she said. Her stomach churned with fear at his reaction. "If I tried explaining it from the beginning, I was afraid you'd have me taken in for a psych evaluation

“You see, honey, I've got a strange woman in my head. She's a succubus

Her name is Althea, and she's the immortal offspring of a fallen angel and Adam's first wife.

“How it happened was this way..."

When the story was finished, Josh blinked, very slowly. His face was a dazed blank.

“Josh? Honey? Do you believe me?"

He Lowered his face into his hands and rubbed the sides of his nose

“Do I believe you? Rachel, you have a tail. How can I not believe you?