The Devil's Matchmaker

It was the last day of the tour and everyone was having a good time at the afterparty but not me. I went back to my room early, not because I was tired but rather I was wating for Dante's call. It had become a daily occurence and I didn't mind one bit.

When I arrived at the hotel, I immediately checked my phone and sure enough there were messages from him.

'Hey, I know you're busy. Anyway, I hope you're doing good. Good luck.'

'P.S. I'm just looking for an excuse to text you but I heard you're doing another interview for a magazine. Care to tell me which one so I can preorder? '

'I just saw a brown cat try to cover the poop left by a dog on the street. I swore I saw the cat looked so pissed. I remembered when I was in college and I delegated tasks to my teammates only to clean up after them since they did absolutely nothing, shit for short.'

I couldn't help smiling. It was a thing with him. He can be serious and affectionate and then be an absolute joker the next though his jokes are hard to understand which made it funnier to me.

'You know, it's either you're a control freak or you just suck as a leader.' I replied.

He replied immediately. 'Well, I must've given them orders while I was drunk. Come to think of it, I barely remember being in college.'

'Don't you have anything to do other than text?'

'I'm currently trying to discover the truth of the universe. But I've yet to find an explanation.'

I didn't reply and instead called him.

"Hey." His voice sounded sober for quite some time now.

"I thought you were drinking."

"I can drink and still be sober. Besides, your voice is more intoxicating than any alcohol."

"Been listening to my album haven't you?"

He laughed. "Was that a good one?"

It was another thing he did a lot over the phone. Pop a few pickup lines every now and then. It was just harmless fun for both of us and I'd always give him a rebuff.

"I'll give it a six out of ten. Anyway, how was work?"

"You know how it is. I just reorganized and reshelved some books. Not a lot of people come over so I spent most of my time reading. How about you?"

"Tiring but totally worth it."

"I'm pretty sure they enjoyed every moment of it."

"Yeah, you should've seen and heard them. When they sing the words right back at you, the exhaustion disappears."

There was a brief silence on the line. I could hear a clinking sound.

"Sorry about that, just refilling my cup."

"Coffee?" By now I knew he was a total caffeine addict.

"Yeah." A pause and I could hear him breathing heavily. "So tour's over, and I was wondering if you have some free time."

I haven't told him that I was going to rest for a week before I get back on promotions and photoshoots.

"Um, I've got a couple of days for rest. Why?"

Heavy breathing. "Would you like to hang out?"

The answer came easily. "Sure."

"Really?" He sounded incredulous like we haven't gone on a date yet. It made me laugh.

"Yes, only this time, I'm the one taking you out."

Dante

I was pacing back and forth in the living room while Asmodeus was rearranging the furniture and Mephisto was cooking our lunch.

"If you don't stop, I'll whip you." Asmodeus commented. "You should be happy that she agreed to going on another date with you."

"I'm happy." I replied. "It's just that it's been a long time since we went on that date at the library."

"Time means nothing when you are under the throes of first love." He looked at me, his eyes seemed to tell of a story of a time not so long ago. "When you are both drawn to one another, nothing will keep you apart."

That made me curious. "Ever been in love?"

"Sure he has. Fallen for thousands of women over the centuries." Mephisto appeared waving a spatula at us. "Lunch is ready your highnesses. I hope you both choke."

We had burgers, fries and iced tea. I was seated at the head of the table while Mephisto was on my right side and Asmodeus on the other. The latter was busy cutting his burger into four with his knife.

"I don't get it. You'll digest them anyway so why bother cutting them up?" Mephisto asked looking confused.

"We can't be all as disorganized as you are." Asmodeus replied curtly and then he smiled. "Though I envy your skills in organized chaos."

"Organized chaos?" I asked.

"And here we were thinking Lucifer would've told you. Crime, corruption and all the evils in the world are more potent if done in the right condition. It's what I specialize in." Mephisto told me. He took a bite from his burger then continued. "The contracts that I offer, though random can cause quite a disturbance in large parts of the world. An example would be asking a leader of a country to start a war in this part of the world in exchange for more power. There are so many situations that I can elaborate on. Humans more than anything crave for power more than anything else."

When I think about it, I can't help but agree. When you strip every system, every government, every community, at its core is power. I know now that I have some too, I just need to point it in the right direction.