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SOMETHING STUPID an excerpt from the novel 'Prayer to Aphrodite'

Although, Clare occasionally felt in extremely low spirits because of Rachel's negative response to her affection, she knew she could depend on Jenny and Amy for their continued support and when she finally introduced them both, they seemed to get on exceptionally well.

'We'll have to be careful, she'll want to come to Lesbos with us next - and then I'll have to find someone else to take care of the kids,' Clare said jokingly one evening after the three women had shared a few drinks together in Amy's flat. Jenny had gone home earlier than expected, excusing herself because she felt tired, but Clare wondered afterwards whether this had been deliberate act on her sister's part so that there would be an opportunity for her to be alone with Amy.

'What did you say to Mike say about the holiday?' Amy enquired.

'I just told him it was all booked and paid for, and I was sure he could manage quite well on his own since Jenny was willing to take care of the kids for a fortnight. He disapproves but that's just what I expected.'

'Did you read all the books I gave you about Greece?'

'Yes, but don't give me any more - there won't be anything new to find out once I get there!'

Clare wondered whether she ought to tell Amy what she had recently discovered about Sappho who lived on the island of Lesbos almost two and a half thousand years ago and how some of the experiences of this ancient Greek poet seemed to mirror the recent events in her own life. But she decided against it; Amy was probably aware of the story anyway: It was all about unrequited love. Could unrequited love ever have any real meaning? Clare wondered, or was it all a waste of time? Sappho, like Clare, had been irresistibly drawn to a woman who did not return her affection and her only hope had been to offer up a prayer to Aphrodite, the Greek, Goddess of love, for the woman she loved, to respond positively to that desire.

Clare had read the one remaining complete poem which Sappho had written in ancient times, the other nine volumes all supposedly destroyed by the Christian church during the reformation as they were deemed immoral. The poem had instantly struck a chord in her heart as it expressed those very same yearnings and sentiments she felt for Rachel. And, because Clare had also written poetry on the theme of unrequited love, she could now identify with this historical figure in more ways than one. She found herself wanting to visit the

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