"There! That’s better. Now, where was I? Oh yes. Now that you’re here, we must find you one of the Great Halls you call your own. There are so many empty ones now, I guess you can take you pick. A party! We must have party to celebrate the newest goddess on Mt. Olympus. But who would we invite? We could ask the Norse gods, but they’re so rude, and vulgar.  I don’t really know the Egyptian gods…."

As Aphrodite went on and on, Gabrielle tried time and again, unsuccessfully, to interrupt.  Seeing her distress, Xena finally shouted at Aphrodite.  "HEY!  Anything to eat around here?"

Momentarily distracted, Aphrodite looked around, and seeing nothing, waved at the table and it was piled high with fresh fruits, bread and cheese, and flagons of sweet wine.

Before she could begin again, Gabrielle said, "Aphrodite! Stop! Please. I don’t think you understand why I’m here. I didn’t come here to live. I came for some advice."

"Well, sure, Honey. What can I do for you?"

"First of all, I’m sure I look more beautiful now than I have ever looked in my entire life, or ever will again. And I’m really grateful for them, but these clothes aren’t me. Secondly, I don’t intend to live up here. I want to be a goddess of the people. I want to be down THERE, helping wherever and whenever I can to relieve the suffering and the misery I see every day."

"Gosh, Gabrielle, I do that. I let people fall in love and get married and have affairs, and I’m content to live up here."

"We could tell by all the Love Dust you scattered around," Xena said, with pineapple juice dripping off her chin.

"Okay. So I’m not up here very much. But that’s because it’s so lonely! But Gabrielle, with you up here, we could really liven up the place."

"Aphrodite, I guess it’s because I wasn’t born a goddess, but I don’t want to live up here, I want to be down THERE. Those are MY people. And I just couldn’t do them justice if I was stuck at the top of a mountain. Can’t you understand that? Your home is way up here; mine is way down there."