Martha Anderson wasn't surprised to receive a phone call from her husband, although she was a bit worried that something might have happened for, knowing his schedule, William wouldn't have called approaching class time unless there was an emergency.
The fact that he told her Melissa Stovall had visited him, and that she was now on her way to the Anderson house concerned Martha, but William refused to say what the visit would be about.
When Mrs. Stovall finally arrived to a nervous Martha, it was almost 11:30, so Mrs. Anderson offered Melissa lunch. She refused, but did accept an offer of iced tea.
The ladies sat down at the dining room table, one corner somewhat cluttered with Martha's study guides for her teaching recertification, as Melissa explained everything Eric's mother needed to know about life, love, and were-mers.
During Melissa's explanation, Martha experienced a wealth of emotions, from dread and confusion to happiness and concern for Eric.
"And he'll be all right, once they..."
"Yes," confirmed Melissa. "Eric will become a were-merman in the process, but I believe it's something that he wanted. I know this is a lot to take in, but Eric and Julie truly love one another. If it's any consolation, were-mers are completely monogamous. There's no divorce among us. Once we identify and fall in love with our soul mates; we date, mate, and marry for life."
"Like the werefoxes' life/mate bond," realized Martha.
"Yes," confirmed Melissa.
"How long does Eric have before..."
"That's hard to say," admitted Mrs. Stovall. "Even if we knew the exact time and duration of every instance his eyes have changed color so far, we can only guess at best. Tonight? Tomorrow?" said Melissa, not mentioning the plan she created for Julie. "Next week? Definitely before the end of this year."
"I see," said Martha, thinking things over. "My little boy..." she began, looking at Melissa. "It seems like just yesterday I was trying to get Eric over his shyness, coax him out of his shell and socialize more. Now he's not only on the cusp of manhood, but found genuine true love as well. What does happen afterward?"
"They continue leading pretty normal lives for the most part. Eric and Julie will become mutually exclusive and only see each other romantically and sexually from that point on; but they'll continue going through the various levels of high school, socializing with others, graduating and going on to college..."
"Eventually finding careers, getting married, raising a family together..." added Martha, as she began to openly weep.
"Everything we have ever wanted for your son and my daughter, without all the worries about who they will eventually wind up with and is this the right person for them," said Melissa, as she handed Martha a couple of napkins from the holder on the table.
Once Mrs. Anderson finished crying, she turned to Mrs. Stovall and said, "I imagine we can't tell them."
"Julie already knows, and will inform Eric after they've... you know. But at the moment he's still in the dark, which is preferable, since we all want things to take their natural course."
"And after the first time, how often will they have to..."
"Both will have a normal were's active libido, but that will be up to them. I informed your husband that Julie's sworn to keep up with her were-mermaid birth control pills until after they're married, which is a promise Martin and I will make sure she keeps," vowed Mrs. Stovall. "But while both our husbands seem to be under the impression that our children won't do it again until after their sixteenth birthdays, as women, we both know that isn't very realistic."
"Yeah. There will be holidays, especially Valentine's Day. Special moments, stolen or otherwise. Anniversaries..." said Martha, recalling some of her past, romantic and otherwise. "Will we have to put in a pool for Eric?"
"Eventually that might be a good idea, fresh water only, but it can wait till next Spring. Besides, he's always welcomed at ours."
"Guess it's too soon to start picking out china patterns and writing a rough draft of the guest list, huh?"
"A little," agreed Melissa with a smile. "But at least you know his personal future is secured, and neither of us could ask for a better partner for our child or nicer in-laws to associate with."
"Here here," agreed Martha, raising her tea glass to toast Melissa.