Alone in the house, Melissa Stovall went back to her laptop and tried to get some work done, but paused when she saw the web news site and the story developing out of Seattle.
Melissa knew that Moon Lake had weathered many storms before, long before she joined were society herself. While this was not the kind of situation to take lightly, the absolute worst case scenario she could foresee was exposing were existence in general, but not Moon Lake specifically.
But the future... she wondered, thinking about her daughter Julie and her new boyfriend/fiance Eric Anderson.
She was quite startled when her cellphone rang, but very happy when Melissa saw who was calling.
"How's my beautiful naiad today?" asked Martin Stovall.
"Missing her mate deeply," confided Melissa. "Where are you?"
"Driving up the coast about to cross the state line between California and Oregon. Don't worry, I'm using the hands free setup you got me last Christmas while I'm behind the wheel. You doing all right honey?" asked her husband.
"As well as can be expected until you're back in my arms again."
"I'll have to find someplace in Oregon to stay overnight. Got a late start this morning. Mom didn't want me to leave without a good breakfast. I'll be surprised if I haven't gained a couple of pounds from this trip," he complained.
"How is she doing?" wondered his wife.
"Fine. Cranky as ever that she has to wear that leg cast the length of time a normal human would, since she's almost healed now," replied Martin. His mother had a slight accident while skating which required medical treatment, but his younger brother needed help getting her to remember where they were and to blend in more with their surroundings than reveal who they were. "If I have even half her energy when I hit 300, I'll be doing great. How's Julie?" he asked.
"Great."
"And Eric Anderson?" he wondered.
"They're out for a walk right now," said Melissa.
"Did Julie and Eric..." said Martin, not knowing how to phrase the question. When he left to go check on his mother, his daughter and Eric were acknowledging the growing love between them and the fact that each was the other's "destined soul mate"*, but they had yet to act upon those feelings, which would have resulted in Eric giving up his humanity to join were society as a were-merman, besides the fact both were virgins entering the relationship.
Melissa paused, before saying "Swimmingly."
"Does that mean..."
"Yes. From what I hear, it was quite a tender and romantic moment between them while I was at work Friday," answered Melissa, not mentioning her role in setting up the opportunity, since she didn't want her daughter to drag her feet or flippers for 10 years like she did before realizing her romantic destiny.
"Have you seen the new..."
"He cuts quite a dashing figure for a young swimmer. Blue-green scales."
"Blue-green? I've never heard of any mers having that scale tone before. I'll have to look into that, and of course I'll want to meet the new Eric. Give him the welcome speech and all that," said Martin.
Then he paused for a moment before asking, "Are they happy?"
"They're so happy, if I didn't know better, I'd swear they were both part Skulk, for they seem to have formed quite a life/mate bond between them already," replied his wife.
"What do you mean?"
"They're..." then Melissa decided, for better or worse, not to tell her husband about the single pearl necklace Eric gave Julie, the sign of engaged to be married for were-mers, just yet. "It's something special you'll have to see for yourself. The look in their eyes even when they're just thinking about each other."
"Okay. I get the idea. At least they got to enjoy the moment and not give into emotional fury putting it off for too long. If you're up to it, can you start making the arrangements to have Eric over for dinner tomorrow night?" asked Martin.
"Sure. The rest of the Andersons too?" wondered Melissa.
"No. Just him, for now. But I'm sure we'll have a more formal gathering between the families before long. Anything else I should be aware of?"
"Have you called your office yet?"
"That's next. Why?" asked Martin.
"I hope it turns out to be nothing, but you might want to find someplace private to park before you do," warned Melissa.
"I don't like the sound of that, but according to the road sign I just passed, there's a truck stop a couple of miles ahead. I'll do it when I get there."
"Good. Far as I know, Samantha's already on duty and honey, I love you."
"I love you too my beautiful naiad. I'll see you sometime tomorrow," promised Martin, before ending the call.
With that, Martin started looking for someplace sooner than the truck stop where he could safely make that call.
Meanwhile, after she collected herself, Melissa Stovall made arrangements to take the next two days off and leave her computer company (Stovall Systems) in the capable hands of her assistant and employees.
It may not start out to be the romantic homecoming she originally envisioned, but Melissa was going to spend some private time with her husband, no matter what.
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*For were-mers, the concepts of "love at first sight" and "soul mates" are actual, proven scientific facts.—tmw.