Parked in his driveway, Martin Stovall stared out at his house.
It's good to be home, was the first thought that crossed his mind.
Being the mayor of any place, no matter how large or small, had its own unique job stresses to begin with.
But being the mayor of Moon Lake, and the fact that hardly anyone outside the boundaries of this sleepy little hamlet in Washington State knew that it was also a secret sanctuary for "creatures" that allegedly didn't exist, created its own unique set of problems.
The town council meeting scheduled for later this evening and what was on the agenda might change everything, depending upon how the debate actually went.
But for now Martin was within his own private little sanctuary, longing to be with his wife Melissa, and enjoying the company of their daughter Julie.
Yet that family was also growing. Melissa was now within the first month of being pregnant with the Stovall's next child, and Julie's fiance Eric Anderson was scheduled to spend the weekend with her.
"Love at first sight" and "Happily ever after" were proven scientific concepts, at least among were-mers like the Stovalls.
When Julie first met Eric, there was something about the boy who had just moved to town from Minnesota that told her he was THE one.
It was a relatively slow courtship, at least by were standards. Yet Eric not only felt the same about Julie, he eventually became a were-merman so he could spend the rest of his life with her.
Granted, they wouldn't actually be getting married until after both graduated high school, but still...
That reminded Martin of the only downside to his relationship with his wife.
He had felt the same way towards her that Julie felt toward Eric the moment he first saw Melissa.
But, unlike Eric with Julie, she was initially too focused on her professional career to listen to her heart.
Yet Melissa kept coming through town on her computer business so he kept trying.
Although Melissa finally realized she had truly fallen in love with Martin, it was almost 10 full years after their first encounter before they got married and she became his were-mermaid on their honeymoon.
The couple had been making up for lost time ever since, but Melissa still regretted the delay in starting their own "Happily forever after."
And speaking of his wife...
Martin was totally surprised to see Melissa's vehicle pull up and park alongside his in their double driveway.
Confused, but happy to see her, Martin got out and went around his car to greet her.
"Hello darling," he said, happily wrapping his arms around her before giving Melissa a romantic kiss.
"Hi dear," she said, staring lovingly back at him.
"You're just now getting home? I figured your car was in the garage and you were in the house," commented Martin, knowing what time it was.
"Got hung up at work," Melissa replied, as they started walking toward the front door of their house together. "You still going to—"
"Yeah. Since this is technically a town council meeting, I'm just gonna stay back stage and see what's going on, but I won't make my presence known unless I actually have to," he explained. "You don't have to be there if you don't want to."
"If that's okay with you," said Melissa. "I am kind of beat," she added, while fishing (no pun intended) through her purse for her keys. "Are they still going to discuss—"
"I haven't heard otherwise," said Martin, as he got his keys out of his pants pocket to open the front door.
Melissa closed her purse as Martin opened the front door. "After you, my love," he said, bowing to let her in first.
"Thank you kind sir," she said with a smile, before kissing him on the cheek. "If you can give me a few minutes, I can at least warm up some leftovers for us and—"
"That won't be necessary!" their daughter Julie called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready to serve!" she announced, as she and Eric started carrying things out to put on the table.
Setting their stuff down on the living room coffee table, the older couple walked to the dining room and Martin held the chair for his wife before sitting down himself.
"It smells good. What is it?" Melissa asked, as Julie and her beau came back in with the last of the plates and silverware.
"Just spaghetti and meatballs," answered Eric. "Nothing fancy, so I hope you like it."
"Did you cook all of this yourself Eric?" wondered Martin, based upon the boy's response.
"He had help," Julie answered, pouring milk for everyone, "but we did finish our homework for the weekend before starting in the kitchen."
"My mom's a firm believer that everyone should at least know their way around a kitchen so they won't starve to death," explained Eric. "I don't know a whole lot, but I have discovered that my appetite has increased ever since..." and then he held out a hand and intentionally shifted from normal human being to the first stage of his were-mer form, as webbing appeared between his fingers. It was also between the toes of his feet too, provided Eric took his shoes and socks off to let anyone see.
"That's normal for any were," said Martin.
"I figured. You should see my brother Nate werewolf down meals sometimes ever since he became a lupine," observed Eric, which made Melissa giggle a little.
After Julie put the milk back in the fridge, Eric held her chair until Julie sat down.
Then the younger couple joined their older counterparts for dinner.
"This is delicious," said Martin, as he ate.
"Thanks dad," replied Julie.
"The secret's in the sauce and seasonings. Otherwise, you're just looking at cooked pasta and hamburger meat rounded into little balls," explained Eric. "As much as I like it, mom's never taught me how to make chicken fried steak. Besides, I hear that takes a while to make while Julie and I didn't know how much time we'd have before you were home for the evening."
"Well, I have to turn around and attend a town council meeting soon, so it will just be the three of you here until I get back," announced Martin.
Eric looked like he wanted to ask for more details about the meeting, since it had dominated talk around town since it was first scheduled.
But Mrs. Stovall, knowing what was to be discussed and how Martin felt about the subject, decided to keep the inquisitive youth from asking.
"So, what do you kids have planned for this weekend?" Melissa wondered.
"Eric and I are just going to hang out and do things that any couple would together," replied Julie, while staring at her fiance.
Melissa stared at her daughter for a moment and couldn't tell what was brighter, the sparkle in Julie's eyes or the smile on her face. Whichever it was, both outshone the single pearl necklace that Julie wore proudly around her neck, denoting her betrothal status among were-mers.
Melissa couldn't help raising a hand up to feel the necklace around her own neck. Being older and married, there were a lot more charms on it than a single pearl, since were-mers didn't believe in rings because of their finger webbing.
But feeling the comforting weight of the necklace around her neck and between her fingers gave Melissa something to think about.
"You know dear," Melissa said, turning to look at her husband. "We should consider updating this," she added, indicating her necklace. There was one quite large pearl denoting 25 years of marriage, with a couple of individual pearls to bring the count to 28. When they reached their 30th anniversary, the individual pearls would be replaced with one to represent 5 more years together. Melissa had heard there was a gold hued pearl to represent 50 years of marriage, but they were still a long way off from that.
There was also one pinkish hued pearl to denote Melissa having a daughter. Her husband had also insisted upon adding a small gold silhouette of a computer to represent her business and another gold silhouette of a house to signify their happy home.
"Hmmm..." said Martin, looking at her. "Do you still have that (were)stork charm I gave you when you were pregnant with Julie?"
"Somewhere in my jewelry box," was her answer.
"Well, I can buy you another for the new baby and have it put on if you're with me at the jeweler's," he said. "Unfortunately, there isn't anything in were-mer society signifying engagements except for the single pearl. Of course in time I will help Eric obtain pearls for their wedding, each year of marriage, and..."
"That's okay dad. I can wait to add to my necklace," Julie said. "Eric and I have our whole lives together to collect charms of significance to us, like you and mom do," as she reached out to hold Eric's webbed hand in hers.
"I know it's still years off, but don't forget to save me a dance at your wedding honey," Martin chuckled.
"You'll have the only one that day Eric doesn't get," Julie said happily.
I just hope whatever happens at the meeting tonight doesn't spoil that future for you two, let alone every other were around the world, hoped Martin.