The dinner was delicious, but the thing that most intrigued William and Martha was how Melissa and Martin Stovall's story played out. Martha was actually very honest in her assessment of something about Moon Lake being able find ways to work things out. It had really sped up the healing of their marriage as the more and more Martha saw of William's actions as a werefox, the more and more she believed that his bond was there and strong. It had helped her become comfortable with herself and her desires, and a good part of her was still sexually charged up after the victory over Yvette, but she kept herself under control, as much of this was primarily for Eric's benefit, and what Martin and Melissa had told them had been quite intriguing.
"So..." Martha began curiously, "do you have any preference in what you swim in? Fresh water? Pool water? Salt water?"
"Generally we prefer CLEAN water," Melissa answered, "unlike a lot of other weres... we're a bit more vulnerable to things like pollution and chemicals... whether it's salt or freshwater isn't an issue."
"Weremers do have a complicated gill/lung system that will let us breathe when under water," Martin added to the explanation, "so... if a pool is chlorinated or polluted... we'd get a lot of those chemicals and toxins directly into our bodies and that could give us real trouble."
"Even with the chlorine used to keep pools clean?" William asked.
"Even chlorine in public pools," Julie spoke up, "The element can be used as a cleaner... but it can and HAS been used as a weapon. In World War One, Chlorine was used in the first poison gas attacks of the war... and when mixed with water has the potential to form Hydrochloric acid and can be fatal to humans. If we were to swim in a public pool... in any stage... it would be for us like it was for the World War I soldiers exposed to Chlorine gas..."
"And why your pool is freshwater?" Eric asked, to which Julie nodded.
"That must make cleaning the pool a busy chore," William commented.
"It can be," Martin nodded with a chuckle, "but there are days when it feels good to put in the work. I can't sit behind a desk ALL day EVERY day, after all."
William and Martha nodded and calmly continued eating.
"Do you have any family still in the area, Mr. Stovall?" Martha asked after a moment.
"As in full time?" Martin asked, "My folks have a place fairly close to the lake. My dad goes fishing as often as he can... and my grandparents live not to far from City Hall. Many of the rest of my family have actually taken to exploring other parts of the country... especially as Moon Lake continues to open up more and more and we learn more about the outside world."
"But they do come home for holidays and pod meetings," Julie answered.
William and Martha nodded. Both glanced to Eric and smiled. The Stovalls seemed like good people and Julie seemed more than smart enough to hold her own with Eric in conversation and in other regards. Neither could know for sure if it would truly lead to romance and Eric finding true love with Julie, but she would at least be a good friend for him. That gave both of them the personal assurance that their youngest son would do well in Moon Lake. They would make sure that Eric would have his choices, but something in Julie didn't strike them that she would force Eric into anything he wouldn't want to.
"Say... Julie," Melissa said slowly, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "I did pick up a cherry pie the other day. It should be in the fridge. Why don't you and Eric go and pick it up."
"Sure, mom," Julie stood up and gave a waive for Eric to follow, "Come on."
Eric slowly followed her until they came into the Stovall family kitchen. He found himself looking out a window that showed the Stovall family pool, thinking over the party that was just Julie and himself. Where she showed him all of her mer forms.
"Desert plates are in the cabinet on your right," Julie said to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Hmm?" Eric responded.
"Desert plates are in the cabinet on your right," Julie repeated pointing to a cabinet on the wall to his immediate right.
"Sorry," Eric said sheepishly and was soon carefully setting plates down on a central island while Julie fished the pie out of the refrigerator, "I... was... a... a bit distracted."
"Oh... anything interesting?" Julie asked.
"Just all you did for me," Eric gave a weak smile as Julie set down desert forks on the plates that Eric had retrieved.
"Things seemed to be getting to you," Julie answered, "Had to help you keep your head on straight."
They watched each other quietly for a few moments, and Eric found himself captivated by her eyes which seemed to twinkle under the kitchen's lighting. He privately wondered if this was a feeling that his parents had felt when they looked to each other, but at the same time... it felt strangely good in a way.
"So... uh..." Eric began, "where would you want to go?"
"Go where?" Julie asked.
"For a date," Eric answered weakly, "If you want to. I'm afraid I don't know all the hot spots people go at Moon Lake... and... uh... well... you're actually the first girl I've ever had anything more than a simple "hello" in the hallway with."
"Well..." Julie mused, "there are plenty of things we could do... Moon Lake has a sort of a little ice cream shop, but it's a bit late for that. We have a small movie theater if you'd like to go there... though for warning, we're a bit behind when compared to other places. So movies that were new when your family left Minnesota probably aren't showing here... yet. We have a bowling alley... though they wouldn't let us go in on our own until we're sixteen."
"Does Moon Lake have any museums or the like?" Eric wondered, "Something that memorializes the history of the town?"
"No not really," Julie answered, "that'd get into the potential of letting the world know we exist."
"There'd have to be some place we could go?" Eric wondered.
"Well... there's also the lake and some hiking trails if you're into nature," Julie answered, "Or we could always get pizza or burger or something like that."
Eric thought for a moment.
"Maybe for a first date... we could just look at the town as a whole," Eric commented, "Sights to see, landmarks... and so on. We could get something to eat along the way. And with that vixen out of the way... there'll be no threat."
"That doesn't sound to bad," Julie smiled, "especially since we'll have some work to do for the Halloween Dance."
Eric found himself smiling at the memory of the dream he'd had with him and Julie at a Halloween Dance, and Julie said she liked the idea. Julie smiled back, though their conversation and date planning was soon interrupted.
"Come on you two!" came Melissa's voice, sounding actually rather playful, "we're all waiting for desert!"
"Best to get going then," Julie said to Eric and the two were soon carrying the slices of pie that Julie had cut and served onto the desert plates back to the dining room.