Chapter 2 #2
Pearl cut off her mother. “I want to do this on my own.”
Her mom stood and pulled her into her arms, holding her like she did when she was a child.
Pearl closed her eyes and listened to her mom’s heart beating.
It was comforting, and she’d missed her mother’s hugs this past year.
It was kind of harder being an older student in college, but she made the best of it.
But this, her mother’s love and care, she missed.
“I’m very proud of you and your dad would be too.” Mom’s voice wobbled a bit.
“Mom, don’t get emotional.” Pearl broke off the hug. “You have to man the shop today since Margaid is in the city doing her government things and Finn has clients to take out fishing. You can’t be sobbing over the dew worms.”
Mom brushed a tear away quickly laughing. “You’re right. Sorry, I just sometimes can’t believe you and Finn are both so grown up.”
“Believe it.” Pearl grabbed her purse from the counter and the basket on the table. “I’ll drop this off at Room with a Tomb.”
“Remember, when you’re in the dead-and-breakfast, ghosts run freely there. Everyone can see them.”
“I know. I met that ghost Mario and his package at Christmas.”
It was quite the tourist draw for Room with a Tomb that the ghosts who inhabited the inn could be seen by everyone, and that one of the ghosts, Mario, had been offed by Sal back in the forties, and that Mario had died without a stitch of clothing on.
He had clothes to wear that were wet because he went to “swim with the fishes” in the old koi pond, but he didn’t like to put them on.
They always returned, but Mario was always shedding them.
Mom made a face. “Yes, well. Good luck today.”
Pearl blew her mom a kiss and headed outside. She ran down the steps of the back apartment, enjoying the warm summer morning, though she had heard the temperature was supposed to get hotter as the day went on.
As she made her way down to the docks, she saw Mercer the kraken lifeguard in the water.
“Bonjour, Pearl!” Mercer called out.
Pearl waved back. “Have a great day.”
“I will.”
Pearl tucked the basket under her arm and had a skip in her step as made her way over to Pleasant Street, on her way to Room with a Tomb dead-and-breakfast. It was early and Harmony Glen was just waking up.
It was her favorite time of day.
She was excited to see Mercedes, her bestie, again. And Magnus and Sven too, because they were also like big brothers to her. She was just glad to be back home for the summer.
This didn’t feel like just any summer either.
This was the summer that everything was going to change.
She wasn’t sure if it was a ripple in the magical atmospheric bubble that shimmered over Harmony Glen, making it a special place, or just the change in her.
And really, Harmony Glen didn’t have some kind of magic bubble over it, but somedays it felt like that.
There was a change in the air and she was one hundred percent here for it.
As she jogged up the steps toward Room with a Tomb dead-and-breakfast, the main front doors opened and her heart skipped a beat as a very tall gill man stepped outside.
For one brief moment she though it was Phineas, but then realized it wasn’t.
This gill man appeared older and had a small scar under his eye that ran down his face.
“Salut,” the stranger greeted, nodding his head. He had a slight southern drawl.
“Good morning,” Pearl answered, finally finding her voice.
He walked past her, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans and strolling down the street toward downtown with a jaunty step.
Pearl stood there, watching him.
Save for the scar and the fact he looked like slightly older, that gill man reminded her of Phineas.
There weren’t many gill men around in the northern states. Most of Phineas’ kind of monster gravitated to warmer climates. Even though Harmony Glen had embraced monsters and magical beings with open arms, not all places did.
In fact, one of the neighboring towns called Tallowfield was an example of being a bit prejudiced. Even though Tallowfield was full of witches, wizards, and other unsavory dark magic practicers, they didn’t like any monster-looking monsters.
Pearl tore her gaze away from the visitor and headed straight into Room with a Tomb. As she stepped into the lobby, the enchanted vacuum, Vlad the Inhaler Jr., whirred by, doing its daily task of hoovering the front foyer carpet.
She sidestepped Vlad and made her way to the reception desk, where Sven was leaning against the counter and working on his computer. His expression was slightly pained. Before his curse was broken, he spent hours hovering. Now, he couldn’t hover, and she wondered if his feet hurt.
“Morning, Sven,” Pearl called out.
Sven glanced up and beamed brightly, his blue eyes twinkling. “Hi, Pearl.”
“I haven’t seen you with blue eyes,” she teased. “Though they are not as unnerving as your red eyes.” At least the red eyes were familiar.
Sven chuckled. “That’s because you’ve been away at school and you’ve only ever seen me cursed.”
Pearl set down the basket of products her mother had sent. “True, though it’s great you and Magnus can come visit me in the city now. That’s a hint by the way for you to come and see me.”
“I want to. Magnus and I both want to visit you. I like traveling, but I also like staying put. Flo isn’t quite up to traveling far from home yet.”
“And you’re not used to being completely solid. You look a bit pained standing there.”
Sven sighed. “It’s murder on my feet.”
“I’ve brought stuff from my mom for you to sell to the guests. I have no idea what she sent.”
“The same stuff she has over at Ogram’s farm market.” Sven took the basket and set it behind the counter. “Mercedes isn’t here right now. She’s out running some errands with Magnus and she’s taken Flo along.”
Pearl was disappointed. “I see. Well, let her know I stopped by. I’m on my way to the hospital anyways to talk about my placement this summer.”
Sven smiled at her. “I’m super proud of you.”
“Thanks.” She leaned against the counter.
Sven cocked an eyebrow. “Was there something else?”
“You have a gill man staying with you.”
“Yes, he’s from Louisiana.”
Pearl blinked a couple of times. “So that’s why he had a French accent. Wonder why he’s here.”
“He says he’s on the search for family and was headed to the library.”
“You didn’t tell him about Phineas?”
“No, because that’s not my business. However, I do find it odd because most gill people are from the south, like Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida…you know, where the swamps are. I know a few migrated north for safety, but it’s strange to look for family here.”
Pearl frowned. “I don’t know much about it either. Well, I hope he finds what he’s looking for.”
“Me too. I hope he has an enjoyable stay in Harmony Glen.”
As much as Pearl wanted to ask Sven the mystery gill man’s name, she didn’t. One, because Sven wouldn’t tell her due to confidentiality, and two, she didn’t want to be completely nosey.
Okay, she sort of wanted to be nosey, but that wasn’t her.
“Let Mercedes know I’ll talk to her later.”
“Will do,” Sven said. “Good luck at the hospital.”
Pearl nodded and left the dead-and-breakfast. She tried not to think about the visiting gill man but wondered if he had any relation to Phineas, though that seemed a bit far-fetched. Phineas had no family left after his parents were murdered, making him an orphan.
Part of her really hoped this new gill man could be distantly related to Phineas, because she knew how he longed for family and connection. Also, it seemed too coincidental that there was another gill man in Harmony Glen.
It seemed like a fairy tale or a kind of novel plot twist, but Pearl also was a realist and knew that life didn’t work out that way. Not everyone got happily ever afters, even if lately it seemed like that was the case because everyone around here was finding love.
Maybe I’ll get my happily ever after?
Pearl’s heart skipped a beat.
Wouldn’t that be awesome?