Things were going so well up until now.
Steven had run up to Dewey babbling excitedly about an idea he had for the town's annual parade. The mayor had been listening fairly attentively until a certain shade of pearl white and ocean blue entered his vision. He swallowed down a squeak that nearly escaped when none other than Pearl tiptoed across the boardwalk to reach Steven.
He flustered, fumbling for something to say to the woman. Luckily, Steven turned to Pearl and pulled her into the rather one-sided conversation for him. The boy insisted that Dewey implement his idea for a magnificent float in the parade, then waited politely for the man to answer. Realizing that it was his turn to speak, Dewey cleared his throat, his eyes flickering away from the perfect lady before him.
"Ah, yes! Well, young Steven, I'm glad to see your budding interest in getting involved in the parade. I'll do what I can to make your float a huge success. Of course, it'll need an extra pair of hands as the volunteers we have are quite busy," he informed the boy. As he was speaking, it dawned on Dewey that he didn't know where to find those extra hands. Most of the citizens of Beach City were already busy. Making a false promise to the young Universe would risk damaging future dealings with the Gems, so perhaps it was best to leave the project in the boy's hands.
"Maybe I can of some help," Pearl offered, her bow tail swishing as she stepped forward.
Steven's face brightened and Dewey looked at her with sparkles in his eyes.
"Steven can be in charge of the art direction and I can craft a float in time since you have so much to manage. Of course, you'll need to make sure that it follows regulations so that our work can be displayed," Pearl pressed the tips of her fingers together and pointed them down, a thoughtful expression taking over.
"That is what we need to do to get a float in the parade, right Steven?" she turned to the boy. Before he could answer, Dewey hastily gripped Pearl's hands and shook them in deep gratitude.
"Yes, yes! That's perfect! With your help, Steven and all the citizens will have plenty of time to make their individual projects dazzle. And may I just say that you have the best skin and-"
His eyes bulged and Pearl stood before him confused. He retracted his hands to clasp his palms.
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"I simply meant that as a compliment to how well you tend to your beauty. You must surely use an effective moisturizer," he flustered, his blushing cheeks sweating steadily. His brain tried to think of a way to hide under the desk in his office, but all that was coming to mind was the internal shrieking that he ruined a simple interaction with the lovely Pearl.
"Well, that isn't quite correct. This 'skin' is merely a holographic form with mass that I have chosen to use as my appearance. It isn't at all like organic human skin that one would use beauty products to maintain," Pearl informed Dewey in a manner-of-fact tone.
He pulled at his collar and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, yes, well I appreciate the information. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he recovered.
"But the intention in your compliment was nice, despite your lack of Gem understanding," Pearl conceded, a pale blue rising in her cheeks. "Come on Steven, we've got a work to do and material to collect."
"Bye, Mayor Dewey! We'll keep you updated on our float!" Steven promised, waving goodbye as they trotted away.
Dewey waved after them, staring after the bobbing wave of Pearl's short hair. Or hologram as she called it.
She took my compliment, he thought in disbelief. He straightened his back. "Bill, my man, you've still got it."
