Mimmi huffed and puffed at she dragged her stuffed animal cart up the hill, finally able to throw on the break and put it in position for the day. She went behind the cart and began to stock all different kinds of stuffed sea animals on the shelves (though not many of them struck her as accurate). She loved having her job here, it was her way of blending in and learning more about the people here on land. In only just a few months, there was almost nothing that caught her by surprise but was constantly fascinated with all the technology that surrounded her. There was never anything very interesting like this in the ocean, and all of the human gadgets didn't seem to work underwater.
The Marine Park was completely deserted before opening, save for a few employees bustling around in some last minute preparation for customers. Mimmi's cart wasn't all that hard to set up, so she had a few extra minutes on her hands before the park opened its gates.
Mimmi took her cell phone from her back pocket (She finally wore Rita down into letting her get one) and flipped through looking for messages. Well, more like one message. She was waiting on her daily text from Chris, ever since she got her phone they ended up texting and calling non-stop, which seemed to annoy a bit of the others since the time difference from America was so drastic. But that didn't seem to stop her.
Chris had been overseas doing an internship in America for the past few months. He worked really hard in order to get the stop and it was the biggest opportunity, there was no way that he could have passed it up. And as sad as it made Mimmi that he was gone, she knew that over there he was really really happy.
It was around this time that Chris would have been let out of class and he would either have free time in his dorm or go to the dining hall for some dinner.
Mimmi flicked upward to refresh the page once more, but was once again disappointed to see that nothing came through. She sighed and shoved her phone back down in her pocket, since the first few guests were starting to make their way through the park.
She smiled at a few of the customers but none of them seemed very interested in buying a stuffed toy, she looked at her phone again and in seeing that only a few minutes had passed Mimmi thought to herself, This is going to be a long shift.
Mimmi suddenly jumped as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, she prayed to every sea god that it wasn't her manager catching her on her phone when she was working. "Are you waiting to hear from me or something?" A familiar voice asked.
Immediately, she whirled around and came face to face with Chris. The mermaid grinned from ear to ear and threw her arms around him, "Chris! I can't believe you're back! Why didn't you tell me that you were coming home?"
He chuckled at her, "It's good to see you too, Mimmi. Sorry I wasn't here sooner, they wouldn't let me in until the park opened. I wanted to surprise you."
"Well, I am surprised," Mimmi said with a smile, "And you're here now so that's all that matters."
"Oh I almost forgot!" Christ pulled his right hand out from behind his back. He held a little glass snow globe that pictured Hollywood Boulevard lined with palm trees, and with a small shake, glitter floated all around the glass ball and then once again settled at the bottom. "Only America's finest, just for you."
"Wow!" Mimmi said in amazement, taking it from his hand and shaking the globe for herself, "Thank you so much! I can't believe you thought of me while you were over there."
"Are you kidding?" He replied, "I couldn't stop thinking about you." As soon as the sentence left his lips, Chris' ears turned pink and he began to stare at a fixed point on the ground.
"Hey," Mimmi said putting a hand on his arm and giving him a wink, "Don't worry, I know how you feel."
He laughed nervously, "So, do you need any help?"
Mimmi looked around her cart, everything had been set up and people didn't buy souvenirs this early into their trip because they'd have to carry it around with them all day. "It shouldn't be too busy here for a while."
Chris smiled at her, "Good that means I'm not keeping you from anything. I have a whole day planned for us as soon as you get off work. Just you wait."
The rest of Mimmi's work day went smoothly, and with Chris helping her out the time seemed to fly by. It was crazy because she knew how much she missed him but now actually spending time with him she could only now begin to feel the longing in her heart subside.
After her coworker showed up to take her shift, Mimmi retreated to the back room of the main office in the marine park to punch out. Chris was waiting for her on the other side of the door and no sooner had she stepped through did he pull her close and press their lips together.
Fireworks exploded in Mimmi's stomach and she felt so elated that she could just float up and walk on air. Chris pulled away. "I had to wait three months to do that, but waiting another few hours until you had to clock out was absolute torture."
Mimmi laughed, "We wouldn't want me looking unprofessional at work, right?"
"Nope," Chris replied, taking her hand and leading her out the the back parking lot to where his car was parked. Chris got in behind the steering wheel and Mimmi climbed in the passenger side. She still didn't know how to drive, though she had been begging Rita to teach her. Mimmi had picked up some of the fundamentals from watching other people but was still itching to try it herself.
"So, where are we going?" Mimmi queried.
"Well, I was thinking a quick stop at the café for some fuel after a long and hard day at work. Then it'll be a quick drive to a private cove where we can take a walk on the beach during sunset." Chris said, looking proud of himself, he pulled out onto the main road and twisted the knob that controlled the volume of the radio. A new pop song began blasting through the speakers.
"That sounds perfect," Mimmi said, she'd just have to be extra careful at the beach, it wasn't anything that she couldn't handle.
Chris pulled into the parking lot of the Ocean Café and the pair hopped out of the car. They walked inside and Chris went to find them a table and order while Mimmi changed out of her work clothes. After leaving the bathroom with changed clothes and a new layer of lip gloss, Mimmi was stopped by her friend Evie.
"What is he doing back here?" She asked excitedly for her friend. She knew how much she had been secretly pining for him.
"He surprised me at work today, I had no idea he was coming home," Mimmi replied with the same excitement. They tried to keep their voices low as to not let Chris know they were talking about him. But she got the idea that he kept looking at them from the corner of his eye.
"Well, don't let me stop you. Have fun today!" Evie gave her friend a small shove in the direction of Chris' table.
Soon the couple received their drinks and food and were happily talking and catching up. Chris told Mimmi of the unbelievable classes and first hand experiences that he got to participate in. The Marine Park even offered him a job as a training assistant for the dolphin tank, which meant the two of them would be working together again.
Mimmi was so thrilled by the idea that they would be spending more time together and that he even wanted to. Looking across the table at him, Mimmi felt that she could spend every second of everyday with Chris and still never tire of being with him. The taste of him still lingered on her lips and in her mouth, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, but with so many people here and watching she had to hold herself back.
Chris looked down at his watch and practically jumped up from the table, "Sunset is in less than an hour! We need to go." He went up to the front counter and paid David for their food. David gave a Mimmi a small go-get-him wink.
They, once again, climbed into Chris' car and he raced a few miles up the coast and pulled over on the side of the road near a secluded stretch of beach. Chris clamored over to open the car door for Mimmi, "Is this alright?"
Mimmi looked at the beach that was in front of them, there was pure white sand and crystal blue water. The sinking sun on the horizon reflected and glittered off the water. On the left, a cliff towered up above the waves and a few other rocks stuck up in the sand. She smiled over at her companion, "It's perfect."
They walked side by side, and removed their shoes to walk barefoot in the warm sand. Chris walked by the water's edge but Mimmi kept her distance. Eventually, they fell into step and Chris' fingers lightly intertwined with Mimmi's. She looked down at their interlocked fingers and couldn't tell which ones belonged to who.
He found a sand dune to sit on to watch the sun sink below the horizon. Mimmi took a seat next to him, and slowly positioned herself closer to him. A cool wind blew in over the ocean, making goose bumps raise up on Mimmi's arms.
"Oh, are you cold?" Chris asked with growing concern.
"Just a little," Mimmi replied, rubbing her hands up and down her arms.
Chris reached out and out his arm around Mimmi, pulling her closer so that her head rested comfortably on his chest. His fingers traced light figure-eights on her arms, sending chills down her spine. Mimmi buried her head deeper into Chris' chest, inhaling his scent. With the smell of his cologne mixed with the sea air around her and she got an overwhelming sense of feeling at home.
Soon the sun sank beneath the horizon and crickets were chirping peacefully in the distance, but it was still a while before either of them dared to move. They had both waited so long for the day that they were to be reunited that now it almost felt like a dream. It was Mimmi who finally lifted her head and softly said, "We should start getting back. The others might start to worry about me."
Chris understood and helped Mimmi to her feet, the two retrieved their shoes which were lying in the now cool sand and got back into the car. With directions from Mimmi, Chris was able to locate Rita's house which was not too far away.
As Chris pulled down the driveway, Mimmi gathered her bag and the snow globe that had been gifted to her that morning. They walked to the front doorstep hand-in-hand and Chris was about to kiss Mimmi goodnight when she suggested that he come inside to meet everyone.
Chris felt that it was only right to finally meet Mimmi's family after hearing so much about them. Mimmi turned the key in the lock and pushed through the front door, they were met with a cacophony of excited chatter coming from the living room. Rita, Zac, Evie, Cam, David, Sirena, Ondina and Weilan were all sitting in the living room, but all conversation quickly died out as their eyes fell upon Chris.
Introductions were made (with a little overprotectiveness from Zac) but the group seemed to happily welcome Chris. He told them all that he was glad to have finally met them but he did need to start heading home as it was getting late and he began work that next morning.
That's when time slowed down.
Mimmi got up to hug him goodbye and thank him for the wonderful day that they had spent together but as she pulled away the snow globe that Mimmi still held was knocked out of her hands. The globe seemed to tumble from her hands in slow motion until it finally smashed into the hardwood floor, sending water and shattered glass all over the pair's feet and legs.
For a moment, everyone froze. Mimmi wanted to run but knew that it was too late, she didn't have time to even make it out of the room before time was up, let alone hide. Everyone in the room, except for Chris, knew what would happen in the seconds to come and they all waited with baited breath.
Then, Mimmi toppled to the floor as she no longer had legs to hold her up, and was exposed as a mermaid.
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