Mimmi was stressed out. She finished collecting her ingredients and was now at work. She was leaning on her toy cart, spinning a dolphin keychain on her index finger, her gaze far away. She was thinking about her mother and what to do with her. When they met in the moon pool, it was nice and calm. She and Zac got some of their questions answered, but it still seemed like she was holding something back.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even see Chris coming up to her until he waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Is anybody home?"

Mimmi blinked a few times and then looked at the man who interrupted her thoughts. She smiled brightly when she saw him, all of her worries instantly melting away.

He chuckled and bent down to plant a kiss on her cheek, sending Mimmi's cheeks crimson.

Chris smiled when he saw that he caused her to become flushed.

"So, you were pretty lost in thought. What were you thinking about?"

"You know, stuff" Mimmi said with a wave of her hand. She didn't realize that she still had the dolphin keychain on her finger and it flew off into the nearby dolphin pen.

Both teens watched as it hit the water with a satisfying plop.

Mimmi looked at Chris with horror on her face. "Oops" she said.

Chris laughed. "I'm sure I can get the dolphin to get that for me later. But for now…" he put his arm around Mimmi's waist. "I am treating you to a picnic for lunch to get your mind away from that stuff you mentioned."

Mimmi sighed and snuggled in closer. "We only have 20 minutes for lunch."

She could feel Chris chuckling. "Then I guess we'll have to eat fast."

The brunette pulled away. "Okay, you go on ahead. Let me just close up my cart and I'll meet you by the gate."

Chris pouted for a second, but did what he was told. Mimmi watched him until he was completely out of sight before dashing to the dolphin exhibit. The mermaid looked around to see if she was truly alone before letting out a soft squeak. The dolphin greeted her with a series of clicking noises. She made a few clicking noises of her own before the dolphin dove beneath the water. It returned in a matter of seconds with the plastic keychain in its mouth. With a flick of its head, the keychain was sent flying into the air which Mimmi was able to catch with a wave of her hand. Not wanting the water to touch her, she dried it in midair before levitating it back down on her stand. She gave a thank-you click to the dolphin before grabbing her bag and running out to meet Chris.

They walked hand in hand down to the beach. Chris spread out a blanket and plopped down his picnic basket. Mimmi stared out at the waves as Chris started to pull out the food. It was a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky. Mimmi felt at peace for once in her busy life.

"And a fish sandwich for the lady," Chris said, handing Mimmi her food. Mimmi smiled and accepted it, biting into it. It was exactly how she liked it. A charred fish with seaweed on white bread. Chris remembered her weird choice of sandwich.

Mimmi sighed contently as she chewed her sandwich. Chris smiled. "Is it good?"

Mimmi blushed a pale pink and swallowed. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was."

Chris nodded and took a bite out of his own sandwich. They both were silent for a second as they chewed their food. Chris was the one to break the silence.

"Are you okay? You seem distracted."

Mimmi sighed and set down her sandwich. Realizing that whatever Mimmi was going to say would be important, Chris followed suit. He turned to give his date his full attention.

"My mother came back," Mimmi said after a brief moment of hesitation.

Chris' eyes went wide with shock. "You mean the mother that has been missing? Mimmi, that's fantastic! Congratulations!"

Mimmi didn't smile, but instead, looked down at the sand.

Chris scooted closer to her. "But I'm guessing that's not what you wanted to hear. Why is that upsetting you?"

The brunette looked up at him and he could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. Mimmi took a deep breath. "She wants me to move back with her to Canada."

Chris was silent as he absorbed the news. "Forever?" he asked.

Mimmi shrugged and wiped her eyes with the back of her palm. Chris took the opportunity to pull it away from her face and hold it in his own hand. Mimmi looked back at him to see compassion in his eyes.

"I'm guessing you don't want to go back."

Mimmi sighed deeply. "I was four when I left. I remember almost nothing. I didn't even know I had a biological family there. I have a family here that loves me. I found my best friend here. I found my brother and his family," she hesitated for a moment. "And I found you. I'm not ready to go back."

Chris pulled her to his side. She placed her head on his shoulder. Together, they stared out at the sea.

"Then stay," Chris said quietly.

Mimmi swallowed. "But my mother is going back. I want to get to know her. I want to find out more about my family and where I came from. I want to know who I am."

Chris pulled back and looked at his date. "I can tell you who you are. You are an incredible, sweet, generous and caring girl that I want to get to know even more. Anyone who knows you well enough can tell you that" he looked back out to the sea. "Family is what you make it."

Mimmi remembered the challenges he faced with his parents. She snuggled closer to him and sighed.

"Thanks, Chris."

Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was smiling. "Anytime."

Mimmi pulled back, closed her eyes and made her lips into a line. "I ruined this date," she said guiltily.

Chris cocked his head. "No you didn't. I like talking to you. I like finding out more about you."

"But you planned this amazing lunch and all we did was sit here and talk about my crazy life. We barely touched the food."

Shrugging, Chris answered, "I'll save it for later. The food was made by the café, so I'm sure they can make your weird sandwich again."

Mimmi giggled and looked at her watch. "We have 5 minutes left. We should start heading back now."

"Or," Chris said, "We can come in late and instead go swimming."

Mimmi's eyes widened. "No!"

Chris looked at her strangely.

"I mean, no because we don't have any time and we don't have our swim suits."

Chris sighed and nodded. "You're right." A smile blossomed over his lips. "Though we do have time for an ice cream! Come on, I'm buying."

Together, they picked up the picnic and walked to the ice cream shop before returning to work. After his shift was done, Chris retrieved his stuff from his locker. He grabbed his car keys and smiled as something caught his eye. He drove home with a little plastic dolphin attached to his keys.

I ADORE WRITING FLUFF!

I wish I could write more fluff, but I need to finish some stuff up.

Okay, here I what I have coming up.

The twin's choices to stay or go

More of Andi and Nic

Don't think I forgot about the purple book. The owner will be revealed soon enough.

Answering your question about Evie's tail

Now I have a question. Do you guys want anything else? Maybe some Zevie? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

~Moonlight Mermaids