Angel and Vaggie arrived at Alastor's house at precisely five o'clock, Angel knew how picky Alastor could be about time. He wouldn't stand for lateness. He remembered how one time, he owed Alastor a favor and that favor was to pick up Beth from school which was about three years prior. But Angel was twenty minutes late due to over-sleeping a nasty hangover. Alastor was ready to kill him when he found out. From then on Angel vowed never to be late again if Alastor was involved.
In matters of clothing, both the women wore casual but pretty dresses. Charlie's was a long and flowing cream color while Vaggie's was an olive short skirt that showed a lot of skin. Vaggie's dress was given to her by Valentino, he was expecting her to try to seduce Angel tonight but she had no intention of doing so and she felt embarrassed showing so much. Lucky thing, Husk sneaked her a jacket to wear just before she left.
Vaggie and Charlie were surprised to see that they were the unofficial dates of the other gentleman. Vaggie in particular was not only surprised but a little afraid and guilty. If Alastor became involved with Valentino, then how long before the psycho would find out what Charlie was? Now as of right now he didn't believe a mermaid would come out of the sea and on to land but he wasn't a stupid man. Well at least not stupid in detecting a supernatural creature. If Charlie ever encountered met him, he'd see through her false human form and sniff out her true species instantly.
"What are the odds huh?" Charlie asked Vaggie as they outside waited for Alastor to get his keys and Angel to finish giving his hair a quick fluff. "That are guy friends already knew each other."
"Yeah funny." Vaggie said.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. I'm just not used to going out with people. I normally keep to myself or to the circus. Although it's not like I have a choice in the matter."
"What do you mean?"
"When it comes to socializing with people outside the circus, Valentino keeps us on a tight leash. He wants to make sure we don't get any ideas like asking for help. We're lucky if he ever lets us leave the tent."
"At least he's letting you go out tonight."
"Yeah but don't you get any ideas about trying to help me escape or anything. Remember what we talked about. If I run, I'm dead with a flick of his wrist no matter how far away I am."
"I won't." She sighed and she quickly hid her worry when the guys came out of the house.
They stepped into Alastor's car and he proceeded to drive them down to A Night on the Ocean, one of the most popular dinner theaters in Louisiana. The exterior of the building was designed to resemble a fancy theater but the interior was decorated like the first class level of a cruise ship.
The restaurant was decorated with exquisitely carved French walnut panelling trimmed in gilt-brass accents. Fluted columns were interspersed throughout the room were carved with gilded ribbons and the plaster ceilings were delicately molded with flower and ribbon motifs. The tables were covered with white table cloths and adorned with pink peonies and white daisies. Silver wear, china plates, and crystal glasses were set on each table and a lit candle was at the center. The tables were all set up to where anyone who sat there would have a perfect view of the stage.
"I have to admit, this is impressive." Vaggie said.
"Indeed." Alastor said. "I'm surprised that I didn't know about this place sooner."
"Well I didn't know about it until I ate here six months ago." Angel said.
"Don't take this the wrong way Angel, but how were you able to afford to eat here six months ago?" Alastor said.
"It was my sister Molly's birthday, and Archangelo and myself had put our savings together to take her out somewhere nice. Like here."
"That's so sweet." Charlie said.
"Well Archangelo and I had our differences but one of the few things we agreed on was that we loved our sister Molly more than anything. She was like a second mother to us both."
"Did she enjoy herself on her birthday?" Alastor said.
"She said it was one of the best birthdays ever and that's saying something because growing up we didn't exactly have many happy birthdays. In fact that was the first happy birthday we ever celebrated since Nonna died."
"Nonna?" Charlie asked.
"His maternal grandmother." Alastor answered.
"She died about three years ago." Angel said.
"I'm so sorry." Charlie said.
"It's fine. She went peacefully." Angel picked up a menu. "So on a different subject, who's hungry?"
It took them five minutes to decide what on they wanted to order and in about thirty minutes their meal was delivered. Angel had ordered stuffed oysters which was the cheapest thing on the menu, Vaggie had ordered the smoked salmon, and Alastor and Charlie had decided to share an order of lobster. Poor Charlie, as soon as the food was placed in front of her, she picked up that lobster and started biting into it. She didn't even bother cracking it, she just sank her teeth into the shell and munched on it ravenously.
It wasn't long before everyone was staring at her. Eventually Charlie noticed the stares and it caused her to feel very self-conscious. She stopped eating and shrunk into her chair in embarrassment. In response Alastor proceeded to eat his lobster the same way, followed by Angel nibbling on the up opened oysters. Now the customers were staring at all of them strangely. It made Charlie giggle quietly. How sweet of them to not let her be a subject of ridicule alone. And even though the gesture was sweet, Vaggie opted for a different approach.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's not polite to stare?!" Vaggie snapped at the rude customers. "What's your problem? Haven't you all ever seen anyone eat shellfish before?"
The other customers looked away. Charlie smiled at Vaggie and the boys gratefully. She considered herself very lucky to have friends like them.
Shortly afterward, the show finally started. The lights dimmed and the curtains slowly lifted up to reveal a beautifully designed setting that resembled the illustrations of a storybook. Atmospheric music played and costumed performers appeared on stage. A voice over narrated the opening events, the story was of two pirate crews who were bitter rivals. The hatred was especially strong between the captains of each crew. Captain Slater Salvotore and Captain Leda Lee. Their goal was to steal the lost treasure of Blackbeard before the other crew could.
However Captain Salvotore's cabin boy Edmund and Captain Lee's niece Marabelle had secretly fallen in love. Every night they would sneak off to the shore to see each other where they would kiss and embrace. On stage the couple's love was expressed through an elegant but passionate ballet. A dance so full of emotion and beauty. But then their love was discovered by Captain Salvotore and Captain Lee who cruelly separated the young lovers.
The voice over spoke again and through a firey tango, it was revealed to the audience that long ago, Slater and Leda were very much in love and had planned to find Blackbeard's treasure together. But Blackbeard's evil ghost turned them against one another by whispering lies about the other planning to betray his lover and steal the treasure for his/herself. The tango between the actors was spirited and wild, displaying a budding romance that gradually turned to a bitter hatred due to the manipulations of another.
In the second act, Edmund and Marabelle had decided to run away together. Refusing to let other people's hate destroy their love. But the night of their elopement was the very same night both crews discovered the cave of Blackbeard's treasure. The pirate crews fought, amidst the chaos, Edmund and Marabelle tried to get to each other. But Blackbeard's ghost summoned a terrible sea storm to destroy them all and protect his treasure forever. As the pirates were fleeing, Marabelle was shoved into the water and Edmund jumped after her without second thought. Only Captian Salvotore and Captain Lee stayed behind to look for them but they had both vanished.
When the storm calmed the captains mourned and blamed each other for the demise of the innocent young lovers. But suddenly Davy Jones, the one who reigns over all the seas and storms, spoke to the captains. Edmund and Marabelle's love had touched his salty, stone heart so deeply that he revealed to Slater and Leda the truth of why their love and turned hate. He also assured them that though Edmund and Marabelle's bodies are lost at sea, their souls will live forever in Heaven where they can love each other without fear and that Blackbeard's ghost will rot in the darkest depths for all eternity.
The show ended with Slater and Leda ending their feud and watching as the spirits of Edmund and Marabelle danced in the morning sun. It brought tears to Charlie's eyes.
"That was so beautiful." Charlie sobbed. "But so sad. Can love really be destroyed so easily by someone else's lies?"
"Sometimes." Angel said. "Not always though."
"Love is complicated Charlie." Alastor said. "And sometimes, when people fall in love, they're afraid that it might be too good to be true. And for people like that, it's easy to see the worst in everything and in everyone."
"But how can that be real love? I mean, if you really love someone shouldn't you see the best in them? Or at least have enough faith and trust in them to not believe the lies of others?"
"As I said, it's complicated. People like you believe that love is very simple but the truth is, it's almost always more complex than that."
Angel and Vaggie said nothing but they understood what his words meant perfectly. Charlie remained confused but she would understand eventually