Charlie gazed upon each flower in the bouquet with sheer adoration and amazement, while taking the time to savor each sweet scent that their petals gave off. She had always possessed a soft spot for flowers, loving the bright red Sea Flowers or the white and pink Water Lillies. But truth be told, land flowers were her personal favorite because there were so many species, colors, shapes, and scents. As a child, she had tried to collect land flowers to add to her own undersea garden but unfortunately, such blossoms were not meant to survive at the bottom of the ocean, so far from the sun. So she eventually learned to just briefly cherish them in their own habitat whenever she went up to the surface, and at least there were some flowers that flourished in her kingdom.
"You know it's no mystery to me that women adore flowers." Alastor had said when he observed Charlie taking another whiff of the bouquet. "But I don't think I've seen any female love them as much as you."
"I can't help it." She remarked. "Flowers like these are so rare where I come from. Oh we do have flowers that grow in our area but not many.
You know when my father was trying to set me up with that guy from the other commune, I had hoped that maybe he could bring me flowers or do another gesture that's simple yet sweet. But he never did. He thought it was too cliche."
"Well I will admit bringing a woman flowers is a centuries old act and perhaps a little cliche, but old and cliche isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least not all the time. Just out of harmless curiosity, how did this fellow go about, wooing you?"
"Well..." She said thinking back to when she and Seviathan had first started spending time together.
At first glance he seemed like a reasonable merman. Someone she could get along with and maybe even develop feelings for if she tried. He was young, good-looking, strong, athletic. In fact he had been a champion in the aquatic olympics and had fought in several battles alongside his father. Unfortunately all he could ever talk about was himself. How he had been undefeated in both combat and athletics. How no other merman could ever hope to become a specimen as magnificent as him. But what really put the nail in the coffin of that arrangement, was when he boasted on how once they became mates, he would use his brawn and skills to subject his human rivals to a slow and brutal death in which he would tear their flesh and bones to bits as a Great White Shark would do to it's prey.
There was no way in Heaven or Earth, on land or in the sea, that she would ever mate with such an arrogant, pompous, war monger. The fool was so eager to shed human blood, he wouldn't even consider listening to her suggestions for a peaceful solution to deal with humanity. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he never paid any attention to her interests and hobbies, calling them meaningless and a waste of time.
If there's one thing she's learned from her mother, it was,
"Never mate with any male who refuses to listen." Lilith had said. "Your father may act like he handles all the big decisions around here in front of his friends and our subjects, but he wouldn't dare sign any treaty, pass any law, or make any choice in raising you and your sisters without consulting me first. And that's how relationships are supposed to work. Both parties get a say and both parties must listen to that say, don't ever forget that."
So obviously that relationship was going nowhere. If Charlie was going to mate with anyone then she needed someone thoughtful, willing to listen, caring, and reasonable. Someone like Alastor.
Wait a minute why was she using Alastor as an example for someone she could be with? True they had shared a kiss but that was just them getting caught up in the moment. She couldn't possibly consider spending her life with him. It would never workout. They were two completely different species and they came from two completely different worlds. It was crazy.
"The sandwich is wonderful darling." Alastor said as he began to eat his lunch. "You make it better than me."
"Really?" She asked.
"I'll swear to it." He said.
"Thank you. I'm glad you like it."
After lunch, they had awhile before Alastor had to pick up Beth and then go to work so he and Charlie decided to spend their free time walking around town and browsing inside the shops. They went inside a candle and soap shop, a book store, the grocery market, and a pawn shop.
"So what exactly does a pawn shop sell?" Charlie asked.
"Well they sell just about anything but they'll offer loans and are willing to offer money in exchange for valuable items that can sell later." Alastor explained. "For example if you had something gold that you'd like to sell, you could bring it here and trade it for money."
"What about jewels?"
"Yes you could trade jewelry too. You'd probably get a lot for a diamond."
"What about a pearl?"
"A single pearl is nice but more pearls are considered valuable because they can be made into necklaces."
"I know someplace where you can find a lot of pearls. There's an oyster bed at the bottom of the grotto where I used to live."
"Yeah but pearl diving is very dangerous, it requires a person to stay underwater for a very long time, and opening those oysters might break your fingers." He said.
"It's no trouble for me."
"I seriously doubt that." He chuckled.
Alastor then glanced over to look at some of the model boats that were on display and he stopped at one model in particular. It was a vintage replica of a steamboat, one that looked identical to a model that his father had given him for his fifth birthday. It was even the same color and the same design.
"Do you like that?" Charlie asked noticing his gaze on it.
"Yeah I do." He said. "It looks just like a model ship my father gave me. When he would take my mother and myself out sailing, he would let me put it in the water and watch it float."
"Do you still have it?"
"No. One time when my stepfather was mad at me for not putting his CD's up right, he decided to teach me a lesson about respecting people's things. He smashed that boat right in front of me, I started to cry and my mother came in. When she saw what he did, she tried to say something and he knocked her to the floor. Shouting about how she always took my side."
"I'm so sorry." Charlie said in a gentle tone, her mind trying not to imagine the scene because it would bring her to tears.
"It's alright." Alastor said, his voice nonchalant. "It was just a silly toy boat. Nothing really special."
But Charlie knew that was a lie. She could tell by the dim melancholy in his eyes, that the "Silly toy boat" meant a lot to him. It was something special. Something that made him very happy. Something that he would like to have again.
"Why don't you buy that boat?" She asked him. "Since you like it."
"Look at the price tag." He said. "It's 250 dollars. I can't spend that kind of money on something like that. I can't afford to."
"But I know you want that boat."
"Sometimes we can't have what we want Charlie." Alastor told her. "And I'm someone who doesn't get what he wants a lot. It gets a little irritating at times but that's how my life is and I've accepted it."
And that was true. A person can't always have what they want and the sooner it is accepted, the better. That being said though, Alastor was someone who had denied himself things that he wanted for almost his entire life. It was almost as if he believed that he didn't deserve to have what he wanted. But Charlie believed that he deserved to have what he wished for at least sometimes.
So later that night while Alastor was performing on stage and Beth was watching him from a table set with her dinner, Charlie sneaked out of the cabaret discreetly and crept into the sea with a knife in one hand and a small satchel in the other. She swam underneath the grotto and down to the oyster bed where she began to pry open as many oysters that she could get her hands on, and collect all the pearls that she could find inside of them.
Collecting pearls was a common activity for mermaids and she had done it many times, but it didn't make opening those shellfish any less strenuous. Blisters and bruises were left of her fingers and she suffered a few cramps, but she thought that any pain or discomfort she suffered would be worth it. Alastor had been so kind to her and he had given her a very special gift, she wanted to repay him. She wanted to give him a gift that was just as special as the one he had given her.
"I hope that's enough." She said after counting the twenty white pearls that she had collected.
"Enough for what?" A curious voice asked from behind. Charlie turned around, and there stood Rosie. She had briefly slipped away to take stroll outside in order to clear her head. Being the owner of your own cabaret could be quite stressful, you know.
"Oh you scared me." Charlie said catching her breath.
"My apologies dear." Rosie said. She then looked at the many little, white orbs that were held in Charlie's hands. "My, my, what a lovely array of pearls. Interested in pursuing a career in jewelry making perhaps?"
"No. I was going to use these to buy something for Alastor. This store...It's called a pawn shop, I think, and it sells a little boat that reminded him of one he used to have."
"The one his father gave him?"
"Yes but it got ruined. He acted like it didn't mean anything to him but I know that's not true. The boat was very expensive and apparently at a pawn shop, you can trade jewelry for something."
"So you went pearl diving? Must have been very painful to open all those oysters."
"It was." Charlie said looking down at her battered hands. "But it will all be worth it to see the smile on Alastor's face when I give that boat to him."
Rosie's face suddenly dimmed.
"What's wrong?" Charlie asked, noticing the change in her mood.
"You must really love him very much."
Instantly, Charlie froze dead in her tracks, as her mind needed time to comprehend the words that she had heard.
"Love?" She inquired meekly. "Did you just say love? Is that what you just said?"
Rosie nodded.
"Love Alastor? You're saying that I...I...I..." She couldn't even say it at first.
"Darling it couldn't be more obvious." Rosie said. "Why else would you do a strenuous and painful task, just to see him smile?"
"But Alastor and I...That's not...That's just not possible...It can't be."
But in that moment, she slowly realized just how she truly felt about Alastor. How his charming smile, silver tongue, and kind eyes just set her heart aglow. How he was one of the extremely few people in this world who liked her for who she was, odd quirks and all. How singing with him, dancing with him, being held in his arms and looking into his eyes had made her feel like she had found some form of Heaven on Earth.
"You're right." She confessed as it all became more clear to her. "It's crazy, and it doesn't make sense, and it's forbidden. But you're right."
Her voice was barely above a whisper and it was full of shock, yet her face was adorned by a most tender and serene expression.
"I love him."