Husk's morning had gone much better. He was so excited that he woke up at the crack of dawn and immediately set work bathing, combing, grooming, and disguising himself. After that he stopped by a diner to get some coffee and doughnut for breakfast. When he finished, he notced a flower shop across from the diner and thought maybe he'd make a better impression if he brought some flowers. He wanted to buy two bouquets but could only afford to buy one red rose and one yellow carnation. He arrived at Rosie's apartment ten minutes before eleven and took the extra time to check on his appearance. Finally he approached the door and knocked.

"Good morning Husk." Rosie greeted him at the door. "You're right on time."

"And I brought gifts for you and the kid." He held up the two single flowers, handing the rose to Rosie.

"It's beautiful." She said accepting the flower. "And it's my favorite flower."

"Sorry they're not bouquets, but this was all I could afford. Val doesn't even pay me."

"That's alright. One flower is better than none, and how sweet of you to get a flower for Beth too."

"You think she'll like it?"

"She'll love it."

"I hope so. Say, where is the little hellion anyway?" He teased.

Rosie chuckled.

"She's upstairs putting on the clothes Alastor brought her.

"Is he here?"

"No. He stopped by to have a little breakfast with us and then he left to clean house and run a few errands."

"So he's not coming?"

"Nope. Where were going today involves two things he hates, water and sugar. But you know, he felt so horrible about losing his temper last night that he decided to buy her something new to wear out today, and he decided to be smart and call me before making any purchase."

"Okay Rosie I'm ready!" They heard Beth call before coming downstairs.

Her red hair had been pulled up into a ponytail and she was wearing a casual, yellow sun-dress that seemed to float with each step she took.

"Oh Beth you look absolutely darling." Rosie awed.

"Really?"

"Yes, and I hope you don't mind, but I invited him to come with us today."

"I don't mind. The man saved my life."

"And he brought you a little present."

Husk handed Beth the carnation.

"Wow thanks." She said smiling.

"Well we better get going now." Rosie said. "Before the line to the aquarium gets too long."

"Yes! I am so excited!" Beth declared with incredible enthusiasm. "I've never been to an aquarium and I have always wanted to go, but Al never took for reasons I don't need to tell you."

"Yes I know." Rosie said.

"I don't." Husk said. "Why won't he take you? Is it the money?"

"No, he's afraid of the water. He can't swim." Beth explained.

"But you don't swim at an aquarium. You just walk around and look at fish in a tank."

"He has this irrational fear that the glass in the tanks might someday break and flood the whole building."

"What?!"

"I know, it's crazy."

They got into Rosie's car and drove on down to a building titled The Aquatic Garden. It was a 165-foot tall structure that looked like a plaza from the outside but inside it was like they had entered a whole other world. All around them was marine life existing together in water that was behind a glass screen and many tunnels that would lead to another exciting spectacle.

Beth saw brightly colored coral reefs, seaweed, anemones, and and rocks. She saw goldfish, guppies, angelfish, koifish, clownfish, blue tangs, yellow tangs, moorish idols, porcupinefish, moonfish. She saw sturgeons, stingrays, seahorses, sea turtles, sharks, jellyfish, eels, sea stars, crabs, lobsters, sword fish, squids, octopuses. There was no limit to the types of sea creatures Beth could see. Her face was completely lit up in awe and she found it almost impossible to take her eyes off of each display.

All around her, everything stood out like beautiful pieces of art hanging on the wall. An aquatic gallery of vibrant, brilliant colors that seemed to glow like the sunset in a nice array of colors. Some were like a rainbow in the sky after a brisk rainfall in the background of a bright blue sky seen during the day. Others were like stars twinkling and swimming about in a dark black sky that would be seen at night.

"Beautiful isn't, it?" Rosie asked as she and Beth observed goldfish and moonfish swimming between each other, the light shimmering off their scales.

"Yeah." Beth said. "What do you think it would be like to live there? Not in an aquarium, but in the actual ocean?"

"Well I don't know. I've never really thought about living under water. There are too many things on dry land that I love."

"When I was little I used to wish that I could be turned into a fish. Then I could live in the ocean forever."

"Do you still wish for that?"

"No. Fish get eaten. But..." She made sure that Husk and no one else was close enough to hear what she was going to say next. All the other people were too distracted by the other tanks and Husk had gone to look for the men's room. "But I kind of wish that I could be a mermaid like Charlie."

"Beth why do you prefer to live in the sea instead of land? Aren't you happy here?"

"Sometimes I am, but I have such a hard time fitting in with everyone. No one here or back home wants to be my friend, they all think I'm weird. Maybe I would fit in better with mer-people than human beings."

"Sweetie, let me tell you a little secret about life. Everyone struggles to fit in. Even those who become popular. Yes they've become accepted socially but they have to fight to keep that acceptance. They have to maintain a certain appearance and behavior. Sometimes they end up choosing not to be themselves and pretending to be something they're not. And it's like that with every community, whether it's above the waves or under them."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Let me put it to you this way, did Charlie ever mention any problems she was having back home? Did she have trouble fitting in?"

"I've heard her mention once or twice that she was considered weird by the other merpeople."

"See? Life in the ocean isn't all that different from life on the shore. At least in matters of society, and I think everyone feels like they don't fit in anywhere at least once in their lives. But that doesn't mean they'll never fit in."

"Did you ever feel like you didn't fit in?"

"Are you kidding?" She chuckled. "Hello, witch living among the mortals here."

"Oh right. I forgot."

"Plenty of people around here think there's something off about me, although in some cases I can't really blame them. And then there are my fellow witches who can't help but think I'm some kind of mistake of nature."

"Why?"

"Well dear, as I've mentioned before, my father was mortal and a witch with a mortal in the family is very much looked down upon in the supernatural world. Growing up I was tragically teased and bullied by mortals and witches alike. But as I grew older, I eventually found a way to fit in just nicely and it didn't involve me running away from my problems."

"I'm not running away from my problems."

"I know but when you say things like you wish you lived in the sea because you think it's easier down there, it makes me worry that someday you might think running is the answer. But it's not. It never is."

"So what should I do?"

"Well for starters, try to remember that even though you are in a very difficult place right now and that a lot of people find you odd, there are others who care about you and love you very much. Trust me, it's easier to face your problems when you know you're not alone."

After viewing the last exhibit, they stopped by the gift shop where Husk bought Rosie beach scented bath salt and Beth a plush dolphin. Next they drove down to a cute gazebo restaurant that was right next to the local fudgery, having fish and chips for lunch and buying three types of fudge for dessert. Chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow. Beth wanted to eat an entire brick but Rosie prevented her from doing so, having been warned by Alastor of what happens when she has too much sugar.

On the way back, Husk glanced out the car window and couldn't help notice the increble wave activity taking place in the ocean. Back when he lived in Las Vegas, one of his favorite things to do in his free time apart from drinking and gambling, was to surf the waves of their pools. In Vegas they had special swimming pools that could produce waves for guests to surf on just as they could on ocean waves and Husk found great pleasure in this activity. However he was always certain that it was nothing compared to the thrill of surfing in the sea.

"What are you looking at?" Beth asked, noticing his lingering gaze.

"The waves." He answered. "I'm comparing to the ones I used to surf in Vegas."

"You surf?"

"I used to. It's been a long time."

"Have you ever surfed in the ocean?"

"Nope."

"Then you've never really surfed." Rosie said.

"Excuse me?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"You heard me." She grinned. "If you haven't ridden the massive, salty, and uncontrollable tides that can rise up so high you'd swear it would flood the earth, then you've surfed nothing."

"And you've surfed something like that?"

"Of course. You think I only perform on the stage?"

"I didn't know you surfed." Beth spoke up.

"Well I haven't done it in awhile either." She confessed. "But I'm sure I can surf better than someone who's only done it in chlorine filled, technology controlled water."

"Care to put your board with your mouth is?" Husk said. "It's still daylight and I don't see anyone on that beach down there, so how about a little contest?"

"Alright but what does the winner get?"

"If I win I get free drinks from your bar for the rest of the Summer, but if you win then for the rest of the Summer I play piano for free."

"Tempting offer but you'd probably starve and my conscience won't allow that. So I've got a better option. If I win, then for the rest of the Summer you have to babysit Beth for free whenever someone asks you to."

"I guess that's fair."

"Sweet! We're going surfing!" Beth cheered.

"Hold it squirt, you're not going surfing." Husk said. "You're going straight home."

"What? Why?"

"Because sweetie, you don't have any experience or training in surfing." Rosie explained. "If we put you on that board you just fall right off and hit your head on the rocks. Or worse, get caught in the undertow and drown."

"Then can I just swim and walk on the sand while you guys surf?" Beth asked.

"No because we won't be watching you and anything could happen. We wipeout and go under water for just five seconds, and you could be gone as soon as we get back up."

"Not to mention young girls are the most common victims of abduction." Husk said. "That may sound sexist but it's true. Just watch the news."

"But that's not fair. Besides, I've always wanted to try surfing, what if you guys are with me the whole time? What if I ride with one of you?"

Husk and Rosie both looked at each other, contemplating what the right choice would be. They didn't want to leave Beth out, especially considering how hard things had been for her recently. On the other hand though, they were responsible for her and they couldn't allow her to do something dangerous. But then Rosie remembered that she was a witch with magical powers and she could cast a spell that would ensure Beth would stay safely on board.

"I guess we could give it a try." Rosie said. "But the minute either one of us suspects potential drowning, it's out of the water and back home. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"And you do exactly what we say. No arguing."

"Yes ma'am."

They didn't have any surf boards and they weren't wearing swimsuits so they stopped at a nearby beach store and purchased two surfboards, sunscreen, and three bathing suits. One men's, one women's, and one preteen girls's. They changed into them in the restrooms and wore their regular clothes over them until they went down to the beach.

"I don't know if this fits me right." Beth said looking down at her blue one piece. "It's so tight, I think it makes me look fat."

"Oh please." Husk said rolling his eyes. "Don't start that worrying about your weight crap. At least not now. You're not even a teenager yet."

"So it fits me good?"

"Looks fine to me."

"What about mine?" Rosie asked as she took off her dress to reveal that she was wearing a two-piece, red bikini that wasn't too revealing but complimented her figure very well. "Mildred says that these types of suits are perfectly fine for a woman my age, but I don't know. I think I might look a little uncouth in this. What do you think?"

Husk's eyes went wide and he started to sweat like a guilty sinner in the house of God.

"Husk are you okay?" Beth asked him.

He opened his mouth and it looked like he was about to speak, but then he fainted.

"Husk!" The two ladies gasped in concern.