Welcome to Friday Fiction! I'm hosting this week, which gave me that extra kick to actually get some more written on the short-story I started last month. Things have been busy, and I haven't had much chance to write. I'm going to make a point of finishing this story in time for next week's Friday Fiction. Meanwhile, please join in and add your link to the Linky tool below.
Mermaid Weekend
Part 2
Timothy waited in the dressing room, still amused by having a “dressing room” assigned to him, when the most dressing he’d ever done was slipping on a t-shirt. The door opened, and one of the hotel maintenance workers showed Teresa’s father into the room.
“Where’s my daughter?” he asked, without preamble.
How would Eva handle this? “I don’t know how you do things in your world, sir, but I suggest if you ever come to the Island and meet the Pod, you don’t forget your basic manners. Neither Marta nor Eva will tolerate it, even from a guest. I’m Timothy Billings, and I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
“Basic manners?” he said. “Do you consider it good manners to pop this kind of surprise on us?”
“Would you rather the surprise of learning after the fact that she had married into the Pod?”
“Is that what this meeting is about? Are you going to ask my permission to propose to her?”
Timothy resisted the urge to laugh. “Odd custom. Perhaps a bit better than an arranged marriage, but still rather archaic, don’t you think?”
“You might not think so, when you have a daughter.”
“I’ve seen firsthand that strange difference in how daughters are treated over sons. Perhaps it would help you to understand that dolphin pods are matriarchal, and with the way Dr. Marcel scheduled all of us, the eldest members of the Pod are all women. We don’t see being female as weak and in need of protection.”
“It’s not being protective. It’s a traditional courtesy. She is, after all, my daughter.”
“She’s also an adult, and we love each other.”
“Yes, Teresa is an adult, and as I’m sure you’ve already noticed, somewhat headstrong. She doesn’t get that from any stranger. As for you ‘love each other,’ I’ve watched a parade of boyfriends go through her life, since she was a teen-ager, and every one of them would have said the same thing. Many of them did.”
“And your point is…?”
“I’m not impressed with declarations of love. Feelings are fleeting, and, to be honest, she could do better.”
“I’d wager her mother could have done better, too.”
For a moment, the man looked angry, before a reluctant smile appeared. “Yeah, she could have, and I still don’t know why she didn’t. You’re not easily intimidated, are you?” He chuckled. “I always prided myself on being able to scare her boyfriends.”
“I spent most of my childhood afraid that if we were found, we’d be killed. We scrounged what we could from a wild ocean, and never knew when something else might be out there scrounging for us. The worst I have to fear from you, is that you don’t like me.”
He pulled a chair over, and settled into it. “Well, if I’m not going to scare you away, then you might as well just call me Jim. So, how did you and Teresa meet, anyway?”
“Funny story, that,” Timothy said, and thought about how best to start.
to be continued...
3 comments:
Smile! - same love scenario, different characters. It never gets old.
I like Tim! I can't wait to hear more.....
Oooh, what a fun scene. I love it, this is great to see the interaction between a protective dad and potential husband. Love it! Great job (and thanks for hosting FF this week!)
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