“Well, I’m going to be out on the lake a lot over the next year and you live here, don’t you?”
“Right.” Pearl smiled, nervously. “Although, I’m sometimes up at the farm market. I sell a few sea glass beads and my mom crochets a few fun things.”
“Ogram doesn’t just sell produce?”
“No, he has also makes space for products by local people.” Pearl held up the big brown paper bag she was carrying. “Want to look?”
“Sure.” Margaid was curious. She was always so impressed by people who could do arts and crafts. That was definitely not her jam. She was, without a doubt, a science nerd. As she peeked in the bag, she was a little bit taken aback by some of the crocheted creatures. “Are those…”
“Phalluses. My mom is a bit of a witch, in a sense. She says that phalluses bring good luck. Mostly, I think tourists buy them because she makes them out of chenille yarn and they’re quite soft and squishy.” Pearl reached into the bag and pulled one out, gripping it. “Here, try it.”
Margaid didn’t have a chance to refuse as the crocheted penis was shoved into her hand. Pearl was right, it was fuzzy and squishy. She gave it a good squeeze in her palm. “It is fun to squeeze.”
“See? Am I right or am I right?” Pearl said, pleased.
There was a horrified gasp behind her. “What are you doing, Pearl?”
Oh. No.
She closed her eyes and opened them to see Finn standing there, his arms crossed and staring at them both with a look of horror.
“She’s squeezing a cock,” Pearl teased.
Finn rolled his eyes and picked up her gear, turning abruptly to march down the dock to his boat.
“Well, today will be fun,” Margaid said, handing the crocheted wiener back to Pearl.
“Oh, ignore him. When he was young, he was a bit of a ho.” Pearl put the penis back into the bag. “He’s so prudish now, since our father died, and he forgets I’m twenty I’m a legal adult.”
“Yeah, but you’re still his little sister,” Margaid said softly. “I see his point.”
“I don’t. Anyways, I better let you get to work and I have to drop these off at Ogram’s. It was good to see you again, Margaid.”
“You too.” Margaid picked up the remainder of her gear and headed down the dock to Finn’s boat.
His face looked like thunder.
This was going to be a long day. Maybe she needed five shots of espresso?
“Morning,” she greeted brightly, trying to ignore his grumpiness.
Finn grunted in response.
“Really? That’s all I get as an acknowledgment?”
He looked at her. “Where are we headed today?”
“The opposite side of where you took me last time. I don’t need a stream, but I’d like to examine the photic area of the limnetic zone, close to shore.”
“Sure. Fasten your gear down, it’s a bit choppy. Might be rain.”
Finn was barely looking at her. Not that she could really blame him. Not only had she caught him in some weird half shift, his hat had popped off because of his ears, and then he’d walked into a scene where she was manhandling crocheted cocks that his mother had made with his little sister.
On the weirdness scale, that was pretty much out there.
As he readied the boat to leave, she watched him out of the corner of her eye. She was thinking about his human form and although he was very handsome, she much preferred him this way. As his true self. Pearl had said that he was a bit of a “ho” in his youth, and she couldn’t help but wonder how he approached the ladies.
Was it the human form or the glashtyn?
