Maybe Pearl was right and Harmony Glen was where she belonged after all? Thinking about her bestie made her miss Pearl fiercely.
She walked through town, noticing how freely the monsters and humans in Harmony Glen coexisted. Everyone seemed to love this town. It was refreshing and she let out a sigh of contentment. In spite of Magnus, and hispackage, she had a great day.
Although hispackagewasn’t that bad either. She’d been so excited to meet him on their bad one-time date. So hopeful for a happily ever after, or at least a happily for now, because she really had a hard time believing in happy endings.
Even less so now, even though the two of them made sense. They were so similar.
It wouldn’t work. No trust. At least on her part.
Don’t think about him like that. He doesn’t like you. It’s not meant to be.
Now she was in his employ, and there was no way she was messing up this job, so Magnus was off-limits. She didn’t want to ruin her chances of staying in Harmony Glen. And she needed a job to do that.
It was nice to be in a place where everyone just seemed to be at home. Except one. A forlorn looking green gill man caughther eye. He was sitting alone on a park bench on the main street, under a streetlamp. If it were raining, it would be one of those decidedly classic silver screen film moments.
Phineas.
She knew he missed Pearl too, and she also knew how much Pearl was missing him.
“Do one thing for me,” Pearl insisted as she threw her suitcase in the back of her car.
“Anything,” Mercedes agreed.
“Watch out for Phineas.” Pink bloomed in her cheeks. “He’s so special.”
“Why don’t you just tell him how you feel?”
Pearl shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Just make sure he’s not lonely.”
“I promise.”
“Phineas, right?” Mercedes asked, stopping next to the bench.
He looked up, his eyes widening. “Oh, hi. You’re Pearl’s friend. I saw you briefly at the going away party before I had to…leave.”
“Mind if I join you?” Mercedes asked gently, not wanting to intrude, but also wanting to help him.
Phineas nodded and slid over, his webbed hand gripping a coffee cup from Cool Beans. “You’re out late.”
“It’s not too late, it’s only five thirty, and I just got off work.”
“Oh, it feels late,” Phineas mumbled. “Then again, it’s fall, I guess. I move a bit slower in the colder months.”
Mercedes smiled. “You seem down.”
“I’m okay.” He smiled, but it didn’t convince her. “It’s the slow season. I usually peddle my peat moss, but there’s not much demand this fall so far. Sven hired me to help with some odd jobs to get the bed-and-breakfast ready for the grandopening, and Finn has some work for me to do, but yeah, it must be the change in season. I’ll have to break out my winter coat.”
Mercedes highly doubted that it was the change in season. He was pining. Hardcore. And it was cute, young love. Especially, young unrequited love between two people who were both so nervous and scared to make that first move. But Pearl asked her not to interfere, and so she wouldn’t.
Even if she wanted too.
If Mercedes were her sister, Carmen, she’d whip up a love potion and be done with it, but love potions were not something to play around with, and she was not her sister. She’d most likely cause a weird explosion if she attempted to do that.
“I don’t really want to think about winter,” Mercedes remarked, shivering. “I am not a fan of the cold.”
Phineas smiled in commiseration. “You’re staying at Hetty’s place, right?”
“I am.”
