“I did show him,” Pierre said. “He’s going to come down here and help me too. We have a lot in common, however, I’m not sure about his enchanted appliances.”
“That’s Mona’s doing,” Phineas said. “She runs The Clothes Spin down the street.”
“Ah, I see. Well, I’ll get to know everyone soon enough. Just have to finish some tweaks here and then I can open up.” Pierre grinned at them. “This town, this place, seems friendly.”
“What made you move here?”
Phineas was grateful for Pearl’s question, because he really didn’t know how to broach the subject. He was usually good at talking to people, but talking to Pierre just felt awkward.
“Phineas,” Pierre stated.
“What do you mean, me?” Phineas asked, trying his best not to sound accusatory, but how did Pierre know he was here? And if he knew, why didn’t he try to find him sooner?
Also, why now?
“It’s a long story.” Pierre crossed his arms and leaned forward on the table. “I didn’t know who I was for most of my life.”
Phineas exchanged a questioning glance with Pearl.
“What do you mean?” Phineas asked.
“I had amnesia. See this scar?” Pierre pointed to his face. The mark was hard to miss. “I was injured during a storm, and when I was found, I had no memory of who I was or where I came from. I was just in a hospital that, thankfully, didn’t hate monsters. You know some areas in the south aren’t particularly fond of gill men.”
“I don’t actually. I grew up here.” Although Phineas had heard from his parents.
“Mais. Of course. You were only a little baby when this all happened.” Pierre’s shoulders slumped. “I remember the storm now. It was a hurricane and wreaked havoc on the coast of Louisiana. Mom was trying to get us to safety. She had you strapped to her chest. I was seven and Dad was away. We tried to get out, but there was a surge and I was swept away. I remember Mom’s screams and me trying to cry out to her, but I couldn’t. Somehow, I got injured. Someone took pity on me and took me to the hospital. All they knew was my name.”
Phineas tried not to picture that horrific storm. He had no memory of it, but the absolute horror his mother must have felt losing her child? He didn’t want to think about it. His mother had always been so protective of him.
“Phineas?”
His mom’s panicked voice echoed across the swamp. He knew he better go back and not hide anymore. She’d get upset and cry and he didn’t want that. He hated when his mom cried.
“Right here, Mom,” he answered, popping around the corner of the house.
She touched her chest and breathed softly. “Oh. Thank goodness.”
“Sorry, Mom. I wasn’t far, I swear.”
“I know, but I need a hug all the same.”
Phineas raced into her arms. He could hear her heart racing.
“Can’t lose you,” she mumbled, like she always did when she was upset.
“You won’t, Mom,” Phineas reassured.
“I know. Let’s go inside.”
His hands were in fists, his body tense, until he felt the soft touch of Pearl. Her hand slipping inside of his, reassuring him.
“How did they know your name?” Pearl asked quietly.
“I had something with my name on it strung around my neck in a plastic casing. Something Mom did in case I got lost, I guess.” Pierre pulled out his wallet and set a picture, the torn picture, on the table. It was the missing piece of the family photograph. Torn exactly the same way, with just a piece of his arm missing, almost like it had been hastily torn.
Phineas swallowed the hard lump in his throat. “If it had your name, why weren’t you returned to Mom and Dad?” His voice came out in barely a squeak.
“It had my name, Pierre Lafontaine, but no information on where I came from. The authorities searched far and wide, but all the gill man settlements in the bayous had been destroyed and they’d been driven away. Honestly, I think they believed my family was dead. There was stuff on the television for a while, but no one came forward. I was in the foster system for some time, but no one really wanted to adopt a monster either.”
