There was only one person who completely owned her heart.
And that was Phineas.
Pearl sighed, softly spinning the bracelet absentmindedly on her wrist.
After Mercedes caught the bouquet, and exploded it with her magic, Pearl had turned to look for Phineas where she left him. She’d been hoping he’d ask her for another dance, and maybe then she could tell him how she felt. Only, when the whole thing with the bouquet was done, Phineas was gone.
She’d been home that whole week and helped Mercedes with a séance, which caused Sven to see spirits and eventually break his curse and his former love’s curse too, but Phineas hadn’t been around at all. It was like he was in hiding.
She’d even gone to his swamp a couple of times, but he wasn’t home.
Ever.
Eventually, she’d gone back to school.
He was around at Christmas, but not much, and he’d been a wee standoffish. Actually, he’d been standoffish since Finn and Margaid’s wedding. She thought things had been progressing so well when they danced together at the reception.
Something had changed and she wished she knew what it was, because she missed her friend. Any time she tried to corner him to ask him about it, he claimed he had to go.
And her texts to him were left unread or he responded with one-word answers, like good or fine.
It was frustrating and she was annoyed with him.
So yeah, this was the summer she would put it all out there. She was going to tell him how she felt, even if he didn’t reciprocate.
“Pearl, breakfast is ready!” Mom’s call from the kitchen echoed down the hall of their apartment at the back of Monster Catch Bait and Tackle.
“Coming,” Pearl responded. She took one last look in the mirror, made sure her braid was neat, set her shoulders back in determination, and left her room.
Her mother, Hetty, was buzzing around the kitchen, humming to herself as she whisked a bowl of eggs before pouring them into the frying pan.
“Mom, I thought you said breakfast was ready?” Pearl teased.
Her mom just shrugged and laughed. “Well, the coffee is ready. The eggs won’t take long.”
Pearl poured herself a cup of coffee and then sat in a chair at the table, tucking one leg under her. “Do you need any help?”
“No. I can manage. Besides, I’ve missed making you breakfast since you’ve been at college. I only got to take care of Mercedes for a month before she moved in with Magnus at the dead-and-breakfast.”
“Are you mad about that?” Pearl was completely teasing because she knew her mom wasn’t angry about Mercedes and Magnus falling in love.
“No.” She turned and slid some fresh scrambled eggs onto Pearl’s plate. “I’m very happy she came into Magnus’ life to break his curse and ultimately helped to break Sven’s too.”
Originally, Mercedes had been the only one to see the spirits at Room with a Tomb. One of the local haunts was Sven’s former love. It was the wonky séance Mercedes performed that allowed Sven to reconnect with his love and break his curse.
Of course, now everyone who stayed or visited the dead-and-breakfast in the former funeral home could see the ghosts.
“Ah, yes, the revenant Flo. I have yet to meet her,” Pearl said. “They didn’t come over at Christmas.”
“They’re in the honeymoon phase.” Mom slid the rest of the eggs onto her plate and then set the frying pan back down on the stove. “I can’t blame them. I just miss them all. The winter was harsh. Lots of blizzards and roads shut down.”
“I remember.” Pearl hugged her coffee mug. “So, Phineas was kind of trapped then at the swamp?”
A sly smile curled on Hetty’s lips. “I suppose he was. He doesn’t drive and if Finn couldn’t get to him, then he was stuck at home. I wish he’d move into town.”
“His parents left him that home.”
Mom sighed. “I know. Your father and I always talked about adopting him formally, but we couldn’t track down his relatives. The courts said we had to make contact with southern officials, and they were the ones that insisted on finding a relative, only we couldn’t, and Phineas didn’t know anyone. Gill men are always on the move. It always made me sad he was out there, but he loved it so much. I guess it was his connection to his late parents.”
