Sea Breeze

Sky Splash

Unconvinced with his performance Marie topped off her coffee cup and left the kitchen with a small blush of her own creeping up onto her cheeks. Instead of dwelling on it like she'd been trying to resist doing, she looked out the window and over the ocean as seen from the captain's quarters. Feeling an irresistible urge to open the window and take in the salty breeze she did so.

Closing her eyes and taking in a few deep breaths of the scent she was thrust back into her happy childhood days. The days of sailing around with her dad and riding the bumpy and sometimes choppy waves. The days of laughing and smiling with her family and friends as they played on the beaches and peers waiting for the signal to take off into the vast blue. She felt a pang in her heart for that was all she wanted. All she wanted back was that happy euphoria that coated her childhood. She just wanted to feel that again but knew that that was immature and impossible.

She'd spent her schooling days dreaming about when she'd be able to leave behind the boring academically business world and sail the seas once more just like she had before. She knew that she'd just wanted to captain one of her dad's ships on her own and take people with closed eyes then open their eyes to the wonders of the sea. She knew she'd have loved to be a marine biologist but there just weren't any jobs in that field and she didn't like labs.

Marie loved that about being a mermaid though. She loved the complete freedom she felt while swimming along the reef or splashing through the waves. She wanted to show Sue the world, Jamie too, and allow them to experience the joy that she felt. She wanted to show her dad the wonderful world that she'd discovered, surely he'd come to love it too? After all, he was where she got her love of the sea from.

Her mother would surely accept it. She may not appreciate it nearly as much as her father since she was more academically inclined and pushed harder for things like beneficial marriages and piano lessons. Marie sighed knowing that showing them her newfound way of life was impossible for now since she'd run away like a little child from her responsibilities. Her father may be more understanding, but he's still be disappointed and that was a face she did not want to see.

Shaking her head, she sighed trying to escape these thoughts but they instead persisted and wandered back to the annoying green eyed man and his lazy grin when he was laughing at Shell's reaction to modern day appliances. He was so, so... she sighed frustrated with the persistence of these thoughts. Focusing on the ship's controls she carefully backed it out of the stall after Sue had given the all clear signal with the untied ropes.

Free from the dock, she pointed the bow towards the horizon and set the throttle towards their destination. Careful to keep her eye open she watched the waves and seagulls that had seemed to follow the ship. Once she was clear of the docs and other ships she set the autopilot for her sister's island and sat back in the chair. Unsure of what they'd encounter once they reached the hotel she let her mind wander. Surely it was a dilapidated building with rotting beams and falling apart at the seams. It had been sold to her sister of all people after all. If it was worth anything then it'd have been bought by a larger and more experienced hotel chain.

She sighed and watched the horizon once more. Sue had said that it was a six day sail so she'd be spending a lot of time up in this room. Good thing the captain's quarters were close by. She knew that she'd not miss out on anything especially good going on because the ship was quiet with only four people on it. Walking over to the old radio/tape/CD player she pressed play on whatever her father had been listening to last. He was the only one that had driven this ship other than herself and some of her younger sisters.

Aenon couldn't stand the looks that they were giving him since Marie had left. He knew that Sue wouldn't know of their real relationship but Shell was worse than her. He kept winking and giving him the Dude you totally dig her look. Frustrated he grabbed the only normal pancake from the pile of defective ones and left the room. He'd just go explore the ship since it was basically a free cruise on a legit cruise liner.