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He chuckles. "Very true."
The shrimp cocktail arrives and me and Elijah reach for one at the same time.
"Ah, I've converted you to my cold then hot theory, haven't I?"
"Nope. These just look too good to pass up on."
And they are. Even better with the sauce that came on the side. By the time we finish, our lunches arrive. Elijah looks at my entire fish, head, eyeballs, and all and cringes away.
"How the heck can you eat that?" He puzzles. "It's looking at you."
"Not for long," I say, plucking the eyeballs out.
"Oh my God, I knew it was too good to be true. You're a psycho."
I know he's joking, but his words bring me back to what I was thinking on the beach yesterday. Are we too good to be true? Is this too good to last? Are we on borrowed time? Can any two people meet the way we did, where we did, and get some happily ever after? In the end, will what brought us together be what tears us apart?
"You okay?" Elijah asks.
I look up from my plate, realizing I've been staring at it. "Yeah, sorry. Spaced there for a minute."
Even though he looks like he wants to press, he cuts into his fish instead. "You want a piece?"
"Of your fish debacle? No." I shake my head, mumbling, "That fish gave his life for you to have him fried."
Elijah laughs. "I don't think he knows what became of him."
After we're done eating, we walk around the stores instead of going back to the room. The streets here aren't cement, but have wooden planks like a boardwalk, and I quickly fall in love with the sound that our shoes make as we walk. We stop into one store and get two keychains with the city name and a sun setting on the water behind them. Elijah walks off for a little while and I find him at the register, quickly putting something in his pocket when he sees me.
"Buying something for your other girlfriend, huh?" I tease.
"No one else could ever compare to you, so no. It's a surprise for later."
"Hmm. Intriguing. Wanna go sit on the benches over there?"
He nods and thanks the cashier before we leave the store. Across the street, there's a steep set of stairs that leads to a set of benches that overlook the beach. There are stationary binoculars too, but we pass those and sit down. There's only one other couple up here, but they're far away. It feels like it's just Elijah and I.
From here, all you can see ahead, to the left, to the right, is sparkling water. I lean my head on Elijah's shoulder and gaze at where the water meets the sky. It's utterly beautiful.
"I see why you like the beach so much," Elijah states. "It's really peaceful. Like the sea is telling you your problems aren't allowed here."
"If only you could bring a little piece of the sea with you everywhere so it could make you remember not to let your problems get too big."
Elijah shifts, reaching into his pocket while saying, “Well, I was trying to figure out the right thing to say, but I guess what you just did is a great lead up to this.”
“What do you mean?” I ask as I sit up.
“A little piece of the sea.” He extends a small black bag to me. “To remember not to let your problems get too big.”
I take the bag and loosen the drawstring before turning it over. A bracelet falls into my palm, mermaids charm all around it, each tail a different color. My smile is instant.
“This is beautiful.” I croak, swallowing to keep the tears at bay.
“The moment I saw the mermaids, I knew I had to get it for you.”
He picks it up and opens the clasp so he can wrap it around my wrist. I give it a little shake once it’s on, making the charms move.
“Thank you.”
