Deleted Scene: Dorian Meets Richard

I, honestly, forgot I ever wrote this scene. Now, this is a scene that didn't even make it to the Fictionpress draft. As far as I recall-it didn't make it to Fictionpress, but I could be wrong. Considering how long it's been, my memory is a little shaky on that. This is a little scene of Dorian having pretend to be Marie's boyfriend for the sake of hiding the truth from Richard. In the end, this scene was deleted for-very obvious, plot killing reasons. Enjoy!

The restaurant was Italian all right, but it wasn’t too different from an Olive Garden in Marie’s opinion. Of course Dorian didn’t know any better and was amazed by the place either way, staring at it with wide eyes. Taking his hand again, Marie led him forward, following her mother and Richard inside to be greeted and escorted to their table. As was to be expected, they were seated and left to look over their menus while the waiter left to get their glasses of water. Richard and Diane talked over the meals they heard were highly recommended while Marie gazed over the options, trying not to be distracted by the prices. A tug on her sleeve interrupted her, Dorian appeared concerned. “What is it?” Marie asked softly.

Dorian leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I can’t read.”

“What?”

“I can’t read… I mean… I can read but not fluent English,” Dorian hushed.

Glancing quickly at Diane and Richard to make sure they weren’t paying attention, Marie pulled the tall menu, hiding her and the merman. With their heads shielded from view, Marie was able to help him decipher what was what on the menu. There were very few pictures of the food so she had to read what unknown words he pointed to and try to recall if he’s tried them before. “How about spaghetti and meatballs, you’ve had that,” Marie asked.

“Is there anything better?” Dorian said with a frown.

“Hm… maybe there’s some sort of seafood pasta thing in here somewhere. Oh, this one you get a side of soup, you can have clam chowder and the pasta has shrimp and salmon.”

“Really?”

“Are you two all right over there? You’re not trying to make out behind that menu are you?” Diane remarked.

Marie slapped the menu down on the table, blushing feverishly, “Mom!”

“Oh so you were,” Diane giggled coyishly. “Did you two find anything you like on the menu at all?”

Marie rolled her eyes, “Of course we did.” Even if he was my boyfriend I wouldn’t make out with him with my mother around, she thought. Thankfully, the waiter had returned with their water and bread basket; and they were able to place their orders. Already, Marie could tell that this date wasn’t going to go over well.

Meanwhile, Diane was keeping a very watchful eye on Dorian and the strange behavior he was exhibiting. The young man was paying attention to whatever Marie did. When Marie unrolled her napkin that was around her silverware and placed it on her lap, Dorian mimicked. He didn’t order his own food; Marie did it for him. Any affection a boyfriend would display for his girlfriend was not existent. Instead, Dorian was more enthralled with his glass of ice water, which he picked up and examined it closely. It was when he was beginning to prod the ice cubes with his index finger that Diane said something, “So, Dorian, Marie has mentioned you moved here two months ago; how do you like it here?”

Dorian quickly set the glass back on the table and sat up straighter, giving her his full attention. “Uh… yes I did just… move here. It’s very… dry here,” he replied.

“Really? Was it humid where you came from?” Diane wondered.

“No… it’s very wet where I come from,” Dorian said in complete seriousness. Marie was ready to hit her head on the table.

“Wet? Oh, you mean you get a lot of rain where you are from, huh?” Diane implied with a smile. “Are you from Portland or Washington area?”

Dorian hadn’t heard of either of those places, but realized; from the way Marie was acting, that he was dangerously close to saying too much. “Somewhere around there, yes,” he replied quickly. “Small place that you wouldn’t have heard of.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here, Dorian. How did you and my daughter meet?”

“At the beach,” Dorian said with a sincere smile. “I was hurt from… surfing and Marie helped me out. After that she and I kept seeing each other since.”

“That’s sweet,” her mother smiled with a sigh. “It would certainly explain why she acted so strangely for the past month or so.”

Marie sighed, Dorian seemed to be convincing her mother, but then Richard stepped into the conversation. “So, Dorian, what do your parents do for a living?”

Dorian looked at the pale man and blinked, “What?”

“What do your parents do?”

“Uh… well… they uh… catch fish?” Dorian replied with a not so convincing grin.

“They work in the fish business? That probably doesn’t bring in a lot of money, how are you able to afford to go to a private school?” Richard inquired with a rather sly looking grin. Marie’s hands began to tremble under the table, fearing that he was suspecting something again.

“I… uh… that’s what I wonder… myself,” Dorian partly admitted.

“Now, now, Richard let’s not bother him about his parents, I’m sure they find a way somehow. How about we enjoy the bread and water while we wait for our meal and you tell us about that amusing business deal you had yesterday,” Diane quickly suggested.

“Hm?” Richard blinked for a moment and then his eyes lit up. “Ah yes, the deal. Well it wasn’t easy, I can tell you that. It all started at the Red Lobster where we ordered lunch…”

Marie sighed softly, relieved by her mother’s distraction. She looked at Dorian and squeezed his hand as a reassurance that he did just fine. He smiled back at her and then continued his examination of the ice water. Of course she explained the ice, what it was, what purpose it served in the water, and that it was okay to drink. Not wanting to give away that he was still very new to life as a human; Dorian followed Marie’s lead in eating the bread and drinking the water without the ice falling out. Thankfully, Richard’s story was long enough that by the time the soups and salads arrived, he was still talking. Dorian was quick to tuck into his clam chowder and ignore the two adults in front of them.

However, the awkwardness did not end. As soon as Richard was done with his story, the conversation returned to Dorian and his relationship with Marie. Diane didn’t say much, being completely distracted with watching the poor young man. “So how long have you two been seeing each other?” Richard inquired.

“Uh… about a month or so,” Marie replied.

“Really? You two don’t seem to be very serious for a couple that’s been seeing each other for over a month.”

“We’re taking it slow,” Dorian said quickly. “I just got here and… we don’t want to go… too fast… right?”

“Right,” Marie agreed.

“Okay,” Richard looked unimpressed. “It must have been difficult for you to come all the way from Washington area to California. What led your parents, who are in the fish market, to this place?”

“Uh…” Dorian began to look rather flustered, looking to Marie for help. “My parents… just… wanted to… uh… they…”

“They were looking for more options,” Marie cut in. “Remember, the fish business wasn’t working so your Dad is looking for better opportunities.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, exactly,” Dorian agreed with a smile.

“So your parents aren’t in the fish business anymore?” Richard implied.

“No,” Dorian said, quickly.

“They’re unemployed then?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re still able to go to a private school?”

“Yes.”

“How?” Richard asked, cocking an eyebrow and leaning forward.

Dorian blinked, having gotten lost somewhere in the interrogation. “What?”

The conversation turned away from them when the meals arrived, but Marie knew that it would only last for so long. It came to an unexpected turn when her mother requested that Marie accompany her to the ladies room. Glancing at the merman beside her, Marie reluctantly obeyed her mother.

Diane waited until her daughter was inside, checked the other stalls and then locked the door. “Okay, young lady, you have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Explaining? About what? What did I do?” Marie exclaimed.

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Diane remarked, hands on her hips. “Dorian is not from Washington, he isn’t even from this country or… something. I’ve been watching him and he acts like he’s seeing everything for the first time in his life. Who is he? Where is he really from?”

Marie began to play with her fingernails nervously, biting her lip. “Mom… I don’t know what to tell you. You won’t believe me even if I did tell you the truth.”

“Try me,” Diane dared.

Marie was silent.

“I’m waiting, Marie.”

“The truth… well… the truth is… Dorian isn’t really human,” Marie said rather carefully.

“He’s not human? If he’s not human that what else is he?” Diane demanded, tiring of the beating around the bush.

“He’s a merman,” Marie said with a nervous smile.

Diane fell back against the vanity, hand to her heart. “A… a… merman? For real? H… how is he a human?”

“I made a wish with a mermaid to turn him into a human. He was beaten badly and needed to get to a hospital and that was the only way to do it. He’ll change back when he touches the ocean water again, but until then… he’s what you see now,” she quickly explained, thinking she sounded more and more insane with every word.

“A merman… a real merman… so that’s how he did it… it all makes sense now,” Diane said, a smile spreading across her face. “And you said he was hurt so I’m assuming he has some stitches or something. Oh poor thing, he must have been so homesick.”

“Yeah… Mom you’re taking this better than I expected.” Marie was shocked, not knowing exactly how to react to all this.

“Of course I am; your father was a merman.”

“He was? Really? I knew it! I suspected that he was!” Marie couldn’t have felt happier, yet more bewildered at the same time. “Wait… so what brought this on?”

“The school had called telling me you’ve been missing a few days. Plus the way Dorian was watching you and mimicking kind of gave him away. Especially, when he was asking you about the ice. Yes, I heard him whispering to you. Your father did the same thing when he was human.” Her smile seemed to only increase. “My goodness, Marie, you found a cute one.”

“He is cute, but he’s only a friend. So… now you know, but aren’t you going to explain to me more about Dad?” Marie inquired.

“I’ve told you how we met, but… there’s more to it and I’ll explain later. Right now we just left the poor merman alone with Richard.”

“True,” Marie agreed. “We’d better get back out there. Please let’s try to go home soon before Richard figures something out too.”

“Don’t worry, we will,” Diane assured, unlocking the door and opening it for her daughter. “Leave it all to me.”

The dinner went by quickly after that to Marie and Dorian’s relief. Richard was completely distracted by her mother and they left to get them home when Diane claimed that she had an early meeting tomorrow. They were taken home without further embarrassment. After the good-byes and good nights were said, Richard was finally gone. Closing the door, Diane turned to Dorian and was quick to lock him into a tight embrace. “Oh, Dorian you poor little merman you! No wonder you look so drained.” She pulled him away briefly to hold his face, “But you’re still so cute!”

Dorian stared at her in horror.

“Oh, I’m sorry, here sit down and I’ll go get you a big glass of water.” She towed him over to the sofa and sat him down upon the large cushions before running off to the kitchen.

He looked to Marie for answers, “She knows? You told her?” he freaked.

“I had to.” Marie explained what had happened in the ladies room that evening and that her father really was a merman.

“So… it’s true… you really are half mermaid. How?” Dorian’s eyes were wide and staring.

Diane had returned with the glass of water. “It’s a long story; you see I met her father when I was wind surfing. He was on this island eating the fruit that had fallen off the trees and… I must admit I frightened him away at first. I thought I was crazy but then I came back later and he was there waiting for me.”

Marie sat down beside Dorian, listening quietly. Finally after so long she will have a name to her merman father.

“Of course I’m sure he’ll never admit to it, but I could tell he was smitten.” Diane giggled at the recollection. “I went to see him every day after that and he was so sweet to me. He would sing to me, play with my hair, lie with me on the beach… he even had a harp he salvaged and taught himself to play. Needless to say I fell in love. Then… one day a strange thing happened.”

“What?” both Marie and Dorian wondered caught in the story.

“I found him washed up on the beach and he was completely human. I took him in and tried to help him out adjusting to his new life. He did get dehydrated easily and so forth, which I’m sure, is what you’ve been going through, Dorian. But he handled it well because he had me. Then one day, we were playing around on the beach and a mermaid came, telling him that his time was up. He begged her not to do it, but he changed back right then and there into a merman. After that… I never saw him again and I discovered I was pregnant with Marie.”

“That’s terrible… I wonder what had happened. What was his name, what did he look like?” Marie wondered, on the edge of her seat now. She had been told the first half of the story before, but never believed her. Now, she had the whole story and no reason to doubt that it was true.

“He was very handsome, wavy dark, brown hair, silver violet eyes, silvery white tail… what was his name? It was an unusual one… Ah! Mysar that was it.”

Dorian dropped his glass, staring with eyes bigger than Marie had ever seen them. “M… Mysar? A…are you sure?”

“Yes, why?”

“Mysar is my father.”