Later, around ten o’clock, Elick and Mallard stopped at an all-night restaurant next to the supermarket. The space felt cozy with its low lights and rich warm wood-tones across all the walls and floors. A jazzy tune played throughout and most of the seats were taken. Elick and Mallard picked a booth off to itself in a corner where fewer people were sitting. It was quieter and more private with the high back seats.

Elick looked around, giving patrons the side-eye out of fear they might be judging him. He didn’t know what they might think of him traveling with a man, but he wasn’t the only person to do it. A lot of thoughts swam through his head, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Mallard knew more than he was letting on.

“What’ll we do now, Elick?” Mallard shuffled closer to Elick in the booth.

Elick flicked his menu up and covered their faces. “We’ll have us a bite to eat and then go over to the store for that ribbon.” He put his menu down when the waitress came over to take their order. He blushed and felt embarrassed that she might suspect them, since they were hiding. Instead, she smiled and politely took their order. Elick sighed and put his head down on the table. “You know, we must be careful about your condition. Why didn’t you tell me that would happen?”

Mallard shrugged when Elick looked up at him. “I didn’t know it could happen like that. I realize I need to stay hydrated, but I didn’t know it’d happen so easily.”

“That doesn’t explain a lot, Mallard. What would have done if we’d have been caught?”

Mallard took Elick’s hands and gazed into his eyes. “I can feel it in my soul. As long as I have you by my side, I will be fine.” He looked as though he were about to kiss Elick’s hands when the waitress arrived.

Elick jolted and slid away from Mallard. He gave a nervous chuckle and looked up at the waitress. “I uh…yes?” Elick smiled halfheartedly.

“Your sandwiches, sir,” the waitress said. She handed each of them a plate of food and refilled their drinks. She gave a little cheerful nod and dashed away to the next table.

Elick tried to eat his sandwich but kept looking up at Mallard. “How can you eat so calmly?” Mallard was gnawing on his veggie sandwich when a drop of mayo dripped along his chin. Elick leaned in and wiped it away with his finger and chuckled. “Don’t you care how people see you?”

Mallard shook his head. “Why should I?” He took another bite out of his sandwich and smiled. “So delicious, it’s so much better than fish food.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and Elick scowled while reaching him a cloth napkin. Mallard looked around at the other patrons and sighed. “Doesn’t matter what I think, doesn’t matter what they think. I just want to do what makes me happy.”

Elick was taken aback, he put his sandwich down and thought to himself. What should he do to be happy? What does Mallard want to be happy? “Uh, Mallard, what do you think makes you happy? There’s gotta be a reason or some fish-reason, right?”

Mallard looked as though he was in a daze before responding. He winced in pain and rubbed his forehead. “Ah, another headache.” He took a moment to work the pain out before returning to his calm smiling face. “I…I think I am happy when I’m with you, Elick. It’s like I was asked to do this this, but our journey together is new to me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Our journey?”

Mallard looked away as if he were thinking. “Something about my memories strikes me like a sharp jab. I feel as if I was happiest surrounded by people, and I was happy to do anything for them. Yet, we were somehow separated…” Mallard’s face drooped with a frown. “I still can’t remember much about myself. I just know your grandmother helped me, and in return, I said I’d help you.”

Elick shrugged and rolled his eyes. He flopped back in his seat with a sigh. “So, I guess you’re not hanging out with me because I make you happy but because it’s like a duty or something?”

Mallard shook his head. “No, something about you draws me to you. It’s like I want to be with you. I made a promise to your grandmother, but I enjoy spending time with you more and more.”

Elick blushed and looked away.

“I want to share more memories with you, Elick.” Mallard reached over and grabbed Elick’s hand. “I don’t know why my tail appears and disappears. I’m not afraid of your people, but you looked so afraid for my safety.”

“That’s because you don’t understand what’ll happen to you if we get discovered!”

“I’ll be okay.”

“You keep acting as if everything will be alright, but what do you know? How can you be so sure of everything? We don’t know if your tail will reappear or if next time you’ll go back to normal.” Elick buried his head in his arms. “It’s so stressful. I feel like I’ve got someone who understands me…I just can’t lose you like that.”

“Elick, we’ll worry about that if the time comes. We can’t spend our days fretting over things that have yet to happen. We must take one day at a time or else we won’t be able to solve what’s in front of us.”

Elick threw his head back and bumped it against the booth. “I don’t know how you can live so calmly. I’m filled with worries and fears every day.” He shuffled closer to Mallard and wrapped his arm around him. “I just want to know more about you and what your connection to my family is. It’s like you’ve flew into my life like a tornado and whipped everything up in a frenzy. I need to make sense of everything so I can feel at peace with myself.” Elick looked down and tapped his feet against Mallard’s. “But somehow, I keep having all these first-time moments with you, and I don’t care that they’re sudden or weird.”

“Awe, that sounds like a beautiful love confession,” said the waitress. She was in a wide-eyed awe-filled daze with her hands clasped against her cheeks.

Elick’s heart sank, and his body tingled until it went numb. He felt mortified and embarrassed. “I…I…it’s not what you think.” He couldn’t find the right words to make an excuse.

Mallard grabbed Elick’s hands and clasped them into his. “It’ll be okay.”

The waitress shook her head and came out of her daze. “No, no, no, it’s okay! Don’t worry! You’re perfectly okay.” She smiled laid out their check. “If only I could find a romance like the two of you.”

“A romance?” Elick asked.

“Whatever you want to call it. I am drawn to you and together we can solve anything,” Mallard said.

Elick could only think of how cheesy and cliché Mallard was acting. Somehow, as much as those words confused him, he couldn’t help but feel happy. Perhaps, he was placing too many worries on what everyone else was thinking and it stopped him from living his own life. His thoughts and worries go beyond people seeing him as a gay man but as someone who should start to live for himself. If Mallard is by his side, perhaps the two of them can figure things out together. It won’t matter who’s right or wrong, simply the fact that they get to share in the experience.

“I think the more I’m with you and want to be with you, the less I feel like a fish.”

Elick chuckled and brushed Mallard’s hair back. “What kind of pick up line is that?”

After their meal, they visited the supermarket. Mallard clung onto Elick’s shopping cart and followed him like a curious puppy. From time to time, the flashing lights, the large televisions, and colorful food labels distracted Mallard. He’d stop or wander off down an aisle, and Elick would go fetch him. To Elick’s relief, there weren’t a lot of people in the store, and so he took his time with Mallard.

After they found the gold ribbon and checked out, they quickly returned home. Elick laid the ribbon on the kitchen counter and went to wash up. Mallard patiently waited on Elick’s bed when he stepped out.