Page 41 of Kraken the Seal

Our table was only meant for two people. “We're going to need to find a bigger table.”

As I said that, everyone around us jumped into action. The next thing we knew, our table had been swapped for a bigger one with five chairs. All the nearby tables had been pushed around to make room for our larger table.

I tried to figure out who had given up their table, but everyone moved so quickly and fluidly that I couldn't figure out who had gone where.

It reminded me of a school of fish seamlessly bending and moving around an obstacle. I didn’t say that. I was sure the selkies wouldn't appreciate the comparison.

Without speaking, Abby, Frank, and Archer all sat. Nina and I exchanged a look, then sat back down. We were on one side and our guests crowded in on the other. Poor Abby was squished between the two men, although it seemed like she was pushing herself against Archer, so she didn’t have to touch her dad.

I couldn’t blame her. The man was wearing enough cologne to give me a headache. I knew seals couldn’t smell underwater, but I thought they had a perfectly good sense of smell on land, even in their human form. What was wrong with this man? He’d covered himself in so much scent I wasn’t sure I’d be able to smell my food.

“Laura!” Frank shouted. “I want to order.”

A woman walked up to us. She looked a little nervous but not scared. “Sure thing, Frank.”

Frank ordered for himself, then for Abby. Archer ordered next, then there was an odd silence as Laura looked at Nina and then back at Archer, as if she wasn’t sure what to do.

“I’d like the salmon, rice, and salad," she said.

Laura looked at Archer. “Sheriff?”

Archer gave her an encouraging smile. “For now, you should treat Nina and Delmar as you would treat a human tourist.”

She looked relieved, and her attitude changed. Her shoulders came up, and she met my gaze without hesitation. “Sir?”

If I wasn’t starving, I’d probably have simply gotten a salad. Instead, I asked for two main dishes and several extra sides. Our earlier exercise made me hungry. Laura didn’t blink an eye at my order and said she’d be right back with our drinks.

“What did you mean by that?” Nina asked the moment Laura left.

Archer looked confused. “By what?”

“When you told Laura to treat us like human tourists,” she explained. “Her whole demeanor changed. Also, why was she hesitating so much and looking conflicted before that?”

“Females aren’t supposed to speak for themselves outside of the family,” Frank said, even though she hadn’t addressed the question to him. “It’s the duty of the men to speak for them.”

“Then she should have looked at Delmar, but she didn’t,” Nina pointed out. I could tell she didn’t like this answer because her tone was aggressive.

“She didn't look at the kraken because he can’t be your male. He’s not a selkie,” Frank said. “We don’t hold human tourists to the same rules as we do our colony members. They are a necessary evil because they wouldn’t visit or shop in our town if we refused to speak to their females or let them talk to ours.”

I felt Nina tense and knew she was about to say something to challenge Frank when Archer spoke up.

“It’s an old rule left over from much earlier times,” he said. “We’ve been slowly changing over the years.”

Frank scoffed. “We were until your father took control of the colony. Our population was diminishing, and we were having all kinds of issues. He brought us back to the old ways that had made us so successful before. The best thing that happened to this colony was your father.”

Archer’s expression remained neutral, but I could see the way his eyes hardened. It seemed that he was more progressive than his father. I got the feeling he didn’t approve of the way Norris ran things.

Why didn’t he leave?

Then Archer looked down at Abby. His eyes softened and a genuine smile spread across his face. “You can have some of my fries if you want.”

“No,” Frank said. “No fries, she’ll get fat.”

“You get to decide what Abby eats?” Nina asked. I expected anger, but all I saw on her face was concern.

“Of course,” Frank said. “I’m her father so I need to guide her in all things. When you join us, you’ll be under the guardianship of Mayor Norris. That’s why I insisted on coming to this dinner with Abby when Archer came to collect her. My son isn’t marriedyet. You’re a little heavy, but I’m sure we can fix that once you’re living among us.”

Nina’s smile reminded me a lot of a shark. “Isn’t that nice of you? I’m surprised you have that beer gut if the colony is so quick to help everyone lose weight.”