Awkward Night

Tuesday, 11 May 2021

Princess Nicolette's petite figure lay in my bed, turning left and right once every few minutes as I continued reading The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James, in a body squeeze position on my couch. We headed home to my new place after agreeing about me proposing to her when the time is right. As much as I wanted to bombard her with questions, she looked exhausted from the travel, and yet to adjust to the new environment. I used my power to fly us both, including my bike with my book on its basket. Since I had become accustomed with my power, I could channel my thoughts to my blue energy without hand gesture, so I just focused my eyes to the bike and my book to get rid of the water, which I did as soon as Princess Nicolette and I landed on the balcony of the second floor. I politely asked her to pick up my book from the bike, since I was carrying her and couldn't use my hands. Despite her tired eyes and weak body, she obliged by sluggishly reaching to the basket to get my book while I was carrying her. When we got inside my room, I settled her on my bed, thinking that she would easily go to sleep. But I was wrong. Because after an hour, she was still twisting every now and then, with her eyes closed. I think she really wanted to sleep, but couldn't.

With my book in front of my face, I asked, "Can I help you with anything? You don't look like you're comfortable in my bed."

Her eyes opened, then she sat down, leaning on the headboard. I put down my book on the couch, walked towards her, and grabbed the pillow beside her. I gently slid the pillow behind her back, so that she'd feel more comfortable while sitting. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome. Is there something bothering you? I know you're tired and you need to sleep, but you seem to be having a hard time doing that."

She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle the disheveled strands. I quickly got up to get a comb from my wardrobe cabinet, then handed it to her. She looked grateful as she held it, while I sat like a buddha on her 3 o'clock. "I have read about this. It is a comb," she said while examining the object.

I was quite surprised that she could read; that explained her broad vocabulary. All the while, I thought that her profound way of speaking was a product of her 210 years in the Underworld. None of the books I read about mermaids said anything about literacy. If she could read, then she could write, too. "How did you read about it? Or I mean, how do you read underwater?"

"Our books are not like yours, which are on papers." She pointed her eyes to my book on the sofa then looked back at me. "Ours are on rocks. We have rock tablets."

"That's awesome. What kind of stories do you read?"

"I don't read stories. I read facts about humans and Earth."

I nodded my head, looking impressed. "Why couldn't you sleep? Is it because you're not used to sleeping on a bed like this?"

"That is not the reason."

"Then why?"

"I worry about the future."

"Don't we all?" She kept on combing her hair, and her strokes were becoming aggressive by the minute, so I had to stop her. "Hey, that's enough for now." I carefully took the comb from her, cautious that she might yell at me for taking it back. "You don't have to comb your hair that hard. You might hurt your scalp."

"It belongs to me now. You have bestowed it to me."

"Uhm, no. Actually, I just let you borrow it. It's still my comb. I rarely use it because I don't really comb my hair, though it's just there for the sake of having one when I need it." I really didn't mind giving the comb to her, but I was afraid that she might not stop combing her hair. Plus, the way that she did it so aggressively was very concerning to me. I put it back to a shelf inside my cabinet then hopped on the bed, and sat the same way I was sitting before. When I looked at her, her forehead was wrinkled, her eyebrows met, and her eyes glared at me. "I will buy you a brush instead. A hairbrush is more of something suitable for a girl like you. You'll like it better than my comb." She tilted her head, and her eyes widened with glow. "I will also buy you clothes, some accessories, toothbrush, and other stuff that you need. We're going shopping tomorrow after I buy a gift for my youngest sister, Hailey. She's turning 10 tomorrow, and there's a small celebration at my papa's place in the afternoon, so we're going."

She suddenly looked worried and covered her mouth.

"Why, is there something wrong?"

"I must learn to walk tonight."

"Oh, yeah. You're right, although it doesn't have to be tonight. You have to rest first, then try walking tomorrow. You can't exert any more effort tonight. You're tired."

"I do not have a generous amount of time to gain the ability to walk."

"Don't worry, we have the entire morning and afternoon tomorrow. My family celebrates birthdays at 6pm, so we have time. You can practice here tomorrow after breakfast, then I'll take you with me at work in the afternoon and you can also practice there. You should rest tonight. Otherwise, you won't have energy to do everything we need for tomorrow."

She nodded. "I understand. You are right."

That made me smile. "It feels good for you to say that I'm right."

She paused. It seemed that she was pondering about something. Then she suddenly said, "Humans take a bath and brush their teeth. I want to acquire such basic abilities this evening. I have read about personal hygiene."

"Right. That's probably why you can't sleep. You don't feel clean."

She nodded.

"Well…" My mind suddenly went blank, then started processing after a few moments of shock. Since she can't walk and can't stand properly, I have to teach her how to take a bath and brush her teeth. I have a spare toothbrush for her, so that's not a problem, but it'd be too awkward to be in the bathroom with her again. At Justin's place, I had to accompany her to the bathroom to pee and now, I'd have to accompany her again to teach her how to brush her teeth and take a bath. The brushing her teeth part is fine, but it'd be too awkward to teach her how to take a bath. "Why don't I give you a clean wet towel instead, so you can use that to clean yourself for tonight? It's too late to take a shower. Then, you can brush your teeth here in my bed. I'll give you a toothbrush with toothpaste in it, a glass of water, and another glass of water where you can spit after gargling. We'll do everything the normal way once you are able to walk. How about that?"

"I shall not delay any basic human customs before bed. I aspire to be human tonight."

"But you are human now, whether you do it the normal way or not. We can do them the normal way tomorrow when you can walk and stand on your own."

She glared at me, and it made me feel nervous when she said, "NO. I DO NOT FEEL HUMAN THIS VERY MOMENT."

The fuming tone in her voice was warning enough for me to do as she said. My heart couldn't contain the uneasiness that I was feeling at that moment, but I managed to nod and respond to her. "I'll…" I swallowed my own saliva, and tried to respond without stuttering. "I'll take you to the bathroom now and teach you what you need to know."

"Thank you."

I let out a big sigh. It was almost 9pm when I looked at my watch. I got up after removing it, then placed it on my small dining table. "Are you ready?'

"Yes, by all means." She opened her arms so adorably, which was kind of ironic because I shouldn't be scared of an adorable girl like her, should I? But then she had this very intimidating aura in her that made me feel like I'll be in danger if I don't abide by her demands. So, I carried her in my arms and onto the bathroom we went. I closed the toilet lid, then put her down. While she sat on the toilet lid, I went out of the bathroom to get one of the chairs from the dining set, then carried it all the way to the bathroom's shower area. I moved her to the chair and she looked pleased that she started wiggling her feet. I felt relieved to see her excited like that until she said, "Show me."

"Hmm?"

"You must show me how to take a bath," she said in a quite demanding tone as she looked up to me while her small figure rested on the chair.

"Yes, of course…" I scratched my head. "I honestly don't know where to start. I guess, I'll just turn on this shower, then you can just turn it off like this when you need the water to stop, then the shampoo is right here…" I said all this while pointing at the objects, then suddenly realized that she wouldn't be able to reach anything because she was tiny and stuck on her seat. Moreover, she wouldn't be able to stand up on her own.

"Take a bath and I shall watch. I will do it subsequently, and you shall assess my ability to acclimatize to basic human customs."

I couldn't breathe at the thought. "Uhm…I don't want to take a bath right now. I'm clean enough."

"Then bathe me tonight, and I shall do it on my own tomorrow."

I bit my lip. "Okay…I'll…I'll bathe you tonight, then you can…uhm…bathe yourself tomorrow." If my heart were a car, it would've been pulled over by the police for exceeding the speed limit. At that moment, I wished I weren't a guy. It's too hard to be a guy and not have your hormones betray you in times when you need to behave well like a decent and respectable man. I sighed, trying to ignore the increasing tension I was feeling.

"Well?"

I couldn't help but nonchalantly lick my lips and take a deep breath. "Alright, te…take off your shirt."