Yesteryear Fiction

The Kitchen Table
By Beth J. Whiting


Nicolas and his family were poor. One day they woke up and there was a feast to behold on their table.

They all murmured to themselves how this could have happened. There was turkey and ham and mashed potatoes. The family spent nearly an hour eating the food.

Then the boy heard rumors from some children at school that they had gotten food as well.

Who was the benefactor?

Nicolas and his family woke up at 7 a.m. Nicolas noticed his family started getting meals on Wednesdays. He stayed up all night Tuesday near the kitchen. At 2 a.m. he heard a noise. He looked up and there was a beautiful sixteen year old girl bringing food in from a car. She set it on the kitchen table.

He whispered from the corner, “Who are you?”

The girl looked startled that someone had seen her.

She acknowledged that she was a cook from the palace who liked to give meals to needy people.

“Another cook and I make them for service and fun. We like to hear the stories from the village about how we’re helping people out.”

“Well you are. Many people are happy. My family included.”

“Please do not tell anyone about what I’ve done.”

“Ok. But don’t leave yet. I would like to make friends with a person who does such service.”

She told him he could meet her at a field the next day at 3.

So Nicholas went to his school and then he hurried on to the field where the girl who called herself Matilda had prepared a light meal for them to enjoy.

“How can you afford all of these ingredients for all of these people?”

“I’ll tell you a secret. I’m the princess. The cook and I became friends when I was a little girl. She taught me how to cook. We discussed it over the years. Then we finally agreed to do it, to help the poor people of this town.”

“How do you get into the houses?”

“Most of them are open. This is a safe community. Only a few houses are locked. We don't do anything at those.”

“The king must have known about the shortage in the kitchen.”

“No, it comes out of my allowance.”

“You mean you pay for it?”

“I don’t care. I want to do good.”

Nicolas was intrigued by this do-gooder.


He told his mom when he got home, “I have a crush on a girl.”

“That’s nice.”

Nicolas wasn’t about to tell his mom that he had a crush on a princess.


Nicolas insisted that he go on one of the journeys with the princess and the cook. They went to one of the poor houses in the neighborhood. It was fun putting food on the table. He could only imagine the surprise of the people when they woke up, the confusion, the smiles that would come.


After a couple months of deliveries, however, a middle-aged man claimed that a golden watch had stolen by them by the kitchen intruder. The news spread throughout the town.

Nicolas and Matilda agreed that the person must have been lying.

"Please do not tell anyone about what I’ve done.”


A court date was set and under the full weight of the court it was demanded that the person who had been doing the kitchen table surprises appear for questioning.


The princess and the cook entered the courtroom with great confusion amiss.

“Why are you here, princess?” asked the judge.

“Because I have been the one who has been giving the kitchen feasts. Only I have stolen nothing.”

The court discussed it. A princess who surely had everything would not steal a golden watch.


The princess decided not to fight the liar. She bought him a golden watch. To the amazement of the town, she also set a date aside for the whole town to be fed. It was in a large park and it was one of the most enchanting days the town had ever had. The children played games. All the food that could be imagined was served.

The people in the town proclaimed that the princess was the best dinner host in the land.

From then on, when a person had an unexpected meal on their kitchen table they knew it had come from the princess, a sweet one indeed.


- - -
Beth J. Whiting was born in 1983 to a large family of brainy eccentrics. At eight years old she developed a love of books through the works of Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis. Her short stories revolve around underdogs in suburban settings, such as the one in which she was raised. She currently lives with her artistic twin sister in a tiny apartment in Mesa, Arizona.

Ewan Dools
By Beth J. Whiting


“I have to be partners with Ewan?” the pretty blonde said.
Her teacher Mrs. Brown said yes.
Ewan Dools was a strange boy. He wore glasses and had bad posture. It was sixth grade. He always sat alone on recess crocheting. The blonde whose name was Natalie knew her grandmother did it. But how many boys crocheted?
“I want to be with my friend Eva. We already have ideas for what to do with the book.”
“Someone has to be with Ewan.”
Natalie was about to say that Ewan could just be by himself. He always was. But that would sound kind of mean.
“Fine.”
Natalie sat by Ewan.
“What are you making anyway?”
“Amigurumi.”
“I never heard of it.”
“It's a Japanese crochet toy. I have several of them at home.”
She laughed, “Do you have many dolls at home?”
“Actually I do.”
She meant it as a joke. The fact that he said it so simply was weird.
She changed the subject.
“We have to do a book report on Summer of my German Soldier. We will make the project at my house.”
“I'd rather do it at my house.”
“Your house?”
It was bad enough being with this boy but to go to his house.
“Fine,” she relented again.

Natalie told herself it was a one time thing. She could handle it.
She had seen the Dools house her whole life. It had a ripped screen door. Anyone could walk in. But nobody did it. It was an ugly dirty looking house. It was faded yellow. The mother was a waif who worked at a bread store downtown. The father left a few years again.
Natalie was afraid to knock on the screen door, afraid that she would break it.
So she yelled, “Ewan.”
He came to the door.
The mother had a huge smile on her face, like this was a groundbreaking ceremony.
“I have carrot cake and punch on the table just in case you want some.”
“Thanks,” Natalie said.
The place was surrounded by pictures of Ewan and his mother.
Natalie got a slice out of courtesy.
Then Ewan said, “Let's go to my room.”
She didn't know what to except. It wasn't what she pictured though.

Natalie saw toys made out of felt. There were the crocheted toys. There were miniature sets along with the toys. There was a beach, beach sand and a mini umbrella. There was a park. There were toys gathered around both places.
“You made this?” said Natalie.
“Yes. All the sets and all the toys are made by me.”
“What for?”
“My own little land.”
She laughed, “You mean you still play with toys?”
“Yes.”
“Every creature is made by me. When I make a new toy it's a new friend.”
She should have laughed. Instead she was silent.
He quickly said, “So we should get to the report about Summer of my German Soldier.”

He said that he didn't care for the book that it was girly. Natalie said it was romantic.
When Natalie suggested he make toys for the characters he looked at her aghast.
“I make toys for myself. I'm not making them for a school project.”
“But you do them so well.”
In the end they went with a poster which Natalie thought was boring. It was what she always did. But he could have used his talents otherwise.
Ewan said that he would need another day to work on the poster. She agreed to it.

When Natalie went to school, her friends asked her how it was like to go to Ewan's house.
She felt like making fun of him. They knew he made toys. But did they know he played with them?
Instead she said, “It was fine.”

They did the presentation on Summer of my German Soldier.
Natalie and he took turns, “Summer of my German Soldier is about a Jewish girl who hides a German POW.”

Natalie was glad that the project was done. The next assignment came up with The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The teacher put them together again.
Natalie was furious.
The teacher took her aside and told her, “You were nice enough to do it once. Ewan was less nervous than usual when he presented. You make a good partner for him.”
Natalie didn't like that it sounded permanent.

The mother was thrilled to have her again. This time she didn't have cake though.
This time Ewan budged and he made an amigurumi of a fox. They decorated a shoebox.
Only when it was done, Ewan asked, “Would you like to stay and play with me?”
Natalie stood there silent. Her friends would never find out. It wouldn't hurt.

“Why do you make your toys?” Natalie asked.
“I'm too poor to get my own. Besides there's more love put into it.”
He went to two characters a crocheted beaver with big black eyes and a redheaded boy with a buck tooth. He was made out of felt.
Who are they?”
“They're Beav and Chuck. They sell masking tape on the beach.”
She burst out laughing.
“That's an awful idea. Why don't they sell something that people would eat like popcorn?”
“Actually they both came up with the idea. They were competition to each other before they became friends. They don't actually make that much money.”
“So how do they survive?”
“They live on the beach.”

He took her to two huge pigs, that looked at least two foot tall. One of their ears was flappy. These weren't homemade. So they were obviously bought as a gift.
“These are my favorite Blobsie and Flipsie. They are in love.”
“But they look exactly the same.”
They had big beady eyes.
“They met on the kindergarten playground. Their parents had them tested to see if they were related. They weren't. Their parents banned them from seeing each other. When that happened they ran away together and worked at a freak show.”
“What was their act?”
“Just being themselves.”

Natalie was amused walking away although she still thought of him as weird.
The teacher ended up giving them a B on that assignment.

By the third presentation, Natalie considered him a friend, although she wouldn't have advertised that to the whole school.
Then Ewan asked something daring.
“Would you like to stay at my house for a Friday night?”
Natalie's friends didn't have anything prepared. So she had no plans. She reluctantly said yes.

He had all the stuffed animals ready.
He introduced her to a number of characters that night. One of them was a pig with a voice that squealed. The girl was named Heavenly. She had a nose that looked like a bottle cap. Other than that she was a beautiful pig. Her husband was a black panther who was miserable all the time.
She bugged him constantly.
“Why are you so miserable?”
Heavenly also loved bunnies and unicorns. She kept bugging her husband for one. Her husband stayed quiet while she rambled on and on.
Natalie asked, “How do these characters come to you?”
“I don't know. I see a character. Already I can guess their personality. Usually it comes from the expression on their face.”
“Can I play with the toys too?”
“Of course.”
Natalie never thought that she would play with toys again. But his were fun.
She met a pleasant looking pig named Oinker who had an unusual voice. It sounded German, kind of Scottish. This looked like he bought it for a buck at a dollar store. It was a plastic green pig.
He kept coming out with all of the toys. She didn't know how to keep track of them. But something told her that she would be coming again.

“You stayed the night over at Ewan's?”
Her friends were astonished that she spent a day with him.
“He's ok,” she muttered.
“That Mrs. Evans should have never paired you two together.”
“It's ok. I really don't mind.”
“We're worried about you.”

When Natalie came over to Ewan's the next time he had Blobsie and Flipsie hug her as she came near the door. She smiled.
“I want you to meet someone special.”
He brought over an ugly small looking pig.
“What is it named?”
“Yoda.”
She laughed. It did have large ears.
“Yoda is a girl. She's very lazy. She sleeps over 16 hours a day. She's friends with Oinker. Yoda is kind of sarcastic.”
“How often do you play with your stuffed animals?”
“All the time.”
“Does your mom know about the toys?”
“Yes she does. They talk to her too.”
“Your mother doesn't mind.”
“No she likes them. My mom doesn't like the fact that they call her Nancy though.”
“Why is that?”
“They're not her mother.”
“But it's your mom.”
“When I'm in character I don't feel like myself. I didn't do it intentionally. My mom called me out on it after I had been doing it a couple of months.”
“They'll call me Natalie right?”
“Yes.”

The next time Natalie walked into the room he had Blobsie say, “Hi Natalie.”
Natalie smiled.
When Ewan suggested they get to their new assignment, Natalie looked oddly at him.
“I thought that we were going to play with the toys.”
“You would rather play with the toys.”
Natalie didn't actually play. She just sat and listened to him talk about them.

“Yoda went to work once for a harsh woman named Lamarr. She had a class on being lazy. Only she slept during the class so often people wanted a refund. But Lamarr told them that you couldn't complain. The teacher instructed the subject quite well.”
“What else can you tell me about Yoda?”
“Her father Hector has supported her her whole life. Except for the three months that she worked for Lamarr, Yoda has been supported by her father her whole life. He wrote this pretentious book I the Harvard Busy Bee. It's bought by college students for class. They complain all right. It's made him a fortune though. He himself can't even get through the thing.”
“Where's Hector?”
A pig with a huge belly and tired eyes showed himself.
“Hector is married to a girl that is half his age Corday. I named her after the French hero. Corday is a war nut. They met in service while Hector was a cook in the military. He served the soldiers bad food. The cooks kept all the good food for themselves.”
“Where's Corday?”
A tiny little pig showed up.
“You're saying that this pig works in the military.”
“She's fiercer than she looks.”

Natalie helped make a set for Ewan. He made a house for Yoda out of popsicle sticks. Natalie seemed enthused about it.

Natalie met a purple hippo the next day called Chump. He had a flat body. He was Oinker's husband. He was a notorious food critic. He gave bad reviews to most restaurants. His wife however gave good reviews to all the restaurants.
People called her the nice one.
Natalie watched him play fascinated by the interaction he had with all of the characters.

Natalie was at home once and she heard a squeak that sounded kind of like Blobsie. She got afraid.

She came to Ewan about this, “I thought that she was alive yesterday. It's so silly.”
“No, it's not. After so much interaction they do come alive. I forgot to tell you that.”
He brought Blobsie towards her. Suddenly an arm came alive and the other one then the gigantic pig walked towards them and said, “Hi guys.”
Sure enough Blobsie was alive.
Ewan asked, “Will you tell me about your carnival past?”
Blobsie shook her head a huge no.
That made sense since their carnival life was very dramatic.
He asked them about Octopussy.
“Oh he was so mean.”
Octopussy was originally named Octopus and he was an octopus/half man. Only Blobsie and Flipsie named him after the James Bond movie and it stuck.
He super glued their toilet seats in response.
“It hurt so much,” Blobsie moaned.
Natalie and Ewan ended up playing for hours.
There was such delight in Natalie's face.

Natalie spent the next day at lunch with Ewan. When Natalie came back to class, she ran into her girlfriends. They seemed angry.
“It's one thing to go Ewan's home. It's another to sit by him at the lunch table. You have to choose.”
Natalie liked Ewan but she didn't want to spend the rest of school sitting only with him on recess. She had to choose.

Natalie ended up going to his house the next night. She knew what she was doing was wrong. At the end of their session, Ewan went to go to the bathroom. Natalie stole some of the toys in her backpack. They wouldn't shut up but she was able to get them out of the house.
When Natalie took them to her house, they wouldn't speak to her.
“You're not Ewan,” they said. They were quite stubborn.
Natalie thought that with time they would budge.

Natalie spent the next two days not speaking to Ewan, sitting with the girls for lunch.
Then on a Friday afternoon during school he had a fight with her right in the middle of class.
“I can't believe you stole them. And you thought I wouldn't notice. I made them. They're mine. I can't believe you ran off with them.”
The teacher seemed annoyed by the interruption.
The teacher went to Natalie, “If what he says is true, return the items to Ewan.”
“I can't here.”
Natalie ended it at that.

Ewan went to Natalie's home.
It was the first time he had ever been inside her house. Her house was nicer, better furniture, cleaner. Her room looked like a traditional girl's room at first with some boy singers on the wall. Then he noticed some art work of the toys around the room.
She cried, “I never really had an imagination before.”
He collected the toys.
They hugged Ewan at their return.
“You know what you did was wrong.”
She nodded.
“They're not really your imagination. They're mine.”
“Can't we share?”
“You can hang around your friends but you can't see me as second string. I don't deserve that.”
She nodded.
He had Yoda hug her.


- - -
Beth J. Whiting was born in 1983 to a large family of brainy eccentrics. At eight years old she developed a love of books through the works of Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis. Beth has struggled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since her teenage years, and uses writing to express, imagine, and create. She currently lives with her artistic twin sister in a tiny apartment in Mesa, Arizona.

The Encantado and the Mermaid
By Beth J. Whiting


Jamie was twenty years old. He was growing into the encantado lifestyle despite his mother’s pleadings. His father who had gone through the experience, being a weredolphin as well, told the mother to let him have his fun while he was young.

The mother didn’t understand it. Jamie lived in the Enchante, a peaceful glorious place to live. Why would you want to fuss around with a bunch of humans then? Humans were full of misery and pain.

Jamie agreed. But it was the imperfection that made them appealing. It was something to work with. Besides, it wasn’t like he was going to a psychology session with them or anything. He was just going to parties.

Jamie would always find one by the sea. If they found out he was an encantado all he had to do was race into the ocean and then he would become a dolphin and flip away. That only happened once. The person who made the call was probably a human whose grandmother read stories to them at night.

His father had told Jamie that if anything it was better to be an encantado nowadays. The belief was dying. Back when he was alive he had to run to the water frequently. He was even shot at once.

Jamie wasn’t really trying to disguise himself, but his outfit smartly achieved the effect. He liked his father’s old white suits. He found them appealing and sharp. They looked good on him. He was handsome in human form. Not in a Cary Grant sort of way, more boyish. He was average height and had wavy brown hair.

In the past, girls thought that the white suit looked odd. He stuck out, and not in a good way. Yet Jamie still found some who would approach him to flirt. Jamie was a good dancer, and managed to become one of the main attractions at every party he went to.

The fact that he wore a hat made him stick out. Hardly anyone wore hats nowadays. Jamie had to. His forehead didn’t shapeshift. It still remained dolphin-like. Back in his father’s days it may have been easy to hide, but a twenty year old these days always wearing a hat? Regardless, the white hat went well with what Jamie thought was a snappy suit.

Jamie was ready to leave the Enchante. He was in the mood for a party.

Lucille turned 18. She was given one week. That was all. If she was married by the end of the week, then she could stay human forever. If not then she was to return to the mermaid world.

Not that Lucille minded it so much. She loved the mermaid world. She loved the sea, her family.

Everyone had a chance once they turned 18 to go abroad for a week, to temporarily become a human. The stories they returned with made that week out to be magical. They would describe the sights they saw, the people they met. Since it was so short a time very few actually got married. To get to know someone and have them marry you within a week? That must be impossible.

Many who have done so were only triumphant because they had concocted a successful love potion. There was some debate around the land on whether the love potions were ethical. It was using someone against their will. Besides, her family told her that the love potions were only temporary. Then what would she have? A bad marriage or divorce most likely. No, the person needed to be in love with you sincerely. That was the only real way it would work out.

Lucille had a neutral attitude on the trip. If she met someone, that was fine. However if she didn’t she wouldn’t be depressed for the rest of her life. Many people were and Lucille considered that a waste. Lucille was curious about what it would be like to have legs and feet for awhile. She already had her clothes prepared for her. Her mother had a beautiful purple dress that she had found on her trip long ago. That was a rule. If you didn’t succeed in finding a spouse, you had to bring something from the human world back with you. Most people picked clothes, that way their offspring could have a better start in the new world.

Some people recommended to just run off with anyone. To Lucille that was stupid. It wasn’t like things were that bad here.

On the day Lucille turned eighteen she found that her tail had shed itself in her bed. She discovered her legs and feet. They were strange to behold. The toes were so wiggly. Her mother came in to help her put on the purple dress and fix her hair.

“Make sure he’s a nice one.” She was talking to her daughter as if it were the last time she would see her. For some it really was.

“Of course I won’t pick a jerk,” Lucille said to comfort her mother.

Lucille was handed over to an instructor. It seemed like they swam forever. The mermaid world was left far behind. Then when it seemed like Lucille couldn’t take it anymore the woman told her to keep swimming until she reached the shore.

Lucille didn’t know what she meant, and just kept swimming until she lost consciousness.

When Lucille woke she found herself on a beach. A number of people were standing around her asking each other if she was okay. When Lucille breathed the crowd triumphed. After she was declared to be all right she was left alone. Lucille was confused. What was she supposed to do?

For the rest of the day Lucille observed the people on the beach. She noticed that some just like to sit back and relax. Others went out into the ocean. Some made sand castles, and others just talked with each other. Most of them were wearing swimming suits. Lucille thought they looked half-naked.

Hours later a passerby randomly gave Lucille an invitation to a party that would be near the beach soon. She didn’t know what a “party” was but it sounded interesting. Maybe she could meet men there.

Jamie always crashed parties. That was the problem. Sometimes people would say “He didn’t get an invite,” and throw him out. Jamie learned not to be mad about it. There were other parties, other nights. It wasn’t like he could argue with them. He wasn’t invited, but that bit of danger was part of the fun.

Jamie was excited tonight. His white suit sparkled. He felt like having fun tonight. Jamie flirted with girls but never felt special about one. He saw the way that his parents loved each other. He expected that would happen ten years from then, but for now settling was for old men. He was young. The night was young. Everything was good.

Lucille went over to where a number of people were gathered. She figured that was where they were having the party. She saw a lot of people drinking and acting funny afterwards. She decided not to touch that stuff.

Lucille just sat on the sidelines observing. She had no intention of joining the people at the party. She wouldn’t know what to say. She noticed that some came dressed nicely and some remained in their swimwear. She felt indifferently about it all until he walked by.

He looked about her age. She liked the white suit he wore. It stood out in the crowd. He looked flashy. She blushed. He was handsome.

The party went on. He was quite a dancer. Lucille sat in the back with the rejected girls. She wasn’t aware of this though.

It happened quite suddenly. Jamie went over to her and said “You’re much too pretty to be sitting here alone.”

Then Lucille realized that the guy meant her wanted to dance with her.

She blushed, “Oh but I don’t know how to dance.”

“I’ll do all the work. Don’t worry.”

He was right. She just stood besides him while he wowed the crowd.

“What’s your name?”

“Lucille.”

“I haven’t seen you around here.”

“I’m kind of new.”

“Good. These parties need new faces.”

Lucille danced with him for a while. The he switched off to another girl. She didn’t complain. She just sat back down and watched him as he went. The guy made quite an impression. She learned by the end of the night that his name was Jamie Oates.

Jamie thought it was a fair party. It didn’t have the jazz records that he liked such as Louis Prima where the saxophone could be heard. They usually played dance music at these parties which he didn’t care for. It sounded fake to him.

He remembered the girl in the purple dress. She was there the next night at the same spot. She still had on the same dress.

He asked her to dance but questioned her, “Why are you dressed the same again?”

She said “It’s all I have.”

This made Jamie wonder. He found that his mind was focused on her the whole night. He wasn’t enjoying the party.

Jamie’s suspicions seemed to be confirmed. When he was going back home much later he saw her wandering around the beach. Who was this mysterious girl?

The third night he asked her if she was homeless.

“No, I have a family,” she answered.

She had a home, the sea. She didn’t really see his point.

“I mean do you have a house or an apartment that you go home to.”

“No.”

“Don’t you get cold on this beach at night.”

“It’s all right. I won’t be here for very long.”

“You mean you’re on vacation?”

“Something like that.”

But then she asked him something that made him jump.

“Can I see you without the hat?”

With that he switched to another girl.

The fifth night Lucille knew that it was over. Lucille hadn’t found a man to marry her. She failed. She knew that by that night her tail would start growing out again. When the scales covered her legs completely she would have to get to the water to swim away.

She danced with the guy in the white suit and thought to herself that this flirt was the closest she had gotten. She didn’t expected anything out of the ordinary to happen that night, but it did.

In the middle of the party someone screamed out, “Encantado!” and pointed to Jamie.

People paid immediate attention. He became the focus of the scene, and this time not in a good way. He began to run for it. The crowd followed him. He ran as if his life depended on it out to the sea. Soon enough he disappeared into the ocean.

Lucille’s despair turned into laughter. Encantado. He was the same as her, a half-sea creature. No wonder he never took off the hat.

By the time it was midnight Lucille’s legs had become fins and she started swimming in the ocean. She found the instructor waiting there for her.

“You didn’t make it did you.”

Lucille smiled, “I don’t think I failed.”

When Lucille’s mother heard that her daughter had failed and hadn’t found a male she expected to soothe a heartbroken child. Instead she found a daughter gleaming.

“I found someone I like.”

“Who?”

The mother expected her to cry on her shoulder and tell her about some boy that she liked but couldn’t woo to marriage.

So Lucille told her story, only when she got to the encantado part her mother passed out.

“Mom, I have a chance with this guy.”

Her mother said disapprovingly, “No. He’s an encantado.”

“But he’s around my age and we’re both sea creatures.”

“Your father won’t like it.”

Her father didn’t.

“That’s bringing shame to the family. Why did she have to fall for an encantado.”

The mother reasoned, “I’m sorry, but it makes sense. She’s a stranger in a strange land so she falls for one of her own. I don’t think it will be all that bad.”

“It’s mermen or human men. Nothing else. An encantado? What will the neighbors think?”

Word spread around fast in the sea. A mermaid named Lucille had fallen for an encantado and his name was Jamie Oates. People thought it was funny.

Jamie didn’t think it was. It explained some things about Lucille. Why she only had one outfit and why she looked so confused. Frankly it made him like her more. She was a sea creature like him. Plus he imagined she looked more beautiful as a mermaid. The concept of the mermaid itself was romantic. He had one liking him.

He didn’t like the fact that people thought it was a joke. Why did people have to laugh at encantados.


Jamie was more than ready when her father called on him. He had to. His daughter was lovesick. He had to have an alert daughter, not some daydreaming creature.

When Lucille’s father saw him, he didn’t see what his daughter saw in him. Maybe it was just the dolphin form, but still.

He was harsh on the boy.

“So how many children do you have?”

If encantados were known for anything it was their illegitimate children.

Jamie said, “None.”

He didn’t believe him.

“You can ask my father,” Jamie insisted.

“You do realize that if you have a child it will be completely messed up. A half human encantado mermaid sounds like a person with an identity crisis.”

“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.”

The father frowned. He didn’t have a reason for saying no, other than that it was an embarrassment.

On the first date Lucille was waiting outside her house.

She asked Jamie, “How do we split up our time between the Enchante and the merpeople?”

Jamie shook his head.

“Let’s just take this one step at a time.”


- - -
Beth J. Whiting was born in 1983 to a large family of brainy eccentrics. At eight years old she developed a love of books through the works of Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis. Her short stories revolve around underdogs in suburban settings, such as the one in which she was raised. She currently lives with her artistic twin sister in a tiny apartment in Mesa, Arizona.