I'd Give the Seas

Mercy Makepeace stood outside a polished metal and glass apartment building on the outskirts of Chicago. Rain pattered on her clear umbrella as she looked up through it, hoping to chance a glance in the first window on the tenth floor. As she was well aware, it was too high and the glare from the silver clouds reflected harshly off the glass. There was no movement at the beige curtains she knew were hanging there. Even if she squinted, she could see nothing to indicate that anyone was currently in the apartment.

Now feeling slightly like a peeping tom, Mercy lowered her head and glanced around herself suspiciously. The streets were strangely empty despite the drizzle, especially for such a ritzy part of the city. There were usually all manner of people dressed in high end fashion bustling around the sidewalks and handfuls of expensive, just-off-the-lot cars honking and squawking their way through traffic. But now, in the middle of the day, things were still and quiet. A chill went up Mercy’s spine. It was creepy.

She shoved her free hand in the pocket of her houndstooth print coat—a gift from the couple she lived with—and walked resolutely up to the glossy black doors of the complex. A doorman dressed in a deep maroon uniform swiftly opened the giant glass sheets for her and gave a stiff bow at the waist.

“Good day, Miss Makepeace.”

She nodded in greeting as she folded her umbrella. “Thank you, Charles.”

She walked across the gleaming tiled floor of the front lobby, inwardly cringing every time the thin heels of her tall boots made contact with the marble. She repressed an urge to glance at the receptionist sitting behind the large desk at the far wall, whom she knew was watching her every move. Instead, she kept her chin high and her eyes set on the elevator. She pressed the call button and waited impatiently for it to arrive. As the seconds ticked by, she began losing her nerve. What if he wasn’t home?

“No, Mercy,” she muttered to herself under her breath. The elevator doors parted and she stepped into the empty space, pressing the gilded button for floor level ten as she did so. She leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling. “You can’t think like that. Stop getting all nervous. It’s just Nicky. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

The short bell that indicated that she had reached her floor gave her a start. She took a deep breath and entered the hallway. The soft light overhead warmed the already soft tones of the brown carpet and tan walls. She walked swiftly to the last door on the left and knocked once, the calming colors having no effect on the knot in her stomach. The door didn’t open immediately and her heart skipped a beat.

“Merce? What are you doing here?”

Oh god, I’ve woken him up, she thought with slight embarrassment as she looked at the figure standing in the now open doorway. His clothes, a thin shirt and sweatpants, were rumpled and his voice was thick with sleep. He was rubbing at his eyes as he leaned against the doorway.

“Chris told me this morning,” she began, slipping past him and into the large room, “that you’re leaving Monday.”

As if to confirm her words, a large black suitcase was propped against a plush chair in the sitting area. She took off her jacket and draped it over the back of the couch and let her umbrella fall to the floor beneath it. She strode across the room and to the open doorway of the kitchen. She could feel Nicolas following her. He sighed.

“What my mother told you probably wasn’t the whole story.” He sat on one of the high stools at the counter and watched her as she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He waited quietly as she uncapped the bottle and took a sip.

“What is there to tell? You’re leaving to go to some exotic island mecca where the alcohol is always flowing and the beautiful women are plentiful.” She fought to keep the hurt tone out of her voice and succeeded in only sounding somewhat amused. She was rewarded with a bemused expression from Nicolas as he tried to puzzle out if there were, in fact, any hidden meanings behind her words. She didn’t want to be the girl that got upset over matters like this, especially when the guy she was upset with was just her best friend and someone who shouldn’t have meant more than that. But he did mean more to her and she was that girl—at least in this moment she was.

“I- Merce-” He paused and pulled a cigarette from the pack on the counter, placing it on the edge of his lips as he lit it. He took a long drag and exhaled the smoke slowly. “It’s not like I was just up and leaving.”

Mercy sat on a stool opposite him and started plucking at the paper wrapper around the water bottle. “Oh? But you haven’t told me yet, and it’s Friday. You’re leaving it what? Three days?”

“It was… a surprise,” he replied finally, setting the cigarette in the purple glass ashtray Mercy had given him when he first moved out of his parents’ house two years ago.

“That you were leaving for who knows how long? Some surprise, Nicolas.”

Silence met her words and she looked down at the counter in horror. No doubt he had caught what she hoped he hadn’t. She had used his full first name, not the nickname she had given him when they were kids. That was the one thing about Mercy: You knew she was mad at you when she didn’t use a nickname. Silly as it was, it was the one thing that could always give away her poker face.

“Mercy…” Nicolas’s voice was soft. He put his cigarette out and reached across the counter with both hands to take hers from the water bottle.

She looked up at him slowly, desperately trying not to look half as pathetic as she felt. She had known Nicolas since she was five years old. His parents, Mark and Christine England, had taken her in after her own parents had died when she was thirteen. And now, at seventeen, she realized that she was in love with him, the boy who had always been there for her. She hadn’t even worked up the courage to tell him how she felt and he was leaving and had yet to tell anyone when he was coming back. She was a mess of emotions that she didn’t know how to deal with.

“Listen,” he began, his brown eyes searching her blue ones, “The surprise isn’t me leaving, okay? It’s me asking if you want to come with me.”

Her mouth popped open. “You said what I think you said, right? You’re not joking with me?”
He just looked at her, an amused smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

“Nicky, I swear on all things heavenly that if you’re joking with me, I’ll kill you with my own two hands.” She tightened her grip to make sure he got the message. He withdrew his fingers from hers and put them up in a mock gesture of surrender.

“In truth, I’m being sent to Azure on a small assignment for the firm, but I’m sure they won’t mind if my assistant comes along on their dime.” He grinned at her, that grin that let her know everything was all right.

“Azure?” She looked at him with incredulous eyes. “They’re sending you to Azure?”

Azure happened to be the ultimate island mecca. It was the first one built and by far the largest. It was located in the Pacific Ocean near where the old Hawaiian Islands used to be. Some say it was even built over the ruins of the natural isles. All man-made, Azure was the pioneer in the mechanical-based tropical escapes that were quickly popping up all over bodies of water. It was actually made up of two mecca’s: Fuwazeke, the larger and more upscale island, and Ciontoros, located right next door a mere three hundred feet away, was smaller and used mainly for residential purposes. Both of Azure’s islands were said to be beautiful, however. Mercy had always longed to go.

“Ciontoros, to be exact. The firm has a small bungalow tucked away there for employees who need a little R&R. And with you, the little genius my parents always wanted, graduated early, I’m sure you’ll need something to do before you start college next fall.”

Mercy just stared at him, unsure of what to say. She knew the path her mind wanted to go down; the one that wanted to over-think the situation and read too much into his offer. Her heart was no help, beating as loudly as it was in her ears. It was true that she had received her high school diploma last spring in her junior year and was taking a year off before attending a prestigious college next fall. She had also already grown bored just waiting around. An island adventure was just what she needed. Surely, as her best friend, Nicolas had realized this and was offering her the distraction she desired. There were no possible romantic ties… Right?

“What do you say, kiddo? Wanna tag along?”

Her thoughts of romance shattered. Kiddo. That’s right, even though there were only two years between them, she would always be seen as a child to him. Despite her recent attempts to class up her wardrobe with dull prints and solid colors and appear worldlier than she was, she was still no sex symbol. She was doomed always to be seen as the girl in bright sundresses and colorful, cheap accessories.

She took a breath and cleared the thoughts from her mind. There was no use getting upset over such a petty thing. She could even use this trip to her advantage…

“Are you kidding? I’d love to go!”

Nicolas ran his fingers through his shaggy, blond hair. “Great, I’ll even take you shopping. Tomorrow.”

Mercy laughed at this. Shopping was always his way to make amends. He was feeling guilty for upsetting her and wanted to buy her off. That was one of Nicolas’s weaknesses. It was one of the reasons she loved him.