Elick made his way into the kitchen as his mother began to prep for dinner. “What do you need help with?” he asked.

Mallard slowly crept through. He looked around not knowing what he should do.

“Don’t just stand there. The two of you get the salads ready.” Elick’s mother tossed him a head of lettuce. “Hurry up. I want to have dinner by five o’ clock.”

Elick looked up at Mallard awkwardly. He held the lettuce up and shrugged. Then, he gave Mallard a tomato, some olive oil, and a few other salad fixings. “You can cut those up and mix them in the bowl after I wash the lettuce.”

“Uhm, okay.” Mallard nodded and laid the ingredients out in a neat line.

The skillets and pots on the stove steamed and whistled from all the heat. Elick’s mother whirled around while stirring a pan and pointed her spoon at Mallard. “What? Don’t you know how to chop vegetables?” Elick twitched with fear, and she narrowed her eyes at him. A grim judgmental look crept across her face.

Elick tried to look around for an excuse without being noticed. He tried to look with his eyes and not move his face. “Uhm, uh…it looks like he doesn’t have a knife.” He pointed a strainer full of lettuce at his mother. It dripped along the floor as he shook it. “See! How do you expect someone to cut things without a knife?”

She scowled and looked furious. She gave a huff and turned away. “You’re dripping water all over my clean floor!” She yanked a knife from the drawer and slammed it down on the counter. “Here, take it.”

Elick nervously reached for the knife and handed it to Mallard while she wasn’t looking. He tried to show Mallard how to cut the tomato. He couldn’t get too close without it seeming suspicious, so he watched until Mallard cut one sliver of tomato. “That’s it, just like that. Then, cube them.” Elick turned away to drain and dry the lettuce when Mallard yelped in pain. He dropped the lettuce and scurried to Mallard’s side. “What? What is it? What happened?”

Mallard raised his bloody hand; he had cut his thumb. “It hurts.”

“You’ve got to be careful,” Elick said.

Elick’s mother whirled around and snarled. “You’ve got to do better than that, don’t touch anything until you’ve washed yourself clean.” She grabbed the knife. “I’ll cut the stuff up, you can set the table.”

Elick grabbed a paper towel and aimed to wrap it around Mallard’s thumb, but he wouldn’t let him. “No, don’t do that,” Mallard said. Elick’s eyes grew wide and to his surprise, Mallard was licking and sucking on his thumb. At first it felt innocent, like eating an ice cream cone. Then, Elick felt his body tingle with excitement and awkwardness as it reminded him of Mallard being lewd. Mallard’s wet tongue dribbled across his hand and finger as if he were sucking on Elick’s member.

Mallard pulled his hand away and gave a thumbs up in front of Elick’s face. “See! All better!” He smiled cheerfully.

Elick shook his head and came out of his daze. “Wait what?” The cut and blood had vanished as if it never happened. Elick gasped, there was more to this man than some fish tail. He looked over at his mother, dreading she caught sight. Then, he grabbed a stack of plates and shoved them into Mallard’s arms. He tried to whisper and be calm. “Hurry, go set those by every chair…and don’t do that again.”

Elick felt sweaty, he didn’t know if it was from the heat in the kitchen or his worries. He couldn’t risk his mother catching them being lewd in the kitchen or worse, seeing Mallard heal himself. Who was this strange fish man and why was he here. How could someone like Mallard act so comfortable in a strange environment when Elick felt like he’s on the edge of madness. It didn’t feel right, and it didn’t feel fair to him. It made him feel faint and lightheaded.

The front door slammed shut. “I’m home!” said Elick’s dad.

Elick felt his heart sink and he jerked his head over at Mallard. He dreaded telling his mother, but now he must explain things to his father. Without another word, Elick’s father came into the kitchen, threw his tie and briefcase onto the counter, and hugged his mother.

“How was work, today, dear?” his mother asked.

His father rubbed his nose against his wife’s nose and smiled. “Work was the same as usual. Some paperwork and meetings,” he said. “How was your day, my lovely?”

Elick cringed and felt disgusted. His parents were never this loving and flirtatious on a regular day. He frowned and went back to fixing the lettuce.

“Groceries, sweetheart. I went to the store on my break, but I’ve got a little more work to do, later. Working from home is never easy, you know,” she said. She giggled and hummed cheerfully, which made Elick feel worse.

Right after, his father wedged in-between him and the sink to wash his hands. “So, who’s our guest?” he asked.

Elick felt as if his life left him, his body went numb, and his heart had stopped. He stared blankly at the kitchen backsplash as he tried to come up with an excuse.

“Oh, that’s Elick’s friend. He’s come to visit for a few days,” his mother said.

Elick gave a sigh of relief. Finally, his mother had done something right and saved him from humiliation.

“Ah, well, that’s cool. It’s nice to have visitors once in a while. Nice to know you aren’t totally alone,” said the father.

“So, you noticed…dad.”

“Of course…now, it’s time we introduce ourselves.”

Elick dreaded what could come next. He never let his parents meet anyone he knew before. What kind of embarrassing stunt would they try to pull next?

The father held out his hand and smiled at Mallard. “Hi, I’m Frank. What’s your name?”

Mallard looked stunned at first and Elick couldn’t race over to his side to explain a handshake. Mallard quickly met Frank’s handshake and smiled. “I’m Mallard, I’m Elick’s…”

“Alright!” Elick said. He carried the lettuce over to the table and flailed his arms around. “Let’s not drag this out. He’s my friend from far away. That’s all.” He laughed nervously and refused to look up at his father.

“That sounds alright with me,” said Frank.

“Oh, right! I’m Jane, by the way,” said Elick’s mother. She carried over a pan of food. “I forgot to mention that earlier. It’ll be nice to get to know you.”

Soon after, the entire table was set with nice white plates, sterling silverware, and steaming food. Frank and Jane sat next to each other while Elick and Mallard sat close by. Mallard looked as though he were comfortable and at ease, while Elick was unnerved and ready to scream.

Jane cleared her throat and looked up at Mallard as she lifted a spoonful of potatoes. “So, Mallard. Where are you from? What do you do?”

Elick’s heart sank.