Beware the Mermaids

by Carrie Talick

  “Sweet!”

  Nancy and Charlotte snacked on chips and dip up in the cockpit while they watched Suzanne intently eye the sea gulls. The clouds lightened and the sun began to peek through the layer of gray. It warmed enough for Charlotte to roll up her sweat shirt sleeves and bask in the sun as they listened to music. Nancy had her system set up so that anyone could connect their smartphone and play music. Currently, Charlotte was introducing Nancy to the musical stylings of the Imagine Dragons and Ed Sheeran.

  “I like this guy,” Nancy said as she crunched a potato chip.

  “Mom thinks he’s whiny,” Charlotte said as she made a smirk. Then she sighed and said, “She doesn’t like my music. Actually, she and I don’t agree on much lately.”

  Nancy gently offered, “Well, for what it’s worth, I didn’t like Stella’s music when she was growing up either. I think it’s a rite of passage to hate the younger generation’s music. Otherwise though, are you guys doing okay?”

  “I don’t know. She nags me a lot. I can’t do anything right.”

  Nancy nodded. “Well, it’s hard not to nag as a parent. It’s like our chief duty. She’s got a lot on her plate. Not that I’m making excuses.”

  “It’s more than that. She’s never around, Gran. And when she is home, she yells at me, she yells at Dad. It’s just loud and tense at home. That’s why I stay after school so much. I don’t feel like going into the war zone otherwise known as our kitchen.”

  Nancy paused and remembered. “I hated hearing my parents fight.”

  Charlotte studied Nancy. “I’ve only ever heard about my great grandma, never great grandpa.”

  Nancy took a deep breath, “Well, we don’t talk about Karl much. He had his own demons, I guess you could say. He left when I was a little younger than you. Around twelve.”

  “He just … left? Like, just up and left?

  Nancy nodded slightly, thinking back to that time.

  “Why did he leave?”

  “Oh, I think things just got a little too hard for a man like him. Money and jobs were scarce. And the pressure got to him. I always thought of him as this larger-than-life character. He was tall and muscular, with big shoulders, and he was so handsome. Had a dimple in his chin, and when he smiled, he lit up the room. When his charm was blazing, people were simply drawn to him. Women, little kids, even dogs. I thought because of all that inner glowing energy and all that outer strength, he could handle anything. But that’s not how it worked out. The kind of strength my mom and I needed wasn’t the kind he had.”

  Charlotte quieted and munched on her potato chips as she gazed out over the marina. Nancy watched her and wondered what she was considering behind those cornflower-blue eyes. Charlotte’s eyes reminded her of her mom’s. Blue with a hint of gray in them, like the clouds just after a fading storm, calm and gentle. Nancy had never forgiven her father for stealing that little spark of life in Grace, for letting her vibrant colors fade.

  The crunch of a potato chip brought Nancy back, as did a question. “My dad won’t leave, will he?” Charlotte asked in a small voice.

  “No, sweet girl. Your dad is nothing like Karl. He’s devoted to you and he loves you more than anything in the world. I’m afraid you’re stuck with him for good.”

  “Good. I don’t want to be alone with Mom. That’s when she’s the meanest.”

  Nancy looked at her granddaughter, trying to ascertain if this was true or if this was a teen dramatizing a situation.

  Nancy and Charlotte spent the rest of the afternoon and evening settling into conversation about music, the best things about Suzanne the Cat, and Charlotte’s favorite subject, Social Studies. A lazy breeze drifted in, but the waters of the marina remained beautiful and calm, and Nancy realized this was the calmest she had felt since she’d been out here.

  Grandmother and granddaughter drifted off to sleep, listening to the occasional seal bark in the distance.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  FIRST SAIL, FIRST LOVE

  By morning, Charlotte had settled into boat life. Kids adapted quickly. She and Nancy had enjoyed a cheese omelet in the cockpit when they heard a familiar voice bellow across the marina. “Hello? My key won’t work! Come and get me!”

  Nancy looked up and saw Ruthie, dressed in a bright-yellow frock with sparkly gold earrings dangling from her ears. She was locked behind the gate.

  “Is that Ruthie?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yep, that’s her. Do you mind opening the gate for her?”

  “No prob.” Charlotte hopped off the boat and ran down the dock to retrieve her.

  “Is that my favorite kid?” Ruthie asked through the gates.

  Charlotte smiled brightly and opened it. Ruthie enveloped her in a gigantic hug in her yellow jumper, which made it look like the girl was disappearing into the sun. Otis let out a small arf of joy. Suzanne the Cat went to the edge of the boat to see what all the commotion was about, and her ears twitched with irritation at the sight of Otis.

  Ruthie climbed aboard, put Otis down, gave Nancy a quick hug, and put Charlotte at arm’s length. “Let me take a look at you. That’s a radical move with your hair, kid, but I like it!”

  Nancy grimaced. She hadn’t wanted to mention the hair yet. But judging by Charlotte’s expression, the teen didn’t seem to mind.

  “Really? It’s just a temp thing. I wanted to tweak my parents,” Charlotte said impishly to Ruthie. Then she gave Nancy a look. “Don’t tell them though, Gran, okay?”

  “Your hair-dyeing secrets are safe with me.” Nancy smiled and Charlotte smiled back. Nancy handed a winch handle to her granddaughter, who frowned as she took it.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s a handle to help you tighten a winch so you can bring in the sail.”

  “Oh shit, we’re sailing?” Charlotte froze.

  “Language, please,” Nancy admonished. “There’s always a chance we’ll go sailing. Besides, you gotta get your sea legs sometime.” Nancy winked at her nervous granddaughter.

  Charlotte relaxed about the swearing but remained wide-eyed at the prospect of heading out to sea.

  “Don’t be nervous, Charlotte. I was a novice just last week, and despite almost crashing onto the rocks, I think we did really well!” Ruthie offered with a reassuring pat on the young girl’s shoulder.

  Charlotte’s face turned even more pale at this news. “Wait. You almost crashed into the rocks? That doesn’t sound safe at all. I’m just a kid,” she protested weakly. “What if I get seasick?”

  “I brought Fritos,” Ruthie announced as she held up a bag of the salty corn snacks.

  Charlotte eyed the bag of Fritos with utter confusion.

  “Salt helps with seasickness. But if you do sense it coming on, we’ll just turn around,” Nancy said, smiling at her granddaughter.

  Charlotte sat down on the cockpit next to Otis, who looked up at her with the same resigned fate.

  “Ahoy!” Lois yelled. “Can I get a hand with these bags?”

  Nancy hopped down to help Lois with the groceries and a bottle of wine.

  “Hey, sister, where’s Chris?” Nancy asked, referring to Lois’s husband and honorary member of their girl tribe.

  “He’s coming. He’s trying to stuff dollar bills into that ancient rusted parking valet box,” Lois said as she hauled herself up on the boat.

  Nancy looked up toward the parking lot and saw Chris patiently shoving rolled-up bills into the parking machine. But that wasn’t all she saw. She also saw the blue-and-white vans from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE, slowly rolling by. Strange. Why would they be here, of all places? The vans slowly stopped at H dock, a few docks over. Four men got out and forcefully walked down. The only people she knew over in that part of the marina were a boat cleaner from San Diego named Jeff and … Santiago. Her view to Santiago’s slip was blocked by a large powerboat. She couldn’t see if the ICE agents were at Santiago’s boat or someone else’s. She strained to see
what was going on, but to no avail. Just then she heard a tussle as she saw Judy arrive.

  “Hi! Sorry I’m late. I had to haul all this stuff here,” Judy said as she started handing canvas bags onto the boat and into Lois’s waiting hands.

  “Jude, what is all this?”

  “Oh! I found some great books on sailing for beginners, plus a novel or two so we can learn about the philosophy of sailing, plus one on knots, and another on nautical navigation by the stars.”

  Lois looked in the bag. There were at least fifteen books. “Couldn’t decide on just one or two, huh?”

  “It’s practical information that could prove useful,” Judy quipped. She plowed on, “I was flabbergasted at how many books there are on sailing! I mean, who knew!”

  Judy climbed aboard and settled next to Charlotte and Otis. Chris finally came ambling down the dock armed with a paper bag. “Argh! Aye, aye, Cap’n!” Chris warbled in a pirate tone. His smile was always bright and mischievous under his warm brown eyes. He wore his hair in a seventies shag style that somehow kept him looking perpetually young and hip. He had an easy manner, existing effortlessly, as if he were a leaf on a river, simply floating by. His energy always managed to put a smile on her face.

  Nancy chuckled and said, “We were wondering when our bartender was showing up.”

  “Aye, Cap, I had to search out many a pirate haunt to get the right hooch! I come bearing jalapeño margaritas! Permission to come aboard?”

  “Granted.”

  He hopped on the boat, found Lois, and gave her a quick kiss. He greeted Charlotte with a friendly tousle of her hair and said, “Hey, half-pint! I thought you were blond.”

  Charlotte smiled at Chris and gave him a hug. “That was last month.” He nodded and handed the bag of hooch to Ruthie down in the salon.

  “Change is the only constant in life.” Chris smiled, well aware of the ever-varying moods of a teenager and the continual restyling of their hair, having lived through the teen years with his own kids.

  “What am I supposed to do with this?” Ruthie asked, referring to the bag of hooch.

  Lois turned to Chris and said, “Honey, we’re prepping the boat. Can you make the margaritas?” She blinked her eyes lovingly at him.

  Chris sighed heavily, shook his head, and said, “You are a full-time job, woman.”

  “I’m the best job you ever had.” Lois kissed him on the cheek.

  “True.” Chris hesitated and added, “But you’re lucky you’re cute,” before heading down into the galley to begin making drinks. Lois readied the sails and lines along the boat. Ruthie and Charlotte prepared snacks while Judy unpacked her books down below. Nancy unplugged the shore power and checked her navigation instruments. Then she tapped the fuel gauge three times. It stayed full. After a few minutes, they were ready.

  “All hands on deck!” she shouted.

  Lois and Chris were at the bow and stern, ready to throw off the mooring lines. Ruthie had the mainsail sheet in her hands and was ready to bring it up when commanded. Judy tucked herself into her corner under the canopy. Charlotte was on the far bench with a jib sheet in her hands.

  “Charlotte, you’re going to unfurl the jib when I tell you, okay?”

  “Are you sure I’m ready for this?” Charlotte shuddered and looked pale. Nancy couldn’t tell if it was scared pale or her normal pale, offset by her purple hair.

  “I’ve got your back. You’re ready.” Nancy gave her a look of confidence and nodded. “Okay?”

  Charlotte nodded back, uncertainty being the main expression on her face.

  Nancy started the engine and gently eased the Gypsea out of her slip. As they were backing up, she cleared the large powerboat that had blocked her view of Santiago’s boat. At that moment, she saw Santiago talking with the ICE agents. She froze. Gypsea was drifting back so far that she was coming dangerously close to another vessel.

  “Uh, Nance?” Judy asked, “Aren’t we getting a tad too close to that boat?”

  Nancy quickly looked behind her and instantly put the boat in forward gear, all the while craning her neck to see what was happening with Santiago. The last thing she saw was an ICE agent taking into his walkie-talkie and what looked like a pair of handcuffs.

  “Shit,” Nancy mumbled.

  “Language, please,” Charlotte said.

  Nancy picked up on the sarcasm delivered deftly by her granddaughter, turned to her with a smile, and said, “Thank you, dear.”

  She glanced back in the direction of Santiago as she steered her boat into the channel, deeply concerned about the fate of her friend.

  * * *

  “C’mon, Lois, where’s that Finnish strength!” Nancy shouted with a smile.

  “Suutele persettäni, paskahousut!”

  Ruthie, Judy, and Nancy all chuckled as Lois struggled with bringing up the mainsail the last two feet, which were the hardest. They all knew her Finnish insult well. Nancy even knew it from her own childhood. Her mother, Grace, on occasion, would hurl it out. Lois had been using it since they were kids. In English, it roughly meant, “Kiss my ass, shit pants!”

  “I thought she only used that on me!” Chris said, delighted.

  Charlotte was ready to unfurl the jib, and Nancy gently told her it was almost time. She looked nervous, but Nancy hoped that once Charlotte understood how a boat moved on water, how natural it felt to be powered by wind instead of an engine fighting against the sea, she’d relax a little.

  Lois finally got the mainsail up and came back to the cockpit, where Chris handed her a margarita. Ruthie and Judy both turned their faces toward the sun and started spotting seals.

  “Okay, kiddo, you’re almost up,” Nancy said to Charlotte, whose knuckles were turning white from holding the lines. “Now, gently loosen the jib furling sheet right behind you.”

  “Here we go.”

  Nancy steered Gypsea through the calm waters of the channel, past the break wall and into the undulating sea. A steady swell was running, and the wind instantly filled the mainsail and heeled them over to port. Everyone held on tight, especially Charlotte and Otis, who weren’t quite expecting it, and both let out a small yelp of fear.

  “It’s all right, honey; completely normal. We’re going to unfurl the jib. Let the line out slowly, and Ruthie will be pulling the jib open from the other side at the same time.”

  “On it!” Ruthie said, and gave a thumbs-up.

  Charlotte nodded, although her expression was still grave. She tentatively let the sheet out, then Ruthie pulled her end, and the jib came rolling out.

  The boat started to pick up speed as Nancy found her line against the wind. Judy handed a winch to Ruthie so she could trim the jib. Charlotte’s job was over.

  “Good job, Char,” Nancy said, as she killed the motor and let the Gypsea cut through the rolling swell with ease. “We’re under the power of the wind now.”

  “Wow,” Charlotte said. “That was easier than I thought.”

  “Want to learn more? Come over by me.” Nancy shifted at the helm and handed Charlotte the wheel. Charlotte hesitantly took it, and Nancy helped her. She could tell that Charlotte was beginning to feel how the boat moved and why. “Steady now, we’re heading due southwest. Look up.”

  Charlotte looked to the very top of the mast, where the wind vane told them exactly where the wind was coming from. “If you head straight into it—sailors call that the irons—you’ll lose all your forward motion. The trick is to catch the wind at the right angle, so it fills your sails and moves you forward. Too much wind and you keel too far over to one side and you’ll be fighting it. Too little and you go nowhere. When you get it right, you feel the boat pick up speed, and she’ll almost steer herself.” Nancy and Charlotte played around with the wind for a bit as Nancy passed on other sailing tips, prompting Charlotte to ask questions as she started to grasp the concept. The rest of the crew sat back and enjoyed the breeze and the sunshine. Judy even felt so comfortable that she and Ruthie hung their legs over the
high side as waves splashed against their feet. Lois snuggled into Chris, and they talked quietly as they looked out at the coast slowly passing by. Soon the Palos Verdes peninsula was looming ahead of them.

  “Okay, almost time to tack. Ruthie?”

  “At the ready!” Ruthie moved back into position.

  “Okay, Charlotte, the blue line is your jib line. On a tack, Ruthie is going to let go of her line, and you will quickly pull your jib while I come about. Got it?”

  Charlotte nodded, a look of determination and seriousness on her face.

  “Tacking!”

  Nancy turned the boat north, and Ruthie and Charlotte dealt with the jib lines and sails like pros. They were getting better.

  “Wow, that was pretty good,” Chris said, impressed.

  “Nailed it!” Ruthie exclaimed. “Nice going, rookie!”

  Charlotte beamed.

  They were headed north toward the Hermosa Beach pier, the wind strong and steady, when, after about ten minutes, they heard a series of splashes.

  “What is that?” Charlotte pointed to the thrashing ocean.

  “Ah, the locals are out for a swim!”

  A huge pod of Pacific two-sided dolphins swam up and around their little boat. On both sides, hundreds of dolphins jetted out of the water before dipping back down, diving and coming up for a breath. A few even jumped clear out of the water and flicked their tail fin before plunging back into the ocean. They were fast and playful, and they loved boats. “Lois, take Charlotte up to the bow. Show her what they can do.”

  “Come on, kid!” Lois helped her up and then carefully told her where to hang on and where to place her feet to get safely to the bow.

  Once there, Lois and Charlotte got on their knees and looked directly down into the water. Three dolphins were racing with the boat, swimming just inches ahead of the hull. The dolphins would come up for a split second to catch a breath and then hurtle back down to stay just ahead of Gypsea’s bow. The dolphins were playing. It was a big game. And they loved it. Charlotte laughed and exclaimed, “That is lit!”