by Kristie Cook
She quickly turned her back to me and pulled plates from the shelves carved out of rock. “I was able to barter for one.”
At the mention of bartering, my stomach dropped. “What did you barter?” I asked, fearing I already knew the answer.
She turned back around and gave me a guarded look. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
I watched her finish dishing up our breakfast and motion we sit at the table. Her silence added to the dread already gnawing in my stomach.
“I’m loving the oxygen, aren’t you?” She buttered and layered strawberry jam on top of her pancakes, then motioned for me to do the same as I stared at her.
I couldn’t. I had to know the truth. “Mom, where’s your ring?”
She stopped in the middle of salting her eggs and hesitated. “I traded it in,” she finally said.
“You did? But, why—”
Mom traced her thumb over her bare finger. “It’s fine.”
Speechless, I stared at the steam wafting up in circles from my food, my appetite ruined.
“Since we are going to be awhile, there were a few things we needed to be comfortable. It’s not like they can take my debit card, so I had to make a decision. The stones can be replaced. Your father will understand.”
My eyes stayed firmly glued to my plate, though I clenched my fists under the table. She should have at least talked to us first before selling her most precious possession. We could have come up with another way to pay for the air bubble or done without for a little while.
“Really, it’s fine. I’m not upset. This is our home under the sea. It needed some love.”
I shook my head, amazed at how lighthearted she was about the whole thing. We both knew the real reason we couldn’t be in Tahoe right now. She wasn’t allowed on land without Dad. But unlike what everyone would have you think, it had nothing to do with the wiles of a mermaid’s reputation. The King’s insecurity over the loyalty of beta-mers, promised or not, insisted they be chaperoned.
“This sucks, Mom. We could be in Tahoe. It’s all because of fear and technicalities that we aren’t.”
Mom held up her hand to stop me. “I’m fully aware why the laws are the way they are. You and your sister aren’t aware of the horrible things man can do. Their greed would put us in laboratories in a heartbeat, and for many millennia the law has kept the mer safe and pure of heart. Your father is one of the few who has enough street smarts to live close to humans and remain undetected—God protect his soul. But I’ve had some time to think and I’ve realized something—this predicament we’re in is actually a blessing in disguise.”
My jaw dropped. “What do you mean?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
“I mean, look at where we are. It’s wonderful here. No crime, love is all around us, people are happy and it’s the most gorgeous scenery ever. And, other than missing your father, it’s like a vacation.”
I scoffed. “But you complained just last night you were having a hard time adjusting here, without the sun and stuff.”
“I know what I said, but after a good night’s sleep, I’ve had a change of heart. It’s growing on me and, with the bubble, it feels like home. But really, we need to start thinking of the big picture. I was talking yesterday with some of the other mer-matrons, and I wasn’t aware of all the opportunity there is for you kids. You both need to seriously embrace the culture, and me too. We all could use some friends of our own kind.”
Who took the woman who’d consoled me last night and replaced her with this robot? We’d avoided this place like poison and now she wanted me to embrace it?
“And I was thinking, goodness, you both are around the most eligible mers of the land, you could introduce each other to someone. And maybe if Tatiana is dating, Azor will back off.”
I blinked at the tsunami of information Mom spewed at me. In her sleep, she must have sprung a screw loose. This was insanity.
“You’ve got so much potential. What if there’s something better than Tahoe? Maybe a larger gate or—” Mom gasped, “what about sun tunnel excavation?”
“Mom, I don’t think—”
“And once you get promised, don’t wait too long to have merlings.”
At that, I choked, almost spitting eggs out of my mouth as she looked at something invisible in the horizon with a smile—the first real smile since we’d arrived.
“What’s this about merlings?” Tatchi asked as she shuffled into the room.
Perfect timing.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to join us. Get some breakfast and have a seat,” Mom said, her voice overly cheerful.
I wiped my mouth off on a napkin and took a moment to breathe before taking another bite. Tatiana turned up her lip and marched over to the kitchen counter to inspect the buffet. Never again would I be the first to breakfast in case of another bi-polar ambush.
“Let me guess. This is about the festival,” she quipped while drowning her pancakes with syrup.
“Well—” Mom took a sip of her coffee. “No, not entirely.”
“There’s coffee?” I asked in surprise. With the distraction of Mom’s absent ring, I’d completely missed she’d made some.
“Yes. It’s on the stove.”
I hopped up, planning to snag a cup and run for the door before another mention of merlings came up. Tatiana shot me a look that said, “oh, great. Can’t wait to hear what this is all about,” which she couldn’t say telepathically because we weren’t immersed underwater. I smirked back. She needed this lecture way more than I did.
Mom continued to eat and speak nonchalantly. “I was just expressing some new ideas I had about how we can turn our frowns upside down.”
“Is she okay?” Tatiana mumbled.
“Oh, just wait.” Mer had hearing like a hawk and Tatch had to have heard the prior conversation. Obviously, her hunger overcame common sense to wait longer and avoid Mom’s “hurray for Natatoria” pep talk.
Tatiana blew out a gust of air. “Look. I get it’s safe and all wonderful down here, but don’t you see what the cost is? Azor’s going to be outside this house as soon as I leave for the palace in an hour and stalk me until I agree to his hand. He is the prince after all. How is that the ‘land of opportunity’?”
“Tatiana, don’t be so dramatic. I was just going to suggest your brother escort you from now on and I’m also going to have a talk with Azor. Just because he’s the prince doesn’t mean he can bend the rules. No mermaid is to be alone with a single merman, period, and he knows that. He’s not swimming all over me because your father isn’t here. Besides, I was suggesting to your brother you hook each other up with dates anyway.”
Tatiana coughed. “Find Fin a date?” She howled in laughter.
“What’s wrong with that?” Mom asked and raised her eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I chimed in.
She smirked and went back to shoveling food into her mouth while standing at the counter, like she planned a quick exit, too.
Mom huffed. “Can’t we all eat at the table please? Come sit down, both of you.”
Tatch and I exchanged glances. A layer of fear lay behind her eyes, hidden beneath a tough exterior. For Mom to think Tatch would suddenly embrace Natatorian culture just because she asked was crazy. That in itself would require an act of God, especially since the night before, Mom had promised her something completely different.
Mom took our hands once we joined her. “I love you both and want what’s best for you. It’s hard enough for me to be without your father, but I can’t deal with four to five months of constant pouting and bickering. We’re a family and merfolk. So let’s accept this, find the good, and stick together.”
“Fine,” I lifted up my hands and went back to my breakfast.
“Yeah, sure, but I don’t need Fin’s help to find a date,” Tatiana said with a smirk, letting go of Mom’s other hand.
“Me neither,” I muttered with a mouthful of food as Tatch stuck out her tongue.
“Good,”
Mom said.
Tatch started in on her breakfast again. “So you’re all of a sudden okay with this because you want to be a grandmother?”
“Well, something Portia said yesterday about her daughter’s new little merling on the way got me thinking.”
“Good sea snails!” Tatchi exclaimed. “But what about last night? You promised me I could go to college and date a human guy.”
“Well …” Mom took another swig of her coffee. “That’s not entirely out of the question. But for now, I want you to try to make things work here. You never know, you might just like it.”
Tatiana sighed dramatically. “Yeah, well—I’ll play nice for now, but I refuse to be trapped here forever. And so far, there hasn’t been one solitary merman like Dad who’s cute and enjoys the land more than the sea. So, I’m going to be taking you up on your offer, Mom.”
Mom shifted in her seat. “That’s fine as long as you two look out for each other.”
Tatiana and I glanced at one another, and she stuck out her tongue. I jabbed her arm with my elbow. Though we were cordial again, the pressure still lingered right under the surface. Without Dad things would continue to remain tense, as Tatch’s desire to leave grew stronger. My only hope was she’d meet someone. If not, her ultimate decision to leave was going to break my parents’ heart. And mine, too.
13 - ASH
I sat in English, heart pounding as I slyly watched each person walk through the doorway, anticipating Callahan’s entrance. Georgia entered with a grin, looking like the top of her head was going to zip right off, and plopped in the chair in front of me.
“Where is he?” she whispered, gawking at his empty seat.
“How would I know and stop being so obvious.” I ran my hand through my bangs, trying to keep cool as I inconspicuously hid my searching eyes behind my wrist.
Then he walked in. A moment passed before his spine-tingling gaze landed on mine and held it. My breath froze. The warmth behind his mouth-watering chocolaty eyes made my stomach do cartwheels.
He mouthed a “Hi”. I evaporated into nothingness for a quick minute before I whispered one back. He kept a flirtatious eye on me as he sauntered over to his chair, a beautiful smile upon his tantalizing lips. I rested my chin inside the palm of my hand to hide my enjoyment of our silent interaction.
“Oh. My. Gosh,” Georgia mumbled.
I hit her with my book and turned to watch Mrs. Keifer get up from her desk to begin the discussion on The Scarlet Letter. Callahan’s golden smile continued to skip rope across my heart, breaking all my concentration and taking over my thoughts.
I did listen somewhat about Hester Prynne’s unwillingness to divulge the identity of her baby’s father, as I watched Callahan joke with Evan through the curtain of my hair. Inside, my excitement and anxiety grew, wondering if I’d still be able to find a dress in time. Could this really be happening?
Behind me, harsh whispers interrupted my dream world. I nonchalantly glanced back to see the source, meeting Brooke’s glare head on, then gulped and turned away. She knows.
“Who’d you tell?” I wrote on a paper and passed it to Georgia.
“No one, yet. Why?”
“Brooke is staring at me.”
She smirked. “Let her.”
Georgia was thrilled I’d been elevated above the pecking order, unaware of the cold front blasting me from behind. My heart beat hard thinking about what Brooke might do to me later—a sundry of options playing through my head. Luckily girls didn’t throw girls into dumpsters like boys did.
When the bell rang, I was the first one out of the classroom, unprepared to talk to anyone face-to-face yet. With a mad dash, I plunged through the double doors and sloshed through the soupy slush to the History modular across campus. Neither Callahan nor Brooke were in this class, which would give me enough time to figure out what to say once I did get the chance.
“Wait up,” Georgia called behind me, out of breath. “What’s with you?”
She grabbed my arm to slow me down.
“I’m not sure I want to go with Callahan after all.”
“What?! Are you insane?” Georgia’s shrieking voice made me want to put my hand over her mouth.
“Shhh, geez. I’m just confused why he wants to take me. Brooke’s friends are going to kick my ass for ruining Brooke’s life, you know?”
“Forget them. She’s all bark, no bite. Besides, they fight all the freaking time over everything. It’s a good thing for both of them,” Georgia said with raised eyebrows.
“But still—” I took a deep breath. Icy air stung my nostrils. “They’ll find a way to punish me. I know it.”
Georgia put her hand on my shoulder. “He likes you. Just accept it. And have fun. You deserve this.”
I want to.
We stepped inside the warm classroom and I appreciated the time to think. But lunch came quicker than I wanted and the new blanket of snow made the outside picnic benches a no-go. I surfed into the cafeteria amongst the sea of bodies looking for shelter. I didn’t intend to avoid Callahan for as long as I had, but at this point—shy or not—I needed to get over my insecurities and talk to him in person. Worried his presence would make me a bumbling mess, I quickly ate my turkey sandwich.
“Nervous?” Georgia asked, while chewing on her celery stick, eyeing the cafeteria like a prairie dog.
“No,” I lied and cocked my head to the side. “I don’t know how you have energy to swim only eating rabbit food.”
“I gotta stay slim for the slinky dress, don’t ya know.”
“What about the peanut butter cup I saw you eating earlier?”
“Nice. I was starving and—” Georgia’s mouth remained open, but the sound stopped pouring out.
I licked my lips as my neck prickled. “He’s behind me, isn’t he?”
She nodded ever so slightly, as soft footfalls stopped behind my chair.
Here we go.
“Hey, Georgia. Is this seat taken?” I heard a beautiful masculine voice ask.
I turned, accosted by his brown eyes and enticing scent at the same time. My voice betrayed me, paralyzed in my throat as he sat down.
“Nope, have a seat,” Georgia cooed.
For once I was thankful for her gift of gab. He set down his lunch tray and they started chatting about the snow pack at Heavenly Ski Resort where Callahan worked. He continued to watch me with a boyish grin but my good-for-nothing cardboard tongue didn’t want to move, so I snacked on my corn chips, and smiled instead. I didn’t have much to contribute since my world revolved around the swim team. But there he was, Mr. All Star Pitcher, eating his burrito and looking incredibly gorgeous, sitting next to me.
“So, everything’s cool with Senior Ball?” he asked me quietly once Georgia got distracted and started to chat with Shannon and Gracey, who happened to pass by but couldn’t keep their eyes off of us. Callahan didn’t notice.
I nodded and rolled my eyes. “Yeah. Sorry about hanging up so quickly. I have an annoying little sister who seems to know when I’m on the phone and likes to barge into my room.”
“I have one of those, too.” He smiled and his eyes sparkled under his brown hair that practically begged me to run my hands through it. I giggled and melted into a puddle for the second time that day.
The school day ended better than expected, minus the run-in in the hall with Myranda, one of Brooke’s clones who bumped me, purposefully knocking my book on the floor. Other than their evil looks, that was it. I’d expected so much more.
But Callahan liked me and asked me to Senior Ball. Neither my uncouth conversational skills nor reeking chorine-infused skin seemed to bother him. Instead he walked me to my last two periods and asked if he could call tonight. I’d already decided to prop the chair under the door knob to keep Lucy out when he did.
Snow continued to fall as I jumped from Georgia’s passenger seat with damp hair from practice. We’d made plans to go shopping. I just needed to ask permission and get some money.
<
br /> The bell to the store chimed as I entered. I scuffed off the ice from my boots and waited as Mom stood behind the counter, her cacophonous voice filling the small enclosure. With flailing arms, she continued on with her story as she rung up the merchandise, oblivious her customers were antsy to leave. I stayed back by the window so Georgia could still see me, secretly scrutinizing the closed sign at Captain Jack’s with hopes Tatchi would walk out the doors.
“I know you’ll be happy with the quality of those sweatshirts,” Mom called out to the blissful couple. “Have a nice day.”
I smiled as they exited; mom’s gaze fell on me.
“Thank God for the snow. Lucky for us, they packed for warmer weather. So how are you doing today?”
“Great, Mom,” I said with a smile, actually showing some teeth and her face stayed lit up.
“Well, that’s wonderful to hear. Something exciting must have happened today.”
“Kind of.” I removed my gloves and smoothed the front of my jeans with my hands. “I don’t know if Dad mentioned anything, but—”
Mom snapped her fingers and pointed. “That’s right. Senior Ball. So I guess we need to go get you a dress, don’t we? Just give me a minute to close up here.”
The reason for her joyousness made sense now. She hoped we’d go together, a mother-daughter bonding moment. I swayed as the last shopping trip came to mind. She’d held up every ugly or too-much-skin revealing outfit and mocked the designer while I tried to blend into a rack of clothes next to me.
“Actually, Georgia’s in the parking lot right now, and we’re going together this afternoon, if you don’t mind.”
Her curled lips fell into a straight line. “Oh. I see.”
Guilt hit me hard, pulling my shoulders forward. “Sorry, Mom. She offered and I thought you’d be busy.”
“It’s okay. You’re right.” She began to refold the shirts fanned out on the display table in front of her. “I do have to finish sorting that shipment.”
“I knew you’d understand.”
She continued to straighten the shelf and brush off the invisible dust while I stalled, waiting for her to offer up cash.
