Then a miracle happened.
Medora and Finalin hugged their daughter.
And swam away.
We made it safely into the lock just as the gate screeched to a close. It would take a while longer before the water in the lock rose to meet the level of the ocean so Eddie could open the second gate. Mom and I waited under the Martins’ stern. Serena huddled at the bow.
She’s scared, Mom whispered.
No doubt terrified by stories of the pepper-spray-wielding half-human mer-girl. Mom tried to encourage her to join us with soothing tones, but Serena didn’t budge.
I can’t believe I felt sorry her. I sighed.
That’s because you’re a good person, Jade. Mom stroked my hair.
I don’t feel like much of a good person these days. I thought of how I’d ditched Cori at the coffee shop and how I’d told Luke I would come on the boat cruise, then didn’t show up for either. I had a lot of things to make up for.
And yes, I felt bad for Serena, but my sympathy only went so far. She was the spawn of those jerks after all. The ones who’d stolen Mom from me for almost a year.
But that would all change if we could just get past the sentries.
Mom swam over to the sluice where the ocean water poured in. She closed her eyes and let the current of the water flow over her. Maybe it was the salt or just the promise of what was just beyond the wall, but her energy was definitely back.
I looked up through the water, trying to figure out how long we’d have to wait. Luke and Trey tied up the sailboat along the canal wall and greeted Cori and Lainey on the concrete pier edging the canal. The girls’ forms shimmered through the water as they boarded. Lainey stretched out her hand for Luke to help her board, then she disappeared onto the boat, away from view.
Luke hung back on the dock, glancing down into the water. I slipped under the boat and peeked out from behind the hull. Had something fallen in? Hopefully one of Lainey’s very expensive earrings. Okay. That wasn’t very nice. It wasn’t her fault I wasn’t up there, enjoying a boat cruise on a hot summer day. And she might as well take my place since there was no way Luke would give me the time of day now. Not after texting him to re-invite myself and then never showing up.
Luke climbed up the control tower to talk to his grandfather. Probably to ask him to keep an eye out for whatever had fallen. After a few minutes, Trey hopped out of the boat to help him untie the lines. I turned to look for Mom when I heard the second metal gate screech open.
Mom, it’s time.
Serena and I joined her at the gate. She took us each by the arm.
We still have a bit of a swim before we get to the end of the canal. That’s where the sentries will be waiting. They may buy my story, but who knows if they’ll let you guys through. Mom held out her hand. Better give me the pepper spray just in case.
No, I’ll take care of the sentries and you guys make a break for it. I pulled the canister from my fanny pack and shut the zipper. Serena cowered.
Jade, those guys don’t mess around. I’d feel better if you gave me the pepper spray.
The gate opened wider. The sound from the sailboat’s revving engine reverberated in the lock as the Martins set off, dragging their stern line. A rush of water from the propeller pushed us backward. My palm slipped from Mom’s hand.
Swim, honey! Mom called out. But the force of the water was too great for my brand new mermaid body and I fell back.
I can’t.
Eddie climbed down from his tower and followed the boat along the canal’s pier. He cupped his hands around his mouth. What was he saying? Was he telling them about the stern line dragging behind the boat? I hoped not.
Get the line! I pointed.
Serena and Mom grabbed the stern line and Mom reached back for me. Take my hand!
I’m right behind you. Just hold on! I trailed behind them, pepper spray in hand, and swam with all my might, following the sailboat as it cruised down the canal to the ocean. But by the time I caught up with them, the sentries weren’t there!
Where are they? I asked, finally grabbing the rope.
Look! Mom pointed through the crystal blue waters of Port Toulouse Bay. Shaky Eddie had fallen in the waters of the bay! His lily white legs thrashed in the water. I watched in horror as the sentries grabbed Eddie and pulled him away.
What are they doing to him?! I stole glances over my shoulder as we sailed away.
Lucky for us, it looks like they’re rescuing him! Mom grasped my hand.
Chapter Eighteen
SERENA DIDN’T LAST LONG. Maybe it was the constant threat of the pepper spray canister in my hand, but she’d let go of the stern line and disappeared through a forest of kelp not long after we reached the ocean.
Mom and I had hidden behind the hull while the Martins turned the boat around to pick up Eddie. I caught a glimpse of him wrapped up in blankets on the upper deck.
We hung on until the Martins’ sailboat reached the D’Escousse marina. Mom was already looking much better, new and improved by the salty ocean water. I was just happy to be far, far away from the sludgy lake and scary mer-dudes.
Do you think Eddie is okay? I asked.
He should be fine. The sentries got to him pretty fast. Mermish Code of Ethics, Council Decree 419. We’re always supposed to come to the aid of humans in trouble.
How did he fall in the water in the first place?
Maybe he had a little extra something in his coffee this morning, Mom joked.
We both laughed, sending a fizz of bubbles up to the surface of the water. I watched them rise, mesmerized by my new reality.
A mer-girl.
I would have never believed that I could be so happy like this, in the water with Mom. It all seemed like a dream.
What about Serena? Even though she was the daughter of two of the most disgusting creatures on the planet, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She’d not only lost her mom but her dad too, but also, now she was in the big wide ocean, away from the life she’d always known in the lake.
I’ll go find her a little later on. Don’t worry. Mom smiled.
Through the shimmering surface of the water, I could see Mr. and Mrs. Martin hop out onto the dock to greet another man and a woman holding a toddler. Luke and Trey followed behind them. The little boy struggled down from his mother’s arms and ran to Luke.
“Stewie! Hey, there buddy!” Luke’s voice sounded through the water as he twirled the boy in the air.
Stewie? Was this their cousin, Stewart, they’d talked about back at the sports field that day?
Huh.
Cori and Lainey chatted up on the boat’s deck. I strained to hear but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Not surprising since I was a whole hull away from my usual normal teenaged life.
Where exactly did I belong? Was it there in the water with Mom, swimming the ocean blue? Or with a bunch of friends, celebrating the last day of school? Did I even have friends after all that had happened in the past few weeks?
You look like you’re a million miles away, Mom said.
Huh? Oh. I was just thinking about how weird this all was.
It’s a lot to take in. The skin of Mom’s cheeks glowed with a pink blush as she smiled, just like I remembered. But at least you’re open to a whole new dietary selection. She plucked barnacles off the jetty and sucked them, hungrily. Mm, I’d forgotten what good seafood tasted like.
That’s disgusting! I cringed.
Mom laughed.
What did you think mers ate?
Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something slightly less revolting? I wrinkled my nose. I have a feeling I wouldn’t have much trouble managing my weight living here with you.
Well, you shouldn’t even be thinking like that. Mom took my hand and led me through the vertical poles of the jetty.
Where are we going? I swam behind her, flicking my tail to keep up.
We need to get you out of the water. We reached an outcropping of large boulders undernea
th a darkened area of the pier.
Wait. No. I’m not going anywhere yet. But Mom couldn’t hear me over the sound of the surf crashing against the rocks.
The boathouse is right over us. No one will see you call Dad from here, she continued.
Mom! I flicked my tail toward her and tugged at her hand. A school of minnows shot off in the opposite direction as the word pierced the water.
Mom turned. What’s the matter? Do you still have the phone?
Yes, but I don’t want to go until you’re ready to come home too. We still have to find the tidal pool…
Aw, Jade. Water rushed around me as Mom drew me into her arms. Come here, sweetie.
Let me come with you. My whole body shuddered. But from the way Mom stroked my face, I could tell the answer was no.
You can’t stay here. Mom’s hair danced around her face in flowing, dark swirls.
She wrapped her hands around my waist and lifted me out of the water onto one of the rocks. Streams of water ran down my body and along my tail, then back into the ocean. I gagged as water forced its way out of my lungs and I tried my best to suck in breaths of air between coughs.
Mom’s face emerged from the water. She smiled.
“You belong on land with Dad. And up there with your friends.”
I glanced through the slats of the jetty’s deck and could see Cori, Trey, Lainey, and Luke a dozen or so feet away. Did I really belong there with them, chatting about summer plans? I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere just then.
“Call Dad before it happens.” She nodded to my tail, which was already getting hot.
The thought of Dad brought me back to reality. He was probably back in Port Toulouse by now, worried sick and wondering if we were okay. What would it do to him, not knowing if we were all right? I pulled the cell from the waterproof pouch in my waist pack. A fine mist had collected inside the screen.
“I don’t think cell phones were meant for deep sea diving.” Thankfully, the key pad lit up as I dialed the number.
He picked up on the first ring.
“Jade!” His voice rang through the earpiece. “Where are you? How’s Micci?”
“Mom’s fine. She’s right here.”
Mom shook her head. She didn’t want to talk to him. I tried to avoid his next question.
“I’m at the D’Escousse marina, under the dock by the boat house. Can you come get me?” I winced as the scales on my tail began to burn.
“Stay there. I’m pulling out of Bridget’s parking lot right now.”
Beep-beeep! A car horn sounded in the background.
“Dad!” I yelled over the sound of the crashing waves, then lowered my voice. “Dad…”
“Yes?” Dad’s voice came out as a gasp over the phone.
“Hang up the phone and drive,” I said.
“Good point.” I could hear the smile in Dad’s voice as he hung up.
I snapped the phone shut and shifted on the hard rock, trying to block the hot pain as it worked its way through my tail.
“Is it bad?” Mom’s face emerged from the water, her forehead wrinkled with worry. She stroked my tail with a wet hand.
“It helps when you do that.” I winced and welcomed her hand along the scales. It felt like running cool water on a burned finger, but each time her hand left my tail so she could dive to catch her breath underwater, a million new needle pricks pierced my flesh.
My whole body screamed as the scales reabsorbed, one by one, into my skin. Soon though, the tail transformed and I was changed back to my alter ego: two-legged Jade.
“Hey, I didn’t puke!” I said in surprise.
“Your dad would be so proud,” Mom replied with a smile.
“Why didn’t you want to talk to him?” I asked quietly.
Mom blinked and turned away. I reached down for her hand and pulled her up.
“Mom. Tell me.”
She looked up through the slats of the dock.
“You see those people up there?” She whispered over the sound of the waves around us. I watched as people walked along the pier above us, oblivious of the one and a half mermaids below, just a few meters away. “Dad knows me as a human. Like that.”
She slipped back underwater.
“But don’t you want to see him?”
The tones of Mom’s voice were low and twinkled in my ear. Of course I do. Just not like this.
Just then, I could hear Cori and Lainey’s voices as two sets of feet clicked to a stop overhead.
Is that our little Cori? Mom whispered in a low ring.
And my evil nemesis, I rang back.
I shrunk back against one of the vertical poles, well hidden by the darkened space. I could make out Cori’s lean brown legs and Lainey’s wedged heels (totally inappropriate for boating, I might add) through the cracks between the boards of the dock.
“I cannot believe that guy,” Lainey whined. “He asks me to come on this stupid boat cruise and all he can do is text Scissor Lips. What does he see in her, anyway?”
I winced at the nickname. Almost three years later, it still stung. I flipped open my phone. I hadn’t yet noticed the three text messages that flashed back.
New messages received from fluke1019
10:45 u coming?
11:17 leaving in 10
1:23 u ok?
Me. He was texting me.
“Scissor Lips?” Cori replied. “That’s just mean. Why would you call her that?”
“Well I gave her the nickname. I figure I’m entitled to use it.” Lainey’s laugh carried through the dock’s decking and reverberated around me.
My fists clenched at my sides. Lainey? She was the one who’d made junior high hell for me with that nickname?! All this time, I’d blamed Luke. But it wasn’t him. It was never him.
I felt like stomping up to the dock and carrying out my eyelash plucking fantasy, but given the fact that I was dressed in only a tankini top with a T-shirt wrapped around my waist, I figured I’d stay put.
“Well, first of all,” Cori replied, “her name is Jade. And second, you kind of invited yourself on this boat cruise.”
“How was I supposed to know Stewart was a whiny, grubby-nosed ankle biter? I thought Luke was setting her up! And anyway, he should be with someone like me, not her.”
I replayed all of my recent conversations with Luke in my head. He wasn’t mocking me about my braces when I ran over him at Dooley’s, he was being nice. He didn’t invite me on the boat cruise to set me up on a pity date; he was being a good friend!
“You know what, Lainey?” Cori said. “Maybe you should be the one hanging out with Stewart. You seem to have a lot in common.”
“Well, if that’s how you feel, maybe I should ask Mother to reconsider your co-op mentorship.”
“Fine.”
“Well, fine!”
Both sets of feet clicked away toward the boat.
“That’s my Cori,” I whispered to Mom.
Can I assume this had something to do with a boy? Mom asked.
“Maybe.” I smiled.
Mom turned toward the ocean then pulled herself partway out of the water and hugged my legs. “I should go.” She gave my knee a kiss and slipped back into the water. “I love you.”
“Do you really have to go now?” Everything was happening so fast. Too fast.
Mom nodded as she hovered underwater. Her hair floated to the surface and mixed with the strands of seaweed waving back and forth in the surf.
Leave me the phone.
“But the battery’s almost gone.” My eyes blurred as I turned the power off on the phone.
Don’t worry. I’ll use my other shell phone to make overseas calls. Mom smirked.
I snorted.
“You only have two bars left. Just turn it back on when you need it.” I tucked the phone back in the waterproof pack and wedged it between two rocks beside me. “Can you get it from there?”
“Yes.” Mom smiled and blew me a kiss. She dove through the crysta
l waters of the ocean, her long ebony hair flowing behind her.
Then, she was gone.
By the time Dad picked me up, the Martins’ sailboat had just left the dock.
He was crying when he found me. Big fat tears, his face red and puffy.
“She’s gone, Dad.” It killed me to tell him what Mom had said. How she only wanted to see him when she was human again. Dad stared off into the ocean as I tried to explain, but even with his body turned, I could imagine the world of hurt all over his face.
He turned to help me up.
“Are you okay? Here, put this on.” Dad pulled off his buttoned down shirt and wrapped it around me. We walked back to the parking lot—Dad in his undershirt, me barefoot—and ducked into the car before attracting too much attention.
I told Dad the whole story, from when I found Mom at the Beckers’ dock, to the Freshies, the sentries, and how Shaky Eddie had fallen in the water. For some reason, that made Dad laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I yawned as we pulled onto the highway.
“I’m just glad everyone’s okay.” Dad patted my hand. “You should rest. We can talk more later.”
We drove along the route from D’Escousse to Port Toulouse, catching peeks of the ocean as the sun blazed pink and orange streaks across the horizon. Exhaustion set in as we wound our way along the road and my head began to nod in that open-mouth head-bob that’s so attractive.
Dad turned on the local radio station to fill the dead air. The news came on after a medley of honky-tonk songs:
“A man from Port Toulouse narrowly escaped drowning this afternoon. ‘I thought I was a goner,’ Edward Schroemenger said in a telephone interview. ‘But the current must have been with me because it brought me right to shore.’ A reminder for everyone to practice water safety as the summer gets into full swing.”
I snapped awake. “Schroemenger? I thought Eddie’s last name was Martin, like Luke’s.”
Dad smiled. “Eddie is Luke’s grandfather on his mom’s side.”
I tried to line up the facts in my head.
“So, Eddie Schroemenger—as in, Dr. E. Schroemenger? The mer expert?”
Dad’s face broke into a goofy grin.
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