“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize anyone else…” I frowned up at Blake. “Never mind. It’s you.” I moved to walk around him but he blocked my path.
“I just finished cleaning the sea lion pen. Is the toolshed still open?” Blake held up his push broom and shovel and gave me a bright smile. His teeth gleamed whitely in the darkness and for some reason it annoyed me even more. I guess he stayed late to try and get on my dad’s good side. Great. Not only was he rude, he was a butt-kisser as well. Somewhere in the back of my head, an annoying little voice told me to not forget that he was hot, too.
“No.” I turned on my heel and headed back toward the shed. The sound of the waves in the distance called to me and I sighed. I’d get there eventually, but for now I was too tired to even really put much effort into being pissed. I dug the key out of my pocket as we walked and tried to ignore how close he was to me. “Why are you still here? All the others left hours ago.”
“I was late. I figured I’d make it up to your dad and make sure the pens were good before I left.” Blake shrugged.
“Why were you late? Too good to ride the bus?” I didn’t want to forgive him for being a jerk earlier in the day, even if he was trying to make up for it.
“I had a meeting with my father and it ran late.” Blake’s voice changed and my eyes darted up to his face. The bright moon threw heavy shadows over his features, but I could still make out his expression. His relaxed stance had changed and tension seemed to roll off him.
“A meeting with your father? What, you have to schedule appointments?” I wrinkled my nose at the thought. My mom and dad were always open to talk to, no matter how busy they were at the time. They were some of the most important pillars in my life.
“My father’s a really busy guy.” Blake shrugged, again, and I knew this was a sore spot.
“I see.” Thankfully, we had reached the shed and I was spared from having to say anything else. Talking to Blake made me feel itchy. I unlocked the door and moved so that he could put his tools up. When he was done, I closed the door and put the key in my pocket. Blake stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at me expectantly. Did he expect more work?
“Okay. Well, have a good night.” Not wanting to wait for the water any longer, I started to walk around him, but he turned to follow me.
“Where you headed?” He bent over as we walked and grabbed a large rock in the path. He chucked it out of the way, his eyes following the arc.
“I need to check on something at the beach. See you tomorrow.” I tried to hint again, but he didn’t seem to catch on.
“Want some help? I don’t have anywhere to be.” He cocked his head to the side as if amused by my attempts to get rid of him. He was one of the strangest people I’d ever had the misfortune of dealing with.
“No. I’m good. I won’t be out there long.”
“Is that safe? It’s dark and you’d be alone.” Blake moved to block my path again and I made an exasperated sound. My skin felt so tight, it was hard to take a full breath.
“It’s private property. I’ll be fine.” I shook my head in frustration. I’d come into contact with too many chemicals today and it was making me hurt, which was making me pissy. “But thanks for making sure the enclosures were clean before you left.”
“No problem, boss. I guess I’ll leave you to it.” Blake saluted me and I rolled my eyes.
“Try to be on time tomorrow,” I said over my shoulder. “And I’m not your boss.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Blake stood there as I walked away, and it took all my willpower to keep from jogging down the path to the water.
When I was sure he was out of eyesight, my pace picked up and I pulled my shirt off, exposing my bikini top. Once my feet hit the sand, I threw the top to the side and my shorts and bathing suit bottom quickly joined it. I wasn’t in the mood to worry about bringing my bottoms with me. As soon as my toes touched the water, I sighed in relief.
Wading out until the water hit me mid-thigh, I sank gratefully to my knees as the change started. For most humans it would be uncomfortable to have your legs turn into one appendage, but I welcomed it. When my scales slid out to cover my skin, I closed my eyes and smiled happily. My tail was so much stronger than the human legs I wore most of the day. With a quick look over my shoulder first, I dipped my head under the water and swam away from the island. My tail made strong, quick strokes that sent me flying through the ocean.
It was quiet under the water, the creatures around came to say hello or avoided me in general. I coasted along on the current for a little while, letting the seawater heal my stinging skin and aching body. Once I felt better I headed for the cove to find Mitch. I knew she would want to go for a swim too.
The outer wall of the enclosure was made of netting, sturdy poles, and a walkway that followed the top of the net. There were no lights along the outside so that no one would be able to accidently see me surfacing at night. I called for Mitch as I surveyed the net, checking for holes, and smiled when I heard her jubilant whistles in response. I grabbed the hidden latch and swung open the small porthole-shaped exit just before the dolphin barreled through.
I locked the gate and held my hand out for Mitch. She slid next to me, her dorsal fin fitting into my hand perfectly, and off we flew. Mitch’s excitement was contagious and I laughed. We soared through the shallows, dodging in and out of the surf until Mitch got distracted by some fish. She went to hunt while I drifted on my back and stared at the stars. I loved my family, my friends, and the sanctuary, but I wished I could spend more time out in the ocean. Or go to college instead of taking online courses. I felt like there was so much more to see than the area on and around our island.
Mom and Dad didn’t like for me to go too far from the sanctuary. I guessed that all parents felt that way about their kids, didn’t want them to go too far from home or somewhere they couldn’t be reached. Of course that was a whole different problem with me. We did do vacations when we could and visited other islands, even the Virgin Islands once. We had talked about going to the States, but we would have to stay near the coast. I couldn’t risk being away from the ocean for too long because I started to get sick if I was out of the water for more than a few days at a time. It would start like any cold would; I’d feel icky and might run a fever, then be weak and miserable. Sort of like the flu. It had only happened twice. Once when I was little and staying at Violet’s house, I’d had too much fun playing and hadn’t bothered to tell my parents that I wasn’t feeling well. The last time, we’d had inspectors at the sanctuary to renew our different licenses.
Mitch surfaced next to me and nudged my side. I ran my hand over her back before scratching her chin. I’d known Mitch my whole life. Well, for all that I could remember. Mitch and her mother had been there when my parents found my mother. Jallia was Mitch’s mother and often thought she was my mother too. I didn’t mind. Jallia and Mitch were my companions in the water, the ones that taught me about animals and how to be a mermaid. They were as much my family as Mom and Dad.
It was getting late, so I motioned for Mitch to follow me back to the lagoon. She wasn’t happy about it, but came anyway. Jallia was swimming near the gate, her agitation obvious. She was close to calving again and wouldn’t leave the rest of her adopted pod. I kissed Mitch goodbye and unlocked the gate for her to go back into the protected areas. Jallia swam out and nuzzled my side, her mothering instincts in full gear as she checked me over. Patiently, I held out my arms and let her see that I was okay. Once she was satisfied, she nuzzled my face and I ran my hands down her back. My fingers lingered at the fullness of her belly and I smiled. I wasn’t really sure how it worked, and neither was Mom or Dad, but I could sense the tiny dolphin growing inside of Jallia. It would be the dolphin’s first son and we were all excited.
I whistled reassurances as she twisted to look at me. I hoped she would birth at night so I could be in the water with her and help. Otherwise, it would be too dangerous for me to assist while in my mer-form. Mitch made irritated noises from inside of the pen and Jallia admonished her in turn. I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that came while watching them. Jallia gave me a playful shove before darting back into the pen, arguing with Mitch. I checked the lock and headed back for my quiet beach.
I surfaced slowly, loathe to leave the water but tired enough to want my bed. My eyes closed and I concentrated on the change. It was harder when I was this tired, but the sooner I was finished, the sooner I could hit the hay. My teal scales slowly disappeared as my legs split. My long turquoise flukes shrank and were replaced with feet. I looked down at my human toes and sighed. I’d have to repaint my toenails before work tomorrow. They glimmered in the moonlight, the same color as my scales. My fingernails never lost their paint when I changed, because my hands stayed the same. I only had to repaint those as often as they chipped. I looked at my hands and cussed under my breath. All the cleaning had eaten a lot of that nail polish off too.
I gathered the last of my energy and dragged myself back up to the beach where I had left my clothes. I threw my shirt and shorts back on and slid my feet into the flip-flops. I could see better, smell better, and was stronger than most humans my size, but my feet were incredibly tender. The only time you would catch me without shoes was in the water or in the sand.
When I got back to the small bungalow I shared with my parents, I smiled at the music drifting out the open windows and door. Mom was listening to her favorite eighties hair band again, which must mean she was cleaning. Dad was much more likely to be listening to Jimmy Buffett. I always gave him a hard time for fitting the stereotype of living in the Bahamas and he pretended to be offended. It was our longtime joke. Shaking the sand out of my shoes, I threw them into the box near the door and immediately grabbed my house slippers from just inside. I jumped over the vacuum cord and hugged Mom from behind.
“Hey, sweetheart!” She turned her head and kissed my cheek.
“Hey, Mom. Any food left?” I headed for the kitchen and opened the fridge.
“Some spaghetti and cheese bread. Sorry we didn’t wait for you.”
“Nah, that’s okay. I needed a good swim.” Grabbing a plate out of the cabinet, I spooned a heaping amount of food on my plate and sat down at the counter.
“You’re not going to heat it up?” Mom shook her head at me and shut the vacuum off.
“Nah. Too hungry, too tired.” I slurped a noodle into my mouth and sighed. “Plus, it’s good like this.”
“Okay. If you’re happy, I’m happy.” She ruffled my hair before getting us both a bottle of water to drink. “So, how did the new recruits do today?”
“Meh.” I shrugged and ripped off a hunk of cheese bread. “Okay, I guess. There are a couple that are really lazy. A couple of smart-mouths.”
“So, same old, same old?” She sat on the stool across from me and smiled.
“Yeah. There was a late guy too.” I frowned at my dinner. Blake’s cocky smile had haunted me through my swim. I wasn’t really sure why he got under my skin so much.