Brine (17 page)

“So I saw that nasty bruise on your leg when you slid out of bed this morning,” he said as they walked. “Is that from the other night? From saving me?”

“You watched me get dressed this morning? I thought you were still asleep.”

“I couldn’t resist. It was torture to watch you go.” Hector looked over at her. “I knew you had your reason for leaving so early. I can respect that.”

Next thing, Hector had swooped Ishmael off her feet and into his arms. She pretended to fight and told Hector to put her down, but she didn’t mean it.

“Look, if I’m the reason you got that bruise, I can’t let you walk on that leg,” he said.

Hector’s flirtations certainly took her mind off her worries, off her nightmare, off the fact that she had broken Allen’s heart and was ignoring her grandmother’s warnings.

“You smell nice,” he said.

She smiled back at him, resting her head wearily on his shoulder. There was no resisting him.

HE CARRIED HER INTO THE DOCK HOUSE and put her down on the couch. Hovering over her briefly, he leaned down and kissed her forehead before moving to the kitchen. The oven opened and soon he returned with plates stacked with pancakes.

“Hope you’re cool with butter on your pancakes.”

He poured fresh honey from a mason jar over the plates and handed her a fork. She put the first bite in her mouth.

“Here—ah, you got a little something on your—yep, there, that’s got it.” He handed her a napkin. “So I really am curious.” He paused, cutting his first bite from the stack on his plate. “What’s next in line for Ish Morgan?”

She put her fork down.

“I guess, when I really think about it, all this mermaid stuff just—it makes my heart flutter. And I can’t tell whether that’s because I’m freaked out or excited.”

“Probably a bit of both,” Hector said. “That’s what’s so amazing about all this. It’s thrilling.”

“Yeah, but I still have visions of getting married and having kids and selling my paintings, just putting this whole thing behind me. Living a normal life. Whatever
that
is.”

Hector stopped chewing while she spoke.

“Are you serious?” he asked, eyebrows raised quizzically.

“Well, it’s impossible anyway. I know too much. But I’m embarrassed to say I sometimes want to be shallow. There are times I’m actually jealous of people who can conform. I would love to just fall in line.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Look, I know that I can’t just put blinders on and act like none of this ever happened.”

Hector set his plate down.

“I enjoyed last night, and don’t get me wrong, I’m attracted to you, Hector, but in some strange way, I miss Nicholas.” Ishmael paused, closing her eyes to focus, and then shook her head as she tried to think of the right words.

“You sure it’s him you really miss?”

“Okay. Fine.
Honestly
? I miss the fact that I had it all planned out! Life was
easy
—secure—with him. I’d just go from one event to the next—dodging the mishaps, taking spa days when I got stressed, throwing money at any problems in my life! My most difficult decisions were choosing paint colors or deciding which bottle of wine to open.”

“Could you honestly be happy with such a superficial existence?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, I was. Kinda. Shoot, I mean—I guess I didn’t understand how hard it would be to just pioneer a new path for myself. I guess the charted course just seems way easier.”

“Of course the charted course is appealing right
now
. You’re in the crux of a situation.”

He picked up her plate of food and held it out to her.

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

He set the plate back down.

“You’re supposed to go the way you feel guided, Ish. The key is to listen to your gut.”

“How did this all happen anyway?” she asked.

He stopped mid-bite, fork hovering.

“You came to South Carolina,” he said. “We’re attracted to each other.”

“Not us. The whole mermaid thing. How’s it possible? You’ve studied this stuff. Tell me about it. Maybe then I won’t take it for granted.”

“You’re sure you want to know?” he asked. “Once I tell you the facts, you might be forced to believe them.”

“I’ve seen my own tail,” she said. “I just want to understand how.”

He swept a final bite across his plate and then sat back, crossing his arms. He seemed defensive and protective of the story he was about to tell, but also seemingly desperate to talk about a subject so captivating to him.

“So there was this marine biologist named Alister Hardy. And he had this theory called the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis.”

“Promising start. Keep it coming.”

“So the theory goes that there was a drought. A major one. Lush forests turned to grasslands. And as the trees disappeared, the apes had nowhere to live and nowhere to hide, no real protection from predators. But the apes that made it to water—to the ocean— were the ones that were able to survive.” He stood and poured hot water into a mug with a tea bag. “You want a cup?”

“I want to know how being in the water saved the apes.” He smiled.

“At the time of the drought, apes weren’t comfortable with bipedalism—they mostly knuckle-walked on their fists and back feet—but their spines could at least handle standing on two legs. And the water helped them stabilize,” he explained. “The apes that went to the water were spared because they could wade out into the water on two feet when they were chased by four-legged predators.”

“Okay, so they escaped and didn’t get eaten. I guess I’m having trouble understanding how apes became mermaids?”

“This is evolution we’re talking about here, Ish. Didn’t happen overnight. Happened over thousands of years.”

“Yes, but I’m trying to figure out why there’s an evolutionary line of humans that have fins instead of feet,” she said. “They went to the water, but what made them stay?”

“Childbirth, most likely. They started birthing their babies in the water because it was safe. And then the apes started raising their young in the water to keep their offspring from being eaten. Whole clans of apes began to live in and near the water. There was no reason to leave. No trees to return to yet. And over millions of years—with a few mutations, genetic drift, things like that— evolution shifted the apes into fully aquatic creatures. But that last bit is where we venture away from Hardy’s hypothesis. Hardy didn’t say there were mermaids. He just used his theory to explain the human evolution on land.”

“So how are there land humans and water humans?”

“Well, there were two branches of apes that escaped to the ocean. There were ones that became fully aquatic—those were the ones that chose to live
in
the water. But there was another cluster of apes that merely lived near the water. And they eventually went back into the savannas. But they left the water walking on two feet and with bigger brains thanks to diets heavy in fish oils. They weren’t apes when they returned to the grasslands. They were the beginnings of humankind.”

“And so the first branch—the fully aquatic ones—became mermaids?”

“Essentially. They’re what humans mistake for creatures that are half fish and half human.” He looked at Ishmael. “But we’re not fish—we’re mammals. Just like humans—only the aquatic version.”

Hector sipped from his mug, leaning against the counter, while Ishmael processed.

“What’s more,” he started, “if you take it even further back— and this part really blows my mind—our blood and the ocean share the same bicarbonate buffering system, a system that stabilizes and maintains proper pH. We both have this buffering system because the cells of our bodies were first derived, billions of years ago, in the sea. Do you comprehend how profound this is that the blood in our veins is so similar to the fluid of the ocean? Quite literally, it proves that we are children of the ocean.”

“You’re a total nerd. You know that?” she said.

He smiled, setting his mug down, and turned toward the sink to start the dishes.

Something caught his eye. He pulled the curtain aside, glancing out the window. He tapped his fist on the counter twice in quick succession.

“I knew she’d come,” he said.

Without a glance Ishmael’s way, he darted for the door. Frantically turning the knob, he ran out of the room.

ISHMAEL FOLLOWED HECTOR DOWN THE DOCK, running after him. “What’s going on?”

Hector pointed to the crab pot stuffed full of pinching crabs. Water still dripped from the wire frame.

“What the—how’d the trap get so full?” she asked, admiring the vibrant blue crab legs with their orange-tipped claws.

“Get Maggie,” Hector said. When Ishmael didn’t move, he put his hands on her shoulders and yelled. “Ish! Go!”

She backed away from the intensity in Hector’s eyes and sprinted up the dock. Once she was halfway across the lawn, she saw Maggie rushing off the screen porch.

“Hector told me—”

“I know—I saw the crab pot,” Maggie said as she sped past. She crossed the lawn and then raced down the ramp to the floating dock with Ishmael in tow. “Is it her?” Maggie asked, out of breath.

Hector nodded. “Got to be. She’s the only one who fills the trap before she puts it on the dock.”

Ishmael’s eyes shot to the water beneath the dock; there was nothing in the shadows. She recognized the sound of the screen door slamming and then heard Diane and Lena making their way across the lawn. She didn’t dare turn to look—her eyes were focused on the water.

“I’m going in,” Hector said. “With all three of you here, I might have a chance.”

“Three of—what’s going on?” Ishmael turned to Maggie. “Who’s here?”

Hector dove into the water. Ishmael heard the splash and saw his clothes in a pile on the dock.

Diane was strutting down the dock in her high heels, pinning a sun hat to her head with one hand.

“Jesus-god-almighty! Am I dreaming or did that gorgeous thing just take his clothes off?”

Hector surfaced and paddled with his arms, allowing his legs to drag behind him while the others searched the creek for signs of the visitor. After only a minute, he leaned back in the water and lifted his legs: they were already beginning to bind.

“Ho—lee
shit
,” he said, gazing at his legs. “It’s much stronger this time.” He looked at Maggie. “I could feel it as soon as I got in the water.”

“What in the—” Diane was fanning herself with her sun hat, puffing like she was about to faint. She pointed. “So he’s a—” She walked over to the bench. “I think I need to sit down for this one.”

Maggie gaped at Hector’s tail. “But we’re not even in the water with you!”

“Apparently it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Just need all three of you nearby.”

He dove beneath the surface. His partially formed fluke was visible for a moment and then disappeared with him underwater. He resurfaced with a wide, elated smile and exhaled, sputtering water from his face. He turned back to the dock. “She’s here, Maggie. It’s definitely Anna.”

“Anna?” Ishmael stepped forward. “My
mother
?”

A splash caused them all to spin around.

The female released a clean, gentle exhale as she broke the surface, her lids never blinking, even as the water dripped from her face. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed with health. She was older, with the typical dreadlocked mane for hair, but she was larger and more exquisite than any of the other aquatic humans Ishmael had seen. Colorful feathers and exotic shells were woven into her tangles. The ornaments gave her hair the look of a headdress.

Lena crossed her arms over her chest. A knowing smile broke her face. “Mm-hm. Yes, ma’am. I knew this day would come. All the mommas and babies reunited.”

Maggie contained her smile, but her eyes glinted with recognition.

“Only you could pull off an approach like that.” Her words were like a peace offering. “Always impressive.” She gestured across the dock with a nod of her chin. “And we’re grateful for a full trap.”

A slight smile back and the female nodded.

Lena lifted the crab pot with ease, admiring the contents. “Some good ones in here, too. We’re gonna have us some crab cakes tonight thanks to you, Anna.”

Ishmael turned to Maggie. Tears flooded her eyes. Maggie took her hand and nodded to the female in the water.

“It’s my pleasure, Ishmael, to re-introduce you to your mother.”

Diane whimpered from the bench. Lena pulled a handkerchief from her apron and handed it to her.

At Maggie’s words, Anna looked Ishmael in the eyes, a deep loving stare. The corners of her lips curved up into a warm smile, and she tilted her head forward in a reverent bow. When she lifted her head again, Ishmael saw her own face reflected. She saw her sturdy jawline and high cheekbones. She saw her nose as if it had been taken from between her own eyes and sculpted onto this face before her. The wide-set bluish-gray eyes were the exact same color of her own.

“Mom
?” She took a step closer.

“Ishmael, Anna doesn’t speak anymore,” Maggie said, resting a hand on Ishmael’s shoulder. “She left that behind when—”

“Yah-ess. Mah-thur,” Anna said. “Ish-may-elle. Daw-ter.” Ishmael covered her mouth with her hand, laughing and crying at the same time.

Maggie rested a hand on her chest. “Oh, Anna . . .”

Hector surfaced beside Anna and her smile broadened. The comparison of his broad shoulders emerging from the water next to Anna’s made hers a touch more feminine. She pressed her forehead to his in a familiar greeting.

Hector lifted his tail, proud to show Anna. She patted the tail and chirped in congratulations. Her eyes portrayed her full awareness of the importance of this moment for him.

Hector dropped his tail and looked up at the dock. “Anna says it may take time to fully form. It can be a progression. But with all three of you, it could happen.” He looked to Anna to make sure he was correct in his translation. Anna nodded. “She thinks eventually it will form completely. Then I’ll be able to swim distance. Offshore even.”

Maggie exhaled, bringing her hands to her heart. “Oh, that’s marvelous news, Hector.”

“Yeah,” he said, “Apparently Ishmael’s got the mojo, ‘cause this never worked with just the two of you.”

Anna kicked her fluke and raised her body almost completely out of the water. Gracefully balancing with her fluke, she held this raised position and pointed to her chest.

“Gaw,” Anna said. “Gaw wih mah-thur.”

Ishmael stood stunned.

Maggie stepped forward and put a hand on Ishmael’s shoulder. “Your mother wants to take you with her.”

Ishmael could see in her mother’s eyes that Maggie’s words were true. Her mother wanted to take her out to sea.

Diane stood from the bench and click-clacked in her stilettos across the dock toward Ishmael. Just as she was about to open her mouth, she remembered her manners and turned to Anna in the creek.

“Diane Dunaway,” she said with a slight curtsy. She paused, obviously entranced by the sight of both Anna and Hector in the water. “It’s a pleasure to . . . know Ishmael’s—well,
goodness
—” She turned back to Maggie. “Can she even understand me?”

Anna kicked to lift herself out of the water. Diane drew in her breath as Anna tilted her head forward in a bow and then dropped back into the creek with barely a splash.

“I have
got
to get me one of those tails,” Diane muttered. She turned back to Ishmael and Maggie. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me Ishmael’s just supposed to dive off this dock and swim off into the Atlantic?” Her brow wrinkled. “Is that safe?”

“Anna will be with her,” Maggie said. “She’ll teach Ishmael everything there is to know about the ocean. There’s no better guide than my daughter.”

Ishmael looked from Diane to Maggie to Hector—then finally, to her mother.

“Wait—you guys think I should actually do this?” She turned to Maggie. “This is crazy!”

“Oh, hell yes, it’s
crazy
,” Diane said. She pointed to Anna in the water. “But look at her! Have you ever seen anything that amazing?” She rubbed Ishmael on the back. “And she’s your
mother
, darling.”

“It’s not my mother I’m doubting,” Ishmael said.

Hector kicked with his tail and held himself on the edge of the dock with his forearms.

“Ishmael Morgan,” he said. “You know I don’t want you to leave.”

Ishmael felt a twinge of sadness. She glanced at her mother and then turned back to Hector. “Come with us,” she said. She knew it was impulsive, but she meant it. She wanted him with her.

“There’d be no stopping me if it wasn’t for this.”

He lifted his partially formed fluke.

Shouldn’t she stay here? With him? Help him progress his fluke to completion so they could swim off together?

“I can’t keep you here,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s not fair. As much as I’d like to.”

Ishmael knelt down beside him.

“Just know I feel the same about you,” he said, seemingly reading her thoughts.

“But you won’t be able to change without me. You won’t be able to make progress.”

“Who knows how long my process will take? It could take weeks for me to fully transform. Months, even. This is your mother, Ish. Go with her.”

His smile seemed forced, but she appreciated his selflessness. “I promise I won’t let this be the last time we see each other,” she vowed.

“We’re all gonna need safety goggles if you two don’t stop!” Diane was fanning herself with her hat. “Chemistry between you two—Damnation, this better
not
be the last time!”

Ishmael pushed back up to standing, her face flushing red.

Maggie walked across the dock and held Ishmael’s cheeks in her hands, gazing deep into her granddaughter’s eyes before she kissed her on the forehead and shifted her gaze back to the creek.

“I know you’ll take good care of her, Anna. I’m so proud of both of you.”

Anna chirped in response just before she sunk beneath the surface. Ishmael could barely see in the murky water, but she watched her mother contort her body in a turn and then kick with her powerful silver tail, swimming away.

“Wait! Now? Just like that! I’m just supposed to dive in and follow her?”

Maggie wrapped her arms around Ishmael and squeezed her tightly.

“No time like the present,” Maggie said.

Ishmael looked to her grandmother and found confidence in the wise eyes that unflinchingly stared back. She turned back to the water, feeling a slight breeze brush her face. She smiled, peeling off her clothes.

Ishmael stood on the dock, the wind swirling across her naked flesh. What the hell was she doing? She wasn’t sure. And, yes, she was afraid. But then—this was her mother. She was drawn to her and to the ocean with a powerful, almost irresistible force.

She took a deep breath in anticipation of her plunge. Suddenly this wasn’t just a creek she was diving into; it was another realm, another dimension.

She shook her head in disbelief and dove off the dock.