"Thanksgiving at Elyssa's House"
Elyssa parked her step momâs car in the garage and hit the door button. The familiar burr closed out the hot Florida gated community. The air-conditioned sedan filled with the small light of the garage. She rested her hands on the steering wheel, equal parts nervous and excited.
Unlike the other hundred thousand times sheâd borrowed one of her parentsâ cars to drive home, this was the first time she was doing it as a queen of Atlantis.
And it was the first time sheâd had a huge, silver-tattooed mer warrior folded into the passengerâs side.
His large hand rested on the seatbelt release. His eyes, dark irises flecked with silver, studied her profile. âAre you waiting for a signal, my queen?â
Yes. She was waiting for the head trauma to wear off, a psychiatrist to peel back one eyelid and shine a light in her pupils, and for him to say, Uh-oh, looks like this one is deep in dreamland. It was essentially what had happened years and years ago, the last time she had discovered something really important, and then the people she loved most had turned it against her.
She grabbed Kadirâs hands in both of hers. âNo. I got lost in my own thoughts. Sorry.â
He smiled slowly with the gorgeous heady intensity that made the flecks shine. âDo not apologize.â
She released him and bounced from the sedan. âI know! Iâm just excited. Sorry.â
His laugh rumbled in his chest as he unfolded from the vehicle and followed her up the garage steps and into her parentâs kitchen. âStop.â
âSorry. I will. Sorry.â
âElyssaâŚ.â
She stopped suddenly and smacked her hand over her mouth so her voice came out muffled. âIâll stop right now. Sorry.â
He folded her into his long arms and pressed her against his broad chest. His deep voice seduced her tingling ear. âDo not silence yourself. I will find a more pleasurable way to cover your mouth and you will no longer want to say the word Sorry.â
She sucked in a deep breath. His promise, like his scent of vanilla mixed with sharp hickory, made her belly warm and her feminine core pulse with heat.
She dropped her hand and sought his pleasing kiss.
He pressed her against her parentsâ kitchen counter. His hard length indented her thigh. After the long journey from Atlantis to Florida, his hunger could only be sated by her body. She rose on tiptoes and deepened their kiss, dipping her tongue into his mouth. He groaned with masculine need. Oh, yesâ
Her elbows knocked over cans of pumpkin pie filling.
Oops.
Elyssa and Kadir broke apart and cleaned up her mess. His dark gaze traced her movements around the kitchen. She tried to hold herself back so her parents didnât come home to find their daughter and new son-in-law stark naked amongst the potatoes.
Speaking of which, her parents should be home soon. They were excited to spend time together since her disappearance months before.
A sticky note was stuck to her parentsâ fridge.
Got called away to the new job. Be home by midnight. Love you!
Aw.
Well, she had gone without seeing them for months. Elyssa could go a few more hours.
Her stepmom had started the legal paperwork on their behalf. Chastity Angel claimed that she did not spring Blake from the Mexican jail and hire him to shoot Kadir or rip apart the Life Tree. He had been hired under a false name and had âescapedâ according to prison and company records.
Elyssa and Kadir had an appointment with a lawyer after this weekend to find out what options, if any, they had for suing her.
Van Cartier Cosmetics was theoretically still the âfamilyâ company. Elyssa hated to sue her step-uncles because of Chastity Angel. But the practice of trying to kill mermen to steal their cancer-curing, ultra-valuable Sea Opals had to stop. If she couldnât stop it through legal means, then the mermen would fall back on brutal traditions. Woe to the next company agent who dipped a toe in the seawater.
Elyssa opened the refrigerator and moved the frozen turkey. âAre you hungry?â
âVery,â Kadir said, from too-near behind her.
She turned in his arms and closed the refrigerator. âWhat do you want?â
âDo you have any of the iced latte? Or the ice cream?â
Her heart swelled. âYou mean like we had on our first date?â
He nodded, pressing her against the shiny steel. âI want to have another blind date with you.â
She nuzzled the face of the male she loved. âWe know each other now so itâs not a blind date anymore.â
âI wish to know you more deeply. I wish to see a movie.â
âThatâs easy.â She squeezed him and headed to the pantry. âWe can even have the right popcorn. My dad loves movie butter.â
She popped two bags in the microwave and also made up plates of real food, too. Her step-mom kept everything in the same places. Elyssa was so changed since sheâd last lived here that it felt sort of new, like one woman-of-the-house entering anotherâs domain. She felt more respectful and tidied up dishes as she went.
Kadir picked out a cartoon movie with fish on it, Finding Nemo, and got all choked up at the beginning when the fish family narrowed down to the father and one baby egg.
âThis is why we live in cities.â He hugged her tight on the deep living room couch. âWhy we fought the Seven Citiesâ War to rid the ocean of the ferocious megalodons. And why we travel in armed groups at all times.â
The others of their armed group were spending the night with oceanographer host families arranged by Elyssaâs mentor, the first mermaid queen, Lucy. One host family was taking their merman to Disney World.
âI can put on a different movie.â She started to rise. âOne with less death in the beginning.â
âNo, I will watch this movie.â He resettled her. âI hope to see Nemo make his father many grand-fry.â
âEr ⌠hmm.â She didnât know how to say that this was a kidâs movie and Nemo didnât age beyond a child. Kadir would have to use his imagination.
But she didnât have to worry about it. He watched intently for the first twenty minutes, and then his head lolled. A pleasant lassitude spread over her limbs. Easing him down on the long couch, she tugged a chenille knit throw over them and curled up against his warm side. When the movie was over, she turned off the TV and closed her eyes. Sheâd wake up when her parents got home...
Sunlight beamed into her eyes. She blinked.
Agh, the living room blinds were still missing the bottom slats from when sheâd accidentally destroyed them with a cheese plate and a labradoodle. (Long story.) The scent of coffee and bacon mixed with the sounds of kitchen dishes scraping and the beaters mixing.
She eased free of her gently snoring husband and tip-toed to the hall bathroom.
Breakfasts had been making her sort of ill lately. Hung over, kind of, even though she didnât have anything to drink the night before. Under the sea, sheâd been curing it by chewing on one of Gailenâs mint bushes. She swished her step momâs mint mouthwash and spit it out.
âYou win the mother award.â Her fatherâs deep voice, hushed to be quiet, rose from the breakfast nook. âCooking your daughter breakfast on Thanksgiving of all days.â
âWell, her husband better know we feed her.â
Elyssa tripped around the corner and caught her balance on the wall. Just like a jillion times in her childhood, her dad was sitting in the nook, sipping a coffee and doing a crossword.
âDad,â she said.
He looked up. A smile overwhelmed his face. He set down his coffee, got to his feet, and opened his arms. She raced into them. He hugged her. âHoney.â
The sound of beaters cut out. Her step mom appeared around the corner, drying her hands on a towel, anticipation lighting her features. She set the towel on the table and took her turn for a hug. âHey now! I got home last night and you were both sound asleep on the living room couch! How do you like that?â
âWe had a long journey.â She hugged her step mom so tight.
âI know, I know. It took all I had not to wake you up and hug you!â
âShe did very well,â her dad said. Tears glimmered in his eyes.
âYouâll have to tell us all about it.â Her step mom let Elyssa go and squeezed her shoulders. âHow about some pancakes?â
Her stomach growled. No nausea. The mint had worked. âYes! Iâm starving.â
Her parents set her up with the rainbow-colored plates of her childhood and asked about everything. She kept it to the good parts: What it was like to be a mermaid, swim underwater, and see a thousand miles in any direction just like it was daylight and all the fish were birds swimming across a wide open sky.
The bad parts still had to run past her lawyer.
At the description of the castle, her step mom had to pause her story. âYour father forgot to pick up sweet potato rolls, so weâre heading to the bakery on the other side of town.â
Her dad rolled his eyes. âI didnât forget. You were going to make them.â
âAnd I told you I wouldnât have time. Weâll be back as quick as we can. If you donât mind, Iâm preheating the oven and the turkeyâs already stuffed.â
âIâll put it in.â She watched them gather up light sweaters for the hour-long trip. âUm, itâs probably fine if we only have regular rolls. Lucyâs from Oregon and the mermen will never know.â
âBut sheâll know.â Her dad jingled his car fob and patted his pockets for his phone and wallet.
âIâll know,â her stepmom repeated and headed for the garage. âKisses. Weâll be back.â
As the car pulled out, her lips curved in a smile. Really, if it werenât for her parents, Elyssa would never have made it to the pageant or met Kadir.
Now, they were meeting Kadir for the first time since the dock. Lucy was joining in with her husband, warrior Torun. They were also hosting the other visiting warriors. Her step mom wanted everything to be welcoming.
Elyssa got a lot of things from her, it seemed.
The oven beeped. She manhandled the ginormous bird. It barely fit. Apparently, the thought of six warrior appetites made her mother envision a football team. Elyssa closed the oven up again and checked Kadir was still sleeping on the couch. He had rolled on his side, so, he would probably be awake soon.
She pressed a kiss to his forehead and headed up to her bedroom.
Here was her old bed, made with freshly washed sheets and neatly straightened by the maid. Again it was a little strange, almost unsettling. All her clothes were pressed and hung neatly. All her books were still on the shelves, movies were still in their cases, and her laptop was set up so all she had to do was sit down and be transported back.
Back to the day she decided to go to the bride pageant. Back to the day she decided to fund Lucyâs expedition to Mexico. Back to the day she and Aya photoshopped unicorn torsos onto fish bodies. The Unicorn Mermaid Girls.
Her parents had always liked Aya, despite the bad feelings at the end of junior high when she and Elyssa had discovered the âresonanceâ of Sea Opals and Chastity Angel paid her parents to say Aya had made the discovery alone. Aya had gone into accelerated classes, graduated from Harvard Business School, and catapulted to the top of Van Cartier Cosmetics while Elyssa had finished school with an average performance, graduated from a state college with a BA, and gotten stuck in the lowest level of HR.
If her parents hadnât sold her out, would Elyssa have ended up as important as Aya? Would she have recognized her own worth and met Kadir as an equal instead of running from her feelings?
Not that Aya had turned out with the perfect life anyway. She had Chastity Angel as a mother.
Elyssa spread a cute outfit on the bed and headed into her bathroom to start the shower.
Kadir appeared at the top of the stairs, yawning and stretching. He held a piece of bacon in one hand and rested his other forearm against the upper door jam. He ducked beneath to enter. âThis was your personal space?â
âMy bedroom,â she confirmed.
He entered and scanned her old things.
What was his childhood bedroom like? Did he even have one? She wanted to ask. But, heâd been thrown out of his city for daring to demand women be treated as equals. He might not have much of a bedroom or a childhood left.
âThe house is quiet.â He looked out the back window at the yard and adjoining yards behind the other cul-de-sac houses. He crunched his bacon.
âWeâre alone for the moment. Iâm taking a shower.â
She shimmied out of the shirt and jeans her step mom had left for her back at the beach. Her stepmom hadnât known exactly when Elyssa would arrive, so sheâd left her car on the Florida beach with a duffel full of clothes plus Elyssaâs purse in the back. The clothes must have shrunk though. The jeans fit tightly around her waist and her shirt stretched over more ample breasts than she remembered.
Kadir turned to her. His gaze slid over her naked body with interest.
Her heart sped up. The hunger returned. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. âWant to join me?â
âAlways.â
She went into her bathroom and started the shower. Thank goodness she had a private bath.
Kadir bared his wide chest marked with iridescent silver tattoos and slid the jeans down his slip hips. They pooled at his too-human feet. He turned for her, displaying the wide swathe of his back and broad shoulders. His bulging thighs tapered to chiseled calves and impossible ripped biceps melded into mouthwatering forearms. Small circular scars marked the needlefish daggers he had taken to shield her. A jagged scar marked where Blake had shot him with a tracking device.
Those imperfections only made him more a hard male. He had protected her over and over. His faith in her rightness as his queen and worthiness of ruling Atlantis beside him never wavered.
She swallowed on a dry throat and stepped back under the gentle stream. She held out her hands. âJoin me.â
He strolled forward, overpowering the small space, owning all within the domain.
She lathered her hands with her old body wash. Vanilla, like his scent, but his was more natural and more male. She spread the suds across his body. He felt so great beneath her hands. She loved to touch. She spared no part of him, washing the bottoms of his feet to the top of his head and circling back to cleanse his hardened member twice.
He rested his forearms against the shower tile on either side of his head. âNow, I will honor you.â
She started to hand him the soap.
He dipped to claim her mouth.
His tongue swept her surprised lips. Finding them open, he thrust into her. She clamped on him with a hungry moan. His tongue filled her with delicious command. Yes, this was what she wanted. After all these travel days, she wanted him now, hard, riding her into an unstoppable orgasm while she clung to him and cried his name.
He stroked her slippery body, moving straight to her pleasure places. She slicked. Ready for him. He massaged her breasts and swept his hot tongue across her nipples. Sweet ecstasy raced to her center. She ached for more. Elyssa raised one leg and locked it around his thigh.
He smiled. Arrogant. He palmed her female core.
His hot touch raised the temperature. Shower needles shimmered on her with need. She thrust her hips forward. âMore.â
One hand worked her folds. He coated her with her own slick juices. His other hand stroked his hardness.
She encircled his hot shaft below his grip. He twitched in welcome. âTouch me.â
She milked him while he slipped his fingers in and out of her channel. Pleasure built in her stolen panting breaths. âKadir.â
With a low growl, he scooped her up and pressed her back against the tile. Her thighs parted to admit him. His hard member pressed against her wet, throbbing entrance. She clawed at his back.
He surged into her with a roar.
Pleasure exploded. The tingling first wave grew to an intense orgasm.
He thrust again. The second wave hit. Deliciously hot. She screamed.
He thrust hard and fast, pounding her straight over the edge and into oblivion. She tightened her legs around his pumping buttocks. This was what she craved. Total possession that left no room for doubt. Intense focus burned in his gaze as he held her over the precipice and then dropped her into a pleasure-filled abyss.
She arched her back. The orgasm shattered over her. Her channel clenched around his shaft. He roared and poured his masculine seed into her. The heat buoyed her into the pleasure zone and gravity threw her straight into a second back-arching climax. Kadir pinioned her to the shower wall. He kissed her through her third screaming climax.
Her toes started to curl, and she begged him to be let down.
He did, took the body wash, and gently cleaned her well-used body.
âThat was so intense.â She clung to him. Her legs jellied. âLetâs definitely do it again.â
He smiled, pleased and proud.
They managed to make it out of the shower. She dried and styled her hair before her parents got back. Sheâd missed a few texts and had to scramble. Her excuse was sheâd been in the shower. Her step mom was too busy to give her more than a cursory raised brow. Kadirâs tousled hair was still undeniably damp.
Lucy arrived with Torun shortly after noon. She and Elyssa shared hugs and squeals. The only person who understood Elyssaâs obsession with mermen more than Aya was Lucy, whoâd had to put up with Elyssaâs endless questions and middle-of-the-night emails when they were first discovered to be real.
âCan I get you a glass of wine?â Elyssa asked the duo, taking over good hostess duties. She checked the cheese plates and olive trays and opened a package of stone ground crackers.
âJust soda for me.â Lucy smoothed her big, flowery shirt over her rounded belly. âItâs not good for the baby.â
Elyssa dropped the crackers. âOh my god. Are you pregnant?â
Lucyâs radiant smile split her face. âDue in February.â
âOh my god!â Elyssa raced to hug her. âI canât believe it! Congratulations!â
They rocked back and forth, squealing and giggling.
Kadir smiled tightly at Lucyâs husband, Torun. âMay your young fry swim always in calm waters.â
The Sireno warrior was equally cautious. His gold tattoos shimmered. âSomeday, he will lift his trident in your honor.â
âHey! Hey, hey.â Lucy released Elyssa and bounced to Torun. The looseness of her shirt disguised her bump but not her radiance. She poked the giant gold warrior in the chest. âYou keep saying âheâ. Our baby could totally be a girl.â
Torun smiled down at his feisty wife. âYou are correct. I will modulate my words.â
âThatâs right. We donât want to give our baby a complex if it comes out the other gender.â
âYoung fry are only sons,â Kadir told her.
âWhyâs that?â She cocked a brow and answered before he could. âBecause thatâs all you wanted. You have that woo-woo resonance with the Life Tree and you told it âboys onlyâ and thatâs what you got. Now, youâre looking for girls too. Woo-woo, in nine months, letâs just see what happens?â
He frowned.
She wiggled her fingers and repeated âWoo-wooâ a few more times.
âDo you really believe this is possible?â Kadir asked Torun.
âThe doctors performed an ultrasound scan. The results were inconclusive. We may go again.â
âThere is a scan?â Kadirâs eyes widened. âTo see the young fry inside the mother?â
âYes. They also have small kits that tell at an early stage, long before they are showing, whether they are pregnant. It is quite convenient.â
âAlthough honestly, I was kind of dumb. I had morning sickness for a couple weeks without realizing what I had.â Lucy laughed.
Sheâd been feeling weird in the morning. Elyssa set down her wine glass untouched. Perhaps sheâd do a little surreptitious drug store run later after everyone left.
Wow, parenthood? It made her soul tingle. Sheâd always wanted kids someday, and the activities sheâd been doing with Kadir would speed up the process. Yum, she wanted to do those activities again.
He met her gaze across the living room as though he read her mind. He probably did. She was probably âresonatingâ with him. He could sense the shining of her soul, brighter when she was happy or excited or mad, and darker when she was down on herself or depressed.
And anyway, if she could figure out how to go from a klutz to a ruling queen, she could certainly figure out how to raise a baby. Exciting! She would definitely rise to the challenge.
âThis leads to our next question.â Torun faced Kadir and set his feet. âLucy is building a dating website for Sireno. Any warriors may also use it. Your experiences,â he nodded also to Elyssa, âshow a need to visit families above the surface.â
âItâs kind of like being divorced,â Lucy put in. âYou have to choose a family to spend the week with, and then another on weekends.â
Well, except in Elyssaâs case. For her wedding, they were going to rent out the biggest rec center and everybody would come.
âHow, we thought, could you meet your family without the Van Cartier Cosmetics platform? Well.â Lucy took a deep breath. âMy parents own a shipping charter business. We could ferry the friends and family. We could anchor nearby. There would be no limits. Your mermen could surface and chat up with potential brides on our dating site.â
Wow. That would be a huge change.
Kadir crossed his arms. âWhen Atlantis is rebuilt, it will serve this function.â
âThe city doesnât motor.â Lucy met Kadir head on. âEven when youâre able to offer the city as a surface platform, we can offer the ship-to-shore service.â
He frowned. âWhat are you asking for in exchange?â
Lucy looked at Torun.
He gathered her under his arm. âHonorary citizenship.â
âWhich is?â
âWe will not possess a seed of your Life Tree, but we will receive the privileges of it.â
Silence greeted his request. Kadir remained tense.
Torunâs stiff back and high chin showed he was well aware of what he was asking.
Kadir grew harder and frowned deeper.
âOur home remains in Sireno, although violence has closed that city to us.â Torun was technically king of Sireno but had ceded his position to former Prince Jolan. âWe ask for honorary citizenship in Atlantis so our children can be taught the ways of our world. And, so Lucy can be safe in the blessing of a Life Tree to bring them into it.â
Kadir remained silent. Cities rarely received visitors. Torun was asking to be a permanent guest.
Elyssa stepped in. âYou want to have your baby underwater? As a mermaid?â
âYep.â
âYes! Oh my god, yes.â She hurried to Lucy again and took her hands. âAre you sure? I mean, if something goes wrong, weâre really far from the nearest hospital.â
âThatâs true. On the other hand, medical science hasnât grown magical healing trees yet. Iâll take my chances.â Lucy hugged her husband. âAnyway, I heard a water birth is easier. Iâve been studying up on midwifery. Torun and I will be doing an internship and taking exams soon.â
âIâll study too!â
âKing Kadir?â Torun remained focused. âWhat is your feeling?â
Kadir shook himself as though his mind had wandered. âMy queen has opened our city to you.â
âLucy and I agree on many things. However, I would be honored to hear this welcome from you, too.â
âYou have mine.â Kadir was still obviously thinking hard. âI must ask all the warriors.â
âAnd then, when they say yes, weâll decorate a room in the castle to be the nursery!â Elyssa danced around the living room. âI just canât wait. Hey, when Torun called your baby, âour children,â are you actually pregnant with twins?â
Lucyâs eyes widened. She stared at Torun. âWe agreed not to tell anyone.â
âI did not,â he insisted. âI meant âour childrenâ as in all our future young fry.â
âOh my god. Twins!â
Lucy covered her brow. âElyssa, you are too quick. Do not tell my parents. There is no way theyâd go along with this baby-on-the-bottom-of-the-sea thing if they knew it was two. My dadâs already freaking out. Heâs planning a med-evac submarine standing by.â
âTwins?â Kadir repeated. âThen, the twin seed did foretell this event.â
âIt did!â She hugged him and danced. âWeâll go from no babies to two!â
Torunâs brows rose. âYour Life Tree gave forth a twin seed? That is the powerful sign of ancient legend. Your city will grow strong.â
âOur city,â Elyssa corrected, hugging all of them. âAll our city!â
The doorbell rang.
She hurried to let in the other guests: her four ex-step-fathers, her surrogate Helen, and the mer warriors. Her biological mother was in Brazil working on Elyssaâs next ex-step.
Friendly Gailen, soft-spoken Faier, and wise-beyond-his-years Tial crowded into the entranceway bearing gifts from their host families. Plump, gentle Helen looked up at them and spoke from the corner of her mouth to Elyssa. âIf I was ten years younger, I would be all over this.â
âThey want brides to stay permanently,â she said.
Helen eyed the hard pectorals. âIâm sure we could work something out.â
âHelen!â Elyssaâs third ex-step-father arrived in style. âGood to see you, darling. Elyssa,â he gave her a cheek-kiss. He straightened his purple tie and looked up at Gailen. âNow, I understand you enjoy gardening? And you grow a new variety of wasabi? Iâm a connoisseur of rare condiments myself.â
Suddenly, the house was full of mer warriors and good cheer.
The warriors greeted Torun and Lucy cautiously, but with open minds and respect. Some swallowed bitter envy when they learned Lucy was pregnant, but all changed to awe when they found out it was twins.
âIs such a thing possible? I did not know,â Faier confessed to Elyssa quietly. âPast warriors have found one to beâŚabsorbing.â
âTwo is usually known as âdouble trouble.â It is easier the more you have support.â
He nodded sadly. He had been denied his turn to have a bride in his last city because heâd been scarred too heavily while defending the city in a war. And, just recently defending Atlantis, he had received even more scars. On land, both legs were now so injured that he had to walk with a cane. His scars were healing, but he was certain the hard ridges made him beastly.
She patted his back. Someday, his sadness would leave, and he, too, would find the happiness that lit Torun and Kadir.
They all would.
âThe turkey is out of the oven!â Elyssaâs step mom announced.
Everyone filed into the dining room, sitting in chairs and knocking knees and elbows, leaning forward to pass dishes, and taking care of hot plates. The mer universally ate cold dishes. They waited until the hot ones were room temperature.
âEat up!â Her father urged them. âYour food is getting cold.â
âThey have sensitive mouths,â Lucy explained. âI nearly killed Torun when I tried to force him to drink hot cocoa.â
âThatâs why I got Kadir an iced latte,â Elyssa said smugly.
âI had to figure things out from scratch.â
âDonât we all?â Elyssaâs step mom asked, raising her brows at Elyssaâs father. âA good marriage is all about listening and communicating. Even when the other person is crazy.â
âLike The Little Mermaid,â Kadir said.
Everyone looked at him.
âWhat is The Little Mermaid?â Tial asked. His evergreen tattoos rimmed his neck like a holiday shirt beneath the collar.
âElyssa told me. A prince did not listen to his bride, and she turned into sea foam.â He met Elyssaâs eyes. âI swore to listen.â
Aw. She covered a small part of his wide, silver-tattooed hand with hers.
âSo she would not turn into sea foam?â Tial clarified.
Kadir nodded.
âIs that actually possible?â Elyssaâs step mom asked. She had five formerly considered mythical mermen sitting in her dining room, plus two formerly human women who were now mythical mermaids, so it was reasonable to wonder where, exactly, the limit of transformation was set.
âNot to my knowledge,â Kadir said.
âIt is a strange story.â Gailen lifted his brows. His lips curved in a ready smile. âWhy did she tell it to you?â
âSo I would listen.â
âHmm.â
Elyssa held up her hand. âWait. I did not tell him to imply that I was ever in imminent danger of turning into sea foam. Itâs just a mermaid story. I thought it was pretty and sad when I was a kid. We had a long trip back to Atlantis, and it just sort of came up.â
Everyone stared at her.
She appealed to Lucy. âYou understand, right?â
âOh, donât look at me.â Lucy shook her dark head. âI prefer the Disney version times a thousand. Give me a happy ending or go home. I hate that sad stuff.â
Elyssa put her hand down and reached for her fork.
âQuit while youâre ahead, darling,â her third ex-step-father said, and the others laughed.
Her face was definitely burning, even though she knew he meant it kindly. He loved her just like all her family. She regretted Ayaâs absence. Aya would have understood.
Elyssaâs father raised his wine glass, proposing a toast. âTo good listening with friends, no matter how crazy.â
The humans all toasted. After some explanation of what a toast was and how to do it, the mer did as well.
Despite it all, the dinner was fun. Elyssa was glad she had proposed it, glad they had all been able to gather, and glad that Lucy and Torun could come too. The melding of the cities, like the melding of human and mer, would take time to figure out. But they would all be better and stronger for having faith.
After dinner, the guests moved into the living room again for more talking, and, at her parentsâ urging, board games.
âWe can play Elyssaâs favorites.â Her dad held up several banged up boxes she had saved from childhood. âClue, Yahtzee, or her absolute favorite: Sorry!â
Kadir turned to Elyssa with wide eyes. âElyssa, even your favorite gameââ
âItâs just the name!â she cried and hurried to help her step mom serve up pie in the kitchen before she could hear more about that.
Her mother sliced store-bought apple, can-prepared cherry, and her own homemade sugar-pumpkin-spice pies. Elyssa grabbed the whipped cream can and started shaking it furiously.
âToo bad Aya couldnât come.â Her step momâs tongue stuck in the corner of her mouth as she carefully sized up equal-sized wedges. âShe would have liked this. If she ever gave herself a break from being serious.â
Elyssa did not want to tell her mom that Aya was currently lost in the ocean, possibly with or without Soren, and that no one had seen her in weeks. She sprayed the whipped cream directly into her mouth.
âI did not just see you do that, Elyssa Marie,â her stepmom said in that tone, even though she certainly didnât see anything because Elyssa was kind of behind her.
She washed off the nozzle - she hadnât actually made mouth-contact, but just to be safe - and then, well, okay. She put the first one in the fridge and opened a second can to make her stepmom happy. âHey, do you ever wonder how things would have turned out differently if we hadnât been bought off by Chastity Angel?â
Her step mom was distracted. âWhat do you mean?â
âYou know, if things would be different between me and Aya. That day when Chastity Angel came to ask for us to cut me out of the discovery of the Sea Opal resonance. If weâd told her to take a hike.â
âThatâs what we did tell her.â
Okay, her stepmom was really distracted. âIâm talking about that day when she came to our house? That one time?â
âOh, I know the day.â Her step mom arranged the pie slices in perfect trios on the dessert plates and studied her handiwork thoughtfully. âDo you think I should have gotten one more? Banana cream just didnât fit the theme.â
âMom-Mom.â Elyssa forced her step momâs focus on her. âI wish I would have told Chastity Angel not to cut me out.â
Her step momâs eyes widened. âWell, then, call her up, because your father and I already told her âNoâ to her face.â
The kitchen linoleum tilted under Elyssaâs sneakers. âWhat?â
âRight in that living room.â Her step mom jerked her pink, manicured thumb over her shoulder. âShe came in and sat herself down on our chair and told us in no uncertain terms what she thought of âher childâ having to share credit with âour child.â So your father and I told her, in equally certain terms, that she could go stuff those Sea Opals where the sun donât shine.â
Elyssaâs father came in and grabbed another bottle of wine. His smile was bright, his cheeks red with laughter. âTalking about Cruella De Vil on a day like today?â
âElyssa has a hole in her memory and crud filled into it.â She kissed her husband.
âYou told me to leave the room,â Elyssa protested. âI was there when she said all those things, and then you told me to leave because you had to finish discussing.â
âToo bad.â Her father unpeeled the silver wine wrapping. âYour stepmom was magnificent.â
âWell, thank you. Now that I donât work for the company, I have fewer chances to glare at her in the halls.â
âItâs probably better for your blood pressure.â
âProbably.â
Elyssa grabbed the back of the chair. They were not destroying this memory for her. She wanted it to have gone the way they said, but they couldnât rewrite history so it sounded nice. âBut then you did do what she asked!â
Her step mom washed the pie knife. âAbout what?â
âYou cut me out.â She hugged herself. âOf everything.â
Her step mom shut off the water and turned the knife on her. âDonât you dare even suggestââ
Her dad put a hand on her step momâs forearm. âHoney, what makes you think that?â
âBecause itâs true.â
âIn what way is it true?â
âMy name isnât on anything. Aya did get all the credit.â And then they stopped talking, and Aya went into all the advanced classes, and Elyssa had been left behind with the ordinary people who never amounted to much.
âYour name is still on everything,â her dad assured her, and her stepmom nodded. At her continued disbelief, he set down the wine bottle and wiped his hands. âDo you want me to bring up the articles? Itâs all here. Weâve got them all saved.â
âAnd printed out, and pasted into your baby book,â her stepmom said. âAlthough, at thirteen, you were one moody baby.â
No, she didnât need to see the evidence. She believed that they believed what they were saying was true. But she had lived her whole life and shaped her whole identity believing the opposite.
âEveryone stopped talking to me about the discovery,â she said. âOvernight.â
âWell, news moves quickly like that. People only care about shiny gemstones for so long.â
Now they got into the hard reasons.
âWhy did we suddenly have more money?â she asked.
Her step momâs brows rose.
Once again, her dad stopped any outbursts. âChastity Angel did have something to do with that, but not the way youâre thinking. No, what happened was, your step mom got so mad after the conversation she switched divisions to one that immediately promoted her.â
âYour country club golfing?â
âI waited for the golf membership for a year before I got a friendâs father to sponsor me.â
Then, this was her last volley. âWhy did I suddenly get a pony?â
Her step mom threw the knife in the sink. âGood lord.â
Her dadâs lips twitched. âThat pony was your motherâs idea of good parenting. Sheâd been hinting at it for months. We were afraid it would be a puppy! Ha ha.â
Her step mom smiled. âYeah. What a disaster that was.â
Everything came clear with a sinking realization. âSo, the reason I didnât get into the same classes and didnât go to Harvard had nothing to do with this.â
âHarvard?â
Her parents practically had to hold each other up to keep from collapsing.
âElyssa, you got Cs in history,â her stepmom snorted. âOn a good day. We felt bad forcing you into school all those hours every day. If it had been up to you, youâd have spent every minute running around a field or swimming in some pool.â
Wow. So, her whole self-conception was destroyed in one night and they hadnât even served dessert.
âLet it just be said.â Her step mom finished spraying on the whipped cream and organizing her plates. âI would not sell you out to anyone. Not ever. And certainly not to that too-righteous piece of work who was once my boss.â
âCruella de Vil,â her dad supplied.
âNot for a million dollars.â Her step mom balanced several plates and headed to the living room. âNot for the moon. And neither would your father.â
âWell, maybe the moon.â He twisted his cuff links. They were decorated in the shape of Saturn.
âBaron!â
âJust kidding.â
Her step mom shook her head and walked out to the living room, still smiling.
Her dad patted her shoulder. âSweetheart, if Iâd known you wanted to go to Harvard, we would have gotten you tutoring. We would have railed about your grades. I know you could have made it there if you really tried.â
Aw. She hugged him. âThanks, Dad.â
âYour stepmom is right, though.â He rubbed her back. âYou were always running around, having a good time being a kid. We thought the real world hits you soon enough with responsibilities, and you were always such a dreamer. Aya was the doer.â
Her good feelings plummeted. Even her parents thought she wasnât going to do anything important. âOh, well. Thereâs no helping how youâre born, I guess.â
âNo, sweetheart, dreamers are necessary.â He stared at the ceiling as he formulated his argument. âTheyâre the visionaries. Like your husband. He has a bit of the dreamer in him. All the great ones do.â
Her heart lifted again. Her parents thought she could be a visionary. A great person.
She thought so herself too. It had taken a long time to get here. A long time thinking of herself the wrong way, and overcoming her mistrust of her instincts, and learning to believe in herself. Kadir had helped her push through.
How funny to think she had always had an incomplete memory. Her parents believed in her from the beginning, but she hadnât seen it. Sheâd been too busy thinking wrong thoughts and closed her eyes to the truth. Now, it shined through.
She kissed her dad on the nose. âIâll make you proud.â
âWeâre already proud.â His eyes grew moist. âYouâve brought all these different people together under one roof. âI wanted to do something important with NASA. You know, discover alien life and make the first contact. Youâre actually the one doing it. Weâre so proud of you. We couldnât be more proud.â
Her own throat closed. âThank you, Dad.â
âYeah.â He cleared his throat. âYouâll always be our little girl.â
Kadir came to the kitchen doorway. He must have felt the yo-yoing emotions even from the other room. He, like her father and stepmom, like all the others who loved and supported her, believed in her too.
She would continue to dream her impossible dreams. Together, they would change the world.
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