Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Songs that inspired the author
while she wrote FINS:
Brandon Flowers — "Crossfire"
Sons of Sylvia — "Love Left to Lose"
One Eskimo — "Kandi"
Aerosmith — "Boogie Man"
Coldplay — "Lovers in Japan"
Robbie Williams — "Feel"
John Mayer — "Heartbreak Warefare"
EBOOKS
Buy from Amazon.com
Buy from Crossroad Press
PHYSICAL BOOKS
Buy from Amazon.com
Buy from Barnes & Noble
|
Morgan just wanted her vacation to end. She should have been careful what she wished for. Suddenly, she is swept into a strange new world in which the impossible happens every day and fairy tale creatures live among unsuspecting Humans. Will Morgan discover her unknown self and fulfill her true destiny or will she doom an already vulnerable species for all eternity?
Praise for FINS:
"FINS held my attention from the start. I couldn't put it down until I had finished. Great novel!"
~ Joan Perry, PHP Communications, Inc.
"FINS is an exciting read! My interest was piqued from the start. I can't wait for the next book!"
~ Joline Miller, TheWallClock.com
"FINS is the stuff dreams are made of! This thoroughly enchanting, passion-fueled novel is guaranteed to leave readers gasping for more."
~ Geraldine Boardman, MSc Forensic Psychology U.K
"FINS effortlessly carries the reader into mysterious, hidden, and sometimes dark places that will make you want to head to the ocean, sprout a fin, and explore the exciting world Knight has created!"
~ Beth Sorensen, author of Crush at Thomas Hall
"Fans have a new hit author to add to their must-read list! Knight creates a world that's both believable and entertaining to the max!"
~ K.K. Brees Ph.D & author of Headwinds
"What a great read; just pure fun from start to finish! FINS is a fresh take on the coming of age tale. Most of all, it's exciting with clever twists & loads of action, adventure, & discovery!"
~ Prof. Clay Morgan C.C.A.C & the University of Phoenix, Pittsburg Campus
"Zoomed through this in a weekend - unusual for me as my time is limited. But I enjoyed it & look forward to more from the author. As a coming of age YA urban fantasy, it took me into a delightful alternate world where mermaids walk (or swim) amongst us."
~ T.K. Thorne, author of "Noah's Wife"
"FINS grabs you from the beginning & the world you live in melts away into the main characters wonderful world - one in which you become her, feeling her love & fears. I'm going through withdrawals now I've finished it & I look forward to FATHOM!"
~ Anissa Qualls, fan of FINS
|
1.
Florida
Yee-haw! Florida, here I come! There was no way around it.
I arched my back out of the coach class airline seat and stretched. It had been a long flight. Almost seven hours from Denver and before that, one from Boise.
Florida. Two things came to mind when I thought of Florida: Mickey Mouse and the Orlando Magic. And that it was hot. I wasn't a huge fan of the heat, but imagining lying on a white beach with a nice blue ocean for two weeks seemed ok. That's how mom put it anyway.
My mom. This was going to be interesting. Usually the first few days with her were good. Then the carefree feeling of vacation ended and it took a downturn to how depressed she was and how she wished I lived with her instead of being stuck in Idaho. She was never in one place for too long, and I didn't like being a nomad. I'd avoided visiting her for two years. I'm sure that would come up too.
The only reason I was visiting her this summer was because she'd thrown a massive fit about it being my last summer before I graduated and how I'd be off to Harvard or Yale and never see her again. The last time I'd seen her, she was living in Vancouver, Washington. Now she was in a tiny town in Florida called Vero Beach.
We were one "happy family" eight years ago. We lived in California at the time. Dad was an engineer and mom was a hippie. I still don't know why they got married. Opposites attract or something. I have to give them credit though - they were married for ten years. When they split, I went with dad to Idaho. He wanted to be a cowboy, as mom put it, and he succeeded.
We lived in a small town called Stanley near the Sawtooth Mountains and he was a rancher. We had a hundred acres and because dad was such a cool guy, the locals kind of adopted him and taught him how to be a cowboy. I think it was a lot harder than he expected, but he persevered and by the time I was ten, I knew more about birthing calves and castrating bulls than I had ever wanted to know.
So here I am, cramped into a tiny seat with my straw cowgirl hat in my hands. I want to meet the engineers who decided that three inches was all a person in cattle class needed to recline to be comfortable. I want to meet them and force them to fly in that seat from LA to Tahiti. Maybe they'd change the design.
I sighed and looked out the window. Nothing but clouds. The captain had said we were nearing Orlando. Mom was picking me up in her "jalopy" as she put it. She said it didn't have air conditioning. That was just great.
"So where are you heading once we land?" The little old lady on my left touched my arm gently and smiled a toothless smile. Didn't they make fake teeth?
"Vero Beach," I said.
"Oh!" Her face brightened. "You be careful when you go swimming. The merpeople in that area can be very forceful!" Merpeople? She was clearly insane. The man sitting next to her shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Now mom, you know better than to tell tall tales." He smiled nervously at me. "I'm sorry. Her medication mustn'thave kicked in yet."
"It's ok." I didn't know what else to say. I hated flying.
Somehow he managed to keep her from talking to me the last twenty minutes of our flight, and when we landed he quickly escorted her off the plane. It was fine with me. Strange people were always attracted to me - like moths to a flame. I never understood it.
I could feel the humidity the instant I stepped off the plane. It was June and it wouldn't be exaggerating to say that the barometer would clock it at 98 percent. I could feel my short blonde hair stick to my head. Thank God for the hat. I slapped it on my head and shoved my hands into my pockets.
It was my first time in the Orlando International Airport. I followed the herd. We boarded a tram that threw us out into the open where I could see just how big the airport was. The lights seemed to go on forever. A short moment later and we pulled into another building. I didn't waste any time getting my bag. It was the easiest one to spot - bright yellow hard case. I knew better than to have a black suitcase. Everyoneelse's looked the same.
"Morgandy!" That was undoubtedly mom. She was the only person who called me by my full name. Everyone else called me Morgan. I turned around and scanned the crowd.
"Over here, honey!" There she was. I hardly recognized her. She looked like she'd reverse aged. She didn't look forty; she looked like she'd just turned thirty. I had to admit, Florida agreed with her. She looked amazing.
Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a French braid that reached all the way down to the small of her back. She was wearing a broomstick green skirt that almost touched the floor and a white tank top that showed off her deep, smooth tan. A thick brown belt hung around her hips. As usual, she was covered in chunky silver jewelry.
She pulled me into a tight hug. She smelled like green tea perfume.
"I've missed you so much, my baby!" she said and held me at arms' length. "You're so tall and skinny!" Looking me up and down, her face dropped. "What happened to your hair?"
"I cut it, mom." She had always preferred long hair on me. I got tired of it. Long hair gave me headaches. I cut it just after my last visit to her. It was a very manageable two inches long now.
"Oh honey!" I braced myself for the objection, but instead, she smiled. "Well, it's not bad - you look like a pixie!" She laughed and a tall, handsome man who was hugging his wife looked longingly at her. Mom always had this effect on men. Not that I blame them - she was a beautiful woman.
"You ready to hit the road?" She grabbed my suitcase effortlessly and put her arm around my waist. "I've got so much to tell you, baby!"
We walked to the parking garage and she directed me towards a white BMW SUV that looked brand new.
"I thought you said it was a jalopy?" I frowned as I opened the passenger door and the smell of new car hit me.
"That was a joke!" She slammed the back door and jumped in the driver's seat, starting the car. "So much has happened lately. Where do I start?"
I already knew. "You got married."
Her head snapped towards me and she stared with wide, green eyes. "How you do that, I'll never know." She checked the mirrors and backed up. "I think you're going to love him." I doubted it.
"His name is Tammer - isn't that so unusual?"
No more unusual than her name - Elan. At least her name sounded pretty when you said it. Mine sounded like an old town.
"His name means Miracle, she said. "Isn't that special?"
I guess. I didn't answer. I was looking at the thick necklace of pearls that hung on the rear view mirror. There must have been ten strands filled with different colors - pink, cream, purple, light green. It was beautiful and obviously very expensive.
"Aren't you afraid someone's going to break into your car and steal that?" I asked, pointing at the necklace.
"Oh, good heaven's no!" She laughed musically. "That won't ever happen." She opened her window and stopped to pay the toll.
"Good evening, ma'am." The attendant smiled eagerly at her.
"Hello there, young man!" Her voice was warm and inviting. Many women would've thought she was flirting, but this was just my mom. "I owe you some money," she started to say, but he interrupted her.
"This one's on me," he said and the gate lifted. She beamed at him.
"Give me your hand," she said and his hand flew to hers. She held it with both of hers for a brief moment and then pulled away. I could've sworn I saw something glint in the light. Then we drove through, leaving the man with a stunned look on his face.
"What was that all about?" I asked.
"Just being kind," she answered.
We pulled onto the freeway and mom started to tell me that we had an hour or so drive until we reached Vero Beach, but I could hardly keep my eyes open. It had been a long day and when her Enya CD began to softly sing from the car's speakers and the cool air conditioning began to brush against my forehead, I drifted off to sleep.
BACK TO TOP
2.
Tammer
"Baby, it's time to wake up."
I didn't want to open my eyes. It felt good to sleep and I didn't want to have to face meeting the new "dad."
"Come on honey and get some breakfast."
Breakfast? I opened my eyes and squinted in the bright light. I was in a massive, white four poster bed in the middle of a huge room with deep blue painted walls. Mom was sitting next to me, brushing my forehead with the back of her hand.
"What happened?" I struggled against the multitude of pillows and sat up. It was definitely morning.
"I didn't want to wake you. You were so comfortable sleeping. So we put you to bed."
"How'd you get me in bed?" I rubbed my eyes with both hands.
"Oh, Tammer carried you in."
Fantastic. That was not the way I'd wanted him to meet me.
"I'm really surprised I didn't wake up." In the past, I'd always slept when mom drove. For some reason, I didn't sleep when dad drove. He always joked that it was because he was more interesting to listen to.
Mom stood up and her beautiful sarong cascaded down her legs to the floor. The color began as white and slowly melted into a light blue and then dark blue as it reached herfeet. A large white seashell circled with gold hung on a gold necklace around her neck. Large white pearl earrings clung to her ears.
"Do you want to freshen up first?"
I nodded.
"This is your room and your bathroom is through those doors." She pointed to her right. I could see my suitcase sitting on a heavy, white wooden bureau close to the doors. She turned and walked to another set of doors, her long hair swaying behind her. I spied a small braid woven with tiny seashells in her hair.
"I bought you a few island clothes. You'll find that Floridians dress differently from Idahoans." Smiling, sheopened the doors to a large walk-in closet filled with outfits and shoes. A bit grandiose for me, but right up mom's alley.
"Thanks mom, but we have much different tastes in clothes."
Her smile fell. "But I'll take a look through and see which ones I like," I added hastily.
She closed the doors.
"Everything in this room is yours.I'll be back in half an hour to give you the tour. She laughed and kissed me on the forehead. "I'm so happy you're here."Then she was gone.
Still in my jeans and long sleeved shirt, I sat in the middle of the bed. The room was simple but elegant - all white and blue. It made me and my yellow suitcase stand out like eyesores. Mom had obviously married a much richer man than my father had ever dreamed of being.
When I dragged myself out of bed, I noticed a lot more about the room. The white floor was the most unusual part.Seashells and what looked like glittery sand were embeddedin the floor and it was smooth to the touch.
Standing, I walked to the double doors which opened into a large bathroom. The same strange flooring continued there, as well. Huge windows flooded the room with warm sunlight that made the floor sparkle. I decided it was the most beautiful bathroom I'd ever seen.
The bathtub was a miniature pool set in the floor. It was about five feet deep and nearly seven feet long - plenty big enough for someone to lie down in.
A huge mirror framed in old beach wood hung over an enormous shell that turned out to be the sink. Soft tan-colored towels were draped prettily over a towel warmer. Seashells seemed to be pressed into the walls, making a different type of wallpaper. After looking about, I realized the toilet had a room all its own.
It was magical - something I'd never even dreamed about. I finally remembered that mom would be back, so I stripped down and walked into the shower room. I turned on the faucet, and a sheet of water cascaded out of the wall like a waterfall. It was the best shower I'd ever taken.
After drying off, I brushed my teeth and ran some gel through my hair. I decided to inspect the closet for some Floridianclothes. They were all mom's style - long flowing dresses and skirts of every color imaginable, tunic-like shirts,soft silk trousers, and shoes to match every outfit. I felt as if I were in her closet.
Closing the doors and opening my suitcase, I pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top. That would do - plain and simple - just like me. There was a soft knock on the door and mom gracefully walked in.
Must've decided not to say anything about my sloppy look.
"Hi." She looked me up and down. "Did you see the view yet?"
I shook my head and she directed me through a set of French glass doors onto a small balcony. The ocean waves lapped against the wall, a few feet below the edge. It was breathtaking.
I stared at my mom. "What exactly is it that Tammer does?"
"You can't laugh!" she said. "Promise you won't!"
Nodding, I looked back to the ocean. A white boat many miles in the distance bobbed up and down.
"He's a treasure hunter."
She had to be joking. But she wasn't.
"He owns his own treasure hunting company. I'll let him tell you a bit more about it when you meet him. Are you ready to eat?" she asked. I nodded and followed her back into the room. "Do you like your room?"
"It's the most beautiful room I've ever seen." I gazed around. Mom looked pleased.
"Wait until you see the rest of the house." With that, she pushed through the main door and we walked out into a courtyard. The sun beat down on us from a light blue sky. There wasn't a cloud anywhere. To my right, the courtyard seemed to melt into the sea. In front of us, huge trees hid the rest of the house.
"I wanted a bit of earth in our little sanctuary," mom explained. "I do miss the Redwoods of California. These are hardly Redwoods, though."
We came upon a pool where someone was swimming laps. Mom stood by the edge and touched the water. The person stopped and turned towards us. I assumed this was Tammer. He glided effortlessly to the edge and pulled himself out.
If ever there were a perfect couple, my mom and Tammer were it. Tammer was absolutely gorgeous - much different from my father. Well over six feet tall, he was long and lithe, with perfect six-pack abs and sculpted back. He grabbed a small towel and ran it though his black hair. Walking up to us, he held out his hand.
"It's good to meet you - awake this time." Smiling witha perfect set of white teeth, he winked one of his pale blue eyes.
I shook his hand and felt like an idiot. I'd said nothing because it was like I was in a dream. Who were these gorgeous people? Even mom had changed since I'd seen her last. Everything was surreal.
Tammer looked at mom. "Does she speak?" he asked politely.
"I'm sorry," I stammered. "It's nice to meet you. Your house is beautiful beyond words. I had no idea. Mom never said anything."
"I'm sure there's a lot you two need to discuss, and much is going to be overwhelming. We should start with something simple." He reached over and pulled mom to him. "Breakfast, perhaps?"
"Yes." Mom kissed him and took my hand. They led me in a partial daze to the edge of the courtyard where a gazebo housed a dining table and chairs already set with breakfast. Fresh orange juice, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, sausages - the works. Hungrily, I dug in. Tammer and mom didn't touch the food.
"Aren't you guys hungry?" I asked, my mouth filled with pineapple.
"We're on a special diet," mom said.
"Diet? Mom you don't need to lose weight!"
Tammer laughed and kissed her hand. "No, you're correct. But we don't eat meat."
"Oh!" I said. "So you're vegetarian?"
He nodded. "Something like that." He picked up a glass of water and drank it all.
Mom twirled a hibiscus blossom between her thumb and forefinger. The silence was deafening. Something was wrong.
"What's going on?" I asked and put my fork down.
"What do you mean, dear?" mom asked a bit too innocently.
"What aren't you telling me? Are you sick? You're not dying are you?"
Mom shook her head and looked at Tammer.
"I know something's going on." I could see it in their body language.
"You're just going to have to tell her," Tammer said matter of factly.
I watched them gaze at each other. It was sort of nice, actually, seeing mom so in love. It was better than watching her flounder around after she and dad divorced. But something was definitely wrong and I could hardly take it anymore. I didn't have to wait long.
"Mama!" A sweet, musical voice rang out across the courtyard. I turned around to see a gorgeous blonde child running towards mom. I looked back at mom who was smiling at me. Was this a joke? The little girl ran into herembrace and pulled herself up into her lap. "Mama." She nestled into mom's chest. Tammer smiled lovingly at them both.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, and the little girl turned towards me, staring with enormous green eyes. Her blonde hair fell in soft ringlets around her shoulders.
"Morgandy, this is our little girl, Naira. She's your sister."
I nearly puked.
"This is a joke, right?"
"No, it's not, honey," mom said in a quiet voice.
"But, how?" I stood up. This was too weird.
"She's one, Morgandy," Tammer said. "She's very special. You'll come to realize that."
"How is this possible?" I asked again. "You two were just married!" I looked at mom. "You haven't even been in Florida for two years!"
"That's right," she said, "but Tammer and I met in Vancouver just after you left. We've been together ever since."
"You never told me you were pregnant!" I said and Naira continued to look at me. I couldn't hold her gaze."Why not?"
"You wouldn't have understood."
"What's not to understand? Hi Morgan, it's mom, I'm pregnant. What's so hard about that?" I was yelling now and Tammer stood up.
"Morgandy..." he began and I interrupted him.
"It's Morgan, ok? I hate Morgandy."
Mom winced.
"Morgan," Tammer began again, "please don't yell. We're sorry we didn't tell you earlier. We didn't because we didn't want something like this to happen. We knew it'd be hard for you. There's still so much more to discuss."
"What? Do you have another kid I don't know about?"
"No. Naira's the only one. But there's more."
I couldn't take it in and got up to leave. Naira slid out of mom's lap and walked next to me.
"Naira! Come back here, darling!" Mom called after her, but she didn't return. Rather, she continued to walk alongside me as I stormed towards my room. It wasn't until I tried to reach for the door that I noticed she was holding my hand. I stopped and stared down at her. She stared back at me. Suddenly, I wasn't really angry anymore, just spent. Tiredly, I raised an eyebrow.
"And what do you think about all this?" I asked and was astounded when she actually answered.
"I like you."
I just stared at the little child who looked up at me.What else could I do? No one year old is that advanced. Are they? Naira stared back with those huge green eyes.
"Naira, please go to your mother," Tammer said as he walked towards us. She let go of my hand and left my side.Tammer stopped in front of me.
"I'm sorry this has been sprung on you so quickly. Naira was so excited to meet you that I think she just couldn't wait any longer." He looked down. "I hope you'll grow to like her."
I didn't know what to do. I wasn't angry with them, just shocked and totally surprised.
"I know," Tammer said absentmindedly.
"Huh?" I said and his head snapped back up.
"Sorry, didn't you say something?" he asked.
"No," I frowned. This was all so strange. It was too much. The house, the handsome new "dad" and finding out I had a baby sister. I felt like I was going to faint.
"Do you need to sit down?" Tammer waved his hand towards a distressed wooden bench just outside my door. I sat and he eased down next to me.
"There's so much going on and I know we've overwhelmed you. Tell you what. If you're tired you are more than welcome to go back to bed and face it all tomorrow. Or I can have Elan talk to you. I want you to feel this is your home as much as the one you have with Richard."
It was strange hearing dad's name - everyone's names seemed so exotic and Richard was such a normal name. I remained quiet.
"Elan has missed you so much. I knew we couldn't keep this from you anymore. I'm sorry we waited so long to tell you."
I felt bad for him.
"You're a treasure hunter, huh?" I said, changing the subject.
"Yes!" he said, brightening. He looked out towards thewater. "The sea is my home. I run a business, salvaging treasure. Treasure hunter sounds much more exotic and mysterious, though."
"What's the name of your business?"
"It's really boring - Tammer Salvaging."
I looked around at the perfectly manicured lawn and the rainbow of flowers all looking so perfect. "You must do quite well. I haven't even seen the rest of your home and already this is way more than my dad ever had."
Tammer coughed lightly. "Well, I've been fortunate."He left it at that. "Would you like to see the rest of the house?"
I didn't know what else to do. I nodded and stood with him.
"I'll give you the tour," he said, "and I'll deliver you to your mom when we're done. How does that sound?"
He walked to a small gate in the hedge and held it open for me.
"Please, after you," he said, and we went through thegate that opened onto the grounds outside.
Within seconds of our walking through that gate, a man arrived with a golf cart. As quickly as he had appeared, he was gone and Tammer ushered me into the cart.
Tammer's home was a Utopia. That was all there was to it. It was from out of a luscious, opulent dream. He owned ten perfectly maintained acres on the island.
In addition to his sprawling mansion on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, he had a barn that put our house back in Stanley to shame. The horse riding area was pristine.
The barn was really another huge house for his treasured Andalusian horses. He had five - all with strange names. It was obvious they adored him. All five came running up to him the second they heard his whistle. Three were black and two were white. They were massive and yet as graceful as ballet dancers when they moved.
"This big one is called Yanix." He patted the black horse on its muscled neck and was practically thrown forward when a smaller white one nudged him with her nose. "Yes, Willow," he turned and hugged her around the neck. "I love you too." Sarraf the Great was the smallest of the black horses."We call him that so he doesn't get a complex about being smaller," Tammer said. "And this is Tobar." He held his arm out to the medium black horse who snorted, covering Tammer with snot. "Yes, that's lovely, thank you," he said.
I liked the way he interacted with them. They seemed to listen to his every word, watching him with their gentle, brown eyes.
"And who's this?" I asked, motioning to the littlest one of all - a pretty white female who stood shyly to the side.
"That's Ren." Tammer patted his thigh and she walkedto him. "She's my newest baby."
"She's sweet." I couldn't help but smile. Ren was trying to decide if she should go to Tammer or to me. She hesitated and then turned her large head towards me, practically knocking me off the fence.
"She likes you," he said, watching with a big grin on his face.
I rubbed Ren on the forehead and she held very still as I made my way behind her ears. Her long, thick mane felt as soft as satin. I massaged her neck and she closed her eyes.
"If you want to ride them, you just need to ask." Tammer was leaning against Yanix, watching me give Ren loves. "They enjoy it."
"Thanks," I said. He was trying, and I appreciated it. I doubted we'd be as close as my dad and I, but I was willing to give him a chance.
Tammer's smile faded and he clapped his hands. All the horses turned to return to the barn, except Ren. She didn't move and he shook his head.
"She's not fully trained yet," he said and took her head in his hands. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on the end of her nose. "Yaht!" he said. She turned and trotted after the others who were waiting for her. When she reached them, all five trotted together into the barn.
"Thank you for showing them to me," I said as I jumped down from the fence.
"My pleasure," he answered and we headed back to the house, which I now saw faced the sea. The house was shaped like a giant U. The entire thing was made out of white rock Tammer had imported from Greece. A long driveway flanked with huge trees that grew over the road led up to the house.A rainbow of flowers grew around the edges of the house.The effect was overwhelmingly beautiful. Tammer had to make bank.
His pride was his pool. It was unlike any swimming pool I'd ever seen. It was rectangular and it was deep - twelve feet deep! He proudly pointed out the fish tanks in the long sides. A swimmer would feel as if she were literally swimming with the fishes. The sides of the pool were a beautiful mosaic of tiny, differently colored tiles. The bottom of the pool was sand. When I looked at him in amazement, he said simply, "I like the water."
He was quick to show me a gate in the pillars that edged the gazebo area and steps that disappeared under the ocean waves. He told me this was where they scuba dove. It wasn't strange to think of Mom scuba diving, even though she'd never done it when we were together. Swimming was one of her passions and Florida seemed the perfect place to learn.
The rest of the house was just as lovely inside as it was outside. The same strange floor was in every room, and eachroom was painted a different color. The ocean theme played throughout the house.
The living room was completely white with distressed beach wood tables. Seashells and dried coral and seaweed adorned the tables and walls. Large tan baskets of soft blankets were stored under the coffee table. An enormous comfy white couch housed a fleet of different earthen-colored pillows. I told Tammer his house could be a model for the Pottery Barn, and he laughed and said he'd have to tell mom, as she did most of the decorating herself.
When we went into their room, mom was sitting on the giant bed. She smiled and waved at me. The room was light green and the color flowed into their bathroom. It was twice as big as my room and was complete with its own fireplace. Mom even had a sitting area to apply her makeup. I think I'd seen something similar when we were forced to watch Gonewith the Wind in literature class.
Along one of the walls was an elegant marble statue of amermaid. She seemed suspended in the air, as if she were slowly stretching towards the surface of the sea. Beautifully long hair splayed about her, some twisting under her arms and around her back. She was naked from the waist up, and yet there was nothing vulgar about the statue. The base was made to look as if she'd just taken off from the sea floor,with sand scattering about her flowing, delicate fins.
"Do you like it?" mom called from the bed. I nodded and touched the mermaid's tail with my forefinger.
"Where did you find this piece?" I asked, lightly tracing my finger along her tail. The artistry was so detailed I could feel every scale.
"We had her commissioned. She was a fortune, but worth it."
"She looks like you," I said.
Tammer sat down on the bed with mom and said nothing, but he watched me admire the mermaid. I felt something warm develop in my shoulders and run down my spine. I shivered. This happened once in a while and it usually meant something big was going to happen. I turned and faced them both.
"There's something else you're not telling me."
A small smile traced Tammer's lips, and he looked down at the deep green quilt they sat on. "All in due time," he said.
Mom jumped off the bed and put an arm around my waist. "I'd like to show you Naira's bedroom. She's so proud of it."
Mom led me through a door next to the statue of the mermaid, and we entered a small, sky blue room. This had to be the smallest room of the house, by far. There was a bed sunken into the floor - very similar to the tumble pit I had often used in gymnastics. The bedroom looked like a Sea World gift shop, filled with stuffed sea creatures, snow globemermaids, and to top if off, a large saltwater aquarium that was part of the wall at the head of Naira's bed. They certainly spoiled her.
"That's probably the biggest fish tank I've ever seen," I gasped as I walked up to it, "apart from like, Sea World and the zoo." It was much taller than I was and ran nearly the entire length of the wall. "Just how rich is Tammer?" I asked and watched a seahorse bob towards me.
"That's the rudest question you've asked yet, Morgandy." Mom was a bit put off, but I couldn't help it. It was like looking at a train wreck - you didn't want too, but you couldn't help yourself. The seahorse stopped at the glass and eyed me.
"I'm not trying to be rude, mom." I put my finger to the glass. "I just can't believe how rich he is."
"Does that truly matter?" mom asked.
I stood up straight and the little seahorse got a fright and squirted away as fast as he could back to the seaweed.
Turning to face her, I ran my hand through my hair and pulled a few strands up towards the ceiling. Mom had said I used to do that with my hair when I was little, as if to comfort myself. Remembering this made me stop.
"Yeah, money matters. You've got to have it. Otherwise you're nobody," I said.
"Oh really?" she said. "This coming from my very wise and worldly seventeen year old?"
I wasn't an idiot. Money makes you powerful and if you could have all your heart desired, why wouldn't you?
"Money is very clearly not everything," mom added.
"Only rich people say that, mom," I pointed out.
"Not so much," she said. "Poor people have been known to say that too. Some would say that having a relationship with God is everything."
I raised an eyebrow. "We believe in God now?"
"We," and she stressed the word, "have always believed in God, Morgandy. But I think that's a conversation for another day."
Shrugging, I took one last look at Naira's room. "She's a lucky girl."
"So are you," mom said as we left the room.
BACK TO TOP
|
|
