She gets the hang of it and swims from one end to the other in the shallower end of the pool. I prop myself onto the edge and let my tail float in the water. Arthur sits a few feet from me so I lean back on my hands to look at him. “She’s having a blast.”
“Thanks for doing this. She loves you. Maybe more than she loves us.”
“I’m sure that’s not true. But she probably thinks I’m cooler.” My smile slips, remembering my chat with Mom and how she wants me to give this up. But if she could see how happy Sarah is, she’d change her mind. I bring joy to people and magic to a dull world, but she’ll never realize that.
Arthur stands and kicks off his flip-flops to settle beside me and dip his feet into the water. We watch Sarah giggle and swim, adding an impressive twirl as she moves.
Arthur bumps his arm with mine. “What’s wrong?”
I lean my head on his shoulder. “My mom. Spoke to her on the phone and she reminded me how much I’m wasting my life.” I flick my fins, splashing Sarah. She laughs and hits the water with her hand, sending a wave my way.
“She has the old-school way of thinking. Once your name is out there and you have big sponsors and forget about us at The Pearl Kingdom, she’ll know how important you are.”
“I’d never forget The Pearl Kingdom, but you…” I giggle as he slaps my scale-covered thigh.
He pushes me into the pool. I go under and flip around to splash him with my tail. When I surface, he’s soaked and cracking up laughing, lying on his side.
Sarah watches us from the other side of the pool. “You’re weird,” she says, swimming toward my inflatable shell in the deep end. She hops on it and floats, looking like a cute little mermaid resting in the sunshine.
I move to the side and place my arms on the cement, resting my cheek on my forearm. “It’s not just my mom.”
“Sully?” Arthur sits up and wipes the tears of laughter off his face.
I roll my eyes. “Alice told you.”
“Hey, don’t be mad at her. She showed me pictures.”
“How…” I shake my head and drag myself to sit on the edge again. “Of course, she stole my phone and sent the pictures to herself.”
“Never take nudes. She’ll go postal.”
“Right. She would.” I nudge Arthur with my shoulder, getting his sleeve wet. “Sully and I had an amazing time in Vegas. Like…” I fan myself and he nods, understanding. Sarah is still in the shell, not caring about our conversation.
“But on Insta he’s tagged in Gigi’s post and there are reports they had dinner together. What if he’s stringing me along as his side piece in LA?”
Arthur takes my hand and squeezes my fingers. “You gotta take a chance on love. I know it hurt you before, but your shitty ex wasn’t worth the air you breathe. In the second picture of you two by the fountain in Vegas, he’s staring at you, not the camera. I think you need to test the waters and see if he surprises the shrimp out of you.”
“Those mermaid puns are terrible.” I lightly punch him in the arm.
“They are dad jokes, thank you very much.” He gives me this serious look and then howls in laughter.
Arthur’s wife, Melissa, comes out of the back door. “Pizza! Any hungry mermaids out here?”
Sarah waves her arms. “Me!” She dashes out of the shell and swims to the edge to meet her mom with pizza on a plate.
“What am I?” Arthur asks, standing and stretching his back.
“My hungry pirate.” She walks over and kisses him.
“You want pepperoni, Veronica?” Melissa asks, smiling and batting her husband’s arm away as he grabs her ass.
“Please.”
Melissa and Arthur walk over to the table where the pizza boxes and plates are. They’ve been together for fifteen years and love each other deeply. My heart aches wishing I knew what it felt like to be that cherished by someone.
13
Thursdayrollsaroundfasterthan expected. Between private gigs, kids’ birthday parties, and evening performances at the restaurant, I’ve spent more time in the water than on dry land. But that’s the reality of being a professional mermaid—part fantasy, part business. It’s more than just glitter and smiles—it’s lugging fifty-pound tails, squeezing into wetsuits backstage, staying in shape to swim long routines, and managing bookings, invoices, and social media.
