The Sea Taketh (Alex Singer) (29 page)

             
“It is a cottage compared to our home in the ocean,” Sven says matter-of-factly.

             
“You could fit our whole town in there!” She whistles as a merman steps forward and opens the car door.

             
The orderlies are there with a wheelchair to take me into the cottage. Fresh pine garlands and a gigantic Christmas tree decorate the foyer. I am wheeled down an elegant corridor lined with statues, paintings, and antiques. After passing several doors, the orderlies turn right and open an ornate door. The room is breathtaking. The outside wall is made of glass and overlooks the ocean. An enormous canopy bed fills the far corner. It’s covered in a thick duvet and decorative pillows. A Christmas tree adorns the corner to my right.

             
“What do you think?” Christian asks.

             
“It’s beautiful,” I answer, astonished.

             
He smiles and opens double doors on the left side of the room. A steaming pool is in the next room. “Our rooms are connected to the pool,” he says.

             
“The tour is over,” Ana walks into my room. “The patient needs her wounds hot packed, again.”

             
The orderlies lift me into the bed as Ana organizes her medical equipment. Christian sits next to me and takes my hand.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” he says.

              “Please call Gramps to let him know that we made it safely.”

             
“Of course, I’m sure he will want to know,” he says before kissing my hand.

*     *     *

              “One, two, three, four, five,” counts Ana. “Extend your hip.”

             
I grimace as I lift weights with my legs. The past hour seems so much longer than sixty minutes. Sweat pours off my forehead as I go through my physical therapy routine. When I woke that morning, the wound was healed and the oxygen tubes were gone, but my muscles had atrophied during my time in the hospital. Ana got me out of bed before breakfast to begin to strengthen my muscles.

             
“Do another repetition,” Ana orders.

             
I take deep, even breaths as I obey.

             
“I think it’s time for our patient to eat breakfast,” Christian walks into the room. He is barefoot and wears a short sleeve t-shirt and pair of shorts, not caring about his fins showing. He looks incredibly hot.

             
“I gave the cook Alexandra’s diet specifications,” Ana says. “I will be back each morning for her physical therapy.”

             
“No more wheelchair?” I ask hopefully.

             
“No, you get this instead.” Ana goes to a closet and pulls out an old lady walker. “We don’t want you falling.”

             
“That’s just plain terrible,” I moan.

             
“It will help strengthen your muscles, so don’t complain.  I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says as she goes out the door.

             
I take hold of the hideous walker and stand. “I’ll just take a quick shower before we eat.”

             
“A bath has already been drawn for you.” He walks beside me.

             
“Are we doing anything special today that I need to dress for?”

             
“We are absolutely plan free,” he says, walking me to the bathroom where two mermaids are waiting to assist me.

             
I enjoy a hot bath and dress in a loose sweater-dress.

When I see my walker, I laugh. It’s decorated with Christmas decorations including bright, bl
inking lights. It’s an atrocity but hilarious. Obviously Christian had some of his numerous servants extend the holiday spirit to my walker.

Everyone is already enjoying a continental style breakfast when I push my walker into the dining room. Sven and Jen are talking about a water volleyball game they had played. He
nrik is reading a newspaper. Christian is texting on his phone.

“Girl, how are you feeling?” Jen says when she sees me. She smiles when seeing my walker.

“Wonderful, I just had the best bath.”

“I’m glad.”Christian puts away his phone. “Your breakfast is waiting for you.”

A merman butler, of sorts, pulls out a chair for me. I am served a plate of protein-rich foods. I begin with an omelet.

             
“When will we get to sightsee?” Jen asks.

             
“As soon as Alex is cleared by Ana,” Sven answers. “But we have plenty to do here. We’ll have to play some soccer.”

             
“Do you think you can keep up, fish boy?” Jen smirks.

             
“I’ll pretend to let you win, human.”

             
“You did not just use the H-word!” She grabs the fin on his arm and squeezes.

             
“Mercy!” he says before pulling his am away. He picks her up and throws her over his shoulder. “I think I’ll go toss you in the pool to teach you not to mess with merfolk!”

             
“And if you did, you would have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of your life!” Jen retorts.

             
Sven booms with laughter as he puts her back down on her chair. He pats her head and returns to his seat. “Ah, my little Stinging Jellyfish!” he says with endearment.

             
“How is Gramps?” I ask Christian.

             
“He’s fine. He hired a security company to install alarms, and cameras on your house. They are coming today.”

             
“How is the search going?”

             
“So far, nothing but dead ends, but he will show up. It’s just a matter of time.” He puts a hand on my knee. I place mine on top of his.

             
“Henrik!” exclaims a lovely, red-headed mermaid as she runs into the room. “I just heard you were here!”

             
“Sonia!” Henrik jumps to his feet and kisses her. “It was late when all the accommodations were made.  I’ve been trying to call you.”

             
“And this must be Sven’s Jen?” Sonia smiles at her. “I’ve heard so much about you!”

             
“You’re all Henrik ever talks about!” Jen laughs before pointing to me. “And I’m sure he’s told you all about Alex?”

             
Sonia turns around. A contagious smile graces her lips. “You must be a friend of Jen’s?”

             
“I am,” I return her smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet Henrik’s wife.”

             
“I’m so happy that Jen brought you with her,” Sonia says. “It gets a little dull here at the cottage with all these mermen.”

             
“Actually, Alexandra is with me,” Christian says matter-of-factly. “She is my declared.”

             
Sonia laughs and shakes her head as if he is telling a joke. Christian gently puts his lips to mine. Sonia sits down, and covers her gapping mouth with her webbed hands.

Christian stands up and blows faintly. Merfolk appear out of seemingly nowhere. My food is put on a tray. A mermaid takes my walker away. Christian gently picks me up and cr
adles me in his arms.

“We’ll be in my room if you need us,” he says as he walks out of the dining room.

“What was that all about?” I whisper to him as he walks down the corridor.

“I think it’s best if they have a few moments to gossip about us without us present. I have been a bachelor a very long time.  Others may find our relationship a surprise.”

*     *     *

I quietly slip into the water, hoping not to wake anyone. Moving slowly, I swim the length of the pool. It feels wonderful to stretch my body as I move my arms and legs. The moon shines through the glass illuminating the still water. The crash of waves can be heard outside. I am just about to make a turn when I hit into someone.

              “I thought you might try this,” Christian says.

             
“Are you the pool police?” I ask, moving the water out of my face.

             
He chuckles. “No, I have no problem with you swimming as long as you’re not alone.”

             
“I’m not alone. You’re here.” I turn around and swim in the opposite direction. He easily catches up with me.

             
“You are a very good swimmer,” he says as he swims next to me.

             
“You say that to all the girls,” I tease. A thought comes to mind and I stop swimming. “How many girls did you date before me?”

             
He swims very close to me.

             
“None,” he says.

             
“You are over five hundred years old and you expect me to believe that you’ve never dated anyone else?”

             
He swims around me. “I was never interested in anyone before I met you.”

             
“But girls flock to you wherever you go. You’ve had to date a few of them?”

             
“No, not one.”

             
“Then you’ve had a lot of one night stands.”

             
“Definitely not!” He shakes his head in disgust. “I already told you that I take my relationships too seriously to treat such important things casually.”

             
I raise an eyebrow.

             
“Do you doubt me?” he asks soberly.

             
“You kissed me before we even went out on a real date.” I submerge my head.

             
“Only because I was completely smitten with you and couldn’t control myself.” Christian’s voice sounds in the water.

             
I resurface. “How did you do that?” I ask with amazement.

             
“I am a merman,” he answers.

             
“Do it again.” I go back under.

             
“Alexandra,” he says as he gazes at me under the surface. “Yours is the only hand I’ve ever held. You were my first kiss. In all my years I’ve never met your equal.”

             
I go up for air. “That is so cool!” I say as I wipe water out of my face.

             
“Did you even hear a word I said?” he asks.

             
“Every one,” I say, putting my arms around him and pressing my lips to his.

             
The light turns on.

             
“Hey, you’re up,” Jen says. She’s followed into the poolroom by Sven, Henrik, and Sonia.

             
“Yeah, what are you guys doing up?” I ask with my arms still around Christian.

             
“These lunatics were trying to talk me into swimming in the cold ocean,” Jen takes off her bathrobe, exposing a swimsuit. “Freezing cold water might be fine for merfolk, but humans die in it.”

             
“I’d never let anything happen to you,” Sven says. “I’d heat the water for you.”

             
“I don’t know what world you live in, but here in the real world you sound crazy.” She jumps into the pool.

             
“We can change the temperature of the water in our near vicinity,” he tries to explain.

             
“And I can shoot lasers out of my eyes,” she mocks.

             
Suddenly, the water begins to feel warmer. The temperature increases until I feel like I am in a hot tub.

             
“What’s going on?” Jen asks in bewilderment.

             
“Christian just showed you what I was talking about,” Sven dives into the water and swims to Jen. “All merfolk can affect the water temperature, to varying degrees. If you were to swim with me in the ocean, I could heat the water for a few square feet. As long as you stayed with me, you would be perfectly toasty.”

             
Henrik and Sonia jump in together, immediately submerging.

             
The water feels wonderful. I watch the steam rise into the air as I allow the hot water to relax my muscles. A yawn escapes my mouth.

             
“This is a lot more than a few square feet.” Jen looks around the pool.

             
“That’s because I’m a lot older than Sven,” Christian says. He scans the poolroom. “Alexandra, where is your walker?”

             
“It’s in my room,” I answer, closing my eyes while enjoying the hot water.

             
“What am I going to do with you?” he asks.

             
I open my eyes and say, “You’re going to race me to the other end of the pool!” I take off swimming.

             
He laughs behind me. A moment later, his arms are around my waist as he swims us to the side.

“I think it’s a tie,” he says when we stop.

              “How about a game of water volleyball?” asks Jen. “Sven and I will take you and Alex. Henrik and Sonia can play the winner.”

             
“Are we playing human rules or merfolk rules?” Christian asks.

             
“What’s the difference?” Jen says.

             
“A lot,” Sven answers. “We’re definitely playing human rules.”

             
“Then, because Alexandra is still on the mend, we will play human rules with quick points to ten,” Christian amends.

             
Henrik and Sven put up the net while Jen chooses out the ball. Then the game begins.  I soon learn that merfolk like fast and violent games. Whenever Christian or Sven serves the ball, I cringe. They hit scary hard. Jen is used to playing with a bunch of boys, but even she lets Sven return Christian’s serves. I pretty much hide behind my teammate the entire game, only hitting the ball when Jen passes it over the net. Sven and Jen have the advantage, and they earn the first ten points.

             
Sven and Henrik cheer a little too enthusiastically when we lose.

             
“Celebrate while you can,” Christian says to them with a smirk on his lips.

“Don’t be a sore loser,” I chide him. “I was terrible. They deserved to win.”

“Yes, but had we played merfolk rules, we would have won.” He raises an eyebrow to his cousins. “That’s why they wanted to play human rules.”

“We have to take what we can get,” Henrik laughs.

              I swim to the stairs and am surprised to find my legs wobbly as I stand. I hold tightly to the railing as I ascend the steps. The swim has worn me out. As if he can sense my weakness, an arm wraps around my waist and Christian hoists me into his arms. He cradles me next to his chest.

             
“Missing your walker?” he asks while walking to my room.

             
“Not at all,” I answer, gently kissing his chest.

             
“I suppose this does have its benefits,” he says in a hushed voice.

             
He carefully places me on a chair and pushes a button on the wall. Three mermaids enter the room. One goes into the bathroom and begins pouring a bath. The other two prepare my clothes.

             
“I can get myself ready for bed,” I tell him stubbornly

             
“Not safely,” he says. He tenderly kisses me. “Sleep well. I will see you in the morning.”

*     *     *

The next week is filled with schoolwork, and physical therapy. I work hard to catch up my homework and find Christian to be an excellent tutor. Having lived five hundred years, he knows the subjects better than the teachers at school. He explains a topic to me, has me do the homework, and then goes over my answers with me. I learn a lot from the process. I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together earlier. How could I have mistaken Christian for a teenage human? I am rather blind for a scientist. Physical therapy is also going well. I move from the walker to a cane before I’m finally able to walk on my own. I’m so happy to be free of the apparatuses that I want to celebrate, and Christian obliges by organizing a day of Christmas shopping.

             
“Finally we get to see the sights!” Jen exclaims as she looks out the window of a limo.

             
“You don’t need to worry about seeing everything today,” Sven says. “You’ll be spending a lot of time in Denmark.”

             
“Says who?” she asks.

             
“Me!” He throws her into a bear hug. “I have to keep a short rein on my jellyfish.”

             
Jen just smiles.

             
“Where would you like to go first?” Christian asks me.

             
“I want to get a book for Gramps.”

             
“A bookstore it is.”

             
I find Gramps a book on the history of Denmark and go to pay the cashier when I realize I don’t have any money with me. Searching the rows of bookshelves, I eventually find Christian texting in a corner while Sven and Henrik sip hot cups of coffee.

             
“I forgot that I don’t have any money with me,” I say sheepishly. “Can I borrow some until Gramps gets here?”

             
“I’ll take care of it,” Henrik takes the book from me and heads to the cashier.

             
“How much is thirty-five Euros in American dollars?” I ask as I take Henrik’s seat.

             
“Alexandra, you aren’t paying me back.” Christian doesn’t look up from his phone.

             
“How is it supposed to be a present from me if you’ve paid for it?” I ask.

             
“Because everything I own belongs to you, also.” He finally puts the phone away.

             
“I have my own money,” I stubbornly retort.

             
“I’m not disputing that, but I told you before that I don’t want us to keep tally. I will pay for anything you want simply because it makes me happy.”