“She rescued a dolphin who had been pushed up onto the sand. She had to wait until nighttime so no one would see her. She used her tail to push herself onto the beach, then grabbed his tail and pulled him back in.”

“She lost another scale.”

“Yes. She lost the bright yellow one. Then she was down to two scales, rose red and a soft pink. A three-year-old merchild became lost in the ocean, and Serafina was the one to rescue her. A teenager who was snorkeling panicked in the water, and she pulled him to shallow water. No one believed him when he said a mermaid rescued him.”

“All the scales were gone then and she had a green tail, right? Like the other mermaids.”

“Yes. Her last scale floated through the ocean’s wave to King Koradome. Then something magical happened.”

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

I was reading the newspaper on my phone while my mother made me my favorite soup, chicken curry with coconut milk, in my kitchen. The sliding glass doors were open, and the breezes from the ocean floated in, warm and salty. I could smell the faintest scent of the sweet roses I’d planted around my home. Sundance sat right at my feet, as usual.

Sometimes my mom and I will cook dinner together, just the two of us, and then watch a movie. Whoever is not cooking will read the paper out loud and we’ll talk about politics and social issues and celebrity gossip and new books that are reviewed.

I had bought two miniature pecan pies for the movie. Pecans are nuts. Nuts are protein. Therefore, pecan pie is healthy. I think everyone knows that.

“Hey, listen to this,” I said to my mom from my kitchen table as she ladled our soup into bowls. The goats had escaped again and were staring as us through my sliding glass doors, waiting eagerly for me to see them and run them down, as usual. I pretended I didn’t see them because I hate running.

“This article is about two people, a couple—a boyfriend and girlfriend. They were teenagers when they killed the boyfriend’s father. The girlfriend said she did it, the boyfriend said he did it. The girlfriend was pregnant. Her name was Betsy.”

I looked up as a thundering crash filled the kitchen. My mother had dropped two empty soup bowls.

“Mom, oh, my goodness. Are you okay?” I dropped my phone and went straight for her. “You’re in sandals. Come this way so you don’t get glass in your feet.” I stuck my hands out and grabbed hers, guiding her over the glass. “Sit down. I’ll clean it up. Mom? Mom?” She had a faraway look in her eye. “Momma? Are you okay?” I handed her some water. “Here, drink this.” She sat down heavily, as if her legs had given out, and I cleaned up the mess. I kept an eye on her.