“It was actually very dramatic. It was outrageously windy and a baby stroller got caught in the breeze, complete with a kid inside. I raced after it and caught the thing just before it was about to roll into traffic.” They hold their thumb and pointer finger just centimeters apart. “We were this close to be flattened by a bus. Life saved. And then this symbol popped up. Journey done. It was pretty easy.” They reach forward and flip my wrist over. “Show me yours.”

Drop’s face lights up when they see my own symbol.

“What did you do to get it?”

Fall in love.

“Just . . .” I shrug. “You know, helped a guy reconnect with somebody he’d lost.” Himself. Realizing he was perfect just the way he was. Without Dominic. With me. Until he realized that wasn’t right either.

Tears well up and I try to blink them away before Drop notices, but of course, they don’t miss a thing.

Drop cradles my head against their chest. “Crest.” The whooshing sound of a wave cresting comes out of their mouth. My name. My real name. It makes me wish I were floating back in Pacifica, the Journey behind me, forgetting about all these things roiling around in my stomach and head and heart that I never anticipated. “What’s wrong?”

I take a deep breath, wishing that I could smell Sean, the weird chemical smells of deodorant and a bit of chlorine mixing with his skin. A smell that’s become so unexpectedly comforting.

“Sorry,” I say. “It’s just been hard to be away from home. It took a lot out of me helping Sean.”

Drop cocks their head to the side. “Who?”

“The human I helped.”

Drop nods. “Oh. I didn’t learn mine’s name.”

I wish I hadn’t either.

“Don’t worry about it.” I lace my fingers with Drop’s, hoping that the increased contact will keep on settling my nerves. But this time, it just makes them worse, comparing Drop’s hand to Sean’s, my emotions swimming like anxious anchovies in my stomach. “Come to the bungalow. I’ve got a lot to catch you up on.”

“Wait, so you’re saying that he knows you’re mer.” Drop’s mouth can’t close, perpetually open in shock. “He knows it’s not some social media joke and didn’t tell a soul?”

“Not a one,” I say. “And get this. His best friend’s mom used to be mer. She decided to stay on land.”

“You’re flicking kidding me,” Drop breathes. “She’s the one. The mer everyone talks about back home.”

I nod.