Mermaids of Glendale - a novel

Chapter 13

In the morning, Lorna and Kitt had taken her car and drove south on the Pacific Coast Highway rather than taking the faster route of I-5 – Lorna wanted a scenic drive and Kitt had no objections to this plan. He wanted to spend the time together as much as Lorna. They kept the seemingly endless, limitless Pacific Ocean to their right, Kitt behind the wheel, travelling through Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach. At the long sweeping curve of Capistrano Bight they walked barefoot along the sand. Clouds had rolled in and a chill wind blew the surf. Seagulls hovered above the waves, gliding on the updrafts or otherwise looking for food, primarily the small crabs that were left stranded on the tideline where, at the waters’ edge, Kitt stood behind Lorna, wrapped his arms around her and together they looked out to sea.

“There is an expedition leaving for Guadalupe Island next month," said Kitt. "You should come with me."

“That’s Mexico, isn’t it?”

“That’s right,” said Kitt. “It’s a volcanic island about a hundred and fifty miles off the Baja peninsula. It will be a week of monitoring the fur seal population of the island and tracking the movements of Great White sharks. It’s also one of the most stark and yet most beautiful parts of the Pacific I’ve ever seen. I’d love if you could come with me.”

“On a scientific expedition?” asked Lorna.

“Why not?” said Kitt, smiling. “You, me, a boat…”

They stopped for lunch in San Clemente, sharing a plate of fries while seated at the pine picnic tables on the beach outside Kahuna’s Grill, again with a commanding view of the Pacific’s expanse. The sky had mostly cleared but there were grey thunderheads on the horizon.

“I haven’t been to the ocean in a while,” said Lorna.

“What do you mean, Lorna?” asked Kitt.

“I’ve spent so much of the past few years in Glendale, staying inland of California. Since my transformations began, though, more and more I’ve felt the draw of the ocean. Meeting you has caused that to happen, too.”

“When you were younger, though,” said Kitt. “You went to the beach often?”

“With my family,” said Lorna. “All the time. To the beach and to the ocean. My dad used to own a boat, just a small one. We’d swim and snorkel and…and talk – we used to, all of us, sometimes just float on the waves and talk. It was as though the sea was our second home, for Marina, my dad…and Mom.”

“Lorna,” said Kitt. “You don’t need to…”

“The ocean is where we said goodbye.”

Lorna told Kitt about her mother passing. No, not passing – Dying, thought Lorna. Passing was too simple a euphemism, too easy. Lorna told Kitt about holding her mother’s ashes to her chest and not wanting to let go, even though she knew, even at fifteen years old, that it was inevitable. That all things do indeed pass.

“I stayed strong, Kitt. I had to. For Dad, for Marina, for myself. And it is tiring,” she said. “I think we all used to draw our strength from the sea. Then Mom was gone and then I drew my strength from going to school and then from my job and then from shopping, how sad does that sound?”

“If you need strength,” said Kitt, quietly. “If there is anything I can do…”

“I’ll come to Guadalupe Island with you next month,” said Lorna. “Take me back to the sea.”

From San Clemente, Kitt drove another hour on the freeway to San Diego and then turned off into the Sea World parking lot, where they said goodbye.

“I was just reminded of something Marina said last night,” said Lorna. “Alec, an ex-boyfriend of mine. He dumped me in this parking lot.”

“You said that it was irrelevant,” said Kitt.

“And I meant it,” she said, kissing him.

“I’ll call you when I get back to Long Beach.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Lorna slipped behind the driver’s seat and, after navigating her way out of the crowded parking lot and back to the freeway, started the drive back to Los Angeles. A while later, Lorna’s cell phone rang in its cradle on the dashboard. She pressed the button for the hands-free speaker.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Lorna. It’s Dad.”

“Hi, Dad. How are you?”

“Oh, fine, I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m…” said Lorna, pausing to focus on merging traffic and also to consider the question. In the past eighteen hours or so, she’d helped prevent several people’s lives becoming rather complicated – Marina, Dr. Rita MacAvoy, and Dr. Arnold Briar.

Lorna had also undergone another transformation and had spent a passionate night with a man she could well imagine a future with – even if that future included the trick of the tail.

“I think I’m actually pretty okay,” said Lorna, answering her dad’s question.

“That’s great, sweetheart. Where are you?”

Lorna told him she was driving back from San Diego.

“Do you have any plans for tonight?” asked Patrick O’Shene. “I’d love to see you. Marina, too, if she calls me back.”

“I’ll try to call her, too, if you like.”

“I’d love to have you both come to the house. Say eight o’clock?”

Lorna looked at the time on the dashboard clock. Traffic was moving pretty smooth on I-5 and would allow Lorna to get back to Glendale with plenty of time to spare.

“I’ll see you then,” replied Lorna. “Love you.”

“Love you, too, Lorna,” said her dad. “Marjorie looks forward to seeing you.”

Marjorie? thought Lorna. Who’s… Oh… Really?!

At that moment, the San Diego Freeway passed through a tunnel and Lorna lost cell phone reception.