Mermania

Shared concerns

elderly woman hobbled toward him. "Get away from her!" she shouted with a mouth missing teeth, waving her frail arms about. "Move it! We don't want no trouble here!" I shrugged. "I'm happy as long as you're happy." She looked at me with one brow raised; I squirmed a little. "But, since you are no longer with him, I guess it's safe to say that no, I never liked Mike." I nodded before sinking into the chair. Where the hell was my dad? How was I going to find him? Silently, I pleaded, please, Dad, if you can hear me, come to the hospital. Please. Hurry. If Ula hadn't reached him, I didn't think he would get my message, but I didn't know what else to do. "Meara, what is it?" she asked. "You know that we're friends, right? That you can talk to me? Tell me anything. Even if Evan is being a pig head, you can tell me." I could see her face as she talked and laughed. And before I realized it, I was watching her more than the last few plays of the game. The way her lips lifted she smiled. How her hands fluttered when she talked, faster when she was excited. The way her tongue darted out to lick a piece of cotton candy off her finger. The boy began to lead them toward it, but Kara hung back. "I think I will talk with Ms. Faber, Zach," she said. Craig gave her a supportive nod, then trailed behind the boy to the far side of the room. Kara turned- and gasped. The face of the boy at the door smiled back at her from a photo tucked for years among several shots of her husband in his youth, all arranged on the rectangular entryway table opposite pictures of herself. Here, fishing with his father; there, receiving his high school diploma. And this one- Little League, age ten or eleven, posing with bat in hand, face framed between a light blue jersey sponsored by Ted's Pool Supplies and a light blue cap to match, photo framed in a gold-edged oval. "Let me see." He wrapped his hand around my calf and lifted my foot out of the water. "I don't think they're ugly. They're fascinating." "No, we're not. You're from Uncle Craig's family. I'm from Aunt Kara's family. That means you and I are not actually related. Which is good, because there are too many boys in my life already." Surprisingly, Derek- ever the optimist - frowned. "Actually, I need to talk to you about that." house. The Valentine's Day heart, though, Kara had given a place of honor, framing it and hanging it on her bedroom wall. They walked into a short hallway and down a flight of stone stairs, stopping at a heavy oak door. When Trell gave it a push, the door they had entered through swung shut with a bang. "You can tell me which you'd rather see me in." At a door marked RECORDS, she left them with a young man who greeted them and, receiving Kara's name, quickly located their file. "You can just stay right there," she advised him. "The Internet, I think," Dad told Mom. "We have a name now. We'll find her." "Yeah." "We can certainly arrange for care in your home," Dr. Riley said. "It will take a few days, of course, for equipment and staffing." "My parents are engaged," I said, much calmer than I felt. "The birth certificate," he sighed. He had been doing that a lot since Thursday night. "Right, that's a problem." He slid the certificate over to himself and read through it for the twentieth time, then looked back up at the youngster. "Zach, I don't like this turning into an us-against-you contest. We don't want it to be like that." "But I miss you." Her melodious voice rang out, to her surprise, it had a greater effect than she ever thought possible. Zach's heart began to pound and a murky haze lifted from his thoughts. Mom- she didn't have to bond with me when I came from her tummy. It doesn't matter if I didn't! And Dad_Dad didn't have to be there when it happened. Grandfather is wrong! "I guess you had good time," she replied. "How did you get this number?" Sara asked. They rose and followed me. They spent hours every day at our apartment, staying in the living room to give us time with her, but asking to be notified when she was alert. Having seen Lennek's temper before, she knew the situation was only going to get worse. The last time Rema had angered him, Bren ended up dead. She couldn't let that happen to Darmik. He flexed his fingers with a shrug. "It's fine. I didn't hit him that hard." "Stop fighting it, Meara." She patted my knee. Rest. I'll stay right by your side and when you wake, we'll explore together." Darmik felt like a hunter come upon a new animal that he didn't know what to do with. Friend or foe? Would the animal attack or run away? "Darmik," the king said. "You'll receive your punishment for your actions and then help prepare for the execution. After that, you are to leave. I don't want to see you back here anytime soon." "Wow." he said, admiring the reddish tint to his arm. Sara's smile vanished. "Listen, my life has never been better. My web-design business is booming. Before long, I'll be able to afford to rent a better place." In a year or two or ten. She kept that part to herself. "I just wish you'd stop trying to fiz me. "There's no fixing me." I was walking along the shoreline. It was early dawn, and the sun barely skimmed the horizon. The world held in the silence, and I was alone. The stars twinkled in the fading night sky, and the pebbles caressed my feet, smooth and cold. I tasted brine and was tempted to lick the salt from my lips. A slight breeze teased along my skin, lifting strands of my hair. They got to work, and Mom quickly picked out three bright pink shirts for him to choose from. "Well, thanks for calling back...All right. Goodbye." Craig disconnected the call and turned to Kara as he stepped from the garage into the kitchen. His jeans were caked with mud- not unusual on a rainy day like today. Rain or shine, he still had to work. She stood there at the edge of the grass for a minute, then pulled out her phone and began to pace, waiting. It was three more minutes before it rang. "Did he get there?" she asked as soon as she had the phone to her ear. She was at the door within seconds, looking