“Rise and shine, sweetheart,” Nicole’s voice boomed as she yanked back Sara’s bedroom curtains and let in the horrid, beaming sunlight.
“What time is it?” Sara croaked as she pulled the pillow over her head.
“Oh, let me see, it’s 5:51. Nothing like an early start and a morning swim, I’ll go wake Xanthus.” Sara heard her mom trot from her room. At this moment, Sara remembered why she’d left her mother. Her mom had no concept that other people had wants and needs of their own.
Sara heard Xanthus’s voice boom from down the hall. “Nicole? What time is it? Get out of my room and let me sleep.”
“Okay, grouchy Dagonian, Sara and I will just go without you. We’ll be a half a mile down the coast. There’s a little beach there and it’s always deserted this time in the morning. I can’t wait to see my baby swim.”
“Sara,” Xanthus yelled.
“Huh,” she groaned from under her pillow. She was sure he couldn’t have heard it, but she was too tired to yell.
“If you go with your mother, I’ll fillet you.”
“Uh-huh,” Sara moaned, with her face sandwiched between her pillow and the mattress.
“You’ll do no such thing,” her mother challenged.
Sara was hit with a cool blast of air when her blanket was jerked away. “Sara Elizabeth Taylor, don’t listen to that fish in the mud. A morning swim is good for you.”
“Go away, Mom,” Sara said. A moment later, she felt her pillow being tugged away. She held on for dear life.
“Sara, come on. You can’t want to go back to sleep on a beautiful morning like this.”
“Mom, please, it’s too early.” Sara felt herself slide across the mattress.
“You know how much I love to swim.” Her mom let go of the pillow. A moment later, she had her hands around Sara’s fin and began to pull. Sara reached out, grabbed the edge of the mattress, and held on. She knew her mom thought if she succeeded pulling her off the bed, she would relent.
Sara wasn’t about to let her win this time. It wasn’t a matter of going back to sleep now. She couldn’t go back to sleep even if she tried. It was about exerting her independence. She was an adult. Her mom couldn’t order her around like a child.
Nicole yanked hard and Sara’s fingertips burned but held. The mattress, however, didn’t have anything holding it in place and so it slid halfway off the box spring onto the floor.
“What the Hades are you doing to your daughter?” Sara lifted her head and blew her hair out of her eyes. Xanthus stood in her doorway, wearing only a pair of shorts. His hair was tousled and his face had a shadow of whiskers—he looked utterly gorgeous.
Sara was distracted when her mom jerked hard again. This time, Sara’s fingers gave way and she slid down the length of the mattress like a playground slide, landing at the bottom. Dang it.
“I’m getting her up,” Nicole said, speaking as if this situation was a daily occurrence. “Sara has always been difficult to rouse.”
Sara yanked down her nightgown to make sure all her necessary parts were covered.
Xanthus shook his head. A stream of complaints poured from his lips as he strode over, plucked her up off the floor, and carried her into the kitchen. At least Sara thought they were complaints. She couldn’t tell because he didn’t speak a word of English.
“Xanthus, my daughter shouldn’t be eating before going out swimming. She might get a cramp.”
Xanthus sat Sara in a chair and dragged his fingers through his hair. “You think Dagonians can’t swim after they eat?”
