The mermaid waited patiently at the inlet. Swimming a mile required little more than an occasional flick of her tail— mostly gliding. The water in the inlet was calm, protected from the ocean's swells by two large boulders that stood as guardians. Wooden rowboats lined the shore. A ramp led from the road down into the water, for launching trailers. At low tide, everything was grounded.
The mermaid didn't like to wait. Trapped by the narrow entrance to this harbor, she'd have a hard time escaping if anything went wrong. It was nearing the hour when fishermen set out for an early catch. She was having second thoughts about Sam— Sam probably wouldn't double-cross her, but she wasn't shaping up to be one to count on in a pinch.
A car pulled slowly down the road, lights blinding. The mermaid sank until the water level crossed right through her open eyes. She was ready to dart. But the car kept on going. The mermaid rose once more, wondering if she should have waved her arms or something. "What the hell?" It was another car, not Sam's.
Finally, Sam arrived. She slowed, turned, and backed down the trailer ramp. Brake lights painted the surface of the water blood-red. The mermaid clenched her teeth as the car rolled into the water, halfway up the hubcaps, before stopping. "Hope she can drive," she muttered.
Sam's foot plopped in the water outside her car door and she swore. Then she stood in the shin-deep brine, brushing her arms for warmth and looking at the stars.
"Down here."
The sound of the mermaid's voice surprised her.
"Jeez, I've been waiting like forever. What took you?"
Sam froze, big-eyed, as though she had never seen a mermaid before.
"Nice car."
"You're real!"
"Honey, are we going to go through that again? Just open the door and hoist me up."
Sam nodded and opened the back door of her pinto. The mermaid swam to it— there was nearly enough water to swim— and she tried to climb in on her own. Sam stood behind her, holding the door.
"A little help, please?"
"Oh. Sorry." Sam maneuvered into several different positions, not sure how to help, not quite willing to touch this figment of her imagination.
"I don't bite."
"I'm sorry, do you want me to just—"
"Pick me up and put me in the car!"
"Right. Okay." Sam held the mermaid's midsection, above the tail line, and tugged. Ineffectively. She felt bad about grabbing a woman's naked hips, still more about the tail that should not be there. The water made everything slippery. Between the two of them, the mermaid managed to crawl partway into the back seat. Sam was obliged to help with the tail, but she immediately dropped it when she felt how slimy it was. It didn't feel like skin at all.
Pulling herself up by a seat belt, the mermaid turned and said, "What?"
"Nothing— it's just— nothing."
Sam reached around the tail column with both arms and heaved it into the car, feeling it write against her body. Slipping in the half-foot of water, she nearly fell in the back seat with her. Sam apologized again and got the door, careful not to pinch the creature's huge tailfin. It folded and unfolded like a fan, right in front of Sam's face. She shut the door and got in the driver's seat.
Sam adjusted her rear view mirror. The long, slick body of a mermaid spread across her whole back seat. The creature's skin was arsenic white and her tail was pale silver, making it hard to see any difference in color where they fit together. Below the bellybutton, her midriff just kept going down in a column that tapered to a rattling fan. She was picking the flecks of seaweed off her wet skin and scales.
The mermaid looked up at her driver. "34th and Madison, and step on it!" she galled.
Sam put the car in gear and struggled to drive out of the water, the engine gurgling horribly.
* * *
Samantha drove slower than normal, periodically glancing in her mirror at the mythological creature in her back seat. More than once, she swerved, narrowly avoiding a skid off the road.
"What's your name?" she asked at last.
"Coquette," replied the mermaid.
"Seriously?" Sam said, chewing back a smile. "That's a name?"
"It was in seventeenth century France."
Sam glanced in the mirror again. She didn't look like she was putting her on. Could this creature have once been a human being? Finally, she said, "Coquette?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"You're four hundred years old?"
"Jeez, look out!"
A passing car laid on its horn and veered around them, disappearing in the darkness ahead. Sam white-knuckled the steering wheel. She fixed her mirror to see properly out the back, and what she saw made her stomach drop.
"Oh no. Oh God, no."
"What now?"
Soon the red and blue lights flashed all around them, filling the night. "Oh, Coquette, I'm so sorry."
"What is that?"
Sam's mind raced. Could she hide the mermaid? There might be enough junk on the floor of the back seat for Coquette to hide herself? If a cop walked around her vehicle, shining a pen-light in all the windows, what would he see?
Before she could say anything to Coquette, the police car zoomed around them, chasing the car that had sped by earlier. Sam flushed with relief.
"What?" The mermaid still didn't understand.
"That was a police car. The, um, musketeers."
"I know what cops are, jeez! It's just— they looked different last time."
"Have you done this before? Come on land?"
"Now and then," she said, up on her elbows, peering at the pulled-over car and the police as they slowly passed. "Let's not do that again."
"Of course." Sam loosened and gripped the steering wheel.
A few stoplights later, she said, "I'm Sam. Samantha. Sam is short for Samantha. It's not a boy's name." Coquette wasn't interested.
YOU ARE READING
Becoming Mermaids
FantasyWhat would it be like to turn into a mermaid? To feel the same blood flow in your fingers as in the tips of your tail? Samantha wasn't expecting to find out when she rescued what she thought was a drowning woman, only to have the tides turned. And s...
