What the Tide Brings

Chapter 5 - Liam - They Don't Have Hamburgers in Iceland

On the way home, his mother said she had a few errands to run. Those few errands turned into an hour of riding around town. Liam wondered how a day where he discovered that mermaids exist—and there was one sitting in the backseat—could become so tedious. It didn't seem possible. And, yet, it happened.

He was so happy at the sight of Grandfather's old, grey clapboard house. It was actually an interesting house, more so than most of his neighbors. The railing on the porch was made of driftwood recovered from his own backyard. The anchor of a sunken ship found off the coast by one of his buddies was leaned against the wall by the front door. It was positioned in such a way that if someone weren't paying attention, it could trip them up. He'd tripped over that damn thing many nights when he came home, with his brother, after a late night beach party where he may or may not have gotten totally wasted.

As soon as they walked through the front door, Mrs. Bainbridge threw her hand over her mouth at the sight of her grocery bags. "Damn. The fish. I'm sure it's ruined by now." She went to collect the bags. She picked up three bags and headed into the kitchen.

Liam grabbed the other three bags and quickly followed. Kaelin was right on his heels. He hoped he had done a decent enough job cleaning up that she wouldn't notice. His mother was already pulling things out of the bag when he pushed through the swinging door. She made no mention of anything being out of order.

"At least the vegetables are okay." Mrs. Bainbridge said. She let out a forlorn sigh, when she looked into the next bag. She carried the whole bag to the back door and tossed it into the garbage. She returned with slumped shoulders. "I hate to waste food like that."

Liam placed the bags on the small table in the breakfast nook. "I'm pretty sure you've been conservative enough that it hardly compares to most people. You made Grandfather a compost heap for God's sake."

His mother smiled. "Thank you, honey. That makes me feel a little bit better."

"So, if the fish is no good, does that mean we don't have anything for lunch?" Liam crossed his fingers, hoping against hope.

"Are you hungry?" Mrs. Bainbridge asked.

"Definitely." His stomach growled its agreement. He hadn't eaten anything all day. He had planned to eat breakfast after his walk, but that didn't happen.

"Kaelin, how about you?"

"Oh, yes." Kaelin said.

"Well, why don't we just eat out for today?" Mrs. Bainbridge asked. That was a big deal for her. She was a big proponent for eating home cooked meals.

"Sounds good to me." Liam said.

Mrs. Bainbridge looked him up and down. "But first you need to get cleaned up, young man. Go take a shower and let me wash those dirty clothes. Kaelin, if you'd like, I can do yours, too."

"Of what do you speak?" Kaelin asked.

"Your clothes." Mrs. Bainbridge said. She gave Kaelin a strange look. "The ones with the paint all over them."

"She had a dress, but it fell apart when I tried to wash it. The material was really flimsy. Silk, I think." Liam excuse was as flimsy as the material of that nonexistent garment. "She had to toss it."

"Yes," Kaelin said. "It was all I had."

"You only brought one dress on a trip." Mrs. Bainbridge sounded suspicious.