Little Aksel, again in human form and fully clothed, climbed the bank on hands and feet with his bottom in the air until he reached a particularly shiny stone, which he claimed and beat against the gravel, making the pebbles fly. A piercing noise came from his mouth, but it sounded entirely human.
“It must be nice to never worry about him drowning,” Eddi observed, giving her friend a welcoming hug. “Wow, I’d forgotten we’re about the same height.”
Kammy was exquisitely beautiful, like any siren. She was the youngest daughter of the great enchantress and siren queen, Pukai, and several years Eddi’s senior; yet Eddi had never felt inadequate or insignificant in her presence.
“Yep, and we both rock being short.” Kammy gave her a wink. “Tor promised to come for Aksel soon so I can spend a few hours with you. It’s difficult to converse with a baby around; he’s never quiet or still for more than a moment or two when he’s awake.”
Eddi lit up. “That’s awesome! I mean about us having time together. We can walk all over the resort and catch up on life. Your husband is a hero.”
Kammy nodded. “He’s also a great dad. We share our parenting responsibilities pretty evenly.”
“I’m glad I got to meet your little boy too.” Eddi picked up a stone with swirls of pink and gold, squatted beside the baby, and offered it to him. “Here’s another pretty one.”
Aksel accepted her offering with his free hand, then cracked the stones together, smiling at the noise.
“He won’t put them in his mouth and choke?” Eddi inquired with a pinch of worry.
“No. He knows rocks aren’t food, but I do have to watch out for—”
Even as she spoke, Aksel noticed a beetle walking across the gravel. He dropped one stone, snatched up the insect and, before Eddi could react, popped it into his mouth. He crunched, then wrinkled his face and spat out the pieces.
“Oh, eeew!” Eddi clapped her hands over her mouth.
Kammy knelt to calmly wipe a disjointed leg and other insect body parts from her baby’s chin. “Sorry about that. Insects and worms are treats when he’s in his merbaby form, so I can’t blame him for getting mixed up at times. Being part of two worlds is often confusing. I do find that he’s easier to keep track of on land, since he can’t dart off and eat things quite as quickly as he does underwater.”
Eddi bit her lips but couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter. It escaped, and she clapped her hands over her mouth while trying to apologize. “I’m sorry, but—” A snort slipped through her fingers, and she sat down quickly on a handy rock. “It’s just so . . . disgusting!”
To her relief, Kammy laughed too, mostly at Eddi. “It’s all right. Babies are disgusting at times in any form. To be honest, diapers have been an education for me.”
That set Eddi off again, and the two girls chuckled and wiped their eyes for several minutes before they regained control.
Aksel watched them closely, first with concern, then with happy interest. While Eddi was still recovering from her laugh attack, he climbed into her lap and settled himself, his serious eyes studying her face. Then his attention fastened on the gold pendant she wore. “Oh, and he likes shiny things,” Kammy warned, but too late. His chubby hand had already shoved it into his mouth.
Before Eddi could react, Aksel spat it back out and scuttled off her lap. “Sorry, bud,” Eddi sympathized. “It doesn’t taste any better than a beetle.”
Hearing a splash from the lake, she turned to see Kammy’s husband step onto the shore. To Eddi’s relief, he had already taken human form, and his clothing was dry. Mermaids, she could handle. Mermen, with their fish heads, fins, and scales on a humanoid body, she could not.
“Good evening, Your Highness,” he said, making a proper bow.
“Good evening, Lord Magnussen,” Eddi responded, rising to shake his hand. “Please call me Eddi. After all, I was a bridesmaid in your wedding.” He probably didn’t remember.
“Eddi, then. And I’m Tor,” he responded.
Eddi returned his smile. “I’ve been playing with your son. Congratulations!”
“Thank you. We’re rather fond of the little monster.” The quiet scientist seemed more relaxed and friendly than the uptight young man Eddi remembered from two summers ago. Being a husband and father obviously agreed with him.
When Aksel raised his arms in entreaty, Tor scooped him up. “Ready to head back to your grammy’s place, tadpole?”
Kammy joined them and wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist. Observing them together—Tor so tall and Kamoana so short—Eddi smiled to herself. Height really didn’t matter when two people loved each other the way these two did. Their friendship and romance had begun when they were both teenagers, a human boy and a mermaid girl both interested in birds and fish, and now they worked together as biologists specializing in magical marine and aquatic creatures. So romantic!
After Tor and Aksel returned to the lake, the two girls toured the resort together. Inside the castle, they chatted with brownies in the kitchen, a part of the castle Eddi had never seen before. “We all became friends when they planned my last-minute wedding reception,” Kammy explained, “along with Sten and Nillie.” The dwarf couple were also delighted to see Kamoana again.
They briefly visited the gardener dwarfs, Chuck and Tasha, then headed to the stables to knock on the office door. Cog was his usual friendly self, and Tea was gracious toward Kammy while scarcely acknowledging Eddi’s presence. The two girls chatted with Kai only briefly, since Tea immediately sent him off to bring in some horses from a back pasture. Before he headed out, while his mother was preoccupied with preparing tea and biscuits for her guests, he slipped a note to Eddi, meeting her gaze for an instant. Heart thudding, she tucked it in her pocket in one quick motion, and then he was gone.
Last of all, Eddi and Kamoana wandered through the garden maze while Kammy reminisced about her romance. “Tor and I sat here on this bench beside the koi pond one night.” The colorful fish rose to the pool’s surface to greet the siren, who gently caressed their heads.
“I never knew this pool existed. In all my years of trying, I’ve never made it to the middle of the maze before,” Eddi admitted, staring around the magical enclosure with avid interest. “Some years I never even found the maze.”