Page 13 of SEAL'S Baby Surprise
Austin pulls out a couple of bills and says, “Maybe tickets for the next beach concert, Kai. I found this mermaid on the beach yesterday, and she’s lost her purse. But she has some hair decorations. Can you look at them and see what they are worth?”
Kai takes out a jewelers loop, and says, “I can give it a look, but no guarantees. Today, I’ve already turned down pop beads and a string of fake pearls with the paint peeling off them.”
I reach in my pocket and pull out one of the strings of pearls that had been in my hair. My brother got them for me, so I have no idea what they are worth.
I put them down on the counter, then watch in fascination as the man gently drapes them over a rack, and peers at them intently. “Cultured?” he asks.
I nod.
He says, “What do you think, Mike?”
The red-haired guy says, “You know I hate it when you call me that.”
The dark-skinned guy replies with a huge grin full of white teeth, “That’s why I do it, Michael. So, what do you think?”
Michael leans over and says, “Not as pricey as ocean pearls, but real all the same. We don’t have enough money in the till to pay what they are worth.”
Kai gives a big sigh and pushes the pearls back across the counter to me. “Sorry, sweetheart, no can do. They’re pretty, but unless you got a certificate to show where you got them, I don’t want them in my safe. There was a jewelry heist uptown a couple weeks ago, so I got to prove legit ownership on everything.”
I feel my tummy drop right down into the soles of the flip-flops Austin got for me. “So, what am I going to do? I lost my purse, and it had my ID and everything in it.”
“Go down to the license bureau, or social security office, or call your folks. Whatever you’re running away from, it isn’t bad enough to be arrested for jewel theft.”
“Theft!” I exclaim. “These are mine! My brother got them for me.”
“Then call your brother, tell him where you are, and stick with Austin until he turns up,” Kai says. “You lucked out, little mermaid. Austin’s one of the good guys.”
“I can’t,” I say, “I just can’t. Oh, this is awful.”
“Never mind,” Austin says. “I got plenty of money You see anything in here you like? I’ll get it for you.”
He says it so matter-of-factly. I look around. There are so many things! I pick out a pretty doll I think Julia will like and a coffee mug that says, “I’m Nobody, are you nobody, too?” on it.
Then we walk back down the sidewalk to the van. Julia is still at Mrs. Hubbard’s.
Austin says, “It’s going to be hot soon. Let’s wash that new cup of yours, and you can fill it with ice and cream soda.”
“What’s cream soda?” I ask.
“Just about the best soft drink you’ve ever had,” Austin says. He washes my cup for me, puts in some crushed ice then pours something clear and bubbly over it.
I sip it. It is just about the best stuff ever! It tastes like sweet vanilla, and the bubbles ping up my nose.
“Let’s go inside to drink our sodas,” Austin says. “It’s getting pretty hot out here.”
Inside the van, the air conditioner hums, and it’s nice and cool. “How do you keep this going without running the motor?” I ask.
“Solar panels,” Austin explains. “I got four good ones topside, and a couple extra panels for when it gets really hot, and we start pulling a lot of juice out of the batteries.”
I sip my bubbly drink, then sit on the edge of his bed because there isn’t any place else to sit. He sits down beside me, gets out a tablet and starts pecking away at it.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He puts the tablet on a little shelf and connects it to a charger. “Work stuff,” he says. “It’s what I usually do while Julia’s at homeschool. It pays the bills.”
“And now I’m a new bill,” I say. “I’m sorry.” I feel tears start up in my eyes and start rolling down my cheeks.
“Here, now, none of that,” Austin says, putting his arm around me.
