Page 38 of Oceansong
“I know. Sorry.” She covered her face with her hands. “After that whole ordeal where you pulled me out of the water, I got terribly sick. Brain fog, fatigue, sniffles, body aches—I had it all. It’s like my immune system overreacted after having no illnesses to fight off for years.”
“No, don’t apologize. If you weren’t feeling well, you did the right thing resting and letting your body heal.”
“So, you thought I didn’t show up because I was sick? Not because I didn’t want to see you?” One side of her lips curled in a playful smile.
“Well, I would have given it one more day before coming to that conclusion. But at the moment, I thought it might be the case.” A flash of hurt appeared in his eyes. “You are rather pale in the face. I’m unsure if it is similar for humans, but whenever we recover from injury or illness, we tend to be pale while we heal.”
“I’m functional enough. My dad and sister took care of me.”
A spark appeared in his eyes. “You seem close to your family, even though your mother is no longer with you. It’s touching to hear.” A brief pause. “You know, the mer have tight-knit families, as well. When a member of the family passes, no matter how old or young, they are forever honored in our homes, commemorated so they will never be forgotten.”
Their kinds may not be so different after all, and the knowledge brought Angie some small comfort. “In my family, we have a shrine for my mom and my grandparents, and we honor our ancestors every new year.”
He leaned in, eyes sparking with interest. “So, we are similar in that way. You said your mother was the one who took you to the sea for the first time?”
“Oh, yeah. I loved being near the water, even as a kid. So, you can imagine how happy I was that my mom shared her passion with me.” Angie kept her mind trained on happier thoughts.
“It is a beautiful place to be, and there’s much to see and learn.” He flashed her a cheeky smile. “But it is my home.”
“It’s where I truly feel at peace. But enough of that. You already caught me crying, you don’t need to hear more sentimentality from me.” Angie rose to her feet to return home. “I appreciate the chat and your asking after me.”
“I understand, and it was my pleasure. I wanted us to speak of stopping the war, but it didn’t appear as if today was a good time. But, I should be getting back.” He looked over his shoulder to the rippling sea. “May I see you again in one tidesweek, at low noontide? The mer are becoming suspicious of my frequent trips to this spot. We can go someplace else if necessary. I haven’t had a chance to speak with my parents, but will do so before we meet again.”
“A tidesweek?” Angie raised an eyebrow. She took that to mean seven days, but she had to be sure. “Low noontide?”
“Yes, after seven phases of the moon and sun’s passing. And yes, low noontide. Around the same time of day as now.”
Now she understood his meaning. “You tell time from the shifting in tides.”
Kaden nodded, and Angie thought on his proposal. See him again? Which was what she wanted. Or say no and detach herself, and spare them both should they get caught speaking?
Her dilemma.
She put her palms together and cracked her knuckles. He was fascinating, much as it bothered her to admit, and he gave her the closure she so desperately sought about Mama. The more she learned about the mer, the more she could find some angle to appeal to Bàba.
Mind made up, Angie gave him a brief nod.
Eighteen
With tens of their workersgone, it was all hands on deck.
Angie returned from maintenance duty toward the end of the next day with Eva and another of their colleagues, and approached Bàba at his office.
“Everything okay, Beibei?” He slid his reading glasses down his nose, peering at her.
“I was just thinking. Why don’t we shut the docks down to focus on the mer so the employees would stop getting burnt out and more importantly, stay alive?”
He sat back, crossing his arms. “What brought this on?”
“Because everyone’s exhausted and scared for their lives. Including me.”
He appeared to think on it for a moment, before shaking his head, to Angie’s disappointment. “No. I don’t think that’s wise.”
Angie’s face pinched. Why wasn’t he listening? This was the only solution that made sense. Pull back and regroup. He was the one who taught her it was the best way to boost morale. She thought again about Elise, Abigail, and Luke. With the docks shut down, even temporarily, they could stay safe from the mer and discuss strategies that didn’t involve blindly killing them. And it could keep Kaden safe from human attacks.
“But you could still shut it down and strike at them, right? Then nobody else will be at risk.” Angie tried again.
Bàba shook his head, his expression mournful. “The docks are our best point to strike. We don’t know where they’re coming from. Beau and Emily are trying everything they can to keep us running. To abandon that post would be like letting them win, and we still don’t have what we need—business and fish. If that wasn’t bad enough, more workers quit.”
