thinking it was warm? I wouldn’t put it past him, because we weren’t here for the warm water. From here I could see the southern tip of Stockton, not to mention Manitou, Otter, Raspberry, and Bear islands. We were here because it maximized the number of potential mermaid campsites.
I bent my head over the chart and measured the distance to the outermost islands. The closest of them, York, Rocky, and Ironwood, were at least five miles away. Too far.
My studies were interrupted by an enormous splash. Oh my God. It was starting already! I threw the chart on the floor of the boat as everyone else lined the port side to watch. Concentric circles faded out from a central spot that held everyone’s attention. What had they seen? A tail, a beautiful face? Phillip emerged from the spot with a whoop!
“Come on in, it’s fantastic!” That was all the convincing they needed. Everyone stripped down to bathing suits and jumped off the port-side rail and the swim deck. Calder and I remained in the boat. One of us was considering throwing up. What kind of person had I become? I would never forgive myself if anything went wrong.
Calder grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Trust,” he said. “Are you ready to send your first message?”
“Not even remotely,” I said. He waited until I finally looked up and sighed in acquiescence. “Fine. What is it?”
“Anticipation.”
“How’s that a message?”
“It’s a projection. You need to project the feeling of happy anticipation.”
“I don’t get this.” I glanced at my friends splashing in the water, shrieking and diving. “Won’t they put off enough emotion on their own? Shouldn’t I send something more specific, like ‘We Come in Peace’ or ‘Take Me to Your Leader’?”
“God, no, don’t think anything like that. The message has to be precise, and the timing has to be perfect. No errant thoughts. Remember your eavesdropping on me and your dad? We don’t want anything that will connect the message to you personally. We don’t want to spook Maris.”
Scott swam in closer to shore and did a handstand. Colleen knocked him over.
“If Maris and Pavati are in close range, no doubt your friends would do an excellent job all by themselves, but since I don’t know where they are, we’re using you as an amplifier.”
“Fine. I’m a megaphone, but I don’t know how to amplify anticipation.”
“Think Christmas. Remember when you were a kid?”
“Vaguely.”
He kissed the worry off my mouth. “Close your eyes, Lily.”
I complied.
“You’re five years old. It’s Christmas Eve. There’s a big tree, with a star and silver tinsel hanging from all the branches. There is a pile of presents. Someone’s playing carols on the piano.”
“How do you know so much about Christmas?” I asked.
“The movies. It’s a Wonderful Life. Now be quiet and concentrate. There’s a ton of presents. You’ve checked them all. You’ve shaken some. They rattle. They have tags with your name on them. All you have to do is go to sleep. When morning comes, you get to open them. Do you feel that anticipation? Do you remember?”
“Yes. I can feel it.”
“Then jump in the water. Go under and swim out a hundred feet. Think only of that. Happy anticipation. Got it? I’ll be close.”
I dove, streaming through the water for what felt like a hundred feet, but I wasn’t great at judging distance. I didn’t think I was too far because I could still feel the vibrations in the water from my friends’ splashing and kicking. There were other sounds, too. Squeaks and metallic sounds. Low groans. But no mermaid voices.
Happy anticipation, I thought, trying to push away the fearful image of a mermaid attacking Jules. Happy anticipation. Christmas presents. Red and green ribbons. I searched forward out into the watery expanse, but heard nothing.
Boxes rattling, I thought. Tags with my name. No! Not my name. Calder said not to project my name. Christmas Eve. Waiting. Happy anticipation.
When I couldn’t sustain it anymore, I swam back to the starboard side and Calder pulled me back into the boat.
“Good?” he asked, wrapping me in a pink-and-white-striped towel.
“I don’t think I’m doing it right. Any sign of them?”
“Not yet,” he said, pulling a pair of binoculars to his eyes.
I waved at Rob as he beckoned me to join them. I held up one finger to buy some time. Damn him for looking so happy. I cringed at the thought of him in Pavati’s embrace. I should be burned at the stake for what I was doing to them.