Take me to the Deepest Blue
CHAPTER TWO

“You know, I’d offer you the option of eating in, but unfortunately I’m really not a good cook, and there are plenty of great places to eat around campus.”

They had been sitting on the couch for over an hour now. Narya silently stared at her legs as Nick pretended to flip through his books, occasionally eyeing her in case she started crying again. It was now dinnertime, and he wasn’t sure if she was hungry since she hasn’t spoken since Louise left. He, on the other hand, was starving and still had lots of work to go through tonight. He could never focus with an empty stomach.

“Do you want to go? It’s really just around the corner.” Nick got up, grabbed his keys from his pocket, and dangled them in front of her in the hope of waking his guest from her daydream. Narya was deep into her thoughts. She and the Changed Ones who were supposed to meet last night had missed each other on the beach. No one had prepared her for what to do should the pick-up go wrong. And she had no idea how to locate Keames. Was he even in the same area? She knew she was on the San Salvador island in the Bahamas, and this is where he had first surfaced. But it has been a year and a half since she last saw him, and a lot could happen in that time.

“Narya, right?”

She glanced up. This was the first time she heard her name said out loud since she got here.

“Yes.” She felt pitiful that the tears were coming again, and she buried her face in her hands, hoping to hide them.

“Hey—hey, don’t . . . okay.” He left out a soft sigh. He wasn’t exactly annoyed with her, but he wasn’t happy that his stomach was churning loudly now from excessive hunger.

“Yes. I’m just . . . very confused right now. But I’ll be fine. We can go.” She wiped away her tears and was about to slide off the couch when she realized she had no tail. It was time to try walking again.

“Do you need some help?”

Nick knew she would have trouble standing and reached out to help her, but she stopped him midway with a raised palm.

With one leg on the ground, she gently placed her other foot down. She felt stronger than she had yesterday. She released her hands from their clutch on the couch’s armrest and let the weight of her body settle. A proud smile spread across her face. Her eyes flickered with excitement as she looked up to meet his questioning gaze.

“Did you see that?” She could hardly contain her joy, and as she laughed, her smile crinkled her nose. It was one of those moments Nick missed most about his old life. Genuine happiness. It must have looked something like this.

“Um . . . yeah. I guess you’re . . . standing.” It was hard not to smile along with her, this girl with her weird and unfathomable ways.

“Can you walk?” He stood about a meter away from her and held out his hands. It was like teaching a child how to walk, and the mental image of his younger self, guiding a toddler, surfaced. He shook his head and willfully chased it away. Katie. Though he was able to keep her face away, the sadness that came with the memories of her still lingered.

“That’s good. Try to come to me.” He slowly backed away so that Narya would move toward him. This was beyond weird, but by the look on her face, he saw this was a major breakthrough for her.

“I don’t know. Let’s see.” Narya hesitantly took a small step forward. Her hands were barely touching his, but they were close enough that he could catch her if she fell. He nodded encouragingly.

“Good, good. Keep going.”

With each step she took, he backed up more, making her squeal and laugh at the same time. She was walking on two feet. This sudden improvement emboldened her, and she sprinted ahead—a move she instantly regretted. She lost her balance and fell right into Nick’s open arms.

“Are you sure I’m not too heavy?”

She was on Nick’s back, her arms wrapped around his neck. Her legs dangled freely and she grinned as the sole of her feet felt the sea breeze glide over them. A first for her, and her feet. Embarrassed by having to be carried, she wanted to close her eyes and pretend this wasn’t happening, but there was simply too much to see.

“For the tenth time, it’s fine,” Nick said, laughing heartily. Her smile was infectious and her behavior a little ridiculous. It was hard not to fall prey to this kind of combination. She weighed close to nothing, and he found himself entertained by her childlike reaction to everything around her. It all seemed new and exciting. She ooh-ed and ahh-ed from the moment they exited the door.

Nightlife in San Salvador was, in fact, enthralling in itself. Beach bars were crowded, overstuffed with people, and different music blasted from restaurants cramped side by side. There wasn’t a corner that wasn’t filled with loud laughter or some form of wild rowdiness.

“All right, we’re here. Can you walk?” After almost twenty minutes with Narya on his back, he was slightly out of breath, and he slowly squatted down so she could steady her legs on the ground before moving.

“I think so.” She steadied herself awkwardly and accepted Nick’s help when he held out his hand. Once she was able to stand on her own, her eyes watched the colorful light bulbs that hung above the bar sign, and she listened to the buzzing sound of people around her excitedly chatting. Inhaling deeply, she smelled the ocean and could almost taste the salt in the air. All that she was used to was now beginning to fade. She took in everything with a whole new sensory system. While she could detect different scents underwater, nothing could compare to what she was experiencing now. And taste . . . she hadn’t even gotten to that part yet. She had seen pictures of intricate food plates on magazines and wondered how they would taste on the tip of her tongue. The noise of a restless night—people talking, laughing, shouting—they were a sharp contrast to the quietness and serenity she was used to underwater. Tonight was going to be a first of so many things, and she had an urge to jump up and down but doubted her inexperienced legs would sustain her.

“Wow! This is amazing.” Her smile lighted her face, and a dimple creased her left cheek.

“Sure. I guess it’s a nice pub . . .”

Nick wasn’t sure what to make of her amazement at the local eatery and pub.

Where could she be from? Her English sounded American enough, and she didn’t look indigenous, so he assumed that she was a temporary visitor to this island, much like himself. She was of average height, with a slim built and a head full of thick, long, and wavy flaxen curls. Her features were delicate—light grey eyes with an interesting golden hue, and full lips that now grinned widely like a child’s. As he watched her, he realized she was very beautiful and wondered how he didn’t see this before. It’s been a while since he’d noticed anyone, really. But there was something about her that seemed downright familiar. He couldn’t pinpoint when or where he had seen her. Or maybe she looked like someone he had met before. The Bahamas was filled with people who came and went as they pleased. No one really had any concrete plans, at least no one he’d come across. Somehow this sort of instability soothed him, and he found comfort in his identity as a passing visitor with no plans for the foreseeable future.

“Can we go in?”

Her eyes shone with anticipation and her legs shifted from where they stood, as if she were going to jump. Nick caught her by the arm and knew she would need his help if she was going to enter the pub in one piece. He felt like a personal bodyguard for a mental patient. Well, an attractive mental patient, he’ll give her that.

“All right.” He took her arm in and looped it around his. “Let’s go.”

Since Narya knew nothing about most of the items on the menu, Nick took the liberty of ordering for her. Two Daily Specials, which was basically a mix of grilled seafood, along with a shrimp and tuna paté. One of his favorite dishes at his regularly frequented pubs.

“So that’ll be all?” Lauren, the waitress who usually worked the weekend shift, smiled cheerfully, her eyes darting to Narya.

Nick rarely brought anyone here, except Louise and Pete, his supervisor at his program. Maybe she thought that he was on a date. He hasn’t been on one since he and Louise called it quits years ago. Nick cleared his throat as he waved no and purposefully averted her gaze.

Narya grinned at the whole scene. Another couple across from them sat intimately close, their foreheads touching while the guy caressed her hand and whispered something obviously meant to make her throw her head back and laugh out loud. At another table, a few young men were gathered happily and already tipsy as they roared with laughter at whatever they read on the menu. It was a regular Friday night, but the girl that sat across from Nick was anything but ordinary.

“Are you . . . not from here?” He tried not to sound too doubtful, but he had to replace out, if only to satisfy his own curiosity. Louise would have to do the rest tomorrow. He had a busy schedule from dusk until dawn.

“No, I’m from here.” With her chin resting on her hands, Narya answered casually, her eyes smiling as she watched the drunken young men let loose with more loud banter.

“Right here? You’re from San Salvador?” He didn’t believe her, but she didn’t seem like the lying type either. He wondered if she was still hungover—or worse, an addict like Louise speculated her to be.

“Um, sure. I mean, near here.” Her guilty look revealed her attempt to make something up. She clutched her hands on her knees and stiffened as she anxiously anticipated his next questions.

“Right.” He nodded doubtingly. “Well, do you remember where you live now?”

“Where I live?”

He could see she was starting to get nervous and immediately regretted his questions. He had made her uneasy again and tears were ready to burst from the reddened rim of her doe-like eyes.

“I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I just want to make sure you get home okay tomorrow.” He quickly lowered his head and pretended to read the drinks menu.

“I see.” Her voice was small and he cursed himself silently for paving the way for what was now doomed to be an awkward dinner.

For a few good minutes, they sat in silence, Narya fiddling with her hair, frowning as she tried to untangle them, and Nick drumming his fingers on the table, looking aimlessly around the pub. He wished that Louise were here. She was good with these kind of situations. When they were together, she was always the one to break the ice whenever they met new people. He was never good at making small talk. And for a long time now, he hasn’t really met anyone new. He was so damn comfortable in his own bubble, doing his research, spending his time with the ocean. Trapped. And painfully familiarizing himself with his guilt for what had happened.

“Can I try that?”

He glanced up and saw her pointing straight at him. He wasn’t sure what she was looking at. He turned his head for a quick glimpse behind him but she obviously meant something on him. His face. And then he saw her reach for his glasses. He usually wore contacts, but he liked to remove them in the evenings when he was working on his papers.

“These? You want to try my glasses?”

She nodded enthusiastically, and she held out her hands.

The evening was only getting weirder, but Nick shrugged it off. He wanted to make peace with her to get through dinner without her tears making him uncomfortable. He gladly took off his glasses and handed them to her.

“Like this?” She carefully unfolded his glasses as if handling something extremely fragile, and steadied them on her ears.

The large black frames looked ridiculous on her tiny face, but he supposed they looked funny on him too. He’d had these outdated glasses since high school, and he never found fault with them, so he’d only updated the lens prescription. He laughed softly when she kept blinking and couldn’t keep her eyes opened.

“I don’t think you actually need them,” he said as reached over to retrieve his glasses. His hands accidentally brushed against her cheeks and he jumped at the cold touch.

“Hey, are you feeling cold?” The temperature must be more than 25ºC here, and there was no way anyone would be cold in this weather.

“No. I think—well, I’m always cold.” She took a sip of water.

“Hey, this is good water! Unsalted!” Her voice was high with excitement as she took a few more gulps. When she saw him watching her, she cleared her throat.

“It’s just my body temperature.” She smiled sheepishly and finished the water in one large gulp.

Nick crossed his arms, trying to make sense of the odd girl who sat across from him. Nothing about her made sense, and he felt a need to replace out more about her—like she were a clue to a riddle.

Narya knew that she had to mask her identity better. Louise and Nick were humans, and not her support group of Changed Ones. And while Nick seemed discreet enough, being the quiet guy that he was, she couldn’t very well tell him that mermaids, like fish, were always cold. Perhaps by the time she made her decision to stay changed, her body temperature would eventually rise to normal. And what would her choice be, she wondered. She hadn’t given that much thought. She still had to replace Keames and decide what ‘they’ were. Once that’s figured out, it’ll be easier to make her choice then. Her father liked Keames well enough. But once he left the waters and failed to come back, she knew he wanted her to stay behind, replace another suitable merman, and continue with her life underwater where she belonged.

Ever since the new system was introduced by the Elders, everyone was allowed, even encouraged, to get a taste of being human. Before then, a few would venture out on their own, and risked exposure as they had no support on land that they knew of. It was never fully explained to them how the Transition Committee was formed, but it was understood that there were merpeople who stay changed that lingered on land, and they had agreed to be part of the transition process; to allow their curious, fellow merpeople to live out a human life temporarily. It was thought that this kind of monitored freedom would prevent them from being accidentally discovered. With rules and protocols, the curious merpeople would be able to explore the land with help and extra sets of eyes to keep them safe. And when her turn came along, she couldn’t turn it down. She craved adventure and wanted to see for herself what she was missing.

And why some of them never came back.

“Here you go!” Lauren came back with two dishes of the Daily Special and placed them on the table. Before she left, she winked at Nick, as if wishing him luck on his date.

“Bon appétit.” He gestured for Narya to start.

“Oh, right.” She stared at her plate blankly, and hesitantly picked up the fork. She had practiced with other mermaids during the preparation stages for the transition, but never with a human staring at her. She fidgeted in her seat and laughed nervously.

Nick watched her fumble awkwardly with the fork, as though unsure of how to use one properly.

“You can use your hands,” he suggested after a length of silence. He could tell that she was embarrassed, though he wasn’t sure why—and he subtly offered her a way out. He put down his fork and knife and started picking at his food with his fingers.

“See?” He shoved a few french fries into his mouth. When her face relaxed into a smile, he grinned back at her.

She scooped up some of the paté and licked it off her fingers.

“So, what is this?”

“Shrimp, fish, and some crabmeat.”

She started to cough, trying hard not to spit the food out. She looked horrified and repelled by what she was chewing. He offered her a glass of water, but she waved him away, half-choking on her food.

“It’s okay. It’s fine. I can eat . . . fish,” she said, still coughing. Her face was reddening by the second, and she tried not to shudder at the thought of what was in her mouth. This was one of the obstacles she would have to overcome. She had to appear normal. It was a game of pretense and she could do it. She heard the waves rolling in and thought of running toward the beach and rinsing her mouth with salt water, but that would look weird and inappropriate. She shook her head and took another deep breath before taking another bite. It’s not that bad, really.

She lasted a few more seconds before she staggered toward the shore and threw up all over the beach.

“She what?”

Narya could hear Louise’s high-pitched voice from inside the room. She had had a good sleep, but it had been filled with dreams of being back in the water. Without fish patés. She felt mortified when Nick had run after her and patted her back as she vomited every bit of fish she ingested. They must be talking about the incident now. She hid her face under the pillows, unable to get up and face Nick after what had happened.

“Not so loud, she’ll hear you.”

“So what? Anyway, you have to bring her back now. I just got a call that I have to sub for another TA that got a bad case of flu. Flu—in the middle of April! There goes my entire week!” Louise sounded furious and spoke through clenched teeth.

“But today’s the tagging. I can’t miss it.” Nick’s voice was firm and Narya knew that his face must look serious. Like the concerned look he had when he thought she was sick with the fish paté.

“So? You can bring her. Or she could stay here.”

“She can’t stay here on her own.”

“Why? She’s not a child.”

“No, you don’t understand—you weren’t there yesterday. She couldn’t even hold a fork—she’s . . .” His voice trailed off when he saw Narya appear in the hallway with a blanket wrapped around her.

“Hi.” She smiled weakly, still feeling sick from the day before. She didn’t want to stay here, but being alone was not an option. She’d rather be with him, if he’d take her. And Louise, who wasn’t so fond of her to begin with, was already in a foul mood today.

“Hey, I heard you threw up yesterday.” You better?” She asked with little concern in her voice. Nick shot her a dirty look. She stared at Narya with lingering suspicion.

“I’m okay, really.” Narya would much rather be with Nick, even if it meant she had to eat more fish patés.

“So, can I come with you?” She directed her question at Nick. Her eyes pleaded him to say yes.

He scratched his head and contemplated the situation then threw his hands up in surrender.

“All right, why the hell not. Come on, have something for breakfast—not fish—and we’ll go.”

He went into the kitchen and made her a cup of coffee—the dark liquid thing. She made a face when she took a sip, but the bitterness awoke her senses. Whatever magical ingredient was in this drink, it made her feel ready to tackle her second day.

“I hope you’re okay with boats?”

Only when did they approach the dock, did Narya realize where they were going. It didn’t occur to her to ask Nick to expand on the details since he had mentioned it was work. In her head, she pictured his work environment to be a closed room with books piled high on a desk, and a laptop, as she’d seen him typing furiously on one. Right now, what she saw before her was a small fishing boat like the ones she used to spot from afar, rocking gently above the tides.

“Yes, yes. I’m okay.” She just had to make sure to not fall in. After all, being on a boat might be interesting. She’d always imagined what it would be like inside such a constricted area right above the waters. She treaded carefully along the dock and had an urge to hold Nick’s hands in case she tripped and tumbled in. She couldn’t transform in front of him. That was golden rule number one.

Nick waved at someone inside the boat, and he signaled for her to hurry. By the way he was rushing, she could tell that this was an important day for him. She has been observing him for the past two days, and she had never seen him irritated, angry, or anything other than calm. It must be nice to be so composed, so sure of oneself. She had never felt more unsure of her capability to get through a day without more missteps.

“Well, you’re early!” An older man, in his forties, shouted sarcastically at Nick.

He threw him a pair of goggles and laughed heartily. He was tanned, like everyone else on the island, and had a head full of greying blond hair. His eyes were shielded by his sunglasses, but Narya was keenly aware that he was observing her.

“Who’s the skittish girl?”

“A friend.” Nick nodded perfunctorily at Narya before hurling the goggles back. “Pete, I told you that I can’t go in there.”

“Why, you afraid of sharks or something?” He laughed again, this time louder, as if it were the best joke he’d made all day. “Come on, Nick! You can’t stay on the boat forever. You have to see them for yourself again. Underwater!”

“I will. Just—not yet.” Nick said firmly. His eyes hardened as he stared longingly into the vast expanse of blue before him. The boat was both a shield and an obstacle between him and the sea. Yet it was his choice to be here. To breathe in the smell of the comforting saltwater that surrounded him, and lulled to sleep by the sound of the rolling waves.

“All right, fine. I’ll let you off the hook this time. But one day—one day,” Pete said emphatically, pointing at Nick with a chewed pencil. “You’re going to get in there and you’re going to fall in love with it all over again. Trust me, boy.” He slid the pencil behind his ear, removed his sunglasses, and turned abruptly to Narya with an impish grin as he dangled the goggles in front her.

“What about you? Care to take a dive?”

They were now far from the shore. The island was a dot, and Narya was beginning to feel a churning in her stomach. She tried to steady her hands as she held on to the metal railing at the side of the boat. Home was only a splash away, but she was risking everything she had by being out here. Pete, who she later found out was Nick’s professor at the Marine Institute, was going to tag a shark today. She’s never seen it done, but she’d come across plenty of sharks who had the strange device stuck on their fins. They appeared to be unbearably painful, although both Nick and Pete repeatedly assured her that the tagging process was a brief, minor discomfort for sharks. She winced at the thought of witnessing the process, but she had to bear it for now.

“Nick! Dump that bucket now!” Pete shouted from the rear of the boat with a drink in his hand.

Nick grunted as he carried a large bucket filled with dead fish and poured it overboard. Narya held on to the rim of the boat as she tried not to gag at the bloody sight.

“Get that bait ready!” Pete’s excitement grew as he braced himself for the shark to appear. This never got old for him, no matter how many times he had done it before.

“Are you okay?” Nick turned and found Narya beside him, her body curled into a ball as she peered at the ocean from a crouching position.

“Oh, damn. Can you even swim?” He pulled out a worn-out lifejacket from under the bench and handed it to her.

“No—I can’t swim.” She hesitated before she took the lifejacket. She was going to say something else before a heavy thud made her lose her balance, and she almost fell overboard into the floating, chopped-up fish parts.

“Whoa! Whoa, I got you!” Nick pulled her back and she held on to him tightly.

He pointed to the middle seat. “Don’t stand so close to the edge of the boat. Sit here.”

She wanted to ask what the thumping sound was, but she thought better of it and sat down obediently.

“A shark!” Nick smiled broadly, his face to the sun, welcoming its blazing brightness. With his hands expertly handling the pole, he slid a fish bait onto the hook and got into position as he waited for the shark. It was as though he belonged right here on the vast blue. Out here, he transformed into someone entirely different—he came alive. He stood close to the rim of the boat and didn’t appear scared of the water at all. She wondered what he meant when he told Pete that he couldn’t go in.

“Have you ever seen one? Up close?” He sounded like Pete now, overexcited about something she had encountered every day as a mermaid.

She found his rare smile contagious and grinned back.

“Nope. Not yet.”

Pete threw a large net into the water. “Nick! Do you see it? On your right!”

Nick maneuvered the pole toward where the net was. It was then that Narya spotted the shark, her first time seeing one from above water. A sheer black, beautiful fin emerged, and she thought it looked familiar. She quickly scanned the area, and although she couldn’t be sure where they were, by the distance from the shore, she guessed this was Grey’s territory. But it wasn’t Grey or she would have recognized it immediately, but it was definitely one from their ocean grid.

“Do you know this shark?” She regretted her question as soon as she had uttered it, assuming it to be a stupid question. Humans didn’t interact with sharks like she did.

“Yeah, well, sort off. I saw this one a few times before, and Pete’s swam with it a while back.” Nick was busy pulling the bait back, and the shark was chasing after it at an alarming speed.

Narya was glad he didn’t think her question was out of the ordinary. She was more comfortable now since this was familiar territory. She stood up and took small, careful steps toward Nick.

Suddenly, the shark paused in its chase. Her heart stilled. No, not possible. Did it just recognize her? From where she stood, she could read the shark’s body language—it was now tracking her scent.

“Hey, what the—”

Before Nick could finish, the shark leapt out of the water, its jaws wide open as it aimed for the boat. For her.

It was a mako shark, magnificent in every way, and Narya’s eyes grew large as she watched the notorious fish flip itself in the air. She has never seen this before. The shark was making itself known to her. But why? In her mind, she ran through all the possible reasons a shark might be making contact with her. If it managed to flip the boat, she would be exposed, and that would be the end of her transition—possibly for everyone else as well. She glanced nervously around her and felt maddeningly trapped. But wait—she was trapped. The shark must think she was trapped by humans on the boat. It could still recognize her mermaid self by her scent. She recalled stories of whales and sharks attacking fishing boats with the goal of freeing trapped fish, and it dawned on her that she was putting Nick and Pete in imminent danger.

“Are you sure you can’t turn back now?” She moved away from the edge and wondered if the shark could easily break the small fishing boat in two.

“No, no, it’s okay. They do this all the time—” Nick reassured her and started to make his way toward her when another loud thud threw him off balance. He fell down hard and landed on his arm.

“What the hell?” Pete ran toward them with his drink still in his hand. Nothing came between the man and his drink. Another thud. He was now on his hands and knees, his drink spilled across the deck.

“I think it’s angry,” Narya muttered. Should she dive in and lead the shark away? That might be the only way to calm it. She held on to the rim of the boat and stumbled toward the edge.

Another thud.

“Hey! Come back here!” Nick shouted as he watched her extend her hand beyond the boat’s edge.

She closed her eyes, knowing the shark was coming for her before she touched it. It’s okay. It’s only me. As soon as her hand felt that familiar smooth skin, the disquietude that numbed her mind only moments before thawed away, revitalizing her with a nostalgic sense of belonging. Her fingers softly caressed the tip of the shark’s snout, and it stayed still, instantly hypnotized by her touch. When she opened her eyes, she saw the shark’s wet skin glistening under the sun, its eyes solemnly staring back at her. I’m okay. I’m okay. She smiled faintly as she steadily lowered her hand, and the shark obediently went down as if by command.

“What in God’s name . . .” Pete stood with both hands on his head, certain that something disastrous might happen.

Nick stood in awe as he witnessed her ability to communicate with one of the most feared beasts of the ocean. Not many girls he knew would be brave enough to even be on a fishing boat in shark-infested waters, let alone touch one. He stared at her in disbelief. When the shark disappeared from view, it occurred to him that neither he nor Pete had spoken. They simply stood in silence, just as hypnotized by Narya as the shark. It wasn’t until she turned around that Nick realized he had held his breath the entire time.

“So, how did it go?”

When they got back to the shore, Louise was waiting for them at the dock. The sun was setting, its glorious beam shining directly at her, and she had to shield her eyes with her hand when she approached the boat.

“Well, I would say it went quite well!” Pete got off the boat, and as he stepped onto the dock, he turned back. “You said your name was—what, Natalie?”

“Narya.” Nick and Narya answered in unison.

“Right, Na-ree-ya.” He nudged Louise with his elbow as he walked past her. “That’s a good catch for Nick, huh?” He tried to keep his voice low, but they all heard him.

Louise winced at his remark.

“Narya, why don’t you come back next week? I think you’ll come in quite handy for our next expedition!” It didn’t sound like a question but more of an expectation to be met. Pete didn’t turn back to see if she had acquiesced to the request as he walked away from the dock.

“What the heck is he talking about?” Louise asked Nick.

He wondered what she’d think if she had seen Narya with the shark. It wasn’t unheard of. Some divers he knew in the field had touched a shark’s snout, putting it into a kind of trance. But in this case it was different. That shark was on full attack mode, and she had calmed it—like a magic trick too perfect to be true—and commanded it to back away. However hard it was to believe, the shark actually obeyed her.

He tried not to let his thoughts trail off into supernatural beliefs; it this was all beginning to sound absurd, if only in his head.

“You know, he’s always tipsy in the morning.” He pretended to shrug it off. Louise didn’t need to know. She already thought that Narya was some kind of freak. And they had to replace a way to bring her home today; the last thing Louise needed on her list was one more questionable trait about Narya.

Narya had remained quiet since the boat ride back, and even now, as Nick helped her off the boat, she appeared to be somewhere else. He wondered what other secrets she could surprise them with. Too bad she wasn’t sticking around longer for him to replace out.