more about it later, but go. Lukeâs waiting for you, remember?â
Remember? I pictured Luke making that adorably silly cow face and sighed. Luke Martin was kinda hard to forget.
â¢â¢â¢
Luke was sitting on the curb of the back parking lot when I came out of the kitchen door. He stood when he saw me and slid his hands deep into the pockets of his cargo shorts.
I felt for the toe ring I had strung on a chain around my neck. It brought me back to that night in the tub, the first time Iâd ever changed from feet to flippers. The weirdness between Luke and me would be a big bummer, since I really wanted to talk to him about this whole mer thing. Who else could understand what it was like to be me?
Luke looked like he was debating what to say, judging by the way his eyebrows scrunched together and the slow breath he was exhaling. What if this was the final showdown? What if I didnât get a chance to apologize before he dumped me for good?
âLuke, Iâ¦â I began, but the rest of the words got stuck in my throat like a dry cracker.
Luke held out his hand for me.
âWalk?â he asked, nodding to the path that followed the canal to the beach.
I nodded and took his hand.
Lukeâs hand. In mine. What did this mean?
We walked along the mile-long canal that separated the Atlantic Ocean from the fresh water of Talisman Lake. Lukeâs grandpa, Eddie, was in charge of opening and closing the canalâs lock when boats wanted to sail through. But the canalâs lock served another purpose. The Mermish Council used Talisman Lake as a prison and the lock kept the criminal mers, âFreshies,â from escaping.
âYou totally knew I was down there that day, didnât you?â I remembered how Luke had looked into the water the day I finally got Mom and Serena through the locks to the ocean.
âI almost dove in when I saw you were down there, but I figured that would blow your cover.â
âThanks for nothing. I was freaking out down there!â I slapped his arm as we continued walking. âSo, I still donât get why you never said anything to me. All that time, when you knew about meâ¦â
âGrandpa thought I shouldnât. He says mers have been able to stay alive because we keep each otherâs secrets, which I guess kinda makes sense.â
âI guess.â
âWe havenât really had much of a chance to talk about this whole mer stuff since Coriâs pool party, and I know thatâs mostly my fault.â
âNo, wait a sec.â I squeezed his hand for him to stop. âI need to apologize. Iâm so sorry about jumping all over you yesterday. Howâs your mom. Is she doing okay?â
Luke nodded. âYeah, thanks. We were all pretty freaked out for a while there, though. What about you? Any news about your mom?â
âNot really. Itâs kind of driving us nuts. My dad and I are planning a search and rescue mission tomorrow, though, to keep from going crazy.â
âAnything I can do to help?â
âGot any contacts at the Mermish Council?â I asked hopefully.
âHmmâ¦â Luke considered this for a second. âIf I knew what a Mermish Council was, maybe I could be more useful.â
âI think itâs in that mer handbook they forgot to give us.â I laughed. âAnyway, Iâm happy things worked out with your mom. And really happy I got to apologize before Cori strangled me with a dish towel.â
âThat Cori is so awesome, isnât she?â Luke said in an exaggerated tone as we continued walking.
âShe told you to say that, didnât she?â I asked.
âYep.â Luke laughed.
Cori, Cori, Cori.
A warm ocean breeze swept up from Port Toulouse Bay, smelling of salt and summertime. The canal trail hooked up with the wooden boardwalk running along Toulouse Point Beach. Moms were out pushing jogging strollers along the boardwalk