Life was always changing in Schooner Bay. Grandma Williams had now moved into a condo just down the street here on Gregg Rd. She had decided not to move into Gull Cottage because she wanted privacy for her and her daughter. Certainly now that she was living down the street they would see each other more often, but they still had their separate and together lives. Brad her husband of over thirty-five years had died a few months back. It had been very tough, but she had made it through. She missed her husband everyday.

Captain Gregg could now visit with her more often and she was getting used to him popping in and out of a room. She now knew that her daughter had really chosen a man that was a good man and kind. It was so sad that they had been born in separate centuries. When they were together the electricity in the room was obvious and she always felt comfortable. Even when she and her husband had not known who the Captain was she had been sure that Claymore was not the real captain. Claymore was not the type of man that would attract her daughter and she and Brad had known it.

She had been so glad to find out that the captain was not the man that they had first met. Claymore Gregg had been a man who was just not her type. Oh he was a good man in many ways, but he just did not act like she thought a man should act. When they had gotten over the shock of a ghost in the home both she and Brad accepted the captain without question. Their life had never been the same.

The Williams family had always thought of themselves as logical peaceful people. Although the discussion had never come up she was sure that until they had met the captain neither one of them had believed in ghosts. It was so sad that no one could touch the man. He was the type of man that deserved a hug once in a while. She knew that Carolyn had adjusted to the inability to touch but once in a while she had wanted to touch him. Once she had accidently brushed up against where he was standing and it had felt just like air. There was nothing there according to her sense of feel. It was strange because she could see him clearly.

Back at Gull Cottage Candy and Jonathan were enjoying their first day of summer. It was a warm day and they had made plans to go fishing with the Captain. Captain Gregg was a great fisherman and he had taught both of them how to get the best of fish. As they walked with the man that they thought of their father they smiled at all of their friends. Their friends could not see the Captain, but most of them had felt a presence when they were around their friends the Muir's. It was something that they had all gotten used to. Jonathan and Candy were very nice and they were their friends that was all they needed to know.

Carolyn watched off of the balcony as the three of them left for a morning of fun. She loved to think of the captain and her children together. He had been a big part of why the children had turned out so well. They were now getting quite grown up. Candy got prettier everyday and Jonathan acted more like a young man than a young boy now. She wished more than anything that they could be a real family. But it was not meant to be and she was happy just living there at Gull Cottage with the Captain. She loved everyone in the home and would protect them at all costs. She smiled as she sat down at her desk to do some more writing. She was working on a large magazine article and was glad to have the privacy.

The three of them had stood on the pier for about two hours when Candy caught something. The fish seemed to be very heavy and she had to work very hard to bring the fish in. As soon as she saw this fish she knew that something was different. The top of the fish was the face of a woman. The fish was about two and half feet long, but the top of it was a face. Candy looked down at this strange fish and then looked up at the captain. Jonathan just stared, he had never seen anything like this. To him it looked as though Candy had caught a mermaid.

The fish was trying to get away but Candy held her very tightly. She wanted to keep her and the fish did not seem to have any trouble breathing the air. Captain Gregg looked at the fish and smiled. He looked at her and smiled "It is said that if you catch a mermaid and you put it back, they will grant you one wish. Think very carefully, though, because the wish cannot be taken back." he warned her.

The mermaid looked up at the captain and said "I can make you rich give you a long life, anything you want. But the choice must be made in ten minutes, for after ten minutes my body will start to shut down and I will not be able to grant your wish. After ten minutes I will die and my children will have no mother" the mermaid told them. Captain Gregg was not surprised that the mermaid could see him. They were a mystical creature and it was said that they could do just about anything. That was why no one had caught them in many years.

Candy knew what she wanted. She wanted the captain to be alive and be able to live with them. She wanted to have him where he could be a real part of the family and have the capacity to interact with her and all her friends. She smiled at the captain and Jonathan and told them her wish. Captain Gregg could never thank her for her wish, but he did not want her to do it. She could have anything. "Candy, it is all right if you ask for something for yourself. This is my deepest wish, but you are the one that caught the mermaid and it is up to you."

Jonathan looked at his sister and said "Captain that is our wish. It has always been my wish too."

The captain looked at the two children who had been like his own since they had come to stay at Gull Cottage and managed the words "Thank you."

It was then that Candy told the mermaid "I want Captain Gregg to be given his life back. So he can do as he wishes. It will be his life with no strings attached. No matter what happens to my family, he deserves a life."

The mermaid looked at them and said "I can do that only because the Captain died before his time. He will live a normal life and still die at the proper age. He will live as long as a man normally does. But because life is being given he must find true love within one year."

"That is fine with us. He loves my mother and us very much." Candy told her.

"There is one thing. The Captain will have a life and a memory from this time. But, he will not know any of them. The time will return to the day that you first arrived in Schooner Bay. From that point on he has one year to find the one he loves." the mermaid told him.

Captain Gregg had no doubt that he and Carolyn Muir would fall in love once again. He had felt the attraction the first moment that they had met. But he had to ask one question. "If I don't find love in this time, what happens to Carolyn and me?"

"Carolyn will live her life without you, but you will not be allowed to return to Gull Cottage." the mermaid told him. "You will go to the place that all humans go once their life is over."

The Captain thought about that and said to Candy "I am willing to try what do you think"

Candy smiled and agreed. With that the mermaid closed her eyes.