"Hurry up!" the elderly woman in elegant dress grunted to her husband at the hotel lobby. "He's waiting for us! We have to hurry!"
"I'm coming," her husband grunted. She had Joel's blue eyes, and her shoulder-length, graying hair was tinted blond to keep it looking natural. She was wearing cream colored clothing in the form of a light top and bottom skirt-like setup. Sandals were on her feet, and sunglasses were sitting neatly on her head. She looked like she was just starting to show a hint of fat on her belly, but it wasn't anything that was noticeable right away. She always tried to eat healthy, and it helped keep her looking rather youthful.
Her husband was a bit more relaxed in his eating, but he still looked like he was in his forties than his sixties. That was mainly because he still liked to try and have a semi-active lifestyle with a little tennis and golf here and there. He still had a good head of graying brown hair on him, and his jade green eyes were clear. He was dressed in light yellow shorts with a white collar shirt. White sneakers that were designed for foot comfort padded along lightly behind his wife.
They both paused at the sight of an older lady walking over calmly. She was wearing a full-length sun dress of dark orange in color with a straw hat and matching flip flops with large, decorative white daisies on the straps. Her light brown hair was clipped short, since her figure was a touch rounder, but much of it was from medical problems. Her green-brown eyes were clear enough to give her good vision, but she could easily be diagnosed with needing glasses, if she didn't watch herself.
"Edith! Oh, you're here, too?" the woman asked.
"I am!" she laughed, and the older women embraced. "It's good to see you both! Marianne, I'm guessing you talked to Joel?"
"I called him up," she giggled. "Nikki's husband is a riot!"
"She likes him better than me," her husband frowned.
"Oh, George, don't let it get to you," Edith soothed with a smile.
"Are the others with you?" Marianne asked with dismay.
"Do you think I would let my porn crazy son and disputing daughter come here?" Edith asked evenly. That got the couple laughing. "I came alone! Ashley and I both agreed to that. I was very happy at how uneventful and quiet trip here was. It's what I need."
"Maybe I should have come alone, too," Marianne mused.
"What?!" George asked and grumbled to get them laughing. At the sight of a man holding up a sign for them at the main hotel lobby entrance, the three elders walked over to wave.
"I am to take you to the docks," the man said. It was the taxi driver that Joel had befriended. "You will all be taken by boat to your destination."
"Oh, wow!" Edith giggled. "I have my swimsuit!"
She patted her large bag at her side. Marianne showed that she had both hers and George's swimming attire in her bag, too. They followed the taxi driver to his waiting cab, and they piled in. As they got buckled in, he said, "Do not worry about tips or fees. I have been covered."
"Oh! Good to know," Marianne smiled. George let his gaze move out to study the surroundings, as the women gossiped to each other to catch up on current events. When they reached the dockside, the three elders got out and marveled over the sight of Little Star. Joel walked out and waved to them.
"Hi, Mom. Dad, good to see you. Wonderful to see you, too, Edith. Let's get going. Oh! The fish! Yes. Thank you," Joel nodded at the dock workers bringing in coolers of fresh salmon and mackerel. There was even a specialty crate filled with octopus and squid. At the sight of sardines, tilapia, and snapper, he chuckled. Then he blinked at the next crate of giant tiger shrimp with a note on it from Bobby that it was a gift from his Boss. He sighed at that, but the food was needed. Apparently, it was appreciated to know that various forms of competition were being shut down.
"Are you building an aquarium?" George asked.
"If they were alive, sure. But, they're all dead. It's all food for the natives and dolphins. Anyways, we need to get going. It takes an hour to get there, and the sea is pretty calm right now," Joel said. "And, yes, Dad. I have beer."
"I'll sit with you," George grinned happily.
"Don't let him drive!" Marianne ordered.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll be driving. And, no, I won't be holding the beer," Joel rolled his eyes.
"Did you just roll your eyes at me?!" she gasped.
"Mom..." Joel warned.
"Marianne, he's fine. He drives better drunk than he does walking drunk," George snorted and moved onto the boat. She sighed and shook her head, but she moved onto the boat with Edith. Once the men were at the command helm, the beers were revealed, and the boat started to move. Joel let out a sigh of relief at the bit of relaxation he was going to get. Or so he thought when his dad started up a conversation with him. "So, you own this?"
"Nope. This is Nikki's boat. I just shuttle it around for her," Joel said and cracked open a beer. "Oh, I have to feed a few of the dolphins. Without them, I can't get to our destination right. Just hold the wheel steady for me for a couple minutes. I'll leave my beer here. Don't open a beer for yourself yet."
"You think I would while handling an unknown locomotive? You should know me better!" his father muttered. "Wait. You do know me better."
"Yep!" Joel grinned and moved to the deck to open up a Styrofoam crate of mackerel. "Hey, Mom! Want to do something for me?"
"What?" she asked and managed to walk over. "And who's driving?"
"Dad is, but he's not drinking yet," Joel said and opened a Styrofoam crate of mackerel. "This crate is strictly for the dolphins. When they appear, start throwing a few fish over the side."
"You want me to touch that?!" she gaped.
"Mom, you told me that doing new things builds character," he smirked.
"Don't you use my own advice against me!" she chastised him.
"Look. You can use this," he said and got a set of aluminum tongs for her to use. This she was grateful for, and she actually found herself jumping with delight at the chittering dolphins that put on various shows for her for food. "Try and feed them the fish a little sparingly. I only want to use this one crate, okay? When this is gone, we can't use the other crates."
"Got it," she nodded. Edith was soon coming over to join in on the fun. He was quick to move back down to the helm to take it over. Like him, his dad needed a beer, too, after a while. His opened beer was quickly reclaimed and sipped eagerly.
"Okay, son. Spill it," his father said. He had opened his beer, but he wasn't drinking it yet. Like Joel, he needed to be completely calmed before drinking. This was how Joel got his attitude on beer drinking. It was only a given.
"Spill what?" Joel asked, as he followed the pod.
"What's really going on?"
"Well, it's like I told Mom. Nikki's husband finds treasure. A lot of it. It's how this boat was purchased, as well as giving back Mom's funds for the house," he explained.
"And not being able to talk about them?" George asked.
"Dad, it's something you simply can't describe," Joel sighed. "Hell, even I can't describe it. No one would believe you, if you said something, anyways."
"Who did she marry exactly? A tooth fairy?"
"No. More like a merman," Joel said calmly. At first, George was going to combat it. Then he noticed how calm his son was. It was a solid truth.
"I can see why secrecy is needed."
"Yeah. He's been around for a long time with his people. They are very good at hiding. And, if word got out, his people would be exploited. Especially with the treasure they find. Don't believe me? Check this out," he said and handed over a Spanish doubloon. "That's a pirate coin and worth about fifteen grand. The paperwork is folded up and in the small drawer next to you. They found a chest of these. All of them in mint condition."
"I..." George was shocked.
"They find jewelry, tableware, cutlery...you name it, they can find it, if it's there. They don't really have a use for gold and gems. It was only recently that they began to find the treasure for Nichole. But, they do love pearls," Joel grinned. "Pearls are a status symbol with them. Especially the black pearls. Those pearls are symbols of power."
His father was speechless. Then Joel looked out the side window and pointed. George followed his son's direction and stared at the sight of Grynkar waving at them. "Is that...?!"
"Yes. But, that's not Kilnak. That's Grynkar. He's a scout. He's just making sure that we're doing well," Joel chuckled. "Grynkar is Kilnak's uncle. You see why I didn't say anything."
"Your mother is not going to be pleased."
"Not her choice. If she doesn't like it, she gets to go home. And, she may never hear from me again," Joel said. Now his father looked at him with a look of hurt. At the same time, he understood.
"Just let me come back, okay?" he said.
"We can work out business trips," Joel nodded. His father squeezed his son's arm and finally took a sip of his beer. "It's why I have to sell the house. Kilnak's family really needs me out here. I already arranged to be transferred. Everything is being rebuilt out here, too. His family is funding the move. An island home is being converted. All of this started up when Nikki came out here for vacation before us. Kilnak saved her life and killed the one that was harassing her nonstop. Even when I was out here, the fucker tried to keep going after her! It was disgusting."
"And her husband killed him?" George asked. At Joel's nod, he said, "Good. I would have brought my twelve gauge shotgun out."
"Still love your guns?" Joel snickered.
"Why the hell not?" George grinned. "They protect me and your mother."
"Despite what the neighbors say?"
"Do you think I listen to them, as they eat their vegetable curds and drink their diet sodas?" he asked, and Joel started laughing. "I put a slab of meat on my grill, and they cry out that it's cruelty!"
"Ever thought of throwing rotting fish under their porches?" Joel asked. Now George blinked with complete amusement at this. "Better yet, get fresh fish so the smell doesn't start right away."
"I think I can hire a couple of the neighborhood kids to do that," he thought aloud. "They have a lot of gutter pipes left open, too."
"Fish paste under the door mats?" Joel grinned wickedly.
"That I can work with. It may even bring about a few stray cats to spray around the steps and scream on their fences," George grinned just as wickedly. They continued their different ideas of neighborhood schemes, and the women were still watching the wonderful dolphin display. They managed to carefully salvage the mackerel up until they finally saw the destined island in sight. As they gazed out over the ocean, Edith was the one that saw the wounded dolphin in the distance. She frowned at that and ran down to where Joel was.
"Joel, one of the dolphins out there looks sick," she said. "Maybe even hurt."
"What?" Joel blinked. "Hmm. I'm not a vet, but I know the natives may be able to help. Okay, the boat's parked. We have another five minutes, but I need to look into this. One moment, Dad."
"I'll go with you," George said and rose up to move with him. Joel looked out over the railing and easily spotted the odd one out.
"Grynkar! Are you out there?!" Joel called. At the sight of the merman rising up, Marianne and Edith both dropped their jaws. "Sick one? Or hurt?"
"Sick? Hurt?" Grynkar frowned and turned to where Joel was pointed. He swam off quickly to help the struggling dolphin. It had just arrived from the waves and was only noticed now. Other dolphins moved to squeak and click encouragement when Grynkar moved to support it. There was definitely an internal illness going on. He brought over the dolphin carefully. "Sick. Very sick."
"What can you do?" Joel asked.
"Hmm. Kep! I get Kep!" Grynkar nodded. The other dolphins would protect their sick kindred, and Grynkar was quick to swim off.
"Joel?!" Marianne asked with disbelief.
"Grynkar is Kilnak's uncle. Nikki married a merman. It's why I'm rich. It's from them," Joel said calmly. Edith was just as surprised. "Now you know why you can't say anything. And, if you're rude to them, then you may as well plan to visit other family from here on out. This is why Kilnak told you that he was unsure if you should visit."
"Oh..." Marianne blinked at this.
"He loves Nichole with everything he has and more. He gives her everything he finds. And, yes, she is pregnant with his baby. She will not abort it. She will not give it away. If you insult her, she will chew you out and demand for you to leave. So, as you always told me, be respectful in new places," Joel said calmly. He looked out when Kep arrived with Grynkar.
"Joe," Kep said and waved. "This one is very sick. Um, I know that there may be something we can get. But, it's hard to find."
"What do you need? I'll do what I can," Joel nodded. Then he looked at his mother and Edith. "Kep is Kilnak's grandfather, and Grynkar's father. He is the main man of the family. He can also speak our language very well. Just so you both know."
"Okay," Edith nodded. "What does he need?"
"Edith?" Marianne frowned.
"If he is family now, then I'm treating him like family," she said. "He's trying to help an animal, too. So, he's good in my book. Also, he can talk to us! He is more than what he seems."
"But..." Marianne started, but Edith held up her hands.
"I want to see my daughter again. Do you want to continue to see your son? We need to give them a chance. If Ashley and Joel did this, and we see how they are, then we should do the same thing, too," she said calmly. Edith was likely the only one that could actually talk reason to others. It was why Joel wanted her out when his parents came out. Marianne thought over everything, sighed, and gave a nod. "Good. I know it's shocking, but think about it. If our family is happy out here, we need to do this. So, let's meet the new family and see what we can do to help."
"This one ate poison. Do we have something that can absorb it?" Kep asked.
"Poison? Odd. Well, I know that ground up charcoal and egg whites could help. I think we have charcoal from the fire and eggs from a crate on the island. Okay. Let me call Nikki," Joel said and moved to his phone to give a quick call.
"Dad?" Nichole answered.
"Hey. Grandma Marianne and Grandpa George are with me. Grandma Edith is here, too, and she found a sick dolphin. Kep says it ate poison. Have Rick start to grind up a mash of charcoal and egg whites. Let's hope it works," Joel said.
"Wait. Did they see...?" Nichole asked.
"Yes. And, they agreed to give everyone a chance," Joel said calmly.
"Okay. I'll tell this to Rick. And poison?" she frowned.
"Not sure, but, if Kep believes it, then what do I know?" he sighed. She agreed to that, and they hung up. He leaned over the side and said, "Okay. We might have something. Take the dolphin back to the island. I'll bring the boat there shortly."
"Okay," Kep nodded and gently coaxed the sick dolphin to swim. Other dolphins moved to help. As they swam, Kep asked, "What did you eat?"
"Fish. Eat that. Was wrong. Couldn't stop. Taste bad," the dolphin whistled lightly. "I hurt."
"I know you hurt. We will help you stop hurting," Kep soothed and gently pressed a hand under the dolphin's belly. At the small squeal it gave, he pressed upwards, as though to force the foul food out. The tactic worked, and the dolphin soon got sick to remove the poisoned fish. Grynkar did grab what was left, though. He wanted to see what made it poisoned. Now that the main part of the deadly fish was out, the dolphin did feel better, but still needed a remedy for what was left.
When they got to the island, Rick was able to mix up the cure in some fish meal to help disguise the taste. Kep was able to coax the dolphin into eating it, and it easily appeared to do the trick. At the sight of Little Star approaching, Kilnak only sighed. It was starting to get cloudy, so he was able to stay out of the water a bit longer. The misting pumps were also constantly looked over and cleaned to keep the tubes clear of debris. Even the humidifier got a thorough check.
"Okay, it's time to put on your swimsuits," Joel chuckled when he docked the yacht. The elderly folk glanced at each other, but Edith was the one that went into the bathroom to claim it. Marianne and George went into the small bedroom. Edith came out wearing her navy blue one-piece with a built-in skirt. Marianne was wearing a black one-piece that seemed to reveal much of her belly and back. George was wearing a white swim shirt and black trunks. He also had on specialized rubber shoes to protect his feet in the water. Joel was lowering a ladder for them to climb down.
"What do we do when we hit the water?" George asked.
"Grab onto a dolphin's dorsal fin. Don't tug on them. Just hold on, and they'll do the rest," Joel said carefully. "If you hurt them, they won't let you ride with them."
"Her husband wasn't kidding," Marianne muttered under her breath. "This is the most exercise I've had in a while!"
"I can't comment on that," George grunted to his grinning son.
"Mom, this is nothing. I had to ride on a dolphin's back for four hours in total. And that was before I got the yacht," Joel smirked.
"Four hours?!" Marianne gaped.
"It's an hour here and back. And I was holding stuff, too. So, yeah. I don't want to repeat that," Joel chuckled. George was staring at him like he was crazy. "Nikki had to do it, too."
"Oh, my goodness!" Edith paled. "I'm glad you got the boat!"
"Me, too," Joel nodded. "Anyways, our new family is waiting to meet with you all."
"Right, right," Marianne said and moved down the ladder first. She was able to carefully grip the waiting dolphin's dorsal fin to get gently pulled along to the beach. She actually found herself enjoying the swim. When she reached the beach, Lisa gave her a hug.
"Namma!" Lisa beamed. The older woman found herself embraced by the other kids, and then she was able to regard where Nichole was with Kilnak. It was usually Nichole that hugged her first.
"Nikki?" Marianne asked and looked at her.
"Until I know that you're okay with everything, I have to stay here," Nichole said softly. "I get sick so much now that I can't risk it."
"It's okay," Kilnak soothed her. He looked over at Marianne with a nod. "Hi. I'm Kilnak. I see your body didn't fall apart on the way here! Good to know."
At first the older lady didn't respond just by what she was looking at. At the retort given now, she widened her eyes and tried to hold back a laugh. She failed miserably. Tessoo was simply grinning when Annie got back into his arms. Marianne cleared her throat and said, "Shame on you for addressing your elders like that!"
"Really? You're an elder? I thought you were a corpse," Kilnak smirked. She found herself laughing at this now. "Don't worry. We have enough food here for you. I'm sure we can strain something easy for you to swallow down. I'm not sure if your dentures would hold up..."
"Stop!" she gasped and laughed even harder. He simply regarded her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay. Yes, I'll admit it. I didn't expect to see a...ah..."
"If you call me a fish," Kilnak warned. "the next insult I give you won't be a joke."
"I wasn't going to say that!" she scoffed. "I was going to say a hybrid dolphin! Like some man got it into his head to try screwing with one of them!"
"Okay. That's funny," Kilnak grinned. "Seriously, though. Calling my people fish is like calling you a monkey. We eat fish."
"Well, some of our cultures eat monkeys. So, we aren't so different," she seemed to shrug. Kilnak found himself chuckling at that. "But, I understand your concerns. Nikki, can I get my hug now?"
"Okay, Namma," she smiled. Kilnak carried her over to let her hug her older relation happily.
"Now you have to tell me how often you get sick, how it all happened, and how far along you are," Marianne ordered and started to feel various parts of her face and neck. "And you are way too hot! That's why you keep getting sick! You need to sit in front of a fan. Ashley! Are there any fans here?"
"Oh. I didn't think of that!" Ashley blinked. Joel had just swam over when he caught what was going on. "Joel, Marianne says that Nikki needs a fan."
"I...didn't think of that..." Joel admitted. "We can invest in a basic electric fan."
"A fan?" Kilnak asked.
"Don't you know what a fan is?" Marianne asked him.
"Ah...look at me. Look at where I live," Kilnak said carefully.
"Oh. That's right," she sighed. "You live in an underwater cave."
"And you live in a coffin," he snorted. She snickered at that.
"I'll show him a picture book image," Nichole smiled.
"A kid's book?" she blinked.
"It's how he knows a lot. I even show him videos from the internet," Nichole chuckled. When Edith and George arrived, they got hugged and greeted next. At the sight of the Merfolk there, they were both taken by complete surprise.
"Rick? They let you out of the hospital?" George asked. He was purposely refraining from commenting on the odd ones there out of respect. Kilnak had noticed this rather quickly.
"Hah! Sure. Good to see you again, too," Rick chuckled.
"And...Tina? Huh. Didn't expect you here. Do your parents know?" George asked.
"Oh. Um...no. Not yet," she seemed to swallow. Her husband seemed to frown at that. Now he was a bit worried, too.
"Don't worry," George said. "If they say anything, I have your back."
"You're okay with this?" Nichole asked.
"Nick-knack, you know I'm always fine with what you do in life," he winked.
"Don't even..." she glared at Kilnak's small grin.
"What?" George frowned.
"She doesn't like the nickname," Kilnak explained.
"I always called her that! She didn't say anything to me," he said.
"Because I was being nice," she finally admitted. "When you call me that, it makes me think I'm an object on a shelf. I know it's not the case, but..."
"George, you're going to make her sick," Marianne growled and moved to coddle her granddaughter. "Just call her Nikki for now."
"Fine, fine," George sighed. Kilnak could only chuckle.
"Let me see her, too," Edith said. Annie seemed to mildly pout at the lack of attention, but it was only because Nikki was pregnant.
"And, who are you?" George asked Michael.
"Ah. I'm Michael. I am the one who helped them get this island, as well as a couple of other ones. Me coming here was a bit of a fluke. But...here I am," he shrugged. At how Missa only hugged him close, it was clearly apparent as to why.
"He's a new family friend," Joel said when he swam up. "Kilnak, I have a few coolers of fish."
"Oh? Okay, I'll help bring them over," Kilnak nodded. Nichole smiled at her husband and watched him swim off. Now she was gossiped over, and the jewelry was finally noticed. She told them about the pearls, and even showed them off carefully.
"Now that's a wedding ring!" Marianne beamed at the sight of the large pearl. "And that necklace is stunning!"
"Thanks," Nichole chuckled.
"I'm still curious about something," Marianne said. "Why didn't Annie join that pageant?"
"Because they only came out here to get to me," Annie frowned. "They weren't my friends at all. They just wanted my money."
"What's this?" George frowned.
"Yeah. I got bullied into doing things for them. It's also why I was...always mean..." she shivered. Tessoo pulled her close to rock her with comfort.
"All fine now," he muttered in her ear. He gave a small, warning glare to change the subject. He even gave a mental hint to them to do just that.
"So, what is there to eat?" Edith said quickly.
"Ever had lionfish?" Lisa grinned.
"Is it good?" George asked. A plate was quickly given for him to sample. "Yeah. I'll take five of these. This is amazing!"
"You'll get too full," Ashley giggled and helped bring up the Styrofoam crates of other foods.
"Bobby's Boss gave over the shrimp," Joel muttered to Kilnak when they were at the boat.
"Really?" Kilnak frowned. "Well, since it's here, it won't go to waste. I'll talk to Tessoo."
"May want to," Joel nodded. Kilnak brought the crate over to the island to set it down. Then he whispered to his brother.
"Hmm. The food is okay. He is trying to be good to us. We are being good to him, so it is fine. For now, from what I feel," Tessoo said mildly.
"For now?" Kilnak asked in warning.
"Yes. For now. Until he wants more. He will always want more," Tessoo muttered.
"Any way to tell when this will be?" Kep asked when he swam over.
"Let me think," Tessoo thought aloud and focused a bit more. "Kilnak, when Bobby calls again, let him know that the food was good. That all is good. Also, ask about the one that came here that we sent back. Oh! Elder, you must go out by the device. We have a visitor."
"Do we?" Kep frowned and was quick to swim out. When he reached Little Star, he paused with shock at the massive creature that was staring back at him with a purpose. It was larger than three school buses. It weighed almost two hundred tons. He was staring, with complete and utter surprise, at a female. And it wasn't just any female. It was a very old female blue whale.