Chapter 5
Jason and Brett are impatiently waiting on the girls. Jason is so nervous he's actually sweating. Tomorrow is Neri's actual birthday and he has something extra special plan, but tonight, they're dressing up and meeting their grandparents at the nice restaurant Diane and her parents used to go to, along with their "Aunt" Jenny and her daughters. Jenny is actually Diane's cousin, but the boys always referred to her as Aunt Jenny as she and Diane are more like sisters. Diane will meet her parents anywhere except her childhood hometown, due to a certain "issue".
The Bates have drilled Neri in restaurants etiquette and really hope she'll remember it all as well as sticking to the story that she's Diane's "assistant" and intern. So far, she's got by just fine on the trip, but this will be her biggest test yet. Diane has already told her mother that Neri refers to her as Mother since she's never had a true mother figure, which she understands and accepts.
The ladies are taking their sweet time, something Jason really hoped wouldn't rub off on Neri. The boys are dressed in dress shirts and slacks. Both feel like idiots, especially Jason with his hair slicked back (his Mum's insistence). At least she's not making them wear jackets and ties, although Brett dress shoes are squeaky and stiff. He intends to take them off underneath the clothed cover table.
Neri finally emerges from the bedroom. The boys think they must be dreaming, especially Jason. Neri graces in a wine colored lace sheath dress with cold-shoulder details and swingy bell sleeves. Her hair is pinned up with a few curly hanging loose. She's wearing a fresh, natural make-up look, not that she needs it. She's wearing mid-heel sandals, which she's clearly uncomfortable in.
"I hope I do not fall and break ankles in these;" says Neri, a little nervous.
"Neri;" says Jason, chocking a little, "You…ah…look…breathless."
"That's good, is it?"
"You bet it is;" answers Brett giving a thumbs up.
Diane emerges, wearing a Navy blue short sheath dress, crafted of tier after tier of bead-trimmed chiffon. They boys keep staring at Neri.
"Ah-hem, boys;"
Her sons don't even look at her; "Oh, hey Mum."
"Aren't you boys forgetting someone?"
Jason barely glances; "Oh yea, you look good Mum."
"Nice Mum;" says Brett.
"Oh joy;" Diane says outload.
"What are we supposed to say?" ask Brett; "You're our Mum."
Neri, who has already complimented Diane, does so again; "You look very beautiful Mother."
"Well, at least somebody cares. Thank you Neri."
Neri smiles in return.
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Charlie swims just below the surface, enjoying at little late afternoon sun. It's been an interesting day so far. First, some spinner dolphins decided to play tricks and have some fun around him. Sometimes the spinners are fun, sometimes, they get on Charlie's nerves, and he was grateful when they finally left to go feed. Then, a male blue whale, a little smaller then Charlie but not fully grown, tried to pick a "fight", but Charlie assorted his dominance with tale signals and the blue whale left peacefully. If that wasn't enough, some orcas tried to separate a humpback calf, "Little Neri" (one of Charlie's own off-spring), from her mother, Missy (Charlie's main mate and the dominate female), but mother and Charlie took care of them. Little Neri is once again safe and sound.
Suddenly, Charlie gets another message from Missy. Fortunately, it's not bad news this time, just strange. Missy's just seen a pinkish-gray Aussie humpback dolphin swim by, alone. This is interesting, and baffling. Those dolphins rarely wonder into Charlie's deeper territory, they're supposed to stay in shallower waters as they can't hold their breath for very long. They're usually seen in Henry's territory, which is not only much closer to the mainland shore, but also has more shallow areas, and fewer predators to threaten them. Plus, they usually form smaller social groups then other dolphins, some functioning as only pairs or trios, but never alone.
What is this little dolphin doing this far from away from shore, alone?
Charlie tells Missy to follow the dolphin, for her own protection. Since Missy has a young calf to attend too, she summons another female to help.
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Maria, now in mermaid form, swims along the reef some distance from ORCA. She doesn't know how long she's been out here, and decides to surface for air. She only intended to take a few minutes, but true to her nature, she lost herself in both the freedom of swimming and her natural curiosity to explore, further from ORCA then she's been allowed to go so far. When she surfaces, she notices the position of the sun, stating that she's been down there between 30 minutes to an hour, perhaps an hour since she was beginning to get a little sort of breath. If she heads back to ORCA now, maybe she can sneak back in without anybody noticing she's been gone. For sure she's going to be forced to sleep on the "dry" bed again instead of the tub. Maria doesn't actually have to stay wet through the night, it just feels much more natural to her.
Maria takes a breath, enjoying the ocean breeze for a moment, then she gets splashed from behind. She turns around can't believe who's behind her.
"Ariel?" she says first in "human" speak, then catches herself and switches to dolphin.
"Ariel, what are you doing here?"
Ariel squeaks cheerfully and splashes Maria again.
"You followed me? Ariel that's dangerous."
Ariel's not interested in explaining, she just wants to play. She does say that that morning had been the first time since she lost her companion she's been happy, and seeing Maria makes her happy again.
"Well, maybe a few more minutes."
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It's the moment of truth, the Bates and Neri meet Diane's parents, Phil and Mary Irwin. Mary and Diane could be twins. They even have the same hair style, except Diane's is shorter, and the same blond hair, though Jason insists that his grandmother's hair is dyed, which she denies.
Mary smiles and gently shakes Neri's; "Hello there. You must be Neri. Lovely to meet you dear."
Neri smiles; "Lovely to meet you too,...uh...Mrs. Irwin."
"Call me Mary."
"You may call me Mr. Irwin;" says Phil with a slight chuckle.
"Phil!"
"I mean Phil. Just joking."
The boys look at each other and giggle. That's their grandpa.
As the usher leads them to their table, Diane asks; "Where's Jenny?'
"In the dunny with the girls. She wanted to get that out of the way."
Diane looks around and doesn't see any other small children in the somewhat elegant restaurant. The next youngest child must be at least 10. If 5-year-old Lola is as spunky as ever, this is going to be an interesting evening.
Neri and the boys look around. This is definitely a fancy and elegant restaurant. Even the center pieces for the tables look like crystal, which is probably real. Neri, who usually doesn't get nervous at all, keeps telling herself to believe in herself, she'll get this right, she'll do just fine. Everything always works out.
These weren't just any people, however, these are Diane's parents and family.
One of the ushers slides out a chair and looks a Neri. She just stands there, not getting it.
"Oh;" gasps Jason. How could he forget tell her about this? "Just sit down Neri."
"Ok." Neri doesn't get it, but she sits and the man slides the chair underneath her, then finishes pushing her towards the table.
"Say thank you;" whispers Jason.
"Thank you;" says Neri to the usher. He nods, then dose the same for Diane. Another does the same for Mary. That was strange, but nice. But why didn't they do it for the men?
These waiters are dressed in very fancy and stuffy looking tuxedos. Neri wonders how they breathe with those collars and bows tied so tightly around their necks. They're also have long napkins, or towels, draped over one of their arms, which they have in a strange position. They don't smile, just have stoic frowns on their faces.
Before they order drinks, a high-pitched child's voice yells; "Grandma, Grandpa!" and little pounding steps heads towards their table, soon to reveal a small, Asian-looking child. It's the same older girl from the picture. She jumps towards Mary, who scoops her up into an embrace.
"Hello sweetie;" greets Mary that hugs and kisses.
"Lola;" calls a woman headed towards them, holding a smaller child in her arms. This is Jenny and Kelly.
"What did I just tell you about running in here?"
Neri smiles as everyone exchanges hugs. Diane notices that the people around them are looking at them. And she was worried about Neri attracting attention.
Jenny gets the girls settled and everybody spends time catching, when they can sneak in a word when the chatty Lola takes a breath, which she does very little of it seems. Neri learns that Phil is a retired Bio-engineering professor, and now helps out Mary at her shop, which she says has been in the family for 3 generations. Mary looks at Diane when she says that, and Diane looks away. Lola mentions that her grandma's shop has candy, fudge, and ice cream. Mary laughs and says there's much more than that, such as coffee, candles, soap, décor and other things. Neri's really interested in the goodies and wants to know more. The more they talk about the shop, however, Diane looks down and seems distrusted. Phil changes the subject, towards Jenny. Jenny is a Nurse practitioner and a midwife on the side. Her parents were both killed in a boating accident when she was eight, which Jenny somehow survived. Afterward, she lived with her aunt, uncle, and cousin.
"My parents are gone too;" Neri says to Jenny.
"We heard;" replies Jenny; "What did your father do Neri?"
"He loved the ocean;" answers Neri; "he loved all living things. He was good and wise."
"So he was a marine biologist? Like Diane;" says Phil.
"More like an environmentalist;" says Jason.
"Like the Mentalist?" asks Lola
"No silly girl;" answers Jenny; "I knew I shouldn't have let her watch that show. That means he studied the environment. Nature."
"Dose he study spiders?" Lola bounces in her sit. Neri was surprised she'd ask that question, since most humans don't seem to like spiders.
"Yes, he studied everything."
Lola then starts singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Jenny tries telling her to sing it more quietly, but can't help but giggle. Everyone else at the table giggles too, though other people in room seem annoyed.
After salad, and bread, they're served this strange looking appetizer with a very strange name. Neri takes a closer look at it; "Is this snail?"
"YUCK!" Brett and Lola both said. Nobody else at the table, except for Phil, even tasted them. Neri has never ate snail on her island, but she tries it anyway. It has a very odd taste to it. It's not great, but it's not bad either. The next dish is oysters and meatballs. Jenny cuts up the meatballs and give them to her daughters. Lola takes an occasional bit between words. Kelly just sits there quietly, mostly looking at her food, playing and eating on occasion. When she does look up, she has these big, beautiful dark brown eyes, like she's wondering about everything and taking it all in. Neri can relate.
"Where did they come from?" ask Neri.
"I come from China," answers Lola; "Kelly from here."
"Here? Sydney?"
"Australia;" answers Jenny; "She was left at a ranger station in the Central Desert Region."
This perplexes Neri; "Why? Why would any mother or father leave their baby?"
Jenny shrugs her shoulders; "I really don't know Neri. But fortunately there are people who will have them. These two were destined to be mine."
"I love you Mummy;" Lola wants a kiss.
"I love you too sweetie;" Jenny kiss Lola. Kelly then wants to give her Mummy a kiss, which Jenny accepts.
Neri laughs and smiles. It's sad to think that the girls' birth parents might not want them, or couldn't have them for some reason, but they have a mother now.
"Do they have a father?"
Jenny shakes her no; "The romance department hasn't been too kind to me."
"She's been married;" says Brett; "it was a disaster I heard."
"BRETT;" Jason, Diane, and Jenny all say in unison.
"I wasn't a disaster;" says Jenny; "just wasn't meant to be."
"I thought he was a womanizer."
"Brett;" warns Diane; "if you say one more about that I swear I will take you to the lobby and pop you. I don't care how old you are. That's history."
"Please;" says Jenny.
"I'm sorry;" says Brett; "I didn't mean to be rude.
"What's a worm-a-nister?" ask Lola.
After the get off that subject, they continue to chat. Diane and Jason are amazed at how well this is going, at least on Neri's part. Her questions, and answers, haven't been too bizarre and the family seem to like her. While everybody else continues to chap, Mary looks at Diane.
"I can see why you haven't adopted her yet."
Diane nearly chocks; "What do you mean, Mother?"
"Please, I've noticed the why Jason looks at her;" answers Mary; "I can sense that she's a good and kind girl. It would be awkward if they were legally brother and sister."
Diane's amused. Her mother's always had a kin judgement of character; "You're right mother. It would be."
"Always the romantic;" says Phil; "but seriously, we're proud of you taking her in Diane. Everybody needs a family."
Diane never thought that her parents would think that Neri's her foster child. This is perfect.
"Neri's birthday's tomorrow;" says Brett.
"Really?" replies Phi; "Well Happy Birthday Neri."
Everybody else says Happy Birthday, except Lola who ask if it's was Kelly's birthday again.
"Kelly's birthday was two weeks ago sweetie;" answers Jenny.
"I wish it be Kelly's birthday again, then we can have cake and party again. Mine's forever away."
"Only 7 more months;" Jenny giggles.
Neri giggles too. She hasn't had much contact with young children, and she definitely enjoying Lola.
"How old will you be Neri?" ask Mary.
"I will be 17 years;" Neri answers.
"Now that's a great age;" says Phil; "Right Jason."
Jason shrugs his shoulders; "I guess."
The main course arrives. A two pound lobster is placed in front of Neri. She picks up the lobster utensils. She practiced with these the other night. She hopes she can get this right, but it would be so much easier eating with her hands.
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Maria finally arrives back on ORCA. It is now dark outside. The kids' lectures should be over by now, maybe the adults as well. She mentally braces herself for her mother, the punishment's not going to be pleasant, although it probably servers her right, but what about Ariel? She promised Ariel she'd be back out tomorrow. Ariel shouldn't be punished. Wasn't her fault.
The door of the diving bay opens. Maria quietly makes her way to the hall. She must make it back to her cabin unnoticed. Surely, everybody on ORCA has been searching for her. She'll just stay quiet when questioned and look down, like she always does. She decides to take a back way, using stairs, through a storage level. Nobody should be there at this hour, plus they've most likely already searched this area. As she makes her way down the hall, a door to one of the units opens, and out comes Herold. He looks real angry to see her.
"What are doing here?"
Maria doesn't answer, she just tries to turn the other way. Herold grabs her hard and pins her to the wall.
"Are you spying on me? Is that what you're doing?" he pokes her hard in the chest. She's actually feeling pain. "What did you see? Do you know what happens to little snoops?"
Maria's now angry. She grabs Herold's wrists and starts twisting it.
"OUCH! What the…" Then she over powers Herold and pushes him to the floor, giving her just enough to run.
"HEY! Come back here you little freak!" Herold runs after her. Maria heads down a flit of stairs. She hears Herold's voice shout from behind her; "HA! You ran right into my trap!" Maria trips over of a wire and falls face first down the stairs. She could have been badly hurt if she didn't reach her arms straight out and fall straight down. She can taste blood in her mouth. Her nose is bleeding too. But that's not the worst of it. Something wet spells all over her.
"NO!" She tries to get up and run, but slips.
"Take that you freakizoid!" It's too late, Maria transforms into a mermaid as Herold appears on top of the stairs. She quickly raises her hand and freezes him solid in a block of ice.
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Charlies about to settle into his "resting" stage when he hears another message. He can hardly believe he hears and ask Missy to repeat it. It's actually happened! The creature in question has actually been seen, in 'his' territory. Not only that, but the humpback dolphin that Missy spotted earlier was playing with her, for at least a couple of hours into dark. They spotted Missy and signaled hello, but seemed to respect that fact that she was nursing Little Neri and kept a safe distance. They spotted the other female as well, who let them come near her for a closer look. The creature keep trying to calm down the overexcited dolphin, and was making perfect dolphin sounds. She was obviously communicating with the dolphin. She tried to speak to the whales, but sounded like a dolphin attempting to make humpback whale songs, just as Henry had described. It was funny and amusing, but she didn't quite make sense.
The creature seems friendly and harmless so far. Charlie can't wait to see her himself. It should only be a matter of time now. He sends the message to Henry, who's amused that she, and that dolphin, have moved so far in such a sort amount of time.
Charlie especially wants to make sure that this creature is harmless enough to meet Neri. Neri no doubt will want to meet her, but Charlie needs to protect Neri first and foremost.
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Neri fumbles with the lobster utensils until she noticed that Phil was eating his small lobster by hand. She puts down the crazy utensils and follows suit. Lola and Kelly put down their forks and eat with their hands as well, then do Brett, Jason, and Jenny. Finally, Diane and Mary join in. They must have looked like they were eating barbecue ribs instead of seafood, but the waiters say that it happens much more often than they think.
Neri has excused herself to the restroom. When she's finished, she wets her hands and arms at the sink. She's starting to feel a little dry, but she can hold out a full wet down for a little while longer. She doesn't need to mess up her make-up or dress. She can't wait to get out of these shoes, but is enjoying being dressed up non-the-less. When she's finished at the sink, she sees Jenny come in with Kelly in her arms.
"Hey Neri. Diaper change."
"Diaper change?" Neri wonders.
"Yep." Jenny lays Kelly on a table as Neri watches; "She'll start potty training soon, I hope."
So that's it. Neri realizes that human babies must start out like this. She wonders if she did too. Kelly looks at Neri with those big, brown eyes and soon smiles, showing off her pretty little teeth.
"Does she talk?" ask Neri.
"Not yet;" answers Jenny; "Unless you count baby talk. She should start forming words before long, but I dougbt she'll be the chatter box her sister is. She's a lot more mellow then Lola."
"Mellow?"
"Calmer, except when they're playing. They both seem to be equally stubborn."
Neri giggles at that.
"Mother's parents seem so nice," says Neri, "Why does she say seeing them is hard?"
"Mother? Oh Diane;" replies Jenny; "She said that?"
Neri nods.
"Well;" says Jenny as she puts redresses Kelly; "I really shouldn't say, but you are part of the family now. You remember Aunt Mary saying the shop's been in the family for 3 generations. It was started by our great-grandmother, who passed it on to her daughter, our grandma, who passed it on to her daughter, Mary, and Mary…"
"Wants to give it to her daughter, Mother;" finishes Neri.
"Exactly. Diane has never wanted to run the shop, and neither do I. Mary still hopes one of us, especially Diane, will give in, and we've both wrestled emotionally with it. But we both have different dreams and we choose to pursue them. I certainly don't have the talent to run the shop, and Diane's always felt the ocean calling her."
"Is there anybody else?" ask Neri.
Jenny grabs Kelly hand as the girl slips on her sippy cup; "There could be, but she can't, or won't, consider that idea. She's stubborn, just like Diane."
When they return to the table, there's a chocolate cake desert waiting for Neri. The waiters all sing a special birthday song for her and light a candle. Neri is so surprised and happy. She's never felt so love.
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Maria carefully uses her Hydro-Thermokinesis to gradually thaw out Herold. Barbara guards the door of the storage room they dragged him into, giving Maria a stern stair. She understands that Maria needed to wet down, but she should have just soaked for a few minutes and come right back. Ariel or no Ariel (despite being shocked and amused that she followed them here) Maria's 3-hour absences lead to all of ORCA looking for her. It took all of Barbara's wits and patience to defend her daughter from the commander and the staff. Ture, Herold's partely to blame too, the nerve of him playing a hurtful prank such as that, with dangerous acid chemicals. So far, Maria hasn't suffered any effects, having a much higher tolerance due to her powers, but they'll have to watch that. Maria's already sincerely apologized to her mother for panicking on the spear of the second. She didn't know what else to do to keep her tail from being seen.
"He's not moving yet Mama;" Maria has some panic in her voice.
"I'll check his temperature again." Barbara puts the thermometer in Herold's ear. She'll have to discipline Maria later, as the latter can't break her concentration. Since Maria's full-blown Hydro-Cryokinesis is so powerful, Herold's only frozen in suspended animation.
"Close enough;" says Barbara; "Now, carefully switch one hand to your Hydrokinesis to get his body fluids going again, slowly."
Maria dose so, visibly nervous, but she manages. She looks at Herold's still silently blue face; "I don't get it. Why are boys so mean?"
"They're not 'all' mean;" says Barbara; "We've seen some real mean girls too. There are some good men."
"If there are any nice ones; why won't you date one?"
"Focus Maria;" sneers Barbara; "I'll be having a talk with Herold's father tomorrow."
"But if you do that; you'll lose your job and career so I've heard."
"I'll worry about that."
Maria looks at Herold again. Why is he so mean, why dose he never get punished, it seems. Does he have a soft side, as Grandma says, most everybody has a good and soft side. Plus, those who are bullies are usually victims themselves. Is Herold a victim? Have people hurt him? But still, people have bullied Maria, and Barbara, all their lives, and they're not mean. Why is it that some people are good and kind, and some are mean and sadistic. Barbara wonders that herself. Despite all the psychology she's read, she still can't answer that question.
He also accused Maria of spying. Why?
Barbara feels Herold's heart beating, and his twitching. She gives him a sedative, so that by the time he wakes up, they'll be long gone. Finally, he body temperature is back to normal and he's breathing normally. They leave him on the floor leave. They go straight to their cabin, Maria finally relaxes.
"Phew. That was a close one."
"You bet it was;" says Barbara; "Now, what to do with you?"
Oops. Perhaps she spoke to soon.
