Chapter 9

A few weeks later, Lenny was happily sitting beside Patrick in his office, in Nathan's old seat. He was really starting to get the hang of being one of the guys in charge. The job wasn't at all demanding or even that challenging. All he did was fill out papers, show up to conferences, treat his employees with kindness, and above all continue to be good with the kids. If he were still living on the South Side Reef, his position of being in charge would be much different. It had only been a year since he'd left but his life had turned around in such a brilliant way. In just one year, he'd found a place where he didn't feel misunderstood, an amazing job, and a perfect girlfriend. That's right, you heard me. Girlfriend. Ever since their date, Lenny and Kylie had been pretty much inseparable. If they didn't see each other at work for at least five minutes a day, they'd lose their mind. And Lenny had just realized that he hadn't seen Kylie all day yet. He'd have to see if he could have lunch with her. Before he could put more thought into it, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Patrick said in a raised voice.

The door opened and in came Kylie, whose olive green eyes were, of course, set upon Lenny. She smiled at him and waved to him in a childish manner as she approached her uncle's desk. Lenny returned the gesture. Patrick and Dustin, who had been getting along a lot better since Nathan was no longer around to screw everything up, snickered at the two lovebirds.

"You know I'm right here, so I can see everything you guys do," Kylie said to them.

"Sorry," Dustin said, trying not to laugh.

"What can we do for you, Kylie?" Patrick asked.

"Well provided nobody laughs or makes any comments," Kylie replied, "I'd like to speak to Lenny outside for just a quick second."

"You promise?" Dustin teased. "Because anything that involves you two being together never takes a quick second."

"Very funny, Dustin. But yes, I promise."

"Then he's all yours," said Patrick.

Lenny rose from his seat and followed Kylie out to the hallway. As they closed the door behind them, they could've sworn they heard Patrick and Dustin snickering again. Lenny ignored them and was relieved to finally be with Kylie.

"So what's up?" he asked.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Anything."

"Well, we've been dating for a few weeks now, and…"

The look on Lenny's face turned suddenly sad. "Y-you're not breaking up with me, are ya?"

Kylie rolled her eyes. "No, silly. It's nothing like that."

Lenny relaxed. "Oh, then what is it?"

"I was just gonna say that I think now's a good time for you to meet my family."

"Uh, as in right now?" Lenny asked, unsure if he should be interrupted from work just for this.

"Of course not, tonight," said Kylie. "I talked to my parents a few days ago and they're really excited to meet you. Plus, I could really use some help. Mom and Dad have an important dinner tonight and I have to look after my sisters. I don't suppose you know of any co-presidents of an organization that works with kids, do you?"

"Oh, I sure do," said Lenny. "And I think he'd be delighted to help you with your sisters."

"Really?"

"Yup. I'll just go back inside and ask Dustin if he's available," Lenny joked.

"Lenny! That's not what I meant!"

Lenny laughed at his joke. "I know what you meant. Don't worry, I'd love to meet your family."

"Great," said Kylie. "But I should warn you, it can be a little crazy with all of them under one roof."

"I can handle crazy," Lenny assured.

That night, Lenny met up with Kylie and the two made their way to Kylie's family's home. Lenny was expecting them all to live in the ship like most of the sharks did. He realized this wasn't the case when Kylie led him outside.

"Uh, where exactly does your family live?" he asked.

Kylie smiled. "Call them crazy if you want, but they live in the wreck of a yacht a short swim from here. They think living in a huge, luxurious liner would get in the way of family time."

"But you live in the ship," Lenny curiously pointed out.

"Because I work there," Kylie replied. "My parents work somewhere else in the reef."

The rest of the swim took just a few minutes. When they arrived at the yacht that gave shelter to Kylie's family, Lenny hoped he would make a good impression on them. He hadn't exactly made a great first impression on Kylie, Patrick, and certainly not Nathan. But what did that prove? Kylie was now his girlfriend, Patrick was his boss, and Nathan… well he was impressed by Lenny's attitude with kids. That was good enough, right?

Before they went inside, Kylie reminded him, "Be prepared for the craziest."

Lenny scoffed. "Settle down. They're your family, so I already think they're great."

They proceeded to the front door, on which Kylie knocked. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal a couple of great whites who looked like they were in their mid forties. They both had the same olive eyes as Kylie and Lenny had to admit they were relatively good looking for their age. They looked like they were heading somewhere important. The female was wearing an opal necklace and the male was wearing a black necktie.

"There you are, Kylie," the female said, pulling Kylie into a hug.

Kylie returned the hug. "Hi, Mom."

"Welcome home, Princess," the male said, kissing Kylie on the cheek.

"Hi, Dad."

Then Kylie's parents turned their attention to Lenny. "And you must be Lenny," her mom said. "Kylie's told us so much about you. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Ma'am," Lenny replied.

"Oh, please," said Kylie's mom. "Call me Kara."

Kylie's dad approached Lenny and said, "And call me Kurtis. Put her there, Son."

Lenny shook his fin.

"It is so great to finally have another guy in the family," Kurtis said, putting his fin around Lenny's shoulders. "What do ya wanna do first? Play catch? Watch finball? See who can belch the longest?"

"Uh…" That was all Lenny could even think about saying.

"Dad!" Kylie snapped.

"Kurtis," Kara said quietly. "Don't make him think you're weird."

"Don't make him think we're dysfunctional, Kara," Kurtis retorted. "Besides, if we'd had all sons and Kyle started dating a nice young lady, I'm sure you'd feel the same way that I do."

Kara rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I would." She turned to Kylie. "I'm sorry we have to leave so suddenly, but we cannot be late for this dinner."

"It's okay, Mom," Kylie assured her.

"We're just glad you could make it in time," said Kurtis. "We were starting to think we'd have to leave Kandice in charge. And you remember what happened the last time we had to do that, right?"

"That doesn't matter right now," said Kylie. "I'm here and you guys finally got to meet Lenny."

"And we're so sorry we couldn't stay to know him longer," said Kara.

"Not a problem," said Lenny. "It was nice meeting you too."

"I knew I'd like him," said Kurtis. "C'mon, Kara. We'd better not keep 'em waiting."

"You two have a good evening," Kara said to Kylie and Lenny. "And don't let Kelsey go near anything sharp," she added.

"You have my word," said Kylie. "Bye Mom, bye Dad."

After Kara and Kurtis left, Kylie and Lenny went inside. Kylie was given a loud, lively welcome by her six sisters. Lenny was intimidated by just how loud they were altogether, but once Kylie finally got them to settle down, they seemed much more pleasant. Now that none of them were jumping around trying to get a hug from their big sis, Lenny could finally see them all face to face. They all had the same olive green eyes as Kylie and their parents. Though they were all pretty, Lenny still thought Kylie was the most beautiful in the family, and not just because the others were all minors. Kylie introduced each of them in order by age. Throughout the evening, Lenny got to learn a lot about them.

Kandice was closest to Kylie in both age and relationship. She was seventeen and was the only "hippy" in a family of free spirits. She wore a teal green headband around her temples and a peace medallion around her neck. She came off as a bit eccentric. The first thing she did when she saw Lenny was compliment him for having such a "beautiful aura". She was also a music appreciator. She could sing and play guitar. Her music, she said, always came from the heart. Her face was always relaxed and "her aura was always green".

Lenny had instantly taken a liking to fifteen-year-old Kayla, who seemed a lot more calm and practical than the rest of her family. Plus, she was the only one who wore glasses. Lenny felt like he could relate to her because she seemed so different compared to the others. Just like he'd always felt different compared to his family. Kayla wasn't exactly what one would call social. When Kylie introduced her to Lenny, all she did was give a half smile and look away. When Lenny asked if he'd done something wrong, Kylie explained that Kayla had been feeling insecure lately because her glasses were brand new and they made her feel like a freak. Lenny hoped she would come out of her shell at some point during the night.

The fourteen-year-old twins, Karissa and Katrina, may have been identical, but it was almost scary to see how much, or rather how little, they had in common. They say that all girls are an even mixture of sugar and spice, but in the case of these two, Karissa was all sugar and Katrina was all spice. Karissa was perky, bubbly, talkative, and the perfect example of a girly girl. Lenny could tell she was either a current cheerleader or a future one. She seemed to be a huge fan of the color pink because of her pink choker and numerous pink beaded bracelets. Katrina was, to be frank, gothic, hardcore, and conservative with her feelings. When Lenny first saw her, he thought she'd gotten in a fight because of her darkened eyes. It turned out she was just wearing a lot of eyeliner. She wore a choker just like Karissa's except hers was black, and instead of beaded bracelets, she wore numerous black jelly bracelets on either wrist. To Lenny, the twins seemed like the shoulder angel and devil of the same girl.

Kelsey was twelve and very much a tomboy. She displayed a strong love of sports, practical jokes, getting dirty, and eating. Her favorite color was orange, which was notable by her orange arm warmers. She was easily the most rambunctious in the family. I'm sorry to say that she didn't really have good manners. She was loud, often pushy, and let's just say other people's feelings weren't on her radar. You'll know what I mean later on.

And last, but not least, was Kimmy who, though being ten, displayed a strong love for style. She wore a multicolored scarf around her neck that apparently she'd both designed and knitted herself. It made Lenny wonder if she'd designed and made the whole family's clothes as well. Kimmy giggled at the idea and said she was still in her scarf phase. But at the moment, she was working up to headbands. Lenny could picture her thirty years from now working for a big time fashion company.

The whole evening was so exhausting because this huge family of free spirits was so noisy and lively. But overall, Lenny had enjoyed meeting and getting to know his girlfriend's family.

At about ten o'clock, the younger girls were either in bed, in their rooms writing a new song, or just settling down for the night. This meant Lenny and Kylie finally had a while to be alone. They were sitting together on the living room couch watching a movie. Suddenly, Kayla came into their presence and swam across the room at a fast pace looking like she was about to cry. She was going so fast that she paid no mind at all to Lenny and Kylie. If they didn't know better, it was as if she didn't even know they were there.

"Kayla?" Kylie said, trying to get her attention. It was too late; Kayla had already disappeared into another room.

"Wonder what that was about," said Lenny.

Just then, Kelsey burst into the room. "Kayla?" she called. "Kayla, come back! It was just a joke! Hey!"

Kylie angrily grabbed her tween sister by the fin and demanded, "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing that bad," said Kelsey. "I just told her that her glasses make her eyes look at least four times bigger."

"Kelsey!" Kylie barked. "As if she wasn't feeling bad enough about her glasses! And this is no way to behave in front of my new boyfriend."

"Uh technically, Kayla and I were in the other room when I said…"

"I don't care," said Kylie. "You don't make people cry when we have company."

Lenny tried to calm her down. "It's okay, Kylie. Ya know, maybe you should go see if Kayla's alright."

"Come with me?" Kylie asked.

"Sure."

Kylie and Lenny left Kelsey alone in the living room and went to find Kayla. They could tell they were getting close when they found her glasses on the floor in the hallway. Lenny picked them up.

"Are they broken?" Kylie asked.

Lenny inspected the glasses. "No, but something tells me she wants 'em to be."

Kylie swam up to the door the glasses had been closest to and knocked on it. "Kayla?" she said in a raised voice. "Kayla, can you hear me?"

"Go away!" replied Kayla's muffled voice.

Kylie ignored this order and said, "Kayla, I don't think it's wise for you to leave your glasses lying around in the hallway. They could get broken out here."

"Exactly!" Kayla wept. "Like Kelsey's nose, I want them to get broken!"

"See?" Lenny whispered.

"I hate those stupid things!" Kayla continued. "I'm never wearing them again and you can't make me!"

"Look, I'll deal with Kelsey later," said Kylie. "But right now I'd like to discuss this with you in a more social way. As in a way that allows me to see you face to face."

"There's nothing to discuss, Kylie! I hate those glasses and I hate Kelsey! I want them both out of my life forever!"

Kylie rubbed her temples in an annoyed fashion. "Kayla, you're blind without these. You can't go around squinting all the time just because Kelsey's a little pest."

Kayla was silent for a moment, which indicated that she was thinking. "Maybe I'd consider wearing them if Mom and Dad signed Kelsey up for adoption."

"Been there, done that," said Kylie. "We've all tried to convince them to, but they're keeping her."

"Then I'll stick to a life of squinting!"

"Kayla…"

"NO!"

Kylie opened her mouth to speak again.

Lenny stopped her by putting his fin on her shoulder. "Maybe I should talk to her," he offered.

"You think you can?" Kylie asked quietly.

"If I can make a four-year-old kid stop screaming, I think I can handle a weeping fifteen-year-old girl."

Kylie smiled. "Thank you so much. You're a saint." She kissed him on the cheek, wished him luck, and then left to find and deal with Kelsey.

Lenny took a deep breath and pushed Kayla's door open. He was glad she hadn't locked it.

Kayla was lying on her bed with her back facing the door. She'd heard the door open but clearly hadn't seen who the intruder was. "Go away, Kylie," she said in a shaky voice.

"It's not Kylie, it's me," said Lenny.

Kayla turned around to face him. Apparently her tearstained eyes and astigmatism didn't prevent her from telling who it was. "Oh, hi," she said in a moping tone.

Lenny held her glasses out to her, hoping she wouldn't swat them out of his fin. "I thought you might want these back."

"You thought wrong then," said Kayla. "I wouldn't want those if it was the choice between them and a piousness sea serpent."

Wow, she must've really hated them. Lenny took a seat next to her on the bed. "Don't you think this is kinda sad?"

"What?"

"Hiding yourself just 'cause your little sister can't hold her tongue?"

Kayla sniffed. "Don't you think you'd act like this if you felt the way I did? Nobody in my family has ever needed glasses before, not even my grandparents. I feel like I stick out like a sour fin, in my own family. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Lenny was silent for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, believe it or not I do." Kayla looked at him in disbelief. "I do know what it's like to be different. And I know what it's like to have a family member who looks down on you 'cause of the thing that makes you special. But there's a difference between my situation and yours."

"What's that?" Kayla asked.

"Kelsey's younger than you. If she says something that offends you, you have to just shake it off and remind yourself and her who's boss. Honestly, I wish I'd had that luxury. But I was always the youngest. I had to be the one putting up with being teased and having to live with what my brother said to me. You don't realize how lucky you are."

Kayla looked down to the floor. "I know I shouldn't be taking any of her crap," she admitted. "But she's always been tougher than me."

"That shouldn't matter," said Lenny. "Nothing she says or does to you should matter. You can't help that your eyesight isn't what it used to be. If there's one thing I've learned since I left my home, it's never let anyone make you think you're not special just because you're different, and that includes twelve-year-old pests." He held her glasses out to her once again. "Here. Take these and wear them proudly. And if they do make your eyes look four times bigger don't be embarrassed. It means people will be able to see how lovely your eyes are."

Kayla looked down at her glasses and reluctantly took them from Lenny's fin. "Why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me."

Lenny smiled. "Three reasons. A, because as previously stated, I can relate to you. B, because helping kids is what I do best. And C, and most importantly, because you're Kylie's kid sister. She's the most amazing girl I've ever met and she's got a much better family than I did. I became involved with anything you do when I started dating her. Now go on, put 'em on."

Kayla looked at her glasses again and slowly put them on. At first she felt doubtful of the way they looked and felt, but Lenny continued to encourage.

"Much better," he said with a smile.

"You think so?" Kayla asked.

"I know so."

Kayla got up from her bed, swam up to her vanity, and stared at herself in the mirror.

"I know I can't make you wear them," said Lenny. "That decision's yours alone. But lemme give you some advice. Choose wisely." He smiled at her again and left the room.

Kayla looked back at her reflection and put deep consideration into everything Lenny had told her.

End of chapter