“Remember how I said Grampy used to dabble in mortal tech? It didn’t go as well as he wanted, but that didn’t mean there was never any demand,” Gil says, running his webbed hand up the back of his scalp where his fins ruffle down to the base of his neck.
“So, is it…?” I begin, unsure if I should ask.
“Legal?” Gil answers with a lopsided grin. I think I hear his sister Angel giggle.
“Your little girlfriend is here for three minutes and is already assuming we’re criminals?” Finn scoffs. I bristle because if winning them all over is supposed to be a goal, it’s getting harder by the second.
“Mind your tongue,” Gil says, his voice so strong and firm that it nearly startles me. “Marina is my guest here, and that calls for hospitality, wouldn’t you say?”
He’s not yelling, but there’s a warning tone there that leaves no room for argument. In this world, I’m under his protection—even if it’s from his little brother’s sassy comments.
Angel laughs, but I notice her crack her knuckles, glaring at Finn as if offering back-up.
Finn sighs, grumbling an apology in my direction,
“Could you please look at these numbers before you go back to… whatever it is you’re doing?” he says. This time, I sense a little desperation rather than scorn.
Gil said he’s been off for a week; it could be the business relies on him so much that it hurts when he’s gone. What would it be like to be so indispensable? For a moment, I look at him anew, so tall and confident. Heat floods through me.
Gil tenses his jaw before looking to me for approval. I nod; of course he can go. From the look of it, sounds like Finn really needs him.
“Go ahead. It sounds important.”
“Not more important than you,” he whispers in my ear. “But if you’re sure…”
I give his webbed hand a small squeeze and force a smile that I hope is convincing to both him and his brother. Despite Gil being defensive over me, I really want his siblings to like me. Gil gives me an apologetic smile and kisses me on the forehead, leaving the keys to the boat he selected in my hands.
“I’ll be back in no time,” he promises, but with the way he and his brother bicker as they hurry down the plant-lined hallway, part of me doubts that. Angel and I follow along until we reach a closed-in space with a filing cabinet and desk.
The alcove is just as quirky as Gil’s house, which makes me wonder if his Grampy had anything to do with the design. Maybe he was the one running numbers here before Gil stepped in, but I can’t be sure. Though, it’s sweet to think that he has such a strong connection to a grandparent—just like me.
What pieces of Grams do I carry with me? I’ve always thought she was more adventurous, more daring, but now, I look at where I’ve ended up; maybe we’re not so different.
Gil and Finn sit, and my friendly boyfriend is suddenly stiff and resolved as he flips through a binder. It’s clinical and uncreative and, for the first time since our weekend together, doesn’t seem like him.
I probably don’t seem much like myself at work either. I wonder what he’d think if he was forced to watch me fold and re-fold badly designed t-shirts. If he’d notice the way my face falls each time Aunt Andrea capitalizes on The Ole Reliables, even as she complains that they sounded like “a bunch of out-of-tune hippies” behind the fan’s backs.
“Yeah, they’ll be at this for a while.” Angel sighs. “Come on.”
“Where? I mean, I don’t know if I should.”
“It’s your first time in our realm, right?” she asks, batting her eyes. It’s a surreal sight considering the transparent lids. “Do you really want to sit here waiting in an office, or do you want your future sister-in-law to give you a tour?”
“A tour sounds—wait.” I fumble as her words sink in. “We’ve been dating for like two days.” And that’s a generous estimate.
“I can’t let Finn get all the teasing in,” she says, eyeing the keys in my hand. “At least I’m not mean about it.”
“Well, as long as it’s okay with Gil,” I say. “I don’t want to ditch him here or make him worry.”
“Oh. don’t worry,” she says, tightly closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to her temples. She lets out a low hum, then another, nodding every once in a while.
“He says it’s fine!” she announces cheerfully and—What?
Why didn’t Gil mention they havefamily telepathy?
“Wait, you can … communicate with your thoughts?”
“Sure seems like it, huh?” She shrugs and grabs the keys from my palm as if it’s nothing. “Come on!” And alright. I guess I don’t have a reason to say no.
