“If only it could be so simple,” she concedes. A message in a bottle isn’t a bad idea though. I can toss it through the portal and hope for the best. It should make itcloseto her at the very least.
“I can’t shake this restless feeling,” I say, pushing away the number-filled notebook.
“Are you sure it’s all to do with your girl?” Mama asks, her browbones furrowing. She stares me down like I’m a child again, and she’s caught me in a lie.
“What else would be bothering me?”
“You tell me.” She puts a hand on her hip. “You know, I swam past your place the other night. I couldn’t help but stop and listen to the way you played that—ther—munt?”
“Theremin,” I correct her, my lips quirking into a smile. “Thought you didn’t like that thing.”
“Maybe I never stopped to listen for long enough,” she says, shaking her head. “You have a gift, Gil, and a real comfort when it comes to the stage. Don’t think I didn’t notice when you leapt up there to help Marina. It was like you came alive.”
“It wasn’t anything.”
“But itwas,” she says, placing her hand on top of mine. “You should have the life you want, Gil. While Marina is a part of that, she’s not all of it.” She sighs. “You’ve been content to work here your whole life, just to support our family, but Finn has come a long way. I don’t want you to limit yourself.”
“What exactly are you suggesting, Mama?” I ask. “I get along well enough here, and I don’t think leaving to become some full-time theremin player is going to make much sense.”
“No,” she relents with a shake of her head. “And maybe it’s not music. Maybe it’s something else, something crafty or creative. Your spark doesn’t shine here. And when another path opens, you should at least consider exploring it.”
“I don’t want to let y’all down.”
“How could you possibly do that when we’d all be cheering you on?” she asks with a warm smile.
I wrap my arms around her in a tight hug, and she presses a kiss against my temple the same way she’s done since I was a guppy. Some things never change.
“Thank you, Mama,” I say, my voice quiet. I cast a gaze toward the invoices I’d been working on. If something changed, I wouldn’t miss the strings of numbers, but I wouldn’t miss my family either; they’d never leave my side long enough time to miss them.
I’m glad.
In the monotony of routine, I’d somehow forgotten that the love we have is never conditional. No matter what I do, where I go, they’ll always be there.
Tonight, I’ll swing by the portals and send Marina a message. I’ll let her know I’m waiting, and so is the rest of the family.
The portals at night are normally quiet. But inside the little cove, there’s arguing, and Grampy’s voice is among the gathered elders.
This doesn’t look good.
“Gil.” Grampy frowns. “You gave them no choice.”
“No choice?” I echo, glancing behind him at Auntie Cat, Walleye, and Jess. They all have the same sullen expressions.
“Had you heeded our warnings, this would not have been necessary,” Auntie Cat says. “But you just couldn’t help yourself.”
“He’s young—” Grampy begins but is cut off by a wave of Walleye’s hand.
“That excuse for foolishness has long since expired.”
“What exactly am I interrupting here?” I ask, looking between them and the glittering water.
Grampy frowns when he meets my eyes, and the warning he shared with Magnus and me echoes through my memory. There’s only one reason they’d all be here…
“You closed the portal to the springs?”
“You forced our hands, Gil,” Auntie Cat says, blowing out a sigh that makes her whiskers ruffle.
“You’re not some lovestruck guppy anymore. Act accordingly,” Walleye says. “We’ve all put up with these summer shenanigans for long enough. It’s an embarrassment to you, your family, andwell,it’s time you realized that.”
