EPILOGUE
Leilani told me to show up at Mermosa at eight p.m., sharp. It's two days before the official opening, and she's asked me to watch a run-through of the mermaid show.
She's worked so hard all these months on this. Heck, on the entire bar. Ever since that day Brent showed up — and ever since she and I had our serious talk — she's been a dynamo. It's as if our stable relationship has lit an even bigger fire inside her.
It's beautiful to watch. Inspiring, even. While I've never aimed to be a go-getting, high-flying businessman like my brother Max, I am totally on board with being the support system for a go-getting businesswoman like Leilani. Who clearly has her act together. I'm already planning on being a house husband.
A bottle of champagne and a bouquet of her favorite flowers in hand, I punch in the code to the lock at Mermosa. I'd insisted on the security system, and she'd wanted me to have the code after the Brent incident, figuring that on the off chance he came back, I'd be able to easily enter the place.
She also installed a panic button. Nat offered to accompany her to a martial arts class, but she'd declined.
Pulling open the door, I glance around. I'm eager to see her tonight, because I've got a surprise.
But apparently, she has a surprise for me, too. I'd expected the place to be bustling with women, ready to swim. And my sister and her girlfriends watching from the bar, martinis in hand. Heck, I'd even figured Ma would be here, possibly in a mermaid getup.
Instead, the bar is empty, cool, and dark, illuminated only by the soft, blue light of the mermaid tank behind the bar.
"Leilani?" I call out. "Hey, babe, I'm here. Where are you?"
The door shuts with a click. I walk up to the bar. There's a can of my favorite beer — Cigar City Maduro — nestled in ice inside an aluminum pail. I look down and spot a note card.
There's a cartoon mermaid holding a heart at the top of the card. Have a seat and a beer, it says in Leilani's sweeping, cursive script.
I settle in, gently placing the champagne and flowers to one side. Cracking the can open, I take a long pull of the cold liquid while my eyes sweep around the place. It has the feel of an underwater grotto. Super funky. Yeah, this bar's going to do crazy amounts of business here in Cypress Grove. Leilani will have to hire a manager soon.
The strains of Crumb, a band Leilani loves, break the silence. The singer's trippy, feminine voice and the lazy drums make my chest tighten. It's one of those albums she plays on long, lazy Sundays at her place, and just hearing it puts me right back there with her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot some movement in the tank. Was that a bubble? I sit up straighter and crane my neck.
And then, I see her. Leilani. She's in the tank with what looks like her new tail. She'd been so excited to receive it in the mail that she'd called me when it arrived, screaming and squealing for a solid minute.
She swims fast, back and forth past the window, a blur. I laugh out loud because it's freaking delightful.
My girlfriend's doing a solo mermaid show just for me.
For a few seconds, I don't see her, probably because she's surfacing for a breath of air. When she submerges again, she swims slowly up to the window and my jaw drops.
She's wearing a sparkly bikini top with the tail — sequins catching the soft blue tank light like a thousand tiny scales. Holy crap. I'm not even sure where to look first. The way the top shimmers? Her long, floating hair, which she recently dyed various shades of blue and purple? Or the tail itself, which has realistic-looking scales and ends right at her bellybutton?
She waves and does a backflip. Then another. And a third.
The water in the tank moves with her. Like it's part of the choreography. Like it’s enchanted.
I watch, rapt, as she undulates underwater. She's not just my girlfriend right now; she's an otherworldly, magical creature. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. The way she moves underwater is graceful and entirely her own.
She's the embodiment of grace and magic and a little bit of mischief.
And she's all mine. Never before have I felt like this with anyone. This intense, this special, this much... love.
Not just tonight, either. Ever since I laid eyes on her. There's been no way I can live without her.
Leilani is the one for me, if she'll have me. I wonder how quickly I can get an engagement ring made. How does a guy even buy one? I'm gonna have to ask Max and Tate.
She flips around so I can see the back of her tail, which tapers to delicate, flowing points. Turning her head, she winks at me from underwater.
My heart squeezes, and I swear, my eyes get wet. She comes close to the window and blows me a kiss. We haven't said the big important words yet, but I think it's about time.
I point to my chest. Put my hand over my heart. Then point to her.
