The Tantalizing Tale of Grace Minnaugh Read online

  “Let’s hope so. Keep scouring. Use those mermaid eyes.” Minerva was clearly using hers. Grace had never seen her mother look so determined. Or so worried.

  Grace and Minerva sped swiftly forward, searching left and right, up and down, trying to locate the dangling anchor line, or the bottom of the rowboat. Long minutes passed. Alfie might be halfway to Hawaii, for all Grace knew. Hold tight, Alfie. We’re on our way, she said to herself, over and over again. Just when Grace was about to lose hope, her eyes streaming salt tears, her chest heaving with misery and guilt, a loose anchor line appeared like a fine white crack running through the sea.

  “Grace, go! Grab it!” Minerva let go of Grace’s arm. “I’ll catch up.”

  Grace raced ahead, swimming faster than she had in her life, her gills working overtime, and seized the rope. Keeping the line steady was surprisingly difficult. Minerva was right—the current was a killer.

  “I’ll keep hold while you follow the line up,” Minerva said as she arrived at Grace’s side and grasped the line. “Once you’re at the boat, give a tug. I’ll let go if I know you’re okay.”

  Looking up, Grace could see the bottom of the rowboat and felt a lump in her throat. Suck it up, Minnaugh, she said to herself. She made her way up the line. When she touched the bottom of the rowboat, she tugged the line. The hard part was over. At least that is what Grace believed, until she switched back to human form and peeked over the side of the rowboat.

  It was empty. Alfie was nowhere in sight.

  Chapter Twenty Six: Human Cork

  Grace clung to the side of the boat and scoured the rolling waves, which stretched out to a misty horizon. No Alfie. She tugged the anchor line desperately, hoping her mother was still holding on and would get the message that something was wrong. The line was slack—Minerva was long gone. Grace suddenly spotted something black floating in the swell of waves ten feet away. It was Alfie’s walkie-talkie! Grace retrieved the walkie-talkie and hauled herself into the boat. Shaking the walkie-talkie, she tried to power it up so she could contact Tanya—was it possible that Alfie had swum ashore?—but it was utterly waterlogged and useless.

  The alarm horn was nowhere to be seen either. Perhaps Alfie had used the horn to get help, and someone had come by in a boat and picked him up. But Grace couldn’t leave without knowing for sure.

  Sloshing through the tippy boat, she made her way to the motor. The pull chain was missing and the motor casing stood wide open. Something had gone terribly wrong while she was underwater. Shading her eyes, Grace squinted in the now-bright sunlight, looking far and wide for some sign of Alfie. What had she been thinking? How could she have brought her best friend out to the middle of the ocean? And worse, how could she have left him there, alone in a small boat?

  “I don’t know if there’s anyone up there,” she said, tilting her head back to look up at the clear blue sky. “Or down there,” she continued, glancing down at the glistening surface of the sea. “Gods, goddesses, mermaids, or just plain humans. But if you can hear me, please, please help me find Alfie!”

  Then a faint sound came to her from across the ocean. Pricking her ears and straining her eyes, she stood high on the rear bench, the boat rocking alarmingly beneath her feet, and gazed out toward the western horizon. Was it a gull? A motor? A human cry? Amid the rolling swells, a dark speck appeared in the far distance. It was Alfie! He was screaming and waving his arms, and very much alive, at least for the moment.

  Without hesitation, Grace dove into the water. She had no time to waste. Her legs transformed into a powerful purple tail, gill flaps popped out on her neck as she sped through the water, making a beeline for Alfie. The current was monstrously strong, and Grace struggled to make headway against it with every ounce of mermaid strength she could muster. Every so often, Grace poked her head above the surface to make sure she was on course, but not long enough for her tail to become legs. Meanwhile, dead ahead but drawing nearer, Alfie bobbed in the waves like a human cork.

  “HELP! SOMEBODY! I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!” he screamed. Alfie slapped at the water around him and coughed as wave after wave hit him full in the face.

  Grace plunged ahead. Criss-crossing riptides threatened to pull her off course. When she lifted her head out of the water, the sunlight against the choppy surface nearly blinded her, and rogue waves slapped her in the face. Still she rallied and poured on the speed.

  “AAAALLLFFFIIIEEE! I’M COMING!” Grace shouted. “Hold on, Alfie!”

  Finally, she was within Alfie’s sight. “GRACE? IS THAT YOU?” he hollered. His glasses were gone. She was probably nothing more than a fuzzy blur. Grace dove under and swam the last few yards, using every ounce of mermaid-swimming strength she could muster. Her chest heaved, her gills throbbed, and her fish tail ached from her incredible effort.

  At last Alfie’s skinny legs came into view, kicking and thrashing underwater as he struggled to stay afloat. She hesitated a moment. Swimming up to him now with her fish tail flapping might well give him a heart attack. Instead, she quietly surfaced behind Alfie and waited for her legs to form and her gills to disappear. Once she had transformed back to human form, she called out, “Alfie. Don’t worry. I’m here.”

  Alfie turned awkwardly, his life preserver high around his chin like a neck brace. He blinked at Grace and emitted a scared and tired whelp. “I th…th…thought you dro…drowned.” He choked. “I’m…I’m…”

  “Shh,” she said as she swam up next to him. Alfie’s lips were purple and he was paler than a bleached-out sheet. His eyes kept drifting closed. He was on the verge of passing out.

  This wasn’t exactly the way Grace would have preferred to show Alfie her mermaid-self, but in matters of life and death, a mergirl might have no choice. Mrs. Shelby’s words ran through her mind: Perhaps he’d be more open-minded than you think. If he’s truly a pal, he’ll accept you warts and all. Though in your case, it might make more sense to say he’ll accept you fish scales and all? But the most important thing is for you to accept yourself, Grace, and don’t feel ashamed of being a wonderful, special, and powerful mer-girl. Grace couldn’t accept herself in any form if she didn’t do everything in her special and wonderful power to get Alfie to safety. It might mean risking everything, but losing Alfie as a friend was a price she’d have to pay for saving his life.

  “I have to get you back immediately.” Grace took a deep breath. “Listen to me, Alfie. Something …unusual is about to happen to me. But you can’t freak out. You have to remain calm and trust me. Just let me take care of you. I have to do this to get you back to shore quickly.”

  Alfie nodded.

  “I’m going underwater. When I slip under you, I want you to squeeze your legs around my waist. Can you do that?”

  “I…th…think…so,” he whispered.

  “Here we go then. Get ready for the ride of your life.”

  Grace dove underwater and transformed back into a mermaid. She slipped under Alfie’s legs and, through the water, heard his muffled scream. “What the…?” He jerked away from her in fright.

  Grace popped her head out of the water. She hated to do it, but she slapped Alfie across the face. “What did I say? NO Freaking out! Got it?”

  “Bu…bu…but,” he gasped.

  Grace tried to remain calm. “Alfie. I have one last thing to say to you right now. GET A GRIP!” She dove under again. This time Alfie wrapped his legs around her scaly waist, as she had instructed. Grace gave him a warning tap on the knee and took off.

  Getting back to the boat was much harder than getting away from it. Swimming against the current with an eighty-pound load of squirmy Alfie on her back was no easy task. Grace pumped her tail as she had never pumped it before. Even though her gills filtered water, her lungs felt as if they would burst. Her temples pounded as if a two-ton weight pressed against her forehead. Her eyes bulged even bigger than before. Almost there, she told hersel
f. Just a little farther. You can do it. You HAVE to do it.

  Arriving, finally, at the boat, she slipped out from under Alfie and raised her head briefly to check on him. He stared back wide-eyed and excited. It seemed the experience of being rescued by a mermaid had re-energized him.

  “Grab hold of the boat, straighten your legs, and I’ll help you in,” Grace commanded.

  Alfie clutched the side of the boat as Grace dove under again. She positioned herself beneath him, took hold of his feet, and whipped her tail back and forth as she lifted him over her head. Alfie landed in the boat with a thud, and Grace popped her head out of the water once more.

  “You okay?” she called.

  Alfie scrambled to the edge of the boat, gave a thumbs-up, and gasped, “Fine.”

  Once Grace’s legs had formed, her gills had receded, and her eyes had gone back to their normal size, she pulled herself up into the boat beside Alfie, collapsing to the floorboards in a puddle of seawater.

  Alfie sat on the bench, shivering and staring goggle-eyed at his most unusual friend.

  “What are you looking at?” she asked. “It’s me. Don’t worry. I’m back to normal.”

  “Gr…Grace Mi…Minnaugh, you’re a…a…a mermaid?”

  “We can talk about that later, Alfie. More importantly, how the heck did you fall out of the boat?”

  “You…were taking so long,” Alfie stammered. “Then the bo..boat started to drift and I tried the mo…motor to get back in pl…place. It wouldn’t start. I…I opened the t…t…top and found this stuck in the g…g…gears.” From the pocket of his cargo shorts, Alfie pulled out a greasy bandana patterned with black skulls.

  “What’s that?”

  “Pockmarked Pete’s head scarf,” Alfie blurted out, his body trembling violently.

  “Worthington really was out to mess with us,” Grace sighed.

  “I can’t believe we got this fa...far with it stuck in there,” Alfie stammered, shoving the bandana back in his pocket. “I thought after I took this out the mo…motor would be okay. When I tried to start it up again, I pu…pulled the chain too hard and it snapped. I fell back and went over the side into the water.”

  “Fabulous,” Grace groaned. She looked up at the sun. “What time is it, anyway?”

  Alfie peered at his watch. Without his glasses he had to hold it up really close to his face. “Seven-fifteen,” he said.

  “Oh, crap!” Grace cried. “We’re way late. Tanya has probably called the coast guard by now. Is there another way to start the motor?”

  “I can try.” Alfie stumbled toward the rear of the boat and pulled the casing from the motor. He reached inside and fiddled. The engine coughed like a sick old animal. Alfie tried again. The cough got weaker and weaker until there was no sound at all. “This is what happened before I fell in. It’s not working. It’s totally busted,” he concluded despairingly.

  “Oh, perfect,” Grace groaned. “Just friggin’ perfect.” She stared down at the water slapping against the side of the boat, her brain racing with alternative solutions that she discarded one after the other. How could they get back to shore? They had no oars and no motor and were drifting aimlessly. Her gaze fell upon the loose anchor line that drooped underneath the boat like the tail of a naughty dog. Suddenly Grace had an idea. “Alf, come on. Give me a hand with this line.” Together they pulled the dripping rope into the boat. “Do you know how to tie any of those fancy nautical knots?”

  “Of course,” Alfie replied. He’d finally stopped shivering. “Slip knots, anchorbends, sheepshanks, clove hitches. You name it, I can tie it!”

  “Well, tie one around my waist that will hold super tight.”

  “No problem, mon capitan.” Alfie pulled and tugged the line around Grace’s waist in a sturdy knot. “This round-turn and two-half-hitch will hold or my name isn’t Alphonse Carlos DaCosta,” he declared triumphantly.

  “Sit down, Alfie.”

  “Grace, what are you…?”

  “And shut up.”

  Grace dove off the side of the boat and again transformed into a mermaid. Holding tightly to the line around her waist, she began swimming toward shore. The line dug into her belly like a knife as she struggled to make progress. Grace had never been so tired in her life. But she was determined to get Alfie back safely. She pressed forward, praying for miracles.

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, a stupendous burst of energy took hold of Grace. The searing pain in her head became a dull ache and the strain on her lungs a minor wheeze. She propelled herself forward faster than ever and shot toward the shore like a rocket. Grace had never felt so powerful. Her tail undulations were as rapid as machine-gun fire. Her gills were pumping like steam engines. The line around her waist felt merely like a snug belt. Her flutter settled into an easy kick. Her breathing relaxed. She had no idea where this sudden burst of force had come from, but she was deeply grateful for it nonetheless. Finally. Cruise control, thought Grace. This twisted nightmare of a journey is almost over.

  Chapter Twenty Seven: Beached

  Every few minutes, Grace resurfaced to check their course. At last she pulled the boat to a cove a quarter-mile north of where they had left Tanya. After Grace shifted back to girl form, she and Alfie hauled the rowboat up to the beach and made their way wearily around the cove.

  “So what’s it like?” Alfie asked as they trudged through the sand.

  “What’s what like?”

  “I can’t really see all that well without my glasses, but I kinda got the picture. The fish tail, the buggy eyes, those feathery things on your neck.…”

  “Alfie, I can’t really talk about this right now.…”

  He was silent for a few seconds. But ten paces farther, he started again. “Um, okay. I won’t ask any more questions about the, um, mermaid issue. But what about the Sally Mae? Did you find her?”

  Grace took a moment before answering. Then she remembered her mother’s warning: No one can know about the Sally Mae. Lying to Alfie made her feel like pond sludge, but she had no choice. “Sorry, Alf. No Sally Mae. I was wrong. The ship isn’t down there. Operation Silly Me was a totally ridiculous, stupid mistake. A disaster.”

  Alfie stopped walking. For a long time he just stared out to sea. Then he started jogging ahead.

  Grace sighed deeply. Alfie was bummed. She ran after him, not sure if anything she could now say or do would make a difference.

  “By the way,” Alfie panted as she came up beside him, “just so you know. You’re wrong. This hasn’t been a disaster at all. Like I said before, this has been the best day of my life.”

  “The best day of your life?” Grace asked, aghast. “You almost drowned, there’s no Sally Mae, and you found out your friend is a mutant? You call that a good time?”

  Alfie stopped running. “Are you kidding?” he cried. “I got to help plan a secret operation that included sneaking around, tinkering with an engine, using cool walkie-talkies, and driving a boat out in the ocean at the crack of dawn. And even if we didn’t find the Sally Mae, we tried. It was awesome!”

  Grace shook her head. “You’re crazy.”

  “I’m crazy? Listen to you, calling yourself a mutant. You’re the crazy one. Look at you. One moment you’re a girl, and the next you’re like this underwater superhero. What could be better than that? You’re no mutant. You’re incredible.”

  “I guess it has some benefits,” Grace acknowledged with a reluctant grin.

  “Big-time benefits,” Alfie shouted. “So, I know you don’t wanna talk about it, but I have to ask. Were you born this way?”

  “I have no idea. I only found out I was a mermaid a couple of months ago.”

  “Whoa. That’s intense,” Alfie gasped.

  “Yeah. Very intense.” Grace thought about her mother waiting at home. “But I think I’ll find out more about it all pretty soon.” She put a h
and on Alfie’s arm and added, “Meanwhile, you can’t say a word about this to anyone. Even Tanya. I’ll probably tell her myself, just not right now. Your knowing about it is all I can handle at the moment.”

  “Okay. But you know Tanya’s gonna love it.” Alfie giggled. “She’ll probably wanna design all sorts of little skirts and things for your tail.”

  “Enough, Alfie.” Grace playfully swatted the side of his head.

  Soon they were close enough to see Tanya pacing back and forth on the sand.

  “TANYA!” cried Grace. “OVER HERE!”

  Tanya screamed for joy when she spotted them. “You’re over an hour late,” Tanya cried. “I was just about to leave the beach to go call the police. Alfie, why didn’t you answer your walkie-talkie?”

  “Um…I dropped it overboard,” Alfie said.

  Tanya rolled her eyes. “Good move, Alfie. Just so you know, I almost had a heart attack when you didn’t answer.”

  “Sorry.” He shrugged.

  “That’s okay. I’m just glad you’re both all right. Where’s the boat?”

  Alfie and Grace looked at each other.

  “Well?” Tanya persisted.

  “We ran out of gas a little farther north and had to pull it up on the beach,” said Grace.

  “Oh, frig,” moaned Tanya. “There’s no way we can get it from there to my house without being seen.”

  “Let’s just leave it,” Alfie suggested. “We’ll leave the shed door broken. Your parents will just think the rowboat was stolen.”

  “Oh, this just gets better and better,” Tanya sighed.

  “Alfie’s right, Tanya. Besides, maybe someone will recognize Gisela’s tags and return it. Meanwhile, we should all get home. But first I need my boots.”

  The three kids walked to where Grace’s trusty Trail Blazers sat, far from the high tide line. As Grace tied her shoelaces, Tanya asked, “So, did you find the Sally Mae, or what?”

  Here it was again—the opportunity to come clean about the Sally Mae. Or not. Lying to her friends caused a knot in Grace’s stomach tighter than any round-turn or double half-hitch. Maybe some day Grace would be able to tell them the truth, but today was not the day. She shook her head. “Nope. No Sally Mae. I was wrong.”