The Mermaid's Mirror

Chapter 23

Whirling around, Lena faced her father.

"Where have you been?" he asked again, his voice rising.

She could see her mom behind him, and Janni and Cole in the family room.

"When Leslie's mom came to pick you up after the movie, and you weren't there, she called the house to make sure you got home okay," said her dad. "Janni told her that you weren't home, and that you were supposed to be with Martha and Leslie."

Lena swallowed.

"What have you got there in the shed?"

She didn't move. Her hand clutching the key trembled so much, she was afraid he would notice.

Her dad came out of the house and stepped past her to look into the shed. He picked up her duffel bag and pulled out her dripping wetsuit.

"What's this?"

Resisting the urge to answer smartly, Looks like my wetsuit, Lena just shrugged.

"Were you surfing?"

She stared down at her feet.

"Answer me!" shouted her dad.

Lena jumped. "Yes," she mumbled.

He threw her wetsuit down on the grass and stalked back to the house. At the door he turned around. "Get in this house," he said through gritted teeth.

Her mom and Cole were huddled on the sofa when she got inside. Cole's eyes were huge; he didn't know what was going on, but he knew voices were being raised ... again.

Janni stood near the door. "I'm sorry, Lena. But I was worried about you."

"It's okay," said Lena.

"You are grounded, Lena. Go up to your room," said her dad, pacing back and forth.

Lena was only too happy to escape to her room. She would finally be able to examine the key in privacy.

When she reached her room, she closed the door and opened her fist.

It was a shiny, old-fashioned key, about two inches long, with an oval-shaped top and a single "tooth" at the bottom. After turning the key over and over in her hands for a few minutes, studying it from every angle, feeling each curve and corner, Lena looked around her room for a place to keep it. She knew her father would be coming up to talk to her eventually, and she didn't want him to see the key.

She sat down at her desk and slid open the drawer. She put the key inside, under some papers. She closed the drawer and sat there for a moment. Then, frowning, she took the key out again and went to her bed. She lifted the edge of her mattress and pushed the key underneath. Then she lay down on the bed and pulled Grandma Kath's sun- and-moon quilt over her.

She wasn't cold, but she felt strange, as if she might be feverish, or hallucinating.

Am I really awake? Or is this all a dream?

She pictured the key, gleaming under the mattress. What magic did it unlock?

Pushing back the quilt, she got out of bed. She reached under the mattress and drew the key back out. She couldn't bear not being able to touch it. Staring down at its shiny hardness, Lena realized, This is what I've been looking for.

Tears filled her eyes.

The mermaid was real. She was communicating with Lena. She wanted Lena to find the lock that fit this key, and ... and ... what?

Lena didn't know the answer. But her hands were no longere mpty.

She lay back down on the bed, sliding the key under her pillow as she heard someone approach her room. There was a tap on the door.

"Come in," she said.

To her surprise, it was her mom who entered, not her dad.

"Hi," said Lena.

"Hi," said her mom. She sat down on the edge of Lena's bed. She didn't speak for a moment. Her gaze came to rest on the photo of Lucy that Lena had propped on her desk. Staring at the photo, her mom's hand drifted up to her ear, and her fingers began to twist one of her earrings.

"Lena," she said finally. "You were surfing?"

"Yes."

"When did you learn how?"

"Just the past few weeks. I know Dad was worried ... but Mom! I'm really good at surfing. And I love it so much."

"Mmm." She looked again at the photo of Lucy, then seemed to drag her gaze away with effort. "I don't doubt it. You're good at everything, sweetie."

Lena met her mom's eyes. "Is Dad going to punish me? After all this, if he won't let me surf again, I don't know what I'll do."

Instead of answering, Lena's mom asked, "Where were you, Lena?"

Lena looked down. She was so tired of lying! But there was no way she could admit to her mom that she had been surfing at Magic's. "Back Yard," she said.

Her mom's shoulders relaxed. "Oh. Good. At least there are plenty of other surfers there. In case you got into trouble and needed help. Was Kai with you?"

Lena hesitated only for a second. "Yes," she said. Poor Kai. Getting dragged into her family drama. But maybe her parents would be less worried if they knew Kai had been with her. She longed to slide out of this tangle of lies, like sliding out of a tangle of seaweed. "Um, there was a doctor there, too," she offered. "So even if someone got hurt—which they didn't!—he would be right there to help."

"A doctor?" said her mom. "On the beach?"

"He was surfing. Ray somebody."

Her mom stiffened. "Bones Lamott?"

"What?"

"Ray Lamott?"

"Yeah! That was his name."

Her mom frowned. "Ray was surfing at Back Yard?"

"Um, yes?" Why wouldn't he? thought Lena. "You know him?"

"He went to my high school. He's a few years older than I am." Her mom studied Lena. "Ray was always a big wave hound. As I recall, he preferred Magic's."

Crap! thought Lena. Lying is hard! "He ... was surfing with his son today."

Without answering, her mom continued to study Lena. Finally she stood up, and Lena felt as though a searchlight had been removed from her face. "You know, your dad was planning to tell you you could take surfing lessons in the spring."

"He was?"

"Yes. The waves are bigger in winter, so he thought spring would be a better time to learn."

"He was going to teach me?" Lena felt her lower lip tremble.

"No," said her mom. "He can't teach you himself. But he was going to sign you up for lessons in Santa Cruz."

"Oh, wow."

"It may not seem like it, Lena, but we do keep your happiness in mind." Her mom gave a rueful smile and left the room.

Lena waited until her mom was down the hall, then reached under her pillow for the key, anxious to feel its solid weight in her hand again. Already she knew it was her key, and she hated not having it with her.

It looked so old, but there was not a speck of rust on it. Didn't metal rust in salt water? Maybe gold didn't.

"Where do you belong?" she whispered.

The sheer profusion of possible locks in the world made Lena feel dizzy, and she lay back on her bed.

I may spend the rest of my life looking for the right lock, she thought.

She closed her eyes, picturing cupboards and trunks, suitcases and closets, attic doors and desk drawers ... millions of locks, but only one a perfect fit for her key.