Total pages in book: 208
Estimated words: 207002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1035(@200wpm)___ 828(@250wpm)___ 690(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 207002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1035(@200wpm)___ 828(@250wpm)___ 690(@300wpm)
“Ayla!” Neri yelled. “Where are you?”
“Here, Mum!” Ayla skipped into the lounge, her bare feet trailing water from the pool. It was because of my two water sprites that I hadn’t approved carpet anywhere in this house. Living on the beach was an invitation to lose both sirens to the sea forever and leave a trail of salt in every room.
“Do you want to do the honours, moonbeam?” I asked softly, pulling the paperwork from my jeans back pocket.
“Sure.” Ayla tucked her chocolate hair behind her ear and her soft brown eyes warmed. “They’re gonna flip the freak out.”
“Honey, do you mind pouring a few shots of vodka.” Neri chuckled. “Your brother is gonna need it.”
“Why? What did you do?” Honey asked.
“Yeah. My question exactly.” Teddy scowled. “Too many surprises for one day. I can’t handle any more. I just learned that your crazy-ass, mega-rich, very handsome husband just invited us to live with you for all of eternity. I’m gonna need a minute.”
“You’re such a drama queen.” Ayla giggled.
“Drama king, I’ll have you know.” Teddy tickled her as she spread the paperwork on the recycled jarrah wood dining table. “What’s this?” he asked suspiciously.
“Read it and find out,” Neri said, pulling me closer to the table, the click of my blade loud on the concrete. I no longer needed a cane at all, but I preferred the blade rather than a metal limb; I found it far easier to run on.
Billy and Honey gathered closer, and Eddie read over Teddy’s shoulder. Ayla buzzed with energy, watching all of us, waiting for the explosion.
It didn’t take long.
Just a skim of a document they already recognised.
A crumpling of faces.
A gasp of hearts.
“Well, fuck.” Teddy let out a puff of air.
Eddie choked on a sob.
And both men grabbed my daughter, squeezing her in the biggest hug. Raining her in kisses, they let her go, then launched themselves at Neri and me, trapping Ayla in the middle.
They didn’t speak.
We didn’t either.
There was nothing to say.
While sorting out things to move—after I finally told Neri I was building us a house—I’d come across the adoption paperwork that Neri said Teddy and Eddie had drawn up when I was at Cem’s mercy.
They’d done it to free Neri to come find me. To give her the peace of mind that Ayla would always have love and safety.
Safety.
That’d become the greatest gift of my life.
It was tragically underestimated and was the keystone to every happiness.
No one could be truly happy unless they felt safe.
And through that epiphany, I’d found peace.
I’d never had another nightmare or dark cloud in my head. Darkness didn’t surround me anymore, just light, and I wanted to ensure Ayla would always feel that. Always know how much she was cared for and protected.
Therefore, the smart decision, the only decision was to ensure that Ayla had more than one set of parents. She already had four. She’d had four since she was born.
Now...it was official.
Over the heads of my family, I smiled at Neri’s and my signature on the adoption paperwork.
As Ayla’s biological parents, we’d willingly shared custody of our wonderful child.
Teddy and Eddie were legally her guardians.
In the eyes of the law and always.
*
Four years later...
*
I found her lying in her favourite spot in our sphere.
The chaise lounge had been one of the first pieces of furniture we’d brought into our underwater home, and the pale-blue velour mimicked the dappling of the moonlight spearing through the water above.
Fluorescent pigments of corals and other cnidarians glowed with faint greens, yellows, and pinks. The nightscape of the reef looked as wonderous as the aurora lights when we’d married the first time. Lazy fish swam while sleeping, and inquisitive octopuses waved tentacles in hello, recognising us and becoming friendly through the marine glass.
Our bedroom, off the main bubble, had the biggest window. The construction of the spheres had been kept simple with exposed beams, bamboo screens instead of doors, and the all-important massive windows. The ability to extend the anchor cord to bob on the surface or retract to lock on the seafloor had been an ingenious idea, and the more spheres we added, the bigger our community had grown thanks to photos online of bubbles bouncing on the waves, looking like alien ships or some strange kind of jellyfish.
I sighed in wonder as a fever of moon-dappled manta rays soared past, and two peacock mantis shrimp snatched at scurrying crabs.
Neri lay on her stomach, eyes wide at the glowing reef before her, her legs raised and crossed at the ankles, her chin in her hands as she peered into the inky sea.
Two years we’d spent our weekends in this bubble, and each Sunday, when it was time to return to shore, both of us were becoming more and more reluctant. For all my stubbornness of never stepping foot into the sea, I was now as addicted as my wife.