Tell Us the Mermaid Story
Chapter One — A whale in trouble means a trip to New Zealand.
A Journey
When Roxie heard her husband’s excited voice on the other end of the phone, she knew something must be up. Something other than what was being reported in the mainstream news. She probed him for answers that he didn’t seem to have at the time. “Hey lover, how you doing? What the heck is going on over there anyway? I know you honey, and I can tell when something’s got you hyped up.”
David and his team of marine biologists had flown to New Zealand a week ago, to try and help a pregnant whale. It was beached in the Farrell Spit area, a place that was becoming more and more popular for whale beachings. By now, the stranded whale known to the whole world as Sophie, had become a household name.
“Aw, baby, to tell you the truth, I’m not really sure. Everybody is busy working on trying to get her free, but me and the guys have been doing some tests and trying to figure out what’s happening in the water. We’ve been getting some crazy ass readings, not to mention some weird sounds on the underwater monitors.”
Roxie’s ears perked up at the news and she tried to press David for more details. “A weird noise? What kind of noise?”
“That’s just it, we can’t identify it. It’s kind of like some kind of bloop sound. It’s not like anything I’ve ever heard. Like I said, it’s really weird.” His tone suddenly changed and there was a different kind of excitement in his voice. “Never mind that. We’ll talk more about that when I see you. I want to know how my four ladies are doing? I miss the hell out of all of you.”
She smiled and confided that they missed him too. “Me and the girls can’t wait to see you.”
David’s voice took on a sultry tone. “Yeah, I can’t wait to see the girls either. It’s been a while baby. You keeping everything warm for daddy?”
Roxie laughed and pretended to be shocked. “David Allen Thomas! You dirty old man. I’m not talking about those girls.” She knew he was referring to certain parts of the front of her anatomy. “I’m talking about your damn daughters you fool. Have you no shame? There you are, way across the ocean, and you’re still trying to talk up on some nookie.” She kept laughing, then added as an afterthought. “You better try and watch what you say, if you’re talking on that work phone they gave you. You know how the government is; they might just be listening to this call.”
He knew she was only half kidding. His wife had always been concerned with government conspiracies. She’d been worried when his team landed the government contract he was currently working on. He and Roxie had argued about it for days, before she finally gave in. He decided to humor her now, and try and change the subject. “You’re absolutely right babe. I don’t need those stuffed shirts in Washington knowing how me and my baby get down. Trust me, that conversation’s not for everybody’s ears.”
She sighed and figured he probably thought she was nuts, and that she worried for nothing. But she knew he didn’t know the half of it. Ever since losing her parents at a young age, she had learned to become overprotective of anyone she considered family from that time forward. She was always suspicious when it came to the safety of those she loved.
Roxie was extremely worried about what the government might be up to, particularly since the latest round of sonar testing. That was why the more she thought about it, the more she realized it might be good to have David working on the inside. With him overseeing whatever they were doing, at least she wouldn’t have to be in the dark about any discoveries they made.
She chatted with her husband for a few minutes more, then they ended the call so Roxie could finish packing. “I’d better go love. I still have a million things to do before we leave today.”
Her and the girls were busy getting ready to go join David in New Zealand. Even though she wanted to ask him more about the strange noise he mentioned earlier, she knew it would have to wait. Hopefully, she could get more details when she saw him.
*****
A few hours later, Roxie was sitting in her seat on the airplane and letting out a sigh of relief. After all the hustling and bustling before the car came to pick them up, the four of them were finally seated on the plane. Roxie knew she wouldn’t really be able to relax, not completely.
The private jet they were traveling on was plush and extremely comfortable, but she still had a 14-hour-long flight with three active nine-year-olds. Besides that, the conversation with David had left her feeling uneasy. In the back of her mind, she kept thinking about what he said about a weird noise on the sonar equipment.
While the girls were busy looking out the window and chattering excitedly, Roxie took advantage of having a moment alone with her thoughts. She wondered what David’s crew of researchers had stumbled onto. There was so much publicity already surrounding Sophie, that the area was completely overrun with spectators.
But if they had to bring in more scientists to conduct additional testing, that could really end up spelling trouble. She was glad she would arrive soon. Maybe she could somehow help to divert attention away from areas of the water that shouldn’t be disturbed.
As luck would have it, Roxie’s work as a freelance photographer had landed her the same assignment as David, and at the same time. Her specialty in marine photography sometimes resulted in them working similar projects. She had just as much an interest in the ocean as he did, which usually gave them plenty to talk about with one another.
Her and the girls would arrive, sometime tomorrow morning, then they’d meet with David later in the day. Roxie was more excited to be going than the girls were. She couldn’t wait; not just to see her husband after nearly a week, but to be returning to New Zealand.
She hadn’t been back there in ten years, right when her career began to peak. The first underwater photos she took way back then had contributed a lot to her eventual success as a photographer. A year later, she also became successful as a devoted mother of triplets.
“Mrs. Thomas. Hello again. Is everything alright here? Can I get you all anything?”
Roxie looked up and stared into the face of an attractive looking black woman. It was Wanda, the perky stewardess who greeted them when they first boarded. The young woman had instantly made Roxie think of her own mother, who had also been a stewardess.
But later, when the woman brought the girls something to eat, Roxie realized it was just the outfit. Besides the stewardess uniform, nothing about Wanda truly resembled her mother at all.
In addition to the stewardess, and other airplane staff, there were just a few more people aboard. They were representatives from the same magazine that hired Roxie. The rest of the space on the plane was reserved for all the carryon baggage and various types of equipment, including some of Roxie’s own camera and diving gear.
Soon as they had boarded the plane, her and the girls were greeted by the three journalists, two photographers, and one or two other magazine employees Roxie vaguely recognized. As usual, everyone spent time gushing over the triplets, saying how cute they were and how big they were getting. Then they found their seats, and settled in.
For the first leg of the trip, the girls kept themselves occupied by, talking, laughing and doing a lot of looking out the window. Later, after they’d been traveling for a couple of hours, Roxie had finally gotten them to eat something.
Wanda brought them a late dinner of macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. Apparently, the excitement of the trip had finally worn off, at least enough for them to realize how hungry they really were. Now that they were fed and winding down from the long day, it was nearing time for them to turn in for the night.
“Hey Wanda., Thank you, but I think we’re good. We don’t need anything else, but. I appreciate your help. We’ll try to make the rest of the trip as painless as possible for you, right girls?” The little girls all smiled shyly at the pretty stewardess, but no one bothered to answer. Wanda spoke directly to the three identical faces beaming back at her.
“Good evening girls. I brought you ladies a list of titles to choose from, in case you wanted to watch a movie before bedtime.” She handed the list to the first outstretched hand, which was Opalene’s. Before Roxie could thank Wanda again, her daughters started bickering about the titles on the list.
“I’m so sorry. Excuse them. If these ladies don’t calm down, they won’t be looking at anything but the inside of their eyelids.”
Roxie turned from the soft-spoken stewardess and glanced in the children’s direction. She gave them a look they immediately recognized. They instantly lowered their voices. They still continued to disagree over the list, but they were a lot less vocal about it. The stewardess smiled until she looked like she was about to burst.
“They are just the cutest things. You have such a beautiful family Mrs. Thomas. I saw the story they did on you last year when you won the 2007 Essence Magazine Award.”
“Wow. Thank you. That’s really nice of you to say Wanda.”
“I think it’s so cool that you and your husband take your daughters with you everywhere and teach them all about your work. Especially as black parents- Well, you know what I mean.”
She looked like she was about to say something else, but she stopped and censored herself. Roxie knew exactly what she meant and was well familiar with the point the young lady was trying to make.
“Thank you Wanda, and you’re right. More parents could stand to take time out to show their kids what their work is all about. Unfortunately, that’s not always possible for some people. I’m just glad me and David are lucky enough to have that choice. We both love our work, so we both travel. But we schedule it around our girls, not the other way around.”
“So they get to do a lot of traveling, I’ll bet.”
“Well, definitely more than the average nine-year-olds I guess, but we spend a good deal of time at home too. They have schoolwork, their friends…” She paused for a moment and had a thoughtful look on her face before continuing. “To some folks it might seem a little unstable for the kids, but they get to run, and play, and get on my damn nerves, the same as other kids. So you know; it’s not always easy, but somehow, we make it work.”
“I see you do. Your daughters sure don’t seem to mind their lives. I know I wouldn’t.” They both glanced in the kids’ direction, and watched them narrow down movie choices. Roxie felt a twinge of warm pride.
“We’re truly blessed. Whether we’re traveling or at home, the girls are always with one, or both of us. Girl, you wouldn’t believe how they love getting exposed to new things. They’re like little sponges, trying to soak every single thing up.”
Roxie threw them another look and pretended to mumble under her breath. “The little monsters.” Wanda laughed, and could tell Roxie loved every minute of the time she spent with her daughters, even when she was scolding them.
“Believe me Mrs. Thomas, I know what you mean about being exposed to new things. That’s why I became a stewardess. I wanted to see the world. My parents have never even stepped foot out of Louisiana. If it wasn’t for this job, I probably would have never left Monroe. I’m glad I did, too, because I got a chance to see so much, and meet all kinds of nice people, like you and your kids.”
This time, the girl’s ears perked up when they were mentioned. They took that as their cue to interrupt. One of them pointed out the movies they finally agreed on. But then they started to argue about which to watch first; The Little Mermaid, The Waterhorse, or My Little Pony.
Roxie broke in and quickly solved the problem. “There’s no sense in arguing over which one to watch first because you’re only going to watch one movie. It’s getting late. You guys won’t even be able to stay awake, even if I do let you watch more than one.”
“Yes we will mommy.” “Yeah, yes we will.” Yeah, we’re not even sleepy.” As usual, the girls formed an alliance and Roxie was outnumbered. She gave in, and told them they could pick two movies to watch, then they instantly went back to debating which one would be first.
The stewardess suggested they each watch different movies since they had personal video screens. That way they could all watch whatever they wanted. They looked at her as if she had suddenly sprouted wings. Roxie laughed, knowing that none of her daughters would ever even consider such a suggestion. They ignored Wanda’s input and resumed their debate. She questioned their illogical behavior with her puzzled expression.
“Girl, they would rather watch a movie together and argue through the whole darn thing, than each of them watch whatever they want to watch by themselves.”
The debate over the movie intensified and pretty soon, it was clear that Opalene was on the verge of tears. Roxie decided to call a cease fire. “Okay, that’s it girls. Wanda, thank you so much for your help, but these ladies need a little chill out time before they’re ready to watch anything. They know I don’t appreciate this kind of behavior.”
She gave them all a disapproving look and went on. “If it’s okay with you Wanda, I’ll just let you know when and if they’re ready to watch a movie in a little bit, otherwise don’t even worry about it girl.”
“Okay, no problem Mrs. Thomas. I get it. I have nieces and nephews at home. You just let me know.” She winked at the girls. “Good luck ladies.” Then she turned and headed back down the aisle.
Roxie gave her children an angry look. “I am so disappointed in you girls. You heard what that lady said about what lucky kids you are. You should be glad to even be on this plane, traveling all the way across the world; being blessed enough to have your family with you. Instead, you all sit here arguing over the silliest stuff.”
“But mama, Leelee is the one who — “
“I don’t care!” She looked around, then lowered her voice. “I don’t want to hear it. I’m not about to listen to you girls bicker and fight all the way to New Zealand. So until you can decide to behave like you have some sense, you can all just sit there quietly and do nothing.”
“For the whole trip?”
“Yes Opalene Renee Thomas! For the whole trip.”
Pearlina was silent, while Jemeelah rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Well can we at least look at our whale books that daddy brought us?”
“I don’t care Jemeelah, just as long as you be quiet and behave yourselves. Act like you’re in the darn library or something.”
They nodded and obediently did as they were told. They located the three identical pink and purple aquatic-themed backpacks. On the front of the packs, was a picture of a dolphin. That was where the girls had scribbled their names, so they could tell them apart.
They took out the whale books and settled back into their seats. Pearlina, the true music lover in the family, also took out her iPod, and popped in her earbuds. Then, one-by-one, the girls all retreated into their own little worlds.
Thanks for Reading — “Tell Us the Mermaid Story” was written by Author Beka R. March — aka — Justiss Goode
