Karen's Mermaid Read online

  For the Secret Santas:

  Cary, Constance, and Camy

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 August

  2 Kristy

  3 Miss Boss

  4 Montana and Arizona

  5 The Pikes

  6 Fun in the Sun

  7 Sand Castles

  8 Karen’s Mermaid

  9 Neptuna’s Visit

  10 Neptuna Visits Again

  11 Karen’s Note

  12 “Come to the Light!”

  13 A Comb for Neptuna

  14 The Rainy Day

  15 Mermaid Chow

  16 Karen’s Bad Day

  17 The Skimboard

  18 Festival Day

  19 Miss Mermaid

  20 Home Again

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  August

  “Sand and crabs and starfish and seashells. That is what we will see at the beach, Andrew,” I said to my little brother. (He is four going on five.)

  “Will we see palm trees?” he wanted to know.

  “Not in New Jersey. I think we will just see pine trees and regular trees.”

  “Darn,” said Andrew. “I wanted to climb a palm tree and pick a coconut. I wanted to crack it open and eat it.”

  “Andrew, you do not even like coconut,” I said.

  “Yes, I do!”

  “No, you do not!”

  “Kids!” called Mommy. “Find something to do besides argue.”

  It was August. Andrew and I were enjoying our summer vacation. Mommy was not. She said it was high time we went back to school. Well, we would be going back to school in a few weeks. But in between we were going to do something really fun. We were going to go to Sea City, a beach in New Jersey, for two whole weeks. Mommy and Andrew and Seth and I. (Seth is my stepfather.)

  Andrew and I are part of two families— Mommy’s family and Daddy’s family. (Our parents are divorced.) We go back and forth between our families, a month here, a month there. Last month, in July, we lived at Daddy’s house. Now we were at Mommy’s house. And in a day or two we would leave for Sea City. We were excited.

  Guess what. We would have friends in Sea City. Another family from Stoneybrook (that is the Connecticut town we live in) was going to rent a house there at the same time we were going to rent a house. The family was the Pikes. They have eight children. I do not know the Pikes very well, because they do not go to my school. But I know them a little. One of the Pikes, Margo, is seven years old. Just my age. I had played with Margo a few times that summer. I had decided something about her. Margo was a bossy bragger. But I could live with that.

  You know what? Some people have told me that I am a bossy bragger. I am not sure this is true. One of the people who told me that was Margo. She said, “Karen Brewer, you are a bossy bragger!”

  I replied, “It takes one to know one.”

  I do know I have a big mouth. There is no question about that. Everybody, and I mean everybody, always has to remind me not to talk so much or so loudly. They say, “Indoor voice, Karen.” I try to remember, but sometimes it is hard.

  “Karen?” asked Andrew. (We had moved outside, in case we argued again. That way Mommy would not hear us.) “What else will we see in Sea City?”

  “Hmm. I do not know exactly,” I replied. I have not been to Sea City before. Margo has, though. Lots of times. Her family goes almost every summer. In fact, that was one of the things Margo had been bragging about. She thought she knew everything about Sea City. She had been saying to me, “Karen, in Sea City you can do this,” or, “In Sea City we always go to … ”

  “You really do not know?” Andrew asked me.

  “Well, I know what our house will look like,” I said. “Seth showed me a picture of it. It is little, but it looks cozy. It is one story high, so all the rooms are on the first floor, even the bedrooms. And it has a big porch and it is right on the beach. We can stand on the porch and look at the ocean. What do you think of that?”

  “Cool,” said Andrew. “Karen? Is there a boardwalk in Sea City?”

  “I am not sure. But I know somebody who will know.”

  “Margo Pike?” said Andrew.

  “No,” I replied crossly. “Kristy. Kristy will know. She has been to Sea City. I am going to call her right now.”

  Kristy

  Kristy is my big stepsister. Her whole name is Kristin Amanda Thomas, and she is thirteen years old. Kristy lives with Daddy’s family.

  I think I better tell you how I got my two families. I did not always have two families. At first I had just one — Mommy, Daddy, Andrew, me. That was a long time ago, when I was a little kid. But Mommy and Daddy were not happy together. Finally they decided they did not love each other anymore. They loved Andrew and me very much, but not each other. So they decided to divorce. After the divorce, Daddy stayed in the big house we had lived in. (It is the house he grew up in.) Mommy moved to a little house. Both of the houses are here in Stoneybrook. Later they got married again, but not to each other. Mommy married Seth. (That is how he became my stepfather.) And Daddy married Elizabeth. (Now she is my stepmother.) So Andrew and I have two families, one at the little house and one at the big house.

  At the little house are Mommy, Seth, Andrew, me, Rocky, Midgie, Emily Junior, and Bob. Rocky and Midgie are Seth’s cat and dog. Emily Junior is my pet rat. Bob is Andrew’s hermit crab.

  You will not believe who lives at the big house. It is amazing. Daddy, Elizabeth, Kristy, Charlie, Sam, David Michael, Emily Michelle, Nannie, Andrew, me, Shannon, Boo-Boo, Goldfishie, Crystal Light, Emily Junior, and Bob. (Emily Junior and Bob go back and forth when Andrew and I do.) Are you confused? Don’t be. I will explain. Kristy, Charlie, Sam, and David Michael are Elizabeth’s kids. (She was married once before she married Daddy.) They are my stepsister and stepbrothers. Charlie and Sam are old. They go to high school. David Michael is seven like me, but he does not go to my school. He goes to Margo Pike’s school. Emily Michelle is my adopted sister. She is two and a half. Daddy and Elizabeth adopted her from the faraway country of Vietnam. (I named my rat after her.) Nannie is Elizabeth’s mother, which makes her my stepgrandmother. She helps take care of the house and all us kids. The pets, too. We have lots of them. Shannon is David Michael’s puppy. Boo-Boo is Daddy’s fat old cat. And Goldfishie and Crystal Light are (what else?) goldfish. Isn’t it lucky Daddy’s house is so big?

  I made up special nicknames for my brother and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I thought up those names after my teacher read a book to our class. It was called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) Andrew and I are two-twos because we have two of so many things. We have two houses and two families, two mommies and two daddies, two cats and two dogs. Plus, I have two bicycles, one at each house. (Andrew has two trikes.) And we have clothes and toys and books at each house. This is so we do not have to pack much when we go back and forth.

  Here are some other things I have two of:

  Glasses — a blue pair for reading, a pink pair for the rest of the time.

  Best friends — Hannie Papadakis lives across the street from Daddy and one house down. Nancy Dawes lives next door to Mommy. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers.

  Tickly — Tickly is my special blanket. I had to rip Tickly in half so I could have a piece at each house.

  Stuffed animals — I have two cats named Moosie and Goosie. They look just the same. Moosie stays at the big house, Goosie stays at the little house.

  I think Andrew and I are pretty lucky to be two-twos. Sometimes it is hard, and sometimes we miss the family we are not staying with. But mostly we are very, very lucky. Think how many people love us.

  “K
risty?” I said when she answered the phone. “Hi, it is me, Karen.”

  “Hi, Karen.”

  Kristy and I had a long talk on the phone. We do that sometimes. Kristy is one of my favorite, favorite people. She told me all about Sea City, New Jersey.

  Miss Boss

  “Now Emily,” I said to my rat. “Remember that you are going on vacation, too. You will be staying with Nancy next door. You know Nancy. And you like her. Nancy will take good care of you.” I paused. “I am sorry you cannot come to Sea City with me, but I do not think you would like traveling. You would not like the car ride.”

  I was getting Emily Junior ready to stay with Nancy. It was Friday afternoon. The next morning we would leave for Sea City. I put Emily’s rat supplies into a paper bag. Then I opened my own suitcase. It was empty. And it smelled funny, sort of musty. But it was not a bad smell. It was just a suit-casey smell. I opened the drawers to my bureau. I began to pull out underwear and shorts and socks. I was looking for my bathing suit when the phone rang. Soon I heard Mommy call, “Karen! For you!”

  I ran to the phone. “Hello?” I said.

  “Hi. It’s me.”

  Hmm. I wondered who “me” was. “Me” is usually Nancy or Hannie. But this person did not sound like either Nancy or Hannie.

  “Hello?” I said again.

  “Karen, it’s Margo.”

  “Oh. Hi!”

  “Hi. Are you packed yet?”

  “I am packing right now.”

  “I hope you will remember your bathing suit.”

  “Of course I will remember my bathing suit,” I said. I think I sounded a little cross. But for heaven’s sake.

  “Well, I know you have not been to Sea City before,” said Margo. “And remember a hat. The sun is hot on the beach. Remember sandals, too, for walking around town. Oh, and stamps, in case — ”

  “Margo,” I interrupted her.

  “— you want to write any postcards,” she finished up.

  “Margo,” I said again. “I have not been to Sea City before. But I have been to the beach. I know what to bring to the beach.”

  “Okay, okay,” said Margo. “I was just trying to help.”

  You were just being bossy, I thought. Margo Pike was Miss Boss.

  I returned to my packing. I did it all by myself. I did not need Miss Boss to help me. She did not know everything.

  * * *

  The next morning I woke up in a flash. I leaped out of bed. It was Sea City Day — and Seth wanted to leave early. “An early start is important,” he had said the night before.

  As soon as we had eaten breakfast, we began to load up our car. I had never seen so much stuff — suitcases and blankets and water toys and sheets and towels and some groceries and a box of games and even more. While Seth packed the car, Mommy put Rocky and Midgie into the other car. She was going to drive them to the vet. The vet would board them for two weeks. Nancy was going to take care of Emily Junior and Bob, but she could not care for Rocky and Midgie, too.

  “Good-bye!” I called as Mommy drove away.

  Later, Nancy ran over. “I am here for the pets,” she said importantly.

  Andrew and Nancy and I carried Bob and Emily and their things to Nancy’s house. Then the three of us ran outside again. Mommy was back. Seth had packed the car. We were ready to leave. And I was excited.

  “Good-bye! Good-bye! Good-bye!” Nancy and I called to each other as Mommy pulled out of the driveway. We were on our way to Sea City.

  Montana and Arizona

  There are two things I do not like about long car rides. One is Andrew, the other is Andrew’s questions.

  Mommy and Seth had decided to divide up the driving. Mommy was going to drive us halfway to Sea City. Seth was going to drive the rest of the way. The trip was going to be lo-o-o-o-ong, since Stoneybrook is in Connecticut and Sea City is in New Jersey. I hoped Andrew would behave.

  Guess what. We were still in Stoneybrook when Andrew first said, “How many more minutes until we get there?”

  I gave him a Look. “Ten thousand,” I told him.

  “Karen,” said Seth.

  “Sorry.” I reached into my Fun Bag. Mommy had put together Fun Bags for Andrew and me. Inside them were paper and markers and books and stickers and little toys. “Andrew, look in your Fun Bag,” I suggested.

  Andrew and I were sitting side by side in the backseat. The Fun Bags were between us. For awhile, we colored quietly. Then I drew some tic-tac-toe boards. Andrew and I played game after game, but I kept winning.

  “No fair!” screeched Andrew.

  “Andrew,” said Seth.

  “I know. Let’s play the license plate game,” I said.

  Andrew and I gazed out our windows. We watched the cars go by. I will tell you something. Andrew is not even five yet, and he can already read. I taught him myself. That is how he could play the game.

  “New York!” I called out.

  “Maine!” Andrew called out.

  “Arizona!”

  That Arizona car was far from home. So was the one with the Montana license plate. Then Andrew called out, “Hawaii!”

  “Andrew, you did not see a car from Hawaii,” I said.

  “Did too.”

  “Did not. And quit poking me.”

  “I am not poking you.”

  “Yes, you are. Stay on your side of the seat.”

  Andrew would not stop touching me. Finally I took a roll of Scotch tape out of my Fun Bag. I stuck one end to the middle of the back seat. Then I unrolled it and stuck the other end to the middle of the front seat. “There. That is your side, Andrew. Stay on it.”

  “I think it is time for a rest stop,” said Mommy.

  “Probably some old gas station with an empty candy machine and a smelly bathroom,” I said. And Seth gave me a Look.

  Guess what. I was wrong about the rest stop. It was huge. And it had a Wendy’s, a Dunkin’ Donuts, not-smelly bathrooms, and a video arcade. First we used the bathrooms. Then we ate a snack at Wendy’s. Then we used the bathrooms again. Then Andrew and I played some video games. Then Mommy said we had to use the bathrooms once more. Just to be sure.

  Finally we were in the car again, zipping along toward Sea City. We began to see more and more pine trees. The ground began to look sandy. And at last we saw a sign that read SEA CITY — 2 MILES.

  “Ooh,” I said a few minutes later as we drove along the main street of Sea City. “Look, Andrew. Trampoline Land. Cool!”

  “Candy Heaven!” Andrew squealed.

  “Crabs for Grabs!”

  “Fred’s Putt-Putt Course!”

  I could already tell we were going to love Sea City.

  The Pikes

  Seth stopped the car in front of a building. It was not an interesting-looking building. It was the office of the real estate agent. We had to pick up the key to the house we would be renting. When Seth had the key, he climbed back in the car. We drove along until the streets were lined with houses, not stores. Soon Seth turned a corner and drove to the end of the street.

  “Hey, I can see the ocean!” I cried.

  Sure enough, we had reached the beach.

  “And here is our house,” said Seth.

  It looked just like the house in the photo. Small, but pretty, with a wide front porch. When you step off of the front porch at Mommy’s house or at Daddy’s house, you step onto grass. Guess what you step onto from the porch at the beach house. Sand. And then you could walk straight to the ocean. I thought that was very cool.

  Mommy opened the door to our new home and we looked inside. We saw a living room, a kitchen, and the bedrooms, all on one floor, just as Seth had told me when he showed me the picture. Guess how many bedrooms there were. Three. Perfect. One for Andrew, one for me, and one for Mommy and Seth.

  “Can we play in the ocean?” I asked Mommy.

  “Not yet,” she said. “Unpacking first.”

  “Boo.”

  “Karen, you have to unpack. You do not even ha
ve your bathing suit,” pointed out Andrew. “You cannot swim without your suit.”

  “Oh,” I said. “You’re right.”

  Andrew and I helped Seth and Mommy carry things from the car to the house. We made trip after trip. Then Andrew and I decided which bedroom we each wanted. We fought over the one with the bunk beds in it. Seth made us toss a coin for it. Andrew won. Oh, well. Mine was smaller, but it was at the front of the house. When I looked out my window, I looked at the ocean.

  “Where is the Pikes’ house?” I asked Mommy. She and Seth were putting things away in the kitchen. What I really wanted to ask was, “Can I go swimming yet?” But I knew better.

  “Just two houses away, I think,” said Mommy.

  And at that very moment we heard a knock at our front door. Standing on the porch were all of the Pike kids, plus Jessi Ramsey. These are Margo’s brothers and sisters: Mallory, Adam, Byron, Jordan, Vanessa, Nicky, and Claire. Mallory is eleven. She gets to baby-sit, since she is the oldest. She baby-sits for her brothers and sisters, and she baby-sits for other kids, too. She has even baby-sat for Andrew and me. Adam, Byron, and Jordan are ten years old. They are triplets. And they look exactly alike. Sometimes they are hard to tell apart. Vanessa is nine. She writes poetry. Nicky is eight. He’s a pest. And Claire is five, the youngest Pike. Sometimes she and Andrew play together.

  Jessi Ramsey is a friend of Mallory’s. She baby-sits, too. She and Mallory are even in a club. It is called the Baby-sitters Club, and you can only join it if you are a good baby-sitter. Mal and Jessi are great sitters, and I like them very much. (I like everyone in the club. Kristy is in it, too. In fact, she is the president.) While the Pikes were at the beach, Mal and Jessi were mostly going to be in charge of Mal’s brothers and sisters.

  “Hi!” Mallory called from the porch.

  “Hi!” Mommy replied.

  “Jessi and I were just going to take the kids into town to look around. Would Andrew and Karen like to come with us?”

  “Yes, yes, yes!” I cried, jumping up and down.

  And Mommy said we could go.