Epilogue

Two months later, on an unseasonably warm day in November…

One little newbie mermaid who’d found a new family of merpeople to love, and a super-hot merman she was rapidly falling deeply in love with; a sexy merman who was working his way toward not just a less argumentative relationship with his father, but a new relationship with a newbie mermaid he couldn’t keep his hands off of; a half vampire, half witch who’s suddenly learned she’s more than just the muscle of her group, she’s also, much to her surprise, some of the very important glue; a pretty, blonde, faithful Spanx-wearing werewolf who’s still in the process of a very complicated merger with her husband’s cosmetic company, and continues to have the headaches to prove it; a very pregnant halfsie, who can’t keep her eyes open but will dare you to say such; a manservant who is never happier than when he’s cooking for a crowd of people—especially merpeople, who enjoy hearty appetites; a demon who has absolutely no intention of ever getting wet again; a snarky cat who’s just returned from the realm after a much-needed visit with her fellow familiars; a kind, gentle zombie who’s read The Little Mermaid at least twenty times in order to get to know his new friends; happy, healthy children gathering seashells and running amok on the shores of Oyster Hollow; volleyball-playing spouses; and a whole pod of merpeople, gathered together at the new mermaid’s beachfront cottage to celebrate the joy of framily…

“Little Fish! Get the fuck over here!” Nina demanded as Esther rushed into her arms and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek, which the vampire managed to endure for all of a half second before she was squirming out of her embrace.

“Vampire!” she squealed. “Long time no see!”

“You just fucking saw me a week ago, dipshit. Remember the stupid outlet mall with these two morons?”

Esther snorted. It didn’t matter the short length of time since she’d seen Nina. She was always thrilled to bits when she did—she hadn’t just hysterically bonded with Tucker, she’d bonded with the vampire, and she was never going to let her go.

Wanda, still as pregnant as ever, waddled toward her, her beautiful face as flawless as her maternity dress with the pink bow around her waist. “Esther, honey! You look amazing. I see love agrees with you?”

Love. Something she’d had all her life in various forms, but not this particular kind of love. The kind that made her smile to herself during an ugly mediation. The kind that texted her in the middle of the day just to send her heart emojis. The kind she knew would pick her up after a long day and buy her a cheeseburger.

Kissing Wanda’s cheek, she smiled back—in fact, there was hardly a time she wasn’t smiling these days. “Everything agrees with me these days. Marty? How’s the headache?”

Marty, in her form-fitting jeggings, oversized lavender sweater, thigh-high flat black boots and big hoop earrings, flapped a hand at her before she gave her a tight squeeze. “My head’s fine. It’s the pain in my ass I’m worried about.”

Nina gave Marty a shove with a smile. “Fuck off, Ass Sniffer. I’ll never be as big a pain in the ass as you.”

“Wanna race? Whoever loses is the biggest pain in the ass!” she called as she took off down the sand and past the men, who’d begun a rousing, very boisterous game of volleyball.

But Nina didn’t follow her, instead, she left Marty spinning her wheels. “So, everything okay? Mermaiding good?”

Esther gripped her favorite vampire’s hand and grinned, pulling her toward the long table where Getty and Serafina sat, sipping wine. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

And it was. She was learning, growing, getting better every day at being a mermaid. She and Tucker swam every night at the beach together, laughing, kissing, making love.

When they’d finally decided the time was right to consummate their relationship, she was only a little disappointed to hear mermaid sex was a myth. But Tucker made up for it in spades.

In spades.

And now, they spent all their days together with Mooky and Marsha, and his cats Freckle and Fran, who’d all taken a little while to warm up to each other, but still kept a guarded distance apart, sprinkled with a healthy dose of respect.

“And the pod people? They’re being nice? You’re making lots of little mermaid friends?” Nina asked as the water lapped at the shore in the background.

Now she beamed. Once she’d met everyone, when Serafina had graciously introduced her as though she were one of her own children, her world grew even bigger. Nowadays, she managed at least an invitation a week from one merperson or another to some function or other, and her world was full—full of belonging somewhere and to something.

“The pod people are amazing,” she answered, as Tucker, strong, handsome in his black turtleneck and low-slung jeans, wandered over and greeted Nina.

“Look who’s here! The most laid-back vampire in the world,” he teased, giving Nina a kiss on the cheek.

She gave him the finger with a grin. “Fuck off, Sharkbait.” And then she laughed at her own joke before she squeezed Esther’s shoulder and ran off down the beach toward the men, yelling, “Hey, you bunch of sissy-asses, lemme in on this game!”

“Did we ever thank her for helping to save our hides?” Tucker asked as he pulled her close to him, running his hands over her spine in that delicious way he had of evoking some serious heat in her loins.

“I think we did. I mean, if bringing her a blood basket isn’t a thank you, what is?” Esther asked, kissing his lips.

“Today’s a good day, wouldn’t you say, brethren in hysterical bonding?”

Yeah, today was a good day. The sun was shining and the breeze had only a slight nip to it, making it perfect for Archibald’s impromptu barbecue. Of which they’d been to many—impromptu celebrations, that is.

Arch was always cooking up something in that beautiful kitchen of Wanda’s, and he was always inviting them to share.

And for the most part, the darkness of Jessica’s betrayal had settled, if not passed. She and Tucker had talked long into the night on many nights about what had happened, and why she’d done what she did. They never really found any answers, and Jessica didn’t help.

Tucker had tried to visit her in mermaid lockdown with permission from the council, but she’d refused to see him, and he’d come to accept that she might never want to talk to him—or his father, who, little by little, had begun to mend the broken bridge between himself and his son.

Serafina was the one who made Esther’s heart hurt the most, in sympathy. Her daughter, so lost, so angry, had hurt her, and in one of her more emotional moments, she’d confessed to Esther those awful, helpless feelings, and they’d talked about it, and Esther had listened, and now, she hoped the woman was on her way to at least finding acceptance. What else was there when your child betrayed you so harshly, but accepting and moving forward?

Now, on this sunny day, with three long tables set with gorgeous fall floral arrangements, and wine and food in abundance, all their family and friends gathered around, laughing, eating, drinking, with her uncle’s picture prominently displayed on the head table, alongside her parents’ and grandparents’ pictures. Esther tucked herself into Tucker’s embrace and sighed. “Yeah, today’s a good day, my fellow hysterical bonder. And as a matter of fact, I like you a lot. A. Lot,” she joked, rubbing her cheek against his chest.

“I love you, Little Fish,” he murmured against the top of her head.

“I love you, too, Big Fish. I love you, too.”

And then Esther Williams Sanchez smiled, and cuddled with her favorite hysterical bonder ever.