Chapter 2

"So what's your budget like?" The wedding planner asked.

"Money's no object." Ben shrugged, "but we wanna do things on a low key, just a few guests and a little venue is all we're looking at."

There was silence from her. She had been staring at his lips as he spoke. It took her a second or so to realize that he had stopped speaking.

"Okay. Yeah. That's great. When did you say the bride would be around?"

"Yo Benny!" Someone suddenly shouted from behind them.

"Next week." Ben said, "But the best man is already here."

They both turned to see an almost breathless Joey jogging up towards them.

"Hmm." The planner hummed.

"Cute, ain't he? Tall, dark, handsome?" Ben teased.

"Nah. I know his type. These are the kinds that switch sexuality halfway into a relationship."

Ben almost collapsed with laughter!

"What's funny?" Joey demanded as he reached their table and sank down on a chair.

"Ms. Ribbs here said you look like a science TV host."

"That's a lie." The planner quickly said. "What I told him was that you look the kind who would change sexuality halfway into a relationship."

"And you found that funny, huh? You can begin to look for a new best man."

"Aw come on, Joey. Can't you take a little joke?"

"What's the biggest estimate of expected guests?" The planner cut in.

"Um... nowhere near 50, perhaps 30 max."

"Minus one." Joey murmured.

"Don't mind him."

"Whatever." She sighed as she got to her feet. "Call me when the bride returns."

With that, she grabbed her bag and went on her way.

"Seems you got her angry, Joey."

"Then you should be thanking me. I don't think mermaids like being cheated on, you know."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ben shot back.

"I saw the way you were looking at each other, all soft and affectionate, something I'm sure Tara would not like."

Ben sighed and leaned back with a conceited smile on his face.

"Jealousy comes in different forms and wavelengths, my friend."

"Meaning?"

"Admit it, Joey. I'm the guy all the girls wish they could have. But you? You're just there... barely getting by. Unfortunately, I don't keep in touch with my exes, I could have lent you one of them."

He quickly ducked under the table as the table-cloth came flying towards his head. When the cloth had landed on the ground behind him, he came up from under the table, laughing uncontrollably. All Joey could muster in response was an angry glare and a hiss. He took a sip from the wedding planner's untouched drink and leaned back to mull things over. Even though it was just a playful comment, he couldn't help but recognize that Ben was right. They'd been best of friends since high school and Ben had always been the one getting all the girls. He, on the other hand, never got anything more than a wave and a smile. Yes, he had always been shy with women, especially beautiful ones, but what about those ones that chased Ben back in the day, why didn't they chase him?

"Thinking about your lonely past and lonelier future?" Ben teased, breaking into his thoughts.

Joey ignored him, but then, he considered bringing his problem to his friend. But the fear of being teased with it for the rest of his time on Earth made him drop the idea immediately. The best solution would be to find a way to get himself a beautiful girlfriend. For a long time, he had been lying to himself that his busy work life was what prevented him from getting into a relationship. Even if that were true, what about the girls at work? He'd worked with some of them for over half a decade and in all those years, he had never been able to summon up the courage to ask any one of them out for lunch. Perhaps he would try on Monday, or maybe Tuesday, since Mondays were usually busy. Or Friday might even be better, since it was closer to the weekend. Oh procrastination procrastination, the best friend of inaction. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Joey, everything okay?" Ben asked in genuine concern.

"Yeah yeah. I'm good."

"Great. Cause you've been acting like someone who's gotten his sister's daughter pregnant."

They both laughed at the joke and Joey knew, at the back of his mind, that he would not go through with asking out any of the girls at work.

The wedding day was finally a day away and everything was as ready as it could be. Tara was on ground and the wedding planner had been dropped. The bride could handle preparations by herself. After all, it was her wedding, not the planner's. And according to her, there was nothing to prove that the planner was smarter than she was. But the only thing left was the arrival of the bride's family, which would happen at the very early hours of the wedding day. Ben was both eager and nervous. Finally, he would get to see his in-laws! Joey, on the other hand, was a little more nervous. His beach would be used as their landing zone and he would also house them till daylight when they would be ready for the wedding. Tara would be there to ensure that he would not get overwhelmed while Ben would spend the entire night trying hard to fall asleep. Not that Joey himself would have any sleep too, not with a dozen amphibious creatures under his roof!

When the D-day arrived, Ben was up early, had a shave and took his bath. Then he got dressed, ready to welcome Tara and her family of a dozen. He had had little sleep, only for a few hours, but it was quite enough for him to function optimally.

When Tara's entourage finally reached his house, Ben was lucky that the younger mermaids preferred to admire their surroundings before doing anything else. Only Tara and her mother came straight to see him. He was pacing back and forth, gesticulating and practicing different forms of greeting when the women stepped in. Ben stopped in his tracks and stared open-mouthed at the beautiful, buxom, middle-aged woman that was standing beside his fiancee. She was wearing a long lime-green gown and flat shoes of the same color. Her warm smile was what finally put him at ease. He walked up to meet her and was wondering what next to do when she brought up her hand for a handshake. Cold and soft to the touch, he would have liked to kiss it, but that would look a little over the top, so he simply bowed respectfully.

"He really is handsome, dear." Maana said to her daughter as Ben let go of her hand. "And with some nice manners too, quite unlike Thansa."

"Mother just means she approves of you." Tara quickly said to quench Ben's peaked curiosity at the sound of the word 'Thansa'.

Maana nodded in concurrence, but before she could say anything else, a flood poured through the door. Noise and mermaids flowed in unrestrained quantity to the amazement of Ben. At the sight of him, the noise increased ten-fold as they all rushed towards him. But Tara restrained them immediately.

"Hey hey, everyone! Let's show some decorum here, shall we?"

That brought them to a stop and complete silence reigned. Ben stared on in wonder as his fiancee arranged her lime green gown attired sisters into one long row. They were all extremely beautiful with varying heights, ages and even hair color.

"Come on, Ben." Tara called to him, and he walked to meet her. "Meet my incorrigible sisters." she said as she took his hand in hers, eliciting a round of disapproving murmurs from the girls. Their mother was seated on a sofa, keenly watching the drama.

Tara now proceeded with individual introductions. Both parties had met each other before, but darkness and a dive suit had been barriers to a complete view. Now, an unobstructed view gave them a chance to study each other.

"This is Aaanlisha." Tara said, "The oldest of the incorrigible eleven."

Normally, that title would have attracted a glare or any other angry response from her, but Lisha was more occupied with holding on to Ben's hand and smiling toothily at him. Tara looked from one to the other and she didn't need anyone to tell her that Ben was in a state of discomfort. He had bowed three times already, but the girl still wouldn't let go of his hand. Tara simply grabbed both hands and pulled them apart.

"This is Aaanmaalina." She said, ignoring Lisha's fiery glare, "The only scholar in the family."

"And bottle preserver." Lisha added, hoping to spite her sister. But apart from a few giggles from the much younger mermaids, she was largely ignored. Tara went on to introduce the rest: Laseena, Rohna, Faalana, Rubina, Fleena, Laanisha, Reena, Prisha and finally, Braana, who surprised Ben with a hug. The sudden shout of 'Awww' from her sisters made her hide her face in shame, refusing to let go of him. Ben had to carry her with him to a sofa and the rest trooped after. He was flanked on all sides by the ten mermaids while Braana made herself comfortable in his arms. The chubby intellectual, Maalina, who Ben thought perfectly resembled their mother, was the first to begin launching him a barrage of questions and the rest hung on every word of his answers, with the exception of the slim and impetuous Lisha, who was more interested in staring at his face while playing with her hair.

Seeing her sisters and mother well settled for the meantime, Tara stepped out of the house to find out from her co-planner, Joey, how things at the wedding venue were coming along. It was her idea that the venue and guests be ready before the arrival of herself and Ben, escorted by Joey and Maalina. All four would head up to the priest and get it over and done with. She wanted a quick wedding and prior to their attendance, all the guests had been made aware of that. But for now, Joey had no news for her, other than the fact that some guests had arrived and were entertaining themselves while awaiting the arrival of others and eventually, the couple.

"Um... I'd like to ask a personal question... if you don't mind." Joey said, after a few seconds of silence as they strolled in Ben's garden.

"Okay." Tara shrugged, "provided it's not too personal."

"Well, it's about your sisters."

"What about them?" Tara asked, coming to a halt and turning to face him.

"Ahem. Well, I uh... heard from Benny... I mean, I wonder if I wasn't supposed to hear this, but Benny said they... your sisters, I mean, were all born at the same time. But seeing them now, there's clearly quite a lot of differences in age. I mean, I don't think he lied, maybe he was kidding or perhaps I misheard..."

"No no, you didn't." She waved him off with a smile. "And he didn't lie either. They were all born at the same time, but as eggs. Mermaids are not mammals, you know. The eggs may be laid all at once, but they don't hatch in that manner."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Sometimes, it takes days or weeks, months or even years. Lisha hatched in less than 24 hours. Lina followed some months later, but Braana was the shy one. Took her a decade to come out."

"Wow. So the um... babies in the eggs don't outgrow the shell or something like that?"

Tara laughed and Joey bit his lip in shame, wondering what had made him ask the question in the first place.

"Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you." She quickly apologized. "Your question only reminded me of Reena's hatching. Back then, Lina loved to play with the unhatched eggs. Then one day, Reena suddenly decided to hatch and she was present. When Reena made that initial crack, she started poking something through the hole, which made Reena break the entire shell in one blow. Lina was frightened out of her wits to have a newly hatched mermaid on her hands! She dropped the shell, mermaid and all and ran in search of Mother as if a band of demons were after her!"

They both burst into laughter. Then Tara suddenly became serious again.

"I think it's time for me to get ready."

"Yeah. Okay. Um... I'll go keep an eye on things over at the venue."

Then they both went their separate ways.

Tara went into the house and found her sisters, each with a book, most likely from her fiancé's library. But Ben himself was not there with them.

"Where's Ben?" She asked of no one in particular.

"Back." Was the response from Maalina, who was reading from two books at the same time.

Tara left the girls and went in search of her groom at the back of the house. But she didn't find him there. She tried the kitchen, calling his name as she searched. But he wasn't there. So she directed her search upstairs. Still, he wasn't there. She began to get worried. If Ben was playing a prank, this was certainly not the right time, not when they had guests waiting. So she called Joey.

"Have you seen Ben? Is he with you?" She asked as soon as he picked the phone.

"I thought he was with you."

"Just answer the question, Joey."

"No no, he ain't here. But ha..."

She disconnected the call and rushed back down.

"Lina, where did you say Ben went?"

"Back. That was where he said he was going. What is it? Can't find him?"

"What did he say he was going to do there?" She asked, ignoring her sister's questions.

"I have no idea."

"He wanted to go get some flowers for Braana." Lisha offered.

"But he's not there. Where the hell did he vanish into?"

"What's the problem?" Maana demanded, taking her attention from the album she had been looking at.

"It's Ben, Mother." Tara whined as she took a seat beside her mother. "I can't find him anywhere!"

"Maybe he went for a walk."

"On his wedding day? Come on, Mother."

"Maybe he's rethinking things." Lisha piped up, immediately earning a fiery glare from her sister.

Just then, someone appeared at the doorway and Tara quickly sat up, thinking it was Ben. But it was only Joey.

"He still hasn't returned?"

"Returned from where? If only we know where he went to. He even left his phone behind." She grumbled, nodding at the arm of the couch where Ben's phone lay.

"That's weird." Joey commented thoughtfully.

"Whatever prank he's playing, he has to know it's not funny."

"Nah. Benny doesn't play this kind of prank. Who was the last person that saw him?"

"Everyone... except me. And it seems he went to back of the house."

But Joey was already headed that way. Tara simply sighed and leaned back on her mother's shoulder.

"Don't worry, dear." Maana said, patting her back gently. "He'll be back in no time."

"I hope so, mother."

The absence of Ben had put a damper on everything for Tara and instead of getting ready, she was patiently waiting for her nowhere-to-be-found groom while her sisters busied themselves with books and television. Soon, Joey returned.

"Found something." He said quietly, earning the attention of the whole room, but only one person knew the significance of what he was holding. Tara blanched at the sight of the dirty and crushed shoe in Joey's hands - Ben's shoe!

"Oh God." She gasped as she jumped to her feet, but before she could take two steps, she slumped down on the ground.

"It's alright. I'll take care of her." Maana said as Joey and the girls rushed to Tara. "Where's the bed?" She asked of Joey.

"Upstairs. I'll show you."

He rushed over to the stairs to lead her to Ben's bedroom while she followed with an unconscious Tara in her arms. The girls gathered around the foot of the stairs, watching in mild confusion. They would have loved to follow their mother up the stairs, but nobody wanted to get on the wrong side of Maana today. They stood there in silence, waiting to hear any sound that could tell them what was going on up there. Then suddenly, Joey appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Lina, your mother would like to see you."

Before he could complete the statement, Lina was already flying up the stairs. He led her to the room where her mother was and she walked in to see her sister spread full length on the bed, as if she was just enjoying a normal sleep. Her face looked calm and Mother had arranged her hair and dress as best she could.

"So what do we do about the wedding and how do we find Ben?" Maana asked of both of them.

"I..." Joey was saying when Lina cut in.

"Shouldn't we inform the police or whatever it is that land people call when someone goes missing?"

"No no no. That's not a good idea. They'll need to talk to us and have us stay around and we can't afford to do that. By the way, Rana has to get back home tonight and everyone will come along too."

"I... I can hire a PI. A Private Investigator, I mean." Joey offered.

"Yes, do that. And every other thing you think is necessary, provided it doesn't expose us. But we also have to think about the wedding and the waiting guests. We have to find a way to disperse them without any trouble."

Joey nodded in concurrence.

"What will you tell them?" Lina suddenly asked, turning to him.

"Don't know. I..."

"I think the truth is always best."

"Not in this case, Lina." Her mother said, shaking her head.

"Um... I think... I think I may have an idea." Joey intimated.

"Okay. Just make sure there's no fuss. Try to calm them down as much as you can. And call your PI to start work immediately. We leave in a few minutes. If you don't mind, we'll need your keys, for your house and your car. You can use your friend's car."

"Can um... can you drive?" Joey asked as he presented the keys to her.

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

"I was driving long before you were born, young man." Maana clipped.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to be rude. Just... I'll go er... get everything done."

Feeling chastened, he hurried out of the room, leaving mother and daughters alone.

"You never told us you were once on the land, Mother." Lina said, after Joey had left the room.

"And how's that relevant to the current situation?"

"Just curious."

"No time for your trademark curiosity, Lina. Go get your sisters ready. We leave immediately."

Dispersing the guests who had come for the wedding was not too difficult for Joey. He found them at the venue, feeling far from bored. There were loads of refreshments and those who had been invited to double as musicians were busy entertaining themselves and everyone else. When Joey finally announced that the wedding would have to be postponed due to the bride having 'severe seizures', he was beseiged by the sympathetic guests who sought to know everything from whether she would be alright to how the groom was holding up. Some even wanted to know the name and location of the hospital she had been taken to, so they would visit her or send flowers and well wishes, but Joey managed to fend them off by telling them that he was not very sure about the name of the hospital and that he would let them know as soon as he finds out. At last, he was able to extricate himself from their grip and he left most of them at the venue, especially the musicians, who were now playing a song of prayer for the quick recovery of the bride.

By the time Joey got back home, it was late afternoon. He had spent most of his time, after leaving the wedding venue, with the private investigator, briefing him on the case, answering all his questions and providing him with all he needed - minus anything about the mermaids. Instead, he had replaced them with himself. Walking into his house, he wasn't surprised to find a mermaid conference in progress. So he quickly begged their pardon for intruding and went straight to his room, where he spent the rest of the daylight wondering who on Earth would have cause to kidnap a cool guy like Ben while also expecting a call for ransom to come through on his phone.

As soon as it was sufficiently dark, Maana led her eleven children and carried the still unconscious Tara to the shed at the water's edge. Joey found it shocking that the poor girl was still unconscious and he wondered how on Earth they would carry her to their house, but he didn't dare ask. He just followed behind them. Halfway to the shed, Maana handed Tara to some of the younger mermaids, who continued the journey while she had a word with Joey.

"Thank you very much, Joey. We've known you for only a day, but you've done so much for us within such a short period. Unfortunately, for reasons too difficult to explain, we have to go back home now. I do hope you find your friend as soon as possible. If you need help or you have any news, you know how to reach us, right?"

"Yeah. Through Madame Size Plus." Joey nodded, glancing at the chubby Maalina.

"What! What did you just call me?" Lina demanded in disbelief.

"I... I..."

"Let it go." Maana said, coming to his rescue. "Nobody asked you to take after your mother. Let's go, everyone."

With a wave at Joey, they turned on their heels and began making their way to the water's edge, with Lina turning to take one last glance at Joey. But an idea suddenly hit Lisha and she came to a halt.

"Mother, why don't I stay behind to follow the developments and update you from time to time. I'm sure this Joey guy has better things to do than to hunt down empty bottles with which to send messages to some jobless preserver with a meaning glance at her sister."

"No, I can't allow you stay behind. We..."

"But Mother, I'll give you updates every day."

"And I said, No. You've never been to the land before, I can't allow you to stay here alone."

"But Joey here will take care of me. Won't you, Joey?"

"I..."

"I doubt it." Lina cut him off. "I'm sure he has better things to do than to hunt down ways to keep a certain universal problem called Aaanlisha in check."

"Oh shut up your bottle-like mouth, you fool." Lisha fired back.

"Hey hey hey! No bickering!" Maana ordered. "Joey, Lisha will stay behind, if you want... or rather, if you can promise to take care of her."

Lisha, who had since grabbed his hand, was now slyly applying pressure on it, goading him to accept.

"Well, uh... I.. I guess I can do that."

"Okay then. Remember, I'll hold you to those words. If she misbehaves and gets herself in trouble, I'll hold you responsible."

"Oh Mother, don't you trust me?" Lisha pouted.

"Oh my dear girl, I do trust you a lot. I trust you to always surprise me... negatively. Let's go, Lina."