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I. Paul
Estelle is six years old and her big brother is her hero.
It’s obvious to Paul. He sees it in how she eagerly listens to her brother’s stories of his quests. Every night, before Percy leaves for college or camp, Estelle hugs her brother’s legs and asks for another story about his adventures, and every night, Percy agrees. His stories are filled with magic, adventure, and the right amount of violence to keep a child happy.
Paul notices he doesn’t get into the heavier details. That’s great, in his opinion. His stepson’s been through so much. He doesn’t want Percy to force himself to relive every gory detail, even if Estelle asks for it.
Last Halloween, Estelle chose to dress up as the Little Mermaid for Halloween. “I want to swim like Percy too!” she said. Paul’s heart absolutely melts. Sally finds a costume and sends Percy pictures. Annabeth later says Percy almost died of cuteness.
Percy can swim. Estelle wants to learn how to swim. Percy has a girlfriend, Estelle wants one too. (They tell her she has to wait until she’s older, but Estelle has already proposed to Mary Ann Lewis on the swings.) So when Estelle finds out that Percy attends a summer camp every year, she asks to join one too.
This is a bit trickier than all of her previous requests.
Estelle doesn’t want to go to just any camp—she wants one that will let her be like her big brother, with sword fighting and archery and strawberry picking. The ones most similar to Camp Half-Blood cost a few hundred dollars a week, and they just can’t afford that.
It takes some convincing, but Estelle agrees to join the Girl Scouts. He sees the way she eyes the badges, and when he and Sally tell her there’s a summer camp, Estelle explodes with excitement.
She looks adorable in her uniform. Paul looks from the doorway as Estelle poses for the camera. Sally is determined to get every moment on picture, partly for the memories, partly because Percy will never forgive them if he doesn’t get news of his sister.
As if she can read his mind, Estelle turns to him. “Daddy, how do I look?”
Paul scoops her into a hug. “You look great, baby!” He lifts her up, ignoring her giggles. “My little Daisy Scout! Are you excited?”
“Yes!” Estelle shrieks. “I’m gonna start fires and sell cookies and ride pegasi like the grown-ups!”
“Ah, I think you’re a bit too young to start fires,” he says, setting her down. Gods, she’s getting heavy. “And the Girl Scouts don’t have pegasi.”
Estelle sniffs. “Not yet.” She turns to her backpack. “Can I bring my sword?”
“Sweetie no!” Sally calls out. It’s not an actual sword. Percy gave her a plastic one for her birthday. Still though. “The Girl Scouts don’t do sword fighting.”
“I can teach them!”
Paul smiles. At times like this, he marvels at how amazing his family is. Sally is the woman of his dreams, Estelle and Percy the best children he could ask for. He wishes he could freeze time and keep this moment forever.
Everything is perfect.
II. Sally
Everything is far from perfect.
Sally sighs as he takes Estelle’s temperature. Her fever has gone down, thankfully, but she’s sniffling and her eyes are still red. She knows it’s not from her fever.
Two days before leaving for day camp, Estelle gets sick, and she and Paul don’t allow her to join camp. Her fever goes up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit1. Estelle is confined to her bed for the next week. She threw a tantrum of massive proportions, but they put their foot down on the topic.
A fever is a fever. Estelle will just have to wait for next year.
Sally covers her forehead with a cool towel. Estelle looks absolutely pitiful wrapped in blankets and hugging Miette, her stuffed cat. Baby’s first heartbreak, she thinks to himself. The biggest injustice is that Estelle can’t go to Day Camp. She had been talking about it the whole year.
The door opens, and Percy walks into the room.
“How is she?” he whispers.
“Her fever is almost gone,” Sally replies. “She’s still upset about not going to camp. Cried again today because Mary Ann will be roasting marshmallows without her.”
Percy sighs. He checks Estelle’s temperature, pressing the back of your hand to her neck. The action wakes Estelle.
“Percy?”
Percy smiles. “Hey, Stella. How you feeling?”
Estelle sniffs. “Okay.”
Percy sits by her bedside. Sally moves over to give him space. “Yeah? Paul was just telling me you were bummed out again.”
Estelle hugs Miette tighter. “I’m missing out all the fun!” she wails. “I wanna go! They’re having fun without me and it’s not fair! This is the worst summer ever!”
Percy strokes her hair. “I know this sucks, but summer isn’t over yet. We can still do something, right? What do you wanna do?”
“I wanna go camping.”
Percy looks at Sally , a little lost. Sally takes her daughter’s hand.
“Sweetie, Percy and I are going to get your medicine. We’re going to be right back, okay?”
Estelle nods. Sally kisses her cheek before leading Percy out the room.
They head to the kitchen. Percy frowns over Estelle’s syrups. “She’s taking this hard.”
Sally sighs. “She’s been looking forward to this all year.” Estelle took to the Girl Scouts like a duck to water, or maybe like her brother to water. Not being able to go was clearly killing her.
“You could sign her up for another camp?”
“It’s not the same.” Sally begins pouring syrup into the tiny cup. 10 mL, four times a day. “She wants an adventure camp. Hiking, horse riding, the whole package. Similar camps are too expensive or closed for registration by now.”
Percy’s lips thin. Sally learned over the years that the frown on his face isn’t a bad mood, just that Percy is deep in thought. “What if I get a camp for her?”
Sally closes the bottle. “Isn’t Camp for demigods? I don't want to intrude…”
“Not Camp Half-Blood,” Percy denies. “What if I make an adventure camp for Estelle? I’m already a camp counselor, I’ve got experience with this stuff.”
Sally raises his eyebrows. “Really? You’d do that?”
“Of course.” There’s a strange look in Percy’s eyes. “Stella deserves to have some fun.”
There’s definitely more to Percy’s reasoning than that. Percy never had this, much to Sally’s guilt. Every summer was filled with summer jobs and Gabe, and even Camp had the threat of quests and wars. Percy spoils Estelle so much—Sally wonders if this is his way of giving her the childhood he never had.
Sally’s heart breaks for her boy, but if she starts crying now, then Percy might think she disapproves and Estelle might hear her and start crying too. Instead she hugs him. “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she says. “She’ll love that.”
Sally grabs the tray full of medicine and makes her way to Estelle’s room, Percy trailing behind her. “When do you want to do it?” Sally asks.
“After she’s better, maybe in a week or two? I’ll take care of the details and stuff.”
“Do you want any of her friends there?”
Percy blinks. He hasn’t considered that. “I…will she be upset if they don’t go?”
“Not if we make it a family outing.”
Percy sighs with relief. “Okay, let'sdo that. I don’t know how a mortal would react to some of the stuff I’m planning.”
Sally’s eyebrows raise. “Oh?” She doesn’t know whether she should be concerned. “And what about the mortal chaperones? Are we in for a big surprise?”
Percy grins at her. “You’ll see.”
III. Paul
Three weeks later, Paul, Sally, and Estelle are driving to Montauk. Well, Paul’s driving. Sally’s sitting in the front seat, and Estelle is vibrating with excitement in the back.
“Are we almost there yet?”
“Not for another hour, sweetie!” Sally calls out. She turns to Paul, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Do you know what he’s got planned?”
“Nope.” Percy has been cagey about his plans, no matter how much Estelle begged. “All I know is that Annabeth is helping.”
“Annabeth is gonna be there?!” Estelle squeals.
“Well, she’s also a camp counselor,” Paul replies. “Besides, if Percy has a scheme, you can count on Annabeth to be there.”
“That's true,” Sally says. “You should have seen those two when they were younger. Did you know Percy used to keep pictures of Annabeth in his notebooks?”
Paul almost takes his eyes off the road. “What, really? That’s cute.”
“He used to get so fussy about it. ‘She’s just a friend, mom!’ “
Paul waggles his eyebrows. “A friend , huh?” Not like Percy is any better these days. Paul has seen plenty of Annabeth’s pictures taped over his bed.
“And on the last day of seventh grade, those two ran away to camp together after exploding a gym.” Sally pauses. “Ah, no, they had Tyson with them. You remember Tyson, right dear?”
He does. The large boy, Percy’s half-brother and apparently a cyclops. Hang on, what was that Sally said? “So Goode wasn’t his first time destroying a gym?”
Sally laughs “Not even close! I was scared someone would sue us for damages!”
“Can I explode a gym, mom?”
“No.”
The next hour is full of stories of Percy’s life. Paul gets to hear about little Percy doing homework at the Grand Central candy shop while Sally worked shifts, how he named his teddy bear Squid, how he used to get in trouble for throwing rocks at bullies.
Estelle listens too from the back seat. Paul hopes she won’t emulate the rock thing. It’s been bad enough with her convincing her first grade class to reenact the Colosseum fights.
Finally they reach Montauk. Percy told them to bring their things to their usual cabin. The beach is as crowded as ever, but the area around the cabin they rent is strangely devoid of people.
Estelle tugs on his arm. “Dad, is there a bug repellent for people?”
“No, I don’t think so.” He wouldn’t put it past the gods to have a mortal-repellent though.
“Stella! Mom, Paul!”
Paul sees Percy emerge from the shore, as if he were jogging around the block instead of swimming. Maybe he jogged underwater? Maybe he had a tail that Paul couldn’t see, courtesy of being mortal. Hm. he would have to ask Sally later.
“Percy!” Estelle rushes forward to hug him. Percy catches her in his arms and spins her around.
“You’re here!” Percy grins. He sets Estelle down, kisses Sally’s cheek, then Paul’s. “Hey mom, hey Paul. How was the trip?”
“It was okay,” Sally replies. “There was a bit more traffic than we anticipated.”
Estelle bounces up to him. “We heard you exploded a gym with Annabeth! That’s so cool.”
Percy looks confused. “Sally was telling us some childhood stories. Something about smuggling candy and bringing pictures of Annabeth to school.”
“Mo~om,” Percy whines. “That’s embarrassing.”
“You were adorable!”
Percy pouts. Paul decides to rescue him. “So what were you doing under the sea?”
Percy grabs some of their bags and helps them to the cabin. “I was asking if the fish were ready.”
Percy could talk to fish. Paul wasn’t sure if he would get used to that. “What did the fish say?”
“Oh, they are.” Percy swings the cabin door open. Annabeth is already inside, pinning up a banner. “Beth, they’re here!”
“Sally! Paul!” Annabeth gets down from her chair. Behind her is a banner reading “ WELCOME STAR SCOUTS” .
Sally rushes to hug her. “Annabeth, dear! You’ve grown!”
“Thank you! Paul! How have you been?”
“Good, good!”
“Annabeth!”
“Estelle!”
When the pleasantries are over, Percy rounds them up in the living room of the cabin. “So! Welcome to Camp Star Scouts! Made for a certain star here who got sick a few weeks ago!” He waves at Estelle. “We’re gonna be here for three days! Annabeth and I have prepared a ton of activities for you guys and you can earn badges. Any questions?”
“Why isn’t there anyone else around?” Paul asks.
“Dad might have overheard me planning and offered to mortal-proof a section of the beach for us. Called it a present.”
“Which means you were rambling and didn’t notice your father was listening,” Annabeth finishes.
Percy rolls his eyes. “To be fair, I was under the sea. I’m pretty sure he can hear everything under the sea.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.”
“Oh? Are you the marine expert now, Wise Girl? When did that happen?”
“Are two flirting?” Estelle asks.
Percy and Annabeth look at her in shock. They look a bit red too. Paul muffles his laughter, while Sally isn’t even trying to hide it.
“They are,” Paul replies. He looks at the two lovebirds. “Why don’t you tell us more about your plans over lunch? It was a pretty long drive and I’m hungry.”
IV. Sally
That afternoon, after they’ve eaten lunch, Percy leads them to the beach. Swimming by the shore are dozens of fish, all peering out from the edge of the water.
Estelle’s not screaming in her excitement, but it's close. “Fish! Look at all that fish!”
Percy laughs. “Welcome to our first camp activity! We’re going to feed the fish! Say hi, guys!”
The fish splash up and down. Sally looks at them in amazement.
“What are they doing?”
“They’re saying hi.” Percy cocks his head. Sally remembers Poseidon, how he used to make that face when she asked him to translate what the fish were saying for her. “They’re excited to meet the little lady I’ve been telling them about. That’s you, Stella.”
Estelle gasps. “The fish want to meet me?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t they want to meet the most special girl on land?”
Annabeth catches up to them, paper bags in hand. “You forgot this, Seaweed Brain.”
“Whoops.” Percy kisses her cheek. “Thanks, Wise Girl.”
Percy hands them a bag each. “To earn your Fishy Friend Badge, you must feed the fish and play nice with them. Fish are friends, not food. Any questions?”
Paul raises his hand. “What language do you use to talk to the fish? Do the fish speak Ancient Greek?”
“Jeez, Paul, you don’t have to raise your hand. This isn’t class.” Percy says class like it’s an insult. “I don’t think so? I’m the only one at camp who can speak to fish. Except Frank, but that’s because he can turn into a fish.” Percy shrugs. “Maybe it’s limited to those from the sea? Some sea language, I guess. I’ll ask Dad the next time I go to Atlantis.”
Sally raises her hand too. Percy makes a face at the gesture but nods. “What kind of fish are they?”
“Um, well, those are bluefish,” he points at a fish that seems more gray than blue, “and that’s a striped sea robin, and those are sundials, and I’m not sure what species those are but they like to call themselves the Killer Whales. That’s their gang name.”
The Killer Whales are the smallest fish of the lot. “Fish have gangs?”
“Sure do. These ones are having a turf war with the hickory shads. Migratory little fu-ah, buttheads, are intruding on their territory.”
Estelle waves her arms. She almost spills the fish food before Sally takes the bag from her. “Percy, what are fish like?”
“Uh, wet?”
“Are they nice?”
“It depends. They’re usually okay. Huge gossips but they tend to exaggerate, so take what they say with a grain of salt.”
Paul raises an eyebrow. “Speaking from experience?”
Annabeth snorts. Percy turns red. “Annabeth and I were underwater once, in the Sea of Monsters,” he says. “According to the barracudas, we were ‘making love in my father’s domain.’ That rumor made its way to Atlantis. Even Dad asked about it. Gods, it was just one hug.”
Huh. Sally wonders what kind of gossip flew around a fish market.
Percy snorts. “They’re dead, mom. They can’t exactly gossip anymore.”
Oops, did she say that out loud?
“But yeah, these won’t talk. I’ve bribed them to stay silent. Otherwise, they’d go around talking about the special treatment they have from their lord’s family,” Percy says, rolling his eyes. He clasps his hands. “Any more questions? The fish are waiting”
Sally can see curiosity in Paul’s eyes. He’s taken so well to the whole demigod thing, asking questions whenever he can. She knows he’s about to ask some more but Sally can feel the fishes’ beady eyes staring at them, waiting for their food, and Estelle is starting to jump around. “Why don’t you answer them later, sweetie? I don’t think the fish are going to be patient for long.”
Percy nods. “Sure. Alright, let’s feed some fish!”
The fish are enthusiastic. They do flips for a handful of pellets. Percy teaches them to hold the pellets just under the water, and the fish come eating out of their palm. Estelle giggles as Annabeth holds her and Percy translates the fish for her.
Paul stays close to Sally’s side. “So they call Percy their lord, right?” he asks. “Is that a respect thing or is he fish Jesus?”
Sally giggles. “Poseidon is king of the seas, hon. I’m sure it’s a monarchy thing.”
“Fascinating.” Paul throws another handful of feed. “Does that mean Percy is a legitimate member of the royal family? Was he legitimized, or is any child of Poseidon considered royal?”
“I don’t know.” Sally thinks. “I’m not sure if any other demigod has gone to Atlantis as much as he has.” Percy seems to visit his father once a month.
“Does that make Percy the Little Mermaid?”
Sally snorts. “If he is, I promise, it’s not because he can sing.”
At the end of the hour, the fish are full and they wave them goodbye. Percy presents them with embroidered badges. They’re little blue triangles with a koi fish in the middle.
“Congratulations, Star Scouts, for earning your Fishy Friend Badge,” Percy says.“You have shown great, uh, friendliness to fish. Good job.”
Annabeth hands over safety pins. “You can use these to pin them on for now.”
Estelle’s eyes are wide as she receives her first badge. “This is the happiest day of my life,” she whispers.
Sally laughs and helps her pin on her badge.
Their next activity is basic weapons training. They’re learning how to fight with swords and knives for their Let Me See What You Have—A Knife Badge. Sally doesn’t understand the reference, but it brings a laugh out of Estelle.
Sally and Paul go to practice sword fighting with Percy, while Estelle goes with Annabeth to learn how to wield a knife.
Sally frowns. “Is that safe?” she asks Annabeth. “For Estelle, I mean. She’s only six.”
Annabeth shrugs. “I was around her age when I started fighting with a knife.”
She doesn’t think that makes this situation better, just sadder. Still, Annabeth is a seasoned fighter, so she leaves them be and goes to train with Percy.
The sword Percy hands them is a wooden practice sword, with a long triangular blade. “This is a Mycenaean rapier,” he says. “Paul, you said you used to do sword fighting for Shakespeare plays. Those Ye Olde times used rapiers so I got you the nearest Greek equivalent.”
Paul inspects the sword. It does look like the ones he used in college, though the hilt is different. “Thanks bud.” He looks at Percy’s wooden sword. “What kind of sword is that?”
“This? It’s a xiphos.” The blade is all curves, narrowing by the hilt, before spreading out like a leaf at the edge. “It was commonly used back then. This ones a replica of Riptide.”
“Your pen?”
“Yep.” Percy pulls out three yoga mats. “You ready to start? I’m thinking of going through the basic footwork before we start working with the blades.”
Sally looks amused. “Yoga?”
Percy shrugs. “If it works, then it works. People think sword fighting is all about the sword, but footwork is just as important. It’s easier to get people to practice their footwork if I call it yoga.”
As Percy corrects her stance, Sally can’t help but ruffle her son’s hair.
“Mom? What’s that for?” Percy asks.
“I just realized I never thanked you for putting this together for Estelle.”
“It’s no biggie. I’d do anything for her.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, I’d do anything for you guys too. This isn’t too much.”
It’s the casual way Percy says that that warms her heart. Sally knows her boy has done so much. Fought monsters, Titans, Giants, and gone through literal hell. Percy had retired from that lifestyle, yet Sally had no doubt he would do it all over again for his family. The sheer love Percy had was like the sea he controlled, a force of nature that knew no bounds.
She never thought she would have this. For years, she was certain she would die in the crossfire of a monster attack, or would have to give up her son to his father’s world and never see him again. The fact that they’re both alive, that her son keeps returning to her, that she even has Paul and Estelle, is overwhelming. Tears begin forming in her eyes.
Paul looked at her in alarm. “Sally? What’s wrong?”
Percy notices it as well. “Mom? Are you okay? Are you sick?”
Sally wipes her eyes. “No, I’m fine. Let’s continue.”
“Are you sure? We can sit down if you want.”
“Percy. Paul,” she says. “Everything is fine. It’s just a weird body reflex. Let’s continue, okay?”
They both look skeptical but nod. “Sure.”
Percy turns back to his yoga mat. “So let’s practice that stance again. Remember the hips. That’s what helps us change our leg position.”
Sally is the luckiest woman in the world. Nothing can compare to this.
By sunset, they’ve earned their Let Me See What You Have-A Knife Badge. Estelle eagerly shows them the moves she learned from Annabeth. Sally makes a mental note to check her bag for any knives when school starts again.
The kids are out playing in the water while she and Paul eat some snacks.
“Do you know how the knife lesson went?” she asks.
Paul hums. “She dropped the knife a few times, then tried to stab Annabeth a few more.”
Thank the gods that training knife is made of wood. “I think we should check her bag before she goes to school this fall.”
“Definitely. She’ll try to show off to Mary Ann again and we’ll be called to the principal’s office again.”
Sally chuckles. The first time Estelle tried to show off to Mary Ann, she ended up breaking a window pane with a brick. Estelle may be a mortal, but she gets into just as much trouble as her brother did at that age. It seems trouble is a Jackson thing, not a demigod thing.
Sally observes her husband. There are crumbs on his chin and his hair is going gray and he is the most beautiful man she has ever seen. She has been with Poseidon, who is a force of nature, and Gabriel, who was nothing but forceful, and they have never made her feel so at peace like this man does. She kisses his cheek.
Paul smiles at her. “What’s that for?”
“Having this little day-out is making me fall in love with this family all over again.” Today will be a core memory in her heart. “I love you and Percy and Estelle so much, and I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’ll keep doing it if it means I get to have this forever.”
Paul takes her hand. “I know exactly what you mean.” She doesn’t doubt him one bit.
V. Paul
Day two of Camp Star Scouts starts off with a treasure hunt. Apparently, Percy and Annabeth hid a gold sword somewhere on their stretch of the beach. An actual gold sword, apparently blessed by the gods. Where they got the gold sword, Paul doesn’t know.
“We took one from Camp Jupiter,” Annabeth says over breakfast. “More like Percy asked for it and they gave him one.”
“Do they just hand out swords for free?” Paul asks.
“Nah. Percy got it because he was a praetor.”
“Praetor?”
“That’s like a military commander.”
Said military commander is drowning his pancakes in syrup, avoiding his sister’s greedy little hands that are trying to grab the syrup bottle.
“What does a praetor do?” Paul asks.
Percy shrugs. “I dunno. I was praetor for only a day. I led a Senate meeting though.”
“Didn’t you get that full scholarship at NRU from that praetorship?” Sally asks. “And your apartment? They gave you all that after one day?”
“It's part of the retirement package.” Percy takes a bite of his pancakes, “Besides,” he says between bites, “I did help defend New Rome. It’s not like I did nothing.”
They’re armed with a metal detector, a map, and a shovel for their little hunt. It takes them all morning, but they eventually find the sword near a family of crabs. Percy probably bribed the crabs to watch the treasure too.
They have a few hours between lunch and their next activity. The work of organizing this whole event must have caught up with Percy and Annabeth, because Paul finds the two of them snuggled together on the couch. Annabeth’s head is on his chest, and Percy’s drool is dripping on her hair.
“We should leave them be,” Sally says, hugging him from behind. “They’ve done enough.”
Paul kisses her forehead. “Estelle mentioned she wanted to explore the beach earlier.”
“Let’s go then. Before she decides we’re taking too long and I regret not buying a child leash.”
Paul chuckles.
The beach is peaceful without any other visitors. With no one else visiting, it looks like a scene from a postcard—white sand, calm waters. He should thank Poseidon later, maybe burn a sacrifice.
Estelle trails ahead of them, poking around rocks and greeting the fishes. Paul and Sally lag behind, watching her from afar. Estelle tried to hide a knife in her little Frozen purse, but Sally confiscated it when she tried to show off her “cool knife moves” again.
“You know,” he says, “I don’t think I’ve seen her get tired this whole trip.”
“Wonder what that’s like.”
Paul wraps his arm around her. “I don’t know. You make me feel young all over again.”
Sally looks up to him. He loves the way her eyes sparkle. “Really?” she says coyly. She traces his chest with her finger. “Why don’t you show me how young you feel then?”
Paul leans forwards to kiss her when Estelle’s voice rings out.
“Mom! Dad! I found a body!”
Their eyes widen. The two of them rush to their daughter, who is standing by a formation of rocks. There’s a huge fishing net, filled with trash. A naked woman is bleeding out, tangled within the net. She’s still conscious, but she’s breathing heavily.
Paul grabs his phone. “How’d she get there? We should call 911!”
Sally tugs his hand. “Don’t.”
“Sally?”
“Call Percy.”
Estelle runs to Paul. She tugs his hand. “Dad, why does she have a tail?”
Paul’s eyes bulge out. He’s unable to see through the Mist, but his wife, and it seems his daughter, can.
A mermaid. A real mermaid, dying out in front of them.
Paul turns to Estelle. “That’s a mermaid, sweetie. Like in Percy’s stories.” He urgently leads her away. “Call your brother and Annabeth, okay? Tell him there’s a mermaid trapped in some nets, injured. Get a first aid kit. Bring them here. Hurry.”
Estelle looks at him in shock, then nods. She runs to the beach house.
Sally turns to Paul. “Help me down.”
The two of them climb over the rocks as quickly as they can. There’s trash surrounding her. Paul can see fishing hooks digging into her skin. He kneels down.
“Are you alright?”
The mermaid turns to them and says something. It’s not any language he knows. Paul shakes his head. “We don’t understand you,” he says clearly, “but we’ve called for help. Percy Jackson. We called Percy Jackson.”
Her eyes widen at Percy’s name and she nods. It looks like she recognizes Percy. Good.
They should cut the net. Is that the safe thing to do? Paul tries to remember his first aid classes. ABC—airway, breathing, circulation. Do any of those apply to a mermaid? She’s out of the water, so those ABCs might be compromised. They have to remove the net without moving her.
Paul turns to Sally and she nods. It seems like she’s on his wavelength. She holds up Estelle’s knife. “Let’s cut her free.”
It takes more time than they’d like, but they manage to cut one section of the net, freeing her torso. The mermaid’s breathing is getting heavier and she’s starting to go unconscious. Paul removes as much trash as he can while Sally works on the next part of the net.
After what seems like forever, Percy and Annabeth arrive, Estelle close behind. Percy’s holding Riptide, Annabeth a first aid box.
“Excuse me! Coming through!”
Percy cuts through the net like butter, freeing her in seconds. He holds out his arms to the sea. Water rushes from the shore. A sphere of water encases the mermaid’s head and gills. The mermaid takes a deep breath then chatters.
“You’re welcome,” Percy says.
“She has hooks in her skin,” Paul reports. “Two in her arms, three in her stomach.”
Percy nods. He turns to the mermaid. “We’re going to remove the hooks first, okay? When those are gone, I’ll summon a wave for you. You can heal in the ocean.”
The mermaid chatters again.
Percy turns to him and Sally. “It’s okay, I’ve done this before. Annabeth too. This happens more than you think.”
Percy and Annabeth make quick work of removing the fishing hooks. He and Sally watch from the sidelines. Paul wonders how many mermaids have turned up to Percy, tangled in nets and hooks.
Estelle hugs him, eyes shut tight. Paul pats her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” he says. “She’ll be okay.”
The fish hooks are gone within minutes. Percy summons a wave to carry her to the shore—that’s what Paul thinks happens. He can’t see through the Mist, so it looks like a wave hits the shore and pulls her away.
“Shouldn’t we dress her wounds first?” he asks.
“We don’t have to,” Percy replies. “The ocean will heal her. Look, she’s better already.”
The mermaid does look livelier. She’s not in pain anymore. In fact, she’s chattering energetically. Estelle smiles at her and she smiles back.
“Is she alright now?” Sally asks.
Percy nods. “She says thank you. She needs to go now but she’ll never forget this.”
“Bye bye!” Estelle cries. She looks distraught. “Please be careful!”
The mermaid chatters back. For a moment, Paul sees a blue skinned-woman with fins and sharp teeth, before the image fades back into a beautiful woman.
Without further ado, the mermaid flips into the water. There is a moment of silence as they process everything that just happened before Paul turns to his stepson.
“You’ve done this before? Seriously?” He shakes his head. “That is the toughest thing I have ever seen.”
VI. Sally
The basket weaving they do after that is uneventful, a welcome reprieve from the previous excitement. Percy promises them that their Sea Life Rescue Badges will come after one or two weeks. Sally doesn’t mind how long it takes. The mermaid is free now and that’s what matters.
According to her son, sea creatures come to him all the time asking for aid, from animals stuck in nets to mermaids with hangnails. Annabeth has helped in a few of these rescues, which is how she’s so familiar with removing fishing hooks from a body.
There was a bit of stargazing planned, but that’s canceled in light of everyone being too tired to stay awake. Today took a lot of energy from all of them.
They go home on day three. They’ve earned five badges, and Estelle wears them like medals of honor. Paul is thinking of showing them off to his students, while Sally wants to hang hers on the fridge.
Sally insists on cleaning up before they go. Percy protests—he was the one who arranged this, but she puts her foot down. This Camp was extravagant enough, and he deserves to relax for once.
They’re in the backseat: Percy, Annabeth, and Estelle. All three of them are sleeping. Children, Sally thinks. No matter how old they grow, they will always be her children. Yes, Annabeth too—that’s her future daughter-in-law after all.
Paul’s driving them back to Manhattan. Sally’s sad to see the beach go, but the trip must end. Tomorrow, life will start again. She will have to drop Estelle with Paul’s parents and have a meeting with her publisher, and Paul will prepare for the new school year, and Percy and Annabeth will go to Camp once more.
But just because the trip is over, it doesn’t mean it can’t last forever. As she goes through the photos on her phone, she thinks the trip was a miracle for all of them, not just Estelle. Certainly a miracle for that mermaid, who would probably be dead if they weren’t there. But Sally’s at peace, and she knows if she could capture this moment in time forever, she would.
Everything is perfect.