Putting the Blog on Ice...

Okay, so this is probably the hardest blog post I’m going to write, but I am putting the blog on ice for a while.  How long is a while?  Honestly, at this point, I’m not sure.  It definitely looks at this point like it will be months.  The truth is, as the few of you who read this all ready know, I haven’t been able to put my full energy into this for a while now.  I realized while writing this that it had been far too long since the last Crystellen post, which isn’t fair to any of you, or to the characters (as odd as that sounds), or quite honestly, to myself.  Right now I’ve got too many things going on – trying to get into grad school (again), taking classes currently,…

So, I am putting the blog on ice for the indefinite future.  Which is sad, because the last thing I want to do is pull a Stargate Atlantis (or SGU, for that matter) and stop before the story’s finished, but I think it will allow me time to focus on other priorities, not to mention I’ll get rid of that guilty feeling of “I should be writing my blog now,” when I’m doing something else.

Treasure Hunters, do not despair, for I will eventually write the conclusion in the Emerys Treasure series, but it won’t be this year.  L  However, they will return, and when they do, I will announce it here. 

Thank you again for all of your support and interest.  I sincerely appreciate it.

Humbly yours,

Cliffie Coates

As Perceived by Crystellen 14

Losten looked over at me.  Finally, my sister’s beau noticed I was there.

“I need you to come with me,” I said.

Losten stared at me as if I wasn’t real.  Good grief, I thought, is this guy that dense?  How long was he going to stare at me before he spoke?

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” he finally managed to say.

I continued to stare at Losten.  I had hoped Losten would come willingly, but it didn’t look like that would be the case.

“Dude,” I said, as I continued to stare at him, “I need you to come with me.  It’s about Em.”

He cleared his throat.  “I’ve been here before.  The last time I went with you, I wound up in the river.”

Oh, great, I thought.  He thinks this is a cassidium dream.

I smiled.  “And, what was the worst thing that happened?  My sister made out with you until it stopped.  Was that so bad?”

“I was terrified.  I believed I was drowning and got a horrible headache.  I’m not going anywhere with you.”

It occurred to me that the library was not a great place to have this conversation.  I glanced around, and noticed somebody standing at a copy machine fifteen feet away.  He probably couldn’t hear us, but just to be on the safe side, I said, “We can’t talk in here.  Let’s talk outside.”  Plus, I thought, I need to get you outside anyway.

I stood up from the table and looked down at Losten.  After a long pause, he put his stuff in his backpack and followed me from the table.  As we walked out the building past some smashed plants, I opened my purse and retrieved my schnarkite lipstick.  I had hoped I wouldn’t have to use it, but this was quite possibly a matter of life and death for my sister.  Plus, it wasn’t like he’d be the first guy I kissed. 

When we arrived outside at my car, Losten spoke.

“I’m not getting in with you, not after what happened last time.”

I walked over near my car and turned to face him.  “Get in.”

Losten stared at me for a moment as if I wasn’t real.  “Tell me what’s going on first,” he said.

A breeze blew my hair in front of my eyes.  I brushed it out of my face and opened the passenger door.  “Please get in.  For Em’s sake.”

Losten walked over to where I stood.  Good, I thought, he’s close enough that this shouldn’t look too obvious.

“Tell me what’s going on first,” he said.

“Bend over,” I replied.  “We’re in public.  Let me whisper in your ear.”

Losten bent down as requested.  Before he knew what was happening, I pulled him forward and kissed him on the lips.

He squirmed for a moment to get away from me, but I held him close.  I wanted to make sure the schnarkite had time to absorb into his lips.  Plus, anyone who was around would be made uncomfortable by our display of affection, which would cause them to look away.  Thus, it would be easier for me to get him into my car.

“What was that for?” Losten asked when he finally broke free of my grasp.  He staggered backwards.  I folded my arms and grinned. 

He leaned against my car.  I could tell he was about to pass out.  After a moment I pushed him inside it, lifted his legs, and shut the passenger door.  I glanced around the parking lot.  Nobody appeared to have noticed. 

I got in my car and drove down the road.  Before we left the parking lot, I pulled out a napkin and wiped my lips.  No reason to leave the schnarkite on my lips.  Plus, the last thing I needed was to have Em’s boyfriend’s saliva in my mouth.

I glanced over at Losten.  I hope that’s the last time I have to kiss you, I thought, for both our sakes.

An Update

Hmm...well, I didn't quite mean for it to be the whole summer since I posted a Crystellen update, but that seems to have somehow happened.  (Not that being too sick to write for a whole week helped, which I got over just in time to take a planned trip, and now I'm plotting out the next element in my career change.)

Okay, enough whining on my part:  I guess what I'm wanting to say is that she's coming back, hopefully next week, but at this point my schedule's so up in the air I'm giving no guarantees (especially since my past guarantees have been, umm, well, let's just say "not faithfully executed.")

Fear not, fellow Treasure Hunters - She will return!*  

*unless the Manicotti get to me first  ;)

A Second Tale of Emerys Treasure!

Finally, "A Second Tale of Emerys Treasure" is available Here!  

Thanks for your patience and interest everyone...  :)

Just a Few More Days...

Okay, well, Crystellen was supposed to return this week, but I have been spending quite a bit of time on an unrelated writing project.

However, Crystellen will return next week, along with Emerys, Cat, Emily, Losten, and Robert, as by this time next week, the sequel should (hopefully) be available!!  :)

Cheers & thanks for your patience!

~Cliff

Crystellen Will Return...

Crystellen will return...just not this week.  :(

I have been busy getting "A Second Tale of Emerys Treasure" converted, as well as working on another novel not part of the Emerys Treasure series, but everyone's favorite slightly sassy mermaid will return next week!

Until then, happy Treasure hunting!  :)

As Perceived by Crystellen 13

I didn’t know what was wrong with Emerys, but unlike Cat, I didn’t rule out Broken Tail Syndrome.  Not that I thought Emerys had had sex with Losten; I knew my sister too well for that.  But, maybe she had fallen so deeply for the guy that the mer-gene had released the chemical into her body that starts Broken Tail Syndrome.  Given the sadness she was now experiencing, if the chemical had been released into her body previously, then perhaps the heartache she was now suffering was causing the chemical to attack the mer-gene and was slowly destroying it.  In a few weeks, would my sister start to age like a normal person?

 

Then again, sometimes I thought that nothing about our biology made any sense.

However, I needed to get to the bottom of my sister’s dismay.  Not that it was my fault, but still, I felt that I had probably contributed to their disagreement.  At the very least, I hadn’t helped. 

Thus, I made up my mind, once I had finished speaking to Cat, that Losten needed to make amends with Emerys.  For whatever he’d done.  Emerys still didn’t seem to be getting any better, so this might be a matter of life and death. 

However, after everything that had happened, there was no way Losten would come willingly.  After all, I had poisoned him once; he had no reason to trust me.  Plus, even though he wasn’t Manicotti, I still didn’t know what kind of man he was.  Could he be trusted with my sister’s heart? 

I was going to find out.

That evening I walked into my grandmother’s room.  “Grammy,” I said, “do you still have the shnarkite powder you told me about years ago.”

Grammy smiled and walked over to a box on her dresser.  She retrieved a bag of pale blue powder and handed it to me.

“Don’t use too much,” she said.  “This stuff’s potent.  You don’t want to kill whoever the boy is.”

I smiled.  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill anyone.  I just need to use it to persuade someone to come with me.”

That evening I took a small portion of the schnarkite powder and placed it on the end of my lipstick.  Then, I replaced the cap and put my lipstick in my purse.

The next day I drove to David L. Mays Community College.  Emerys had talked enough times about her tutoring sessions that I knew where she met Losten on campus.  And, if he was as clueless as I suspected he might be, he most likely would still be there.  I’d heard Emerys tell Mom the other day that he had called her cell phone and left a message like nothing had happened.

I parked my car and walked up to the library.  I didn’t know exactly where in the library they met, but I figured it couldn’t be too difficult to find.  I walked through the main door and looked around.  In front of me sat the librarian at the front desk.  At a table a little ways to the left sat Emerys’ brown-haired beau.

I walked over to where he sat at a table and stood beside him.

He didn’t take his eyes off his notebook.

Good grief, I thought.  Losten’s so into what he’s reading, he doesn’t even see me here.  How’d he and my sister ever meet, given how clueless he is to the world around him?  At this rate, I’d be surprised if he even knew that he was the cause of my sister’s vexation.

I pulled the chair back from the table.

As Perceived by Crystellen 12

The next day I saw little of Emerys.  When she did leave her room, she ate and then sobbed some more.  And when she didn’t sob, she looked glum.

When Cat and Robert came over Thursday afternoon for supper, Em still wasn't herself.  She didn’t cry anymore, but she still looked down.  Not to mention, she had skipped school most of this week.  Before they left, Cat asked how our sister was.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, since in our house, it seems voices can be heard everywhere.  “I’ve never seen her act like this.  I’m not even sure what happened.”

“Mom told me she had a spat with Losten, but that’s all she would say.”

I led Cat to the back porch, where we could talk more freely.  I had always liked Cat, even though she was considerably older than me.  Plus, when I was with her, it felt nice be around someone who wasn’t blonde.

“I’m getting worried about Em,” I said.  “She seems to be really into this guy.  Do you think-” I paused.  “Do you think she might be suffering Broken Tail Syndrome?”

Cat appeared shocked.  “Crissy, don’t be ridiculous.  You know our sister would never dishonor herself with a guy.”

“I wasn’t suggesting she had sex with him.  It’s just, she seems so down and unlike herself, I was wondering if she might somehow be going through it without having been physically intimate.”

Cat smiled.  “There are some things, my little sister, that you won’t learn until your wedding night.  Trust me, there is no way she could have bonded with him that deeply without being physically involved.”

Robert stepped onto the porch and asked if Cat was ready to leave.

“Keep a close eye on our sister,” she said, “and let me know if anything changes.”

She stepped away from me but I grabbed her arm.

“What if I can get Losten to talk to her?  Do you think that could clear things up?”

Cat nodded.  “We should probably talk to him first, though; otherwise, he might not have a clue how bad Emerys feels.”

I paused a moment.  Cat did have a point; we should probably talk to him before we just throw him in front of Emerys.

“Alright," I said, "how about tomorrow then?”

Cat leaned back.  “Tomorrow for what?”

“How about I bring Losten by your house tomorrow evening?  Em’s on patrol then, and we can see if we can straighten things out between them.”

Cat bit her lip.  “That might work,” she said.  For several seconds she didn’t speak.  “Hmm, Robert will be packing tomorrow night, so what if I arrange for the two of them to talk?  He might be able to shed some light on things for Losten.”

“That’s sounds great,” I said.

Cat looked at me with suspicion, probably because I had shown so much excitement at fixing this mess.  “Now, how are you going to get Losten to come?”

I smiled.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can convince him.”

Cat gave me a worried look.  “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but please don’t do anything to make this any worse.”

I put my hands on my hips and smirked.  “Sis, would I ever do anything like that?”

As Perceived by Crystellen Treasure 11

That afternoon, while I was helping Mom fold laundry, Emerys came home.  Mom went out to greet her, but didn’t come back to help me.  Great, I thought, here I am stuck folding laundry all by myself.  Not that it was difficult, but it would have been nice if Mom appreciated me enough to not leave me just because Em was here.

I placed the last towel in the laundry basket and carried it upstairs to the closet.  As I passed the railing that looked out over the parlor, I heard a sob.  I glanced over the edge.  On the couch in the parlor sat Emerys with her arms around my Mom.  She was crying.

            I put the laundry basket down and knelt beside the railing.

“I don’t understand it,” my sister said.  “He accused me of leading him on.”

“There, there,” Mom said.  She stroked Em’s hair.  “I’m sure it was all a big misunderstanding.”

I pressed closer against the railing.  What had happened, I wondered.

“Losten said I had led him on by not telling him about my tail sooner.  He also blamed me for the fact that he has to keep this secret from his family.”  She sobbed some more.  “Mom, I don’t know what to do.”

Wow, she was really into this guy.  I mean, I knew she had strong feelings for him, but I hadn’t seen Em cry since Dad died.  Losten must really be a jerk, I thought, to make my sister cry like that.

               Emerys continued to sob, so I picked up the laundry basket and put the towels in the closet.  Whatever he’d done though, Em would forgive him tomorrow.  She was that forgiving and she liked him too much not to do so.

As Perceived by Crystellen 10

It was a couple weeks before I saw Losten again.  In the meantime, I kept my distance from Emerys.  For some reason she still seemed to be upset with me.  Didn’t she know that I was just trying to protect us?  She’d always been the one who tried to watch out for me, especially since Dad died, so I hoped she would have appreciated me doing the same.

The day after Losten left, Mom walked into my room and sat down on my bed.

“Young lady,” she said.  “We need to talk about what you did.”

Oh great, I thought.  This sounds like another lecture about how I’m supposed to behave. 

“Okay,” I replied, “let’s get on with this.”

Mom looked at me for an uncomfortably long time.  “You know what you did was wrong, I hope.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Can we please not start this again?  We both know you’re only saying this because my hunch proved wrong.  Had he been Manicotti, you guys would be all thanking me for what I did.”

Mom gave me an unpleasant look.  “I’m disagreeing with your methods, not your concern.”  She scooted closer to where I sat on the bed.  “You should have told me of your suspicions, then we could have discussed whether there was need to take action.”  She paused.  “Which there wasn’t.  I would have told you, had you spoken to me, that I’d already talked to Emerys about Losten and she assured me that he could be trusted.”

My mouth dropped open.  “And you believed her?  Have you seen the way she looks at him?  I think if he asked her to marry him tomorrow, she’d run off and leave us all."

Mom sighed.  “Crystellen Treasure, you’re exaggerating again.  Just because this is your sister’s first relationship doesn’t mean she’s going to lose her head.  Emerys is pretty level headed.  If he’s not a good man, I think she’ll let us know.”

I looked past Mom at the picture of Dad on my desk.  I wish you were here, I thought, because you would know what to do.  I glanced back at Mom.

“We don’t know anything about him.  Just because Losten’s not Manicotti doesn’t mean he’s the kind of guy we want dating my sister.  If Dad was here, he’d-”

“Unfortunately, he’s not,” my mother interrupted.  She leaned over and held my hand.  “Look, I miss him, too.  I really do.  But, it’s not your role to try to protect us all.  I know what it’s like to be your age, but you’ve got to trust that I know what I’m doing.”  She smiled.  “I haven’t been around as long as I have without learning a few things.”

I looked down at the quilt between us and then back at my mother.

“But, Mom, if Dad was here, he’d be just as concerned-”

“If your father was here, he would have discussed the matter with me.  He knew firsthand how horrible cassidium poisoning could be, and he would have never condoned what you did.”  She got off my bed and reached out a hand towards me.  “Now, why don’t you come help me fold laundry?  And promise me you won’t do anything else to Losten.”

             I didn’t reply and followed her out of the room.

As Perceived by Crystellen 9

“My daughter has something she wants to say,” Mom said, once we returned to the room where Losten laid.

No I don’t, I thought.  You have something you want me to say.

I stepped forward from behind Mom and glanced down at the coffee table that sat between myself and Losten.  “I’m sorry for what I did to you,” I managed to say. 

“Go on,” Mom said.  “Tell him you regret it.”

I looked over at my mother.  It was one thing to force an apology out of me, it was another to force me to lie all together, especially given how much my family talks about truth and honor.

“I can’t say that,” I managed to say, after a few seconds.  It would be a lie.  I mean, I regret that he suffered.  I don’t regret peering into his mind to keep us safe.”

“I apologize for my daughter’s rudeness,” Mom said, a bit too quickly in my opinion.  “I assure you, this is not how our family treats visitors.”

“What an ungrateful little hussy you are,” Emerys shouted.

My sister’s comment stung.  It was one thing to not be appreciated by my family, but another to be called that.

“If you had been more careful of who you show your tail too,” I replied, louder than was wise, “I wouldn’t have had to do what I did to your boyfriend.”

“So, this is all my fault?” my sister retorted.

“Ladies,” my mother said, but it was of no use.  Emerys shouted something again about how she wished I would behave like a lady and I retorted that if she had used her wits, she would have suspected her boyfriend too.

Our quarrel was interrupted by none other than Emerys’ beau, who shouted, “I accept!” 

My mother, sister, and I grew quiet. 

“What?” Emerys asked.

“I said I accept Crystellen’s apology,” Losten replied.  “On one condition though, I want to know why you suspected me.”

What?  He accepted my apology?  I opened my mouth and then shut it.  After a long pause I finally spoke.  “You accept my apology?  After all I did?  And pried into your thoughts?  You accept my apology?”

He nodded.

This guy must be totally into my sister, I thought.  I wouldn’t have accepted a half-hearted apology if I was him. 

“Wow,” I finally managed to say, “you must really like her a lot to be that forgiving.”

“Crystellen!” Emerys snapped.  “What did I say earlier?”

I looked at my sister and then back at Losten.  Oh yeah, I thought, I’m supposed to behave like a lady, per my sister.  Em gave me an unpleasant stare.

“I thought it was too coincidental,” I replied.  “She saved you, then you just happened to be in her class, you just happened to tutor her, you just happened to start dating.  It seemed too much like something out of a fairy tale.”

“What’d you think?” Emerys inquired.  “He purposefully crashed his car into the James River so we could meet?”

I looked over at her.  Hadn’t we been through this all ready?  “Yes.  If I wanted to find a mermaid, that’s what I would do.  Fake a car crash.  Get rescued.  Maybe even find some way to take pictures of the mermaid.  And, then try to track her down later.”

“Well, I’m not a Manicotti,” Losten said, “or whatever those pasta people are called.”

“Besides,” Emerys asked, “don’t you think I would have figured out if he was?”

I looked at my sister.  “Do you really want me to answer?” I replied.  “I saw how you looked at him when you two danced.  You were no longer objective.  After he saw your tail, I realized that I had to take measures to protect you.”  To protect us all, I thought.

“Protect me?  I don’t need my little sister to protect me,” my sister replied.

I didn’t speak.  I saw no reason to have another argument with my sister, and I couldn’t see how speaking further would do any good.  Plus, I had probably said too much, since I just revealed that I had spied on them at the dance, which my sister all ready knew.

Finally, Losten turned to my sister and spoke.  “How did she see us dancing?  Was she there?”

“Not exactly,” Emerys said.  “Do you remember the nosy fish I referred to when we were dancing on the dock?”

He nodded.

Oh, great, I thought.  Now she’s going to tell him about her pet name for me.  I rolled my eyes.  Me and my big mouth. 

My sister continued.  “I present to you the nosy fish, my sister, Crystellen.”

Losten looked at me.  “You watched us dance on the dock?” 

I nodded.

He glanced back at Emerys.  “Did you know this at the time?”

Emerys nodded.  “We can sense another mermaid, but only if she has her tail out.  I knew a mermaid was near, and since my sister was in the water that night, I thought it was her.  I figured she was just a nosy teenager spying on her older sister.  I had no idea she suspected you of malice.”  After a moment, Emerys grinned.  “My nickname for her is nosy fish.  She really hates it when I call her that.”

Thank you for telling him, I thought.  You could have just kept that part to yourself.

“I saw the way you looked at him,” I said.  “I had to protect you, the way you used to protect me.”

“I never put cassidium in anyone’s food,” Emerys said.  She glanced at me and then Losten.  “And I never will either.” 

I stared at Emerys’ beau for a long time.  I really had made him suffer, and as it turned out, rather unnecessarily.  “I’m sorry for the pain I put you through,” I managed to say.  “I hope you understand I had no other way.”

“Yes, you had another way,” Mom said.  “You could have told me your plans, which I would have told you were a bad idea.  Then, after you met him, you could have told me if you still had concerns.” 

Mom proceeded to tell the story of how Grammy poisoned my father, which I had heard before.

“So,” she continued, “picture your poor father in agony the next time you consider using it.”  After a minute she asked, “Where did you even get cassidium anyway?”

I motioned upstairs.  “Years ago, Grammy showed me where she kept it in her trunk.” 

Mom started towards the door when I continued.

“I used up the last of it.  Grammy just showed it to me.  She didn’t know I was using it.  That’s why I guessed at the dosage.”             

“I’m still going to talk to my mother.”  Emily turned to him.  “Once again, Losten, I’m sorry for what my family has done to you.”  She turned and left the room.

Do I still have to stay, I wondered, now that Mom’s gone?  Emerys ran her hands through Losten’s hair and rubbed his cheek.  I figured this was as good a time as any and quietly exited the room.

As Perceived by Crystellen Treasure 8

I sat on the couch for over an hour before my mother finally let me be excused.  Somebody needed to make Losten’s supper, but since my mother insisted that she do it and banned me from the kitchen, I convinced her to at least let me head upstairs.

I’m not sure why Mom relented, but I, for one, had grown tired of Emerys’ hate stairs.  Didn’t she know I was just doing this to protect us?  To protect her?

I laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling.  Why didn’t Emerys understand how obviously contrived this situation had appeared.  A guy she saved just happened to be in her class.  Just happened to meet her in the library.  Just happened to offer to tutor her.  Just happened to ask her to a dance.  Just happened to start dating her. 

I don’t think the circumstances could have been more contrived.  So, of course, I wanted to peer into his mind.  Someone had to keep us all safe, and given the way she talked about him, it certainly wasn’t going to be her.  I think he would have had to hold up a big sign that said, ‘I’m the Manicotti’ for her to suspect him.

Em, I thought, why couldn’t you be more like me?  Why did you have to get yourself so wrapped up in this guy that you could no longer be objective?

A tear ran down the side of my face.  I wiped it away with my hand.  Oh, great.  Just what I need everyone seeing.

I laid there for a long time before Mom appeared at my door.

“Young lady,” she said, “it’s time for you to come downstairs and apologize.”

“Apologize for what?” I replied.

Mom gave me an unpleasant stare.  I knew that my remark would cost me an extra shift in the water, but I got tired of no one appreciating what I’d done to keep us safe.
“Come, young lady,” she said.  I knew protesting would only make the inevitable worse, so I got out of bed, changed into some blue jeans, and followed her downstairs.

Treasure Hunting

Treasure Hunters,
    Please pardon the delay!  Fortunately, I am not still sick (Yay!), but I have, in fact, been doing some of the behind the scenes stuff with the Emerys Treasure series (as well as just being generally busy) that needed to be taken care of before Crystellen's posts could continue. 

But, do not despair, as everyone's favorite feisty mermaid will return sometime within the next ten days...

Until then, happy Treasure hunting!

~Cliff

Our Book Club will resume...

Our book club will resume...once I get over being sick.  I intended to update Crystellen's story this weekend, but I seem to have come down with a not so pleasant cold.  So, once I'm better, everyone's favorite semi-modest mermaid will return...(hopefully soon).

As Perceived by Crystellen Treasure 7

I shook my head and looked at the guys who conversed across the dance floor with Robert.  “I’m sure they’d love to dance with you.  Think about it, Em.  They’re all taller than you, so they can more easily look down your dress.”

My ever-prudish sister gave me a shocked expression, though I didn’t know why.  Em was sixteen and rather cute and Robert, who himself looked okay, did have several handsome male friends here.

“Crissy, how dare you say such a thing?  I’m telling mother what you just said.”

Before she could leave, I stuck out my tongue.  “If you don’t want to be an old maid,” I replied, “then you need to be a little more friendly with guys.  For starters, sis, the neck line on your dress is way too high.  You need it to be several inches lower if you want to get their attention.”

Emerys gave me a horrified look.  “Where on Earth did you get such ideas?”

I cocked my head to the side and put my hands on my hips.  “The library.  Mom dropped me off a few weeks ago and I read the latest issue of Cosmo.  You’d be surprised what you can learn about the world, Em.  I mean, do you know the twenty-five moves to please a man?”

My sister turned around and went in search of our mother.  Oh well, I knew I’d be grounded, but at least I got out of dancing.  I looked around.  I hated dancing in front of people, and would do anything to get out of it, even if it meant that Mom would lecture me tonight about the behavior of a young lady.

I wandered over to the punch bowl.  There really were a lot of people here.  Robert must have a lot of friends.

I looked over at where he and Cat chatted with several guys.  Robert must really love my sister.  After all, once you marry a slow-aging mermaid, you end up losing your friends.  You have to.  You can’t have them notice when your wife doesn’t age as fast as you do.

I walked over to where Dad conversed with Robert’s father.  I was bored.  Why did my sister have to go off and get married, I had wondered.  Why couldn’t she just have stayed home and lived with us?

I looked down at the carpet in our living room floor and then at Emerys’ boyfriend, who still slept on the couch. 

Great, I thought.  I wonder how long it’ll be before these two get married.  I could see the look in her eyes.  Emerys was many things, and she was usually subtle, but her interest in Losten had been anything but that.

So, why couldn’t he see it?  For being so smart, why was he so slow?  Was she going to have to ask him on a date?  Actually, she was the one who insisted he come here this evening, so I guess this sort of counted as a date.  Not that lying unconscious on a girl’s couch was what most guys would call a fun evening.

I glanced down at my watch.  I’d been sitting her for fifteen minutes.  How long would I have to wait?

As Perceived by Crystellen Treasure 6

I smiled.  “I felt a lot of warmth for you.”  In retrospect, I should have added that he seemed very insecure, but instead I said, “Confusion too, but a close personal-”

Always the angel, my sister protested that she didn’t want to know more.  But, I knew she really did, so once I saw that Losten was asleep, I continued.  “To be honest, Em, I think he’s just shy.  I think that’s the reason he didn’t ask you out sooner.”

My sister glared at me.

I turned around to head back to my room when our mother stopped me.  “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.

I’m going to continue my nap,” I replied.  “He’s asleep and my shift starts in a few hours.”

“You’re staying right here, young lady,” my mother replied.  “One of your cousins can cover your shift for you.”

Oh, great, I thought.  Just what I wanted to do, sit around in awkward silence while we see how Emerys’ boyfriend feels.  I stared at my sister.  Why had we grown apart so much?  It was all Cat’s fault; she’s the one who left us.

“So, shall I call you sister?” Robert had asked.  He looked down at me from where he stood at the wedding reception beside Cat.

My only response was to give him a frosty stare.

“All right,” he continued, “Crystellen it is then.”  He bent down and smiled at me.  “I’m happy to have you as my sister-in-law.”

Like right, I thought.  Ever since he’d proposed to Cat, I’d done my part to make his life as unpleasant as possible.  I mean, why did my sister need to go off and get married?  Our family was fine as it was.  Not that I knew her well.  I was twelve, or maybe twelve-ish, now that my aging had slowed.  Cat was, well, somewhere in her mid-twenties.

But, why’d she have to bring him into our world?  Robert was okay, but he complicated things.  Once Cat told him about her tail, and he reconciled the existence of mermaids with his world view, my mother felt like we could just discuss anything around him.  Anything.  Like he was part of the family.

Okay, so technically he was part of the family.  But, that’s beside the point.

“Come on, Crissy,” Emerys said.

I turned around.  Somehow, she had wondered up to where I stood beside a bouquet of flowers without me noticing.

“Will you come dance with me?” she asked.

I leaned back.  Unlike Em, the last thing I wanted to do was go dance at a wedding in front of people.  I glanced around.  There were all these people here we didn’t know.

“Why don’t you get one of the guys here to dance with you?” I replied.

She shook her head.  “Come on, it’ll be fun.”  She leaned towards me.  “Besides, all the guys here are a lot older than I am.  I don’t want to dance with some guy twice my age.”

Re-launch

Announcement!

The re-launch of the Treasure Hunters Book Club.  After letting this blog become inactive, our book club is having new life breathed into it.  Or maybe I should say our mermaid finally showed up to save us (since that is what mermaids do, afterall).  :) 

My original goal had been to post once a day, but that proved a greater pace than I always had time, so our favorite teenage mermaid will endeavor to make her way to a computer on land and post once every week or two.

And now, the return of one Crystellen Treasure...