Sea Monster Single Dad (Tinsel and Tentacles 3.0)

Chapter 1- Reed

(SEVEN YEARS AGO)

Opening the door, I’m met with my least favorite person, and my favorite as well. “Hi there! To what do I owe this surprise visit?” I smile and lean down to the latter.

“Uncle Reed!” My nephew bounces on his heels and grips his little backpack. It’s then that I notice he has a suitcase in tow. I exchange a look with my sister-in-law, then look back down at Aisen.

“Eyes-and-ears-and-nose!” I poke his little nose, and he giggles. He’s always loved that nickname I’ve had for him, an easy way to remember how to pronounce his first name. No one’s calling him “Ay-Zinn” in my presence. “You staying the weekend?”

“More than that!” He sways back and forth as little kids tend to do. “What do you wanna do, samchon?”

My face falls for a moment before I smile down at him again. “Why don’t you go into the living room and go watch some cartoons?”

“Okay!”

He dashes off, and I lean on my door frame. “Shannon,” I say in what hopefully resembles a cordial tone. “You could have called first.”

“You know it’s hard for me to use my phone underwater.” She barely looks up as she texts away.

The life of a professional performing mermaid is a busy one, I suppose. I thought after she had a kid, she’d stay on solid ground more often, but I guess not. “Speaking of water, wanna come in? I can offer you tea or something.”

“Can’t. I’m busy,” she says.

The relief in my chest is immeasurable. The less time I spend with my brother’s wife, the better. “Okay, well, I’m happy to take care of Aisen for the weekend. But I would like you or my brother to ask next time in advance.”

“We didn’t think you’d mind; you never have social plans or anything.”

I frown, but she’s still not looking up. “Speaking of being preoccupied, where is my brother?”

“Ryan is practicing our new show. We didn’t wanna leave our son home alone, we’re not selfish.”

“So you brought him here unannounced with a big suitcase of his clothes?” I roll in the luggage decorated with little dinosaur stickers.

“It’s more than just clothes―it’s his birth certificate, social security, vaccination records.” Shannon shrugs and continues to text away. “You know, that sort of thing. You’re welcome.”

My eyebrows furrow. “What? Why would I need that?”

Shannon sighs and finally looks at me. Her straight black hair shines, and I recognize where Aisen got his nose from.

My brother chose a pretty Korean girl to lock down, exactly what our parents wanted for us all those years growing up here in California.

I was never going to end up with a woman, and that was one of the many disappointments that drove them to move back to Korea.

In any case, my brother got with not the kindest girl, but a pretty one.

Right now, her typical snobby attitude is replaced with sympathy. “Look, Reed. It’s no secret that you’re closer to Aisen than we ever were.”

My breath hitches. I don’t like where this is going. “Wha…what?”

“He looks up to you. You guys are…the same.” Shannon flips her hair and looks away. “Your brother and I, we assumed we’d have, you know, mermaid children.”

“What?” I whisper, hoping Aisen can’t hear us from down in the living room.

“You know what I mean.” She waves her hand. “Mermaid. Or merman. Merboy. Any gender of merfolk.”

My cheeks burn. I know exactly where she’s going with this, but this is low. I never thought she’d say it out loud. “So he’s not what you thought. Does that mean you’re going to abandon your son?”

“No!” She crosses her arms and looks away again. “But with our shows and constant touring with other merfolk, living on showboats hasn’t been easy for the kid.”

My mouth goes dry as I nod. I was never a fan of them raising my nephew in the ocean, but it was their prerogative as parents. But now… “You want him to stay here for longer. Like until school starts in two weeks.”

“He won’t learn much with our ocean lifestyle.” Shannon shrugs and looks down dolefully. “And he connects so deeply with you. He adores his Uncle Reed. You’re the best role model he could ask for.”

I sigh and look away. Shannon raises valid points, but I didn’t think my brother and sister-in-law would actually want to pawn off their only child.

“Look, Ryan and I will be in touch. And in a few months, we’ll have time to pick him up.”

I can hear the “maybe” floating between us.

My brother has always been passive, with my sister-in-law prioritizing their circus shows and lavish nightlife.

They’re the belles of the ball among coastal monster entertainers.

They’re good at what they do, but I thought being parents was one of those things.

I assumed they would have settled down on dry land by now.

As I grip Aisen’s luggage, it dawns on me how wrong I was.

“You’ll give him stability. Teach him about working, reading, and arithmetic, or whatever. Show him right from wrong. You’re better for him, Reed.” Shannon turns around and strides to her car. “Sea monsters of a feather gotta swim together, right?”

Frowning, I slowly close the door. I really don’t like her calling us sea monsters, even though it’s technically true. Another truth I need to accept: I’m going to be looking after Aisen for a lot longer than usual.

(Today)

I grip the steering wheel as we drive downtown. The silence is thick, but my nephew hasn’t been much of a talker since his voice began to drop. Typical puberty. But this car ride is a special occasion, so I need to power through.

“Sooo?” I ask in an almost musical tone.

Aisen looks at me from the passenger seat. He’s all shaggy black hair and surly attitude, but to me, he’ll always look like the baby my brother brought home from the hospital.

“What?”

“Today was your first afterschool program in high school.” I grin at him when we hit a red light. “Give me the deets! Do teenagers still say deets?”

“No.” He readjusts his seatbelt. “And I don’t know, it was fine.”

They don’t say that anymore? I glance at myself in the mirror; my Korean genes keep me looking young, but the occasional gray hairs on my temples remind me that in a few years I’ll be forty. I glance at Aisen again and continue driving through the green light.

“Just fine? It was your first monster club, that sounds pretty fly.” Kids don’t say that anymore either, I bet.

“It was Monster Pride Union.” Aisen fidgets, and discomfort radiates from him. “And it was okay.”

“Okay?” I frown as we get closer to the house.

We didn’t have support groups for shifters growing up.

Then again, I was already a college freshman when the Halloween Wave turned a third of our population into monsters.

Aisen is lucky he won’t have to live through those first years of adjustment.

It’s hard to blame the populace for losing their minds when zombies, werewolves, phoenixes, mummies, and so many other monsters appeared overnight.

Neighbors, friends, and family became shifters, and we all had to get used to it.

Aisen’s generation was born into a world of monsters. He has a club in high school for his kind. Meanwhile, I had to learn all the shifter life lessons the hard way.

“Come on, my dear joka, there has to be something cool happening at the club.”

“Not really.”

“But what about your first week of high school?”

“It’s not over yet. School is tomorrow.” I pull into the driveway, and Aisen continues, “And they just gave me homework.”

“No friends at the Monster Pride Union?”

“No. So far, no one I’ve met is a sea monster.” He sounds so dejected as he hurries to his room.

My smile falls as I walk towards the living room.

Aisen’s video games are pushed to one corner, and my work laptop and files are littered about.

The evening light streams in from huge windows that face the trees across the street.

I’m glad we keep the house pristine; not bad for a single uncle raising a now-teenager.

I’m still not the best cook, as evidenced by opening the fridge and peering at nothing but milk and juice.

“Hey Aisen, you want tacos for dinner?” I holler.

“Sure.” His voice carries as he returns from his room. He’s holding his skateboard, and he’s dressed in a tighter outfit. “Is it okay if I skate to the shore for a swim? I’ll do my homework when I get back.”

“Oh, uh, I thought we’d order dinner together.”

“I’ll be back soon,” he says, barely looking at me. “Just get me whatever.”

“Um, alright.” Before I can say the words, he’s halfway out the door. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, I know you don’t like swimming.”

I frown and nod as I walk to the door. “Okay, well, I’ll get you pork tacos then!”

“Gamsahamnida,” he says as he rolls away on his board.

I poke my head out and holler, “Wear a helmet!”

He taps the plastic on his head, and I grin. Parenting achieved, I guess.

When I close the door, I’m back to low levels of concern.

My own nephew thinks I hate being in the ocean.

That’s not true―I simply don’t enjoy being in my monster form in the presence of other people.

And now that Aisen is a teenager, the window for him wanting to hang out with his boring uncle is closing.

I thought when he got to high school, he’d meet other shifter teenagers to make him feel normal. His middle school friends all went to boarding school, and they were all human. The hope was that this would be a fresh start for him. But I guess hoping isn’t exactly the optimal parenting strategy.

As I scroll through my phone to find the info on the Mexican restaurant, an advertisement catches my eye.

“Maritime Monsters Institute…” I murmur. Apparently, not far from here, there’s a coastal marine life facility. Not too long ago, they did an event where little kids met a real shark shifter, a monster who’s learning to adjust to life on land.

“Hm…” While Aisen has been with me for seven years, he spent the first seven years of his life floating around the ocean with his parents. Perhaps I should check this thing out; it could be the start of something good for him.

I may never have planned to be a parent, but I’m going to do right by the boy I’m raising. He’s going to have an easier life as a kraken shifter than I ever did. I’ll make sure of it.