Chapter Ten
Saturday afternoon came round way too fast for Zennor’s liking. The previous day, she’d managed to squeeze in a practice session with Titania, the leader of the mermaids, at the White Rocks indoor pool.
Even though she’d used a monofin before – in her youth – to improve her swim technique, she was still in awe at the effort and strength required to swim and dive in it.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Titania had said as Zennor had scrabbled for the surface, gasping for air. ‘Just don’t use the tail out in the open sea until you’ve had more time to train, especially not on your own.’
‘OK,’ Zennor said, deciding not to tell Titania that she would have to slip out of the Miners’ Pool and swim the short distance around to the next cove.
Besides, the forecast was perfect with calm seas, light wind and ideal tides, so it should be a doddle, and Roo and Jake had promised they would be waiting to meet her.
As the time for the party approached, Zennor packed her bag with the costume and waterproof make-up and loaded the tail into the car, which required her to have the fin propped against the passenger windscreen.
Anyone passing by would think she had landed a giant salmon.
Looking at her car, she thought once again that she had probably bitten off more than she could chew.
This was quite possibly the most bonkers thing she’d ever attempted, yet it had helped to take her mind off some of the troubling aspects of her conversations with Sybil. She was bound to be upset about the death of her ex … although the remark about ‘playing a part’ still bothered Zennor.
Zennor hadn’t liked to probe further but still wasn’t convinced that Sybil was as ‘fine’ as she made out.
Sybil had also made Zennor ask herself some difficult questions about Trev – but also about Matt. He had lodged in her psyche like the splinter from the window, and no matter how much she tried to ignore it, there he was, irritating and annoying.
Some of the questions that kept coming up were: what if she had never married Trev at all? What if she and Matt’s summer together had been more than a teenage fling?
She was mulling it over again while applying her waterproof make-up when her mother video-called her.
‘Hello, love. Oh, oh – er – have I interrupted something?’
Zennor spotted herself in the thumbnail, her eyes covered in green eyeshadow and her face sprinkled with glitter and gems. ‘I’m getting ready to be a mermaid.’
‘For a show?’
‘For a children’s party.’
‘Oh. I see.’ She frowned. ‘You mean you’re actually going in the water like that?’
‘Yes,’ Zennor said cheerily, deciding not to reveal the rest of her plans to her mother.
‘OK. I won’t hold you up. I just wanted to ask what time you are coming to Nan’s birthday party.
’ Zennor’s nan, her late father’s mum, was a super-active soon-to-be octogenarian who loved rambling and didn’t want to admit to being eighty.
Zennor hoped she’d like the surprise party to which all her friends had been invited.
‘I’ll probably get there after dinner on the Friday night and leave on Sunday. Sorry I can’t stay longer.’
‘That’s fine,’ her mother said. ‘As long as you make it for the party, that’s what matters.’
‘Has Nan any idea?’
‘None, and it had better stay that way or I think she’d book herself a one-way ticket to Australia.’
Zennor laughed. ‘She’ll love it on the night, I’m sure. Oh, I went round to Sybil’s a couple of days ago. She had some great photos of me in various shows when I was little. I’ll bring them when I come to see you. I’m going to get some copied and frame one as a present for Nan.’
‘I’d love to see those too.’
‘Sybil thought you’d like them. You two should meet up when you next visit me.’
‘I’m sure she’s far too busy with her work,’ her mum said.
‘I’m sure she’ll find the time,’ Zennor replied.
‘I’ll bear it in mind. Anyway, don’t let me keep you from your mermaiding. Please do send photos.’
An hour later, she’d arrived at the Miners’ Pool tucked below the White Rocks hotel.
Like others in the area, the pool had been a natural rock pool that had been blasted out by tin miners in the nineteenth century.
Some had been created for aristocrats to bathe in or children to learn to swim; Zennor had probably been in all of them at some time or other.
It could only be accessed down a set of dodgy rock steps from the hotel grounds. The coastal path ran behind the hotel so only guests tended to use the small beach and very few ventured over the rocks to the pool. It was only accessible at low tide, giving people a short time to swim.
The hotel staff had accompanied her down the steps and across to the pool before leaving, giving her time to get into the tail before the children arrived.
The pool wasn’t much bigger than a large pond but it was about ten feet deep in places with a rocky bottom that was home to anemones, limpets, crabs and small fish. Zennor had no fear of marine life, but without goggles, seeing under the water was difficult and uncomfortable.
Nonetheless, she practised a few dives in the pool before hauling herself on to the rocks and combing her hair with her fingers. She already had cramp in her toes, grazes on her arm and a huge respect for Titania and any mermaid, professional or mythical.
Within seconds, shouts pierced the air.
‘A mermaid! A real mermaid!’ Children, squealing with excitement, were on the hotel terrace above, accompanied by their parents, Shilpa, Sybil and several of the hotel staff. All of Zennor’s aches and pains vanished when she saw their excitement.
She couldn’t make out most of what they were saying but she heard the shrieks of delight and saw them point their fingers.
At first, she feigned shock at being seen on the edge of the pool but then gave a shy wave.
The kids waved back, kept at a safe distance by their parents.
This could be a lot of fun. Zennor waved again, smiling for all she was worth and then she heard a buzzing sound like a swarm of angry wasps.
A drone swooped over her head.
‘Oh, shhhhh—’ Zennor murmured but then cut off the expletive.
Mermaids did not swear. Mermaids were serene.
And it was one thing playing the role from a distance but the drone would capture everything: her expression, her swimming skills …
everything. She’d have to put on a good performance because the kids would be sure to watch it back.
Lifting her hair extravagantly, she shook water from her face and as gracefully as she could, she slid into the pool.
She did a duck dive under the water and surfaced with what she hoped was a blissful smile on her face, even though her eyes were stinging. The tail fin had also scraped the bottom of the pool. She hoped she hadn’t damaged it, even if it was an old one.
The drone swooped lower and whizzed a few metres away.
If only it would smash on the rocks. If only someone had warned her. This was meant to be a magical fleeting experience, not something to be shared on Instagram.
There was nothing she could do.
From behind, a small wave splashed over the rocky rim of the pool, indicating that the tide was possibly beginning to turn.
The children were shouting and jigging up and down, pointing at her.
Trying to ignore her buzzing tormentor, she focused on the job in hand: giving the children some respite from the worries in their lives.
Zennor now knew why the professional troupe loved their jobs so much. Mermaids were magical, elusive, rare … and it was a privilege to bring that joy into the kids’ lives.
Getting into the role, she did another dive and then balanced with her fin on the bottom of the pool and waved. It had been ages since she’d done anything like this. It reminded her of the times she’d volunteered at the children’s theatre. She ought to do more of it.
Another larger wave splashed into the pool, racing across it and splashing on the other side, spraying her with salty water. The tide had turned and Roo would be waiting in the cove to collect her.
It was time to make her exit.
The drone sped off into the sky, its buzzing fading away. But it might be going higher for a view of her swimming off into the next cove.
She hoped not. That was where the magic would end. She didn’t want to be filmed crawling over the rocks and, even worse, taking off her tail.
The exhilaration of entertaining the children was ebbing away, perhaps because she was growing tired and cold from pretending to be a mythical creature. She was anxious to be warm, back in her human clothes, and watching the videos and photos – safely out of the sight of the children, of course.
She hauled herself out of the pool again and lifted her tail over the rocky rim of the pool, ready to swim off out of sight round the headland. The water of the cove was about two metres deep and it was the most beautiful translucent green, the bottom sandy and clear.
The children had been ushered back into the hotel yet Zennor hesitated.
The beauty of the scene transported her back to the late-summer evening she and Matt had had sex in the cove after swimming there together.
The water had been much colder and they’d dared each other to swim without wetsuits.
With skin pink from the cold, breathless and laughing, Matt had suggested they should warm up with a run round the beach.
‘I can think of a better way,’ Zennor had told him.
Her eyes had locked with his. His lips were parted, his eyes suffused with lust – and hesitancy.
She’d reached out to him and that was all he’d needed. A fire ignited inside her, reflected in the heat of desire that flared in his eyes. She saw herself reflected in his pupils.
‘Zennor …’ he’d murmured, entwining her cold fingers with his warm ones. They’d run, soles sinking in the soft sand, to the very back of the beach. They were hidden from any eyes that hadn’t arrived as they had – by braving the sea like two creatures born in it and belonging to it.
Then reality had intruded and they’d made the mistake of talking about the future. She’d been so excited about going off to uni and sharing her plans with Matt.
‘The department organises foreign tours in the vacations. They’ve done shows in Spain and Italy – and in Uzbekistan. I don’t even know where that is but it sounds exciting.’
‘No use asking me. Geography wasn’t my strong point.’
‘That’s not true. You passed and you’re really good at maths and craft.’
‘Yeah. I’m good with my hands. It sounds – amazing. All the travel, new horizons …’ Matt had said.
She’d sensed an edge to his words. ‘We can keep in touch. I’ll text you.’
‘Sure. You’ll be too busy living it up in Madrid or Tashkent or wherever.’
Zennor gave him a little push. ‘Tashkent. So you do know where Uzbekistan is!’
‘Lucky guess,’ Matt had said, pulling her into his arms. ‘I’m just a humble surfer boy.’
‘Who’s not even that keen on surfing.’
‘No …’ He’d glanced away into the distance before returning his gaze to hers.
She’d shivered; his expression was filled with longing and pain.
It was the same look of despair, Zennor realised now, that she’d seen at the wedding after his outburst. ‘Look, Zennor, you don’t have to text.
You don’t have to keep in touch. You’re starting a new life and—’
She tried to speak but he’d put his finger on her lips.
‘Please, let me say this. It’s important.
You and me. It’s been – well, I don’t have to tell you, but relationships conducted at a distance …
they never work. And it’s not fair on you.
I don’t want you to be thinking of me, of coming home, of making time in your new life. I want you to fly.’
‘I can fly and still see you!’ she’d protested, almost in tears.
‘Yeah. You think so but – it’s going to be difficult.’
‘I don’t care,’ Zennor had declared, determination flooding her veins.
And yet. She had left and she had texted and called him, even though she’d been swept along by her course, by new friends and new experiences exactly as he’d predicted.
Matt had texted back a couple of times and Zennor was all set to meet him on a visit home when she got a message telling her he’d gone to Australia.
It said she should live her life without him because it was best for them both and she’d be much better off without him holding her back.
She’d tried to call but he hadn’t answered.
Her heart had been broken at the easy way he’d given up on them. Even so, his words had come true. When he’d returned to Cornwall just before her wedding, why hadn’t he told her how strongly he’d still felt, instead of waiting until the wedding?
And why had he chosen to come back now?
Still wondering about the reasons, Zennor lowered herself down the rocks and slipped into the Atlantic’s chilly embrace.