Chapter 16
Delmar
Tourists made the selkie town entirely different. When Nina and I left the boat midmorning in search of coffee, there were people everywhere! All the shops were open, there were cart vendors set up at street corners selling food, and there was even an old Model A giving rides around the town.
I had to fight the urge to line up for a ride in the antique car. Especially after the driver hit the horn and it made the classic awooga sound, I almost gave in.
“I can't believe this is the same town,” Nina said as we paused at a crosswalk, waiting for a light to change.
The coffee shop was only a few blocks away, but it was going to take a while to make it through the crowd.
Mayor Norris appeared in front of us. “Nina, I'm so glad I found you. I need to show you something.”
Her grip on my hand tightened. “I'm glad to see you too. This is day three. It's time to tell me what you know.”
We both expected him to argue that this was only day two, but he nodded instead, his smile never wavering.
“We’ll talk about it at my house at the end of the day,” Norris declared cheerfully. “Come this way!”
Without giving us a chance to say no, Norris herded us into a nearby car. Dale was in the driver seat, and Norris opened the back door for Nina. She put pressure on my wrist, indicating I should get in first.
Grinning at Norris, I folded myself into the small car. “Thanks, Andy.”
I watched him fight to keep from snarling at me. Fighting a smile, Nina got in after me. I knew why she had me do that. If she got in first, we ran the risk of Dale driving off without me.
Dale refused to look at me as he pulled away from the curb. I noticed a piece of paper taped to the dashboard. It reminded drivers to use the colony card when they needed to fill the gas tank and report any mechanical issues immediately to the mayor's office.
Nina must've noticed it also because she spoke up. “Is this a communal car?”
Norris beamed at her. “Yes, it is. There are ten cars for anyone in the colony to use.
Keeping a car can be expensive, and many of our people don't need to travel much. Having these cars means they don't have to worry about paying for a car themselves. At first we only had four, but the schedules were so jam-packed that I kept adding a car until there were finally open spots during the week. That’s when I knew there was enough for everyone.”
“That's actually a good idea,” Nina murmured.
Norris chuckled. “Don't sound so surprised. Being a member of a colony might put limits on personal freedom, but it also means being taken care of and protected. Ah, here we are!”
I was sure they didn’t need to subjugate women to provide cars for everyone, but I kept my opinion to myself.
Dale pulled over on a quiet street. There was a row of small houses, all with simple but well-maintained gardens. As we got out, Norris told Dale to wait for us. Then he led us up the path of a house.
There was a toddler playing in the front yard of the neighboring home and a baby crawling around on a blanket. The woman watching over them looked up and waved.
“Hello!” she said, moving to the waist-high fence separating the yards. Her eyes focused on Nina. “You'll love this house. They just updated the bathroom, and the backyard already has a sandbox and a little play area. It's absolutely lovely.”
Nina's mouth dropped. “Uh no, I think you've got the wrong idea. I'm here with Norris to see something.”
The woman nodded. “Yes, you're here to see the house. It's the only one open in the colony right now. You're so lucky. When Patty and Saul got married, they had to wait almost three months for a house.”
“Because they couldn't get a bank loan?” Nina asked.
The woman laughed. “No, for the colony to buy the house for them.” When Nina continued to give the woman a confused look, she explained.
“If you're the firstborn in a family, then you inherit your parents’ house. That means other siblings don’t get anything.
It makes it hard for young couples to marry and start a family.
Norris started a program where the colony would buy the house and then couples could rent it for a minimal amount.
If the couple has three or more children, then they are gifted the house. ”
That sounded nice to me, but Nina’s next question made me realize the downside.
“The colony provides cars and houses. Both of those are expensive. Where does the money for all this come from?” Nina asked.
The women looked over at where Norris had paused in the doorway of the house. He gave her a nod. “Go ahead, Nell, you can answer her.”
“Half our profits go to the colony,” she explained. “If you don’t own a business, then half your net pay goes to the colony. But it’s a good thing. If anything goes wrong, the colony has the ability to fix it, especially for our businesses. ”
“Why don’t you guys simply invest in insurance?” Nina asked. “That can provide a good safety net for some things.”
“Mayor Norris handles all that,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He makes it easy for us to focus on our families, job, or business.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of all that. I could tell that Nell liked her life, but then there were women like Abby who were very obviously abused.
This selkie colony reminded me of the Amish documentary I'd watched once; both caring and strictly controlling.
Nell’s toddler tumbled to the ground and started screaming. Nell gave us a bemused look.
“I think someone is ready for a n-a-p,” she said. “Come over for coffee if you want to chat some more.”
“It was nice meeting you,” Nina said as Nell turned to lift the baby, then took the toddler by the hand and led him into the house.
“As you can see, we take good care of our families," Norris said as Nina finished walking the short path to Norris at the front door.
“What if someone doesn’t want to have kids?” Nina asked.
“There are some brujas that can help with fertility,” Norris said. “If that doesn’t help, there are some colony members willing to act as surrogates. I’m proud to say that some families took a while, but everyone has children. It’s a blessing to be such a healthy, growing colony.”
I wasn’t sure if he misheard her question or decided to ignore it completely.
“What if someone wants to leave the colony?” Nina asked as she walked inside the small house. It was empty and very obviously recently refurbished.
“It hasn’t happened,” he said. His smile never faltered and if I didn’t know better, I’d think he was telling the truth.
He had to know there were women like Abby who wanted out.
Her situation hadn’t suddenly gotten bad out of nowhere or all at once.
Frank had to have been abusing her and probably her mother for many years.
Despite all his “caring,” he wasn’t doing anything about it.
I could tell by the way Nina grabbed for my hand that she was thinking the same thing.
“Only a few more hours,” I whispered.
She gave me a slight nod before turning her attention back to Norris.
“You'd live alone until you married,” Norris said. “If you pick my son, you'd move into his house. Cliff, Frank's son, is single. If you marry him, then you’d move in with him and Frank. Sadly, Frank's wife passed away, but that would mean you'd be the ruling woman in the house.”
“What about Abby?” I asked. “Doesn't she live with her dad and brother?”
Norris’s smile disappeared as he looked up at me, but he answered. “Abby won't be there in a few weeks. We are in negotiations with a colony in the north.”
“It's nice she found her fated mate,” I said.
Norris’s expression went from mildly unfriendly to hostile. “We don't believe in that nonsense. The best marriages are partnerships based on mutual respect and duty. We are above the idea of fated mates.”
My jaw dropped. I'd never met a magical creature that didn't believe in fated mates. His dismissive attitude to our claim of fated mates suddenly made sense.
Out of everything I'd learned about this colony, that was the strangest. It was like saying you didn't believe there were fish in the ocean or birds in the sky.
While I was silently trying to comprehend this, Norris went back to talking to Nina with a giant, excited smile on his face.
“There are three other men available to marry that would move in here with you, so you could keep the house. I know having a home to make your mark in is important to women. We could help you move your belongings in, although there can't be much on that boat.”
He showed us every part of the house, making sure to point out all the new appliances in the kitchen. It was a nice place, but it felt vaguely evil.
Or maybe that was Norris.
After he was finished, he walked us back to Dale waiting with the car. “I know it's crowded with all the humans in the town today, but you can see that we are thriving. We were struggling thirty years ago, but look at us now! We're the biggest and richest colony on the west coast.”
“But at what cost?” she murmured.
Norris didn't hear her. “You should spend the rest of the day walking around town. Try anything, it's all free for you. Tonight, we'll have dinner at my house.”
By now we were at the car and getting inside. Instead of getting in himself, he waved then strode away, looking very pleased with himself.
Dale turned in his seat to look at Nina. “Where would you like to go?”
“Coffee,” she said succinctly.
“I'm supposed to drive you around all day if you want,” Dale offered as he pulled away from the curb.
“Just drop us off and then you can go wherever you want,” Nina said.
Dale looked disappointed, but took us back to the coffee shop, then drove away. He was so young that he probably didn't get to drive the colony cars very often and had looked forward to the privilege.
“Do we even need to talk about all that?” Nina asked as we got in line for coffee.
“Nope,” I said. “But we can rant if you want.”
She chuckled, and we ordered coffee. This turned out to be the best part of the day and the last bit of peace everyone in the town would know until we left.
Nina