Then I saw the time on my waterproof watch Marty gave me for Christmas last year. It was his own design and it was able to go deeper than a normal expensive waterproof watch. But that wasn't what alarmed me, the time it showed did. I was running late and it couldn't have been a worse time to be behind schedule.

My mom was going to be so mad...

It was a big day for her and my father, after all.

I took no more time with the sharks and swam for the boat. Slowly but surely I made my scales retreat into my skin and left my gills to get me through the water. Once I touched the side of the boat my gills retreated as well and I breathed the salty air around me. Pulling myself up and into the boat, I grabbed a pair of bottoms from the side compartment and bolted over to the steering wheel. Turning the key and revving the engine I turned the boat towards the sh.o.r.e and sped off.

The sh.o.r.e was so far away still I hadn't realized I went that far out but I needed to so humans wouldn't find me and I wasn't about to stop exploring.

As soon as the boat dock came into view I ran the boat as hard as I could until I came in for a messing parking job and jumped out to tie it to the wood poles. My mother's house was just off the docks and I could see the crowd gathering in the distance on the beach. I was really running late. And even though I could see the wedding arch from here, I only hoped my parents hadn't made it to the front before I got there.

My feet hit the sand and collected more than enough as I ran towards the back door of my mother's house. Hitting the gla.s.s door with more than enough force, I slid it open and ran for the bathroom.

"You made it! Marty said you would be swimming out late today but don't you think you're cutting it kind of close?" Our new friend, Abby, shouted at me from the hall. She was waiting for me to help get the sand off my body and into my dress my mother picked out for me.

"I know, I wasn't supposed to be out that late. Help me get ready and I'll give you that letter of recommendation, I swear!" I shouted back at her until she met me in the downstairs bathroom just off of my mother's room. I jumped in the shower as I brushed my hair and cleaned off the sand.

"You already wrote and signed that letter, I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart." She said while flus.h.i.+ng the toilet telling me I've been in too long.

"Holy c.r.a.p, that's cold, I've been in for maybe a minute!" I shouted and jumped out once the sand was off. All Abby was doing was smiling and trying to stifle a laugh.

"Oh shut it, help me get dressed, I'm late enough." I threw my damp towel at her and waited for my dress. Once she got it over my head she tied it in the back as I brushed my tangled hair. I made sure to spray some salt water in it so it wasn't so frizzy and tangled, something I've learned over the years.

I dried my hair the best I could and let the natural waves lay around my shoulders. The deep brownish red had lightened over the last four years since I've been doing all of my college work outside and now that we've graduated we were getting our real lives started. My parents are doing the same, starting with this date. It was something I've been waiting years for and the day was finally here.

"Okay, so shoes or no shoes?" She asked from behind me and when I turned to her after fixing my hair I turned my nose up at the thought of wearing shoes in the sand. "No shoes, I think I'm ready, let's get going." She tossed the shoes back in my mother's room and turned back to me. She held out her arm and I looped mine around it.

The air was crisp and the breeze was gentle. I knew I was even later than I had thought before when I saw my parents had already made it up the aisle without me.

"d.a.m.n, Abby go ahead and take your seat, I'll go up without you." She nodded and stole a seat on the edge of the crowd. Many heads turned towards me and I gulped down a huge lump in my throat. I didn't wait for music or anyone to tell me to get up there, I just walked sans flowers and found myself standing in between my parents.

"You are very late, little girl." My mother murmured in my ear and I forced back a smile and laugh. When I looked at my father I could see the pride and joy in his moss green eyes. Over the last few years, we've gotten closer and closer. Gemma had fully taken over her duties and he was free to come and go as he pleased. He's spent more time up here with my mother than ever before. When she has to do something out of town he goes back home for a visit. It was a well-oiled machine. But we were all here now, including Gemma sitting just behind my mother in the front row.

Michael and Ramon sat just behind my father in the front row to the right of the crowd. When I turned for a moment I saw that nearly everyone from the town had made it out here. They all wanted to see this.

"He's been waiting a long time for you, let's not make him wait any longer." My father spoke up next to me and when my mother squeezed my hand I felt the unfamiliar ring around her ring finger on her left hand. That was placed there last year, just before our senior year in college.

Seeing the white wedding arch only reminded me of their wedding last year. But when I turned to Marty who was standing just behind my father I knew none of that mattered.

My father stepped aside and let Michael take his place at the front of the altar. He was ordained after all. Marty stepped forward in his lovely beige linen suit and took my hands in his.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've gathered here today to witness the marriage of Martin Todd and Darya King, better late than never." Michael looked down at me when he said that and I cracked a smile while a blush rose to my cheeks. I set my eyes on Marty's and saw that he, too, couldn't hide his smile.

The ceremony wasn't long and when we kissed at the end fireworks ignited through my body and at long last we were married.

The people cheered around us as the new mayor's son was p.r.o.nounced married to the local girl next door. My parents were so happy and even Gemma who brought her boyfriend up from the water was so happy she squeezed me too tight and did the same for Marty.

In the last years that my father returned to his kingdom, they've worked out a way for mermaids to visit the human world for a tiny bit at a time. They needed permission to do so and they still had to be careful but it was worth it to see Gemma walking like a baby deer on new legs. Luckily, she hasn't learned about heels yet, we didn't need her to break her new ankles.

There was a beach wide party for us after the ceremony and photos were taken. Everything was simple and fun even my dress was simple, I didn't need flashy things to get married in. Marty had let go of his suit jacket and joined me for a dance on the beach while people watched, usually, we weren't for being in the middle of everyone's attention but right now, I didn't care.

Soon other people joined us and I watched his fathers join in a dance and my, now married parents, join the fun as well.

"May we cut in?" My new father in laws asked Marty when the next song started playing. We had no issues and soon two sets of hands took mine and whisked me the other way down the beach to the sound of the music. Soon, Marty was taken by my parents and I watched as my very pregnant mother and father danced in a three-way with him to one of our favorite songs while I danced with his fathers.

The night went on and everyone, for the most part, was still out even when the moon came up. Gemma and her boyfriend came over shortly after our first dance and said goodbye, they needed to get back home and we understood why.

The goodbyes were the easy part. Our parents were the last ones to say it while we waited by the boat at the end of the night. We were about to sail away on our honeymoon before getting back to our normal lives afterward.

"Once you get to the islands you will send us a postcard and a phone call. No excuses." My mother pointed that one finger at me and for a second I felt fifteen years old again.

"Of course, you better send me a call and photos of my new little brother if he gets here before we get back." She smiled and slipped her arm around my father's waist. They were so happy it was almost sickening. But I didn't care. I watched him kiss the top of her head lovingly and my mind was brought back to every birthday wish I ever made about my father.

"Make sure you two aren't out when the storms are bad. I don't want news of the mayor's son being on the front page that he was lost at sea or something." Ramon reminded us and all we did was nod along. Michael had become Mayor not long ago and I was a proud voter of his as well as Marty.

We said our goodbyes and stepped onto the boat but before that, I untied the rope that held us to the dock. Marty started the engine and I made sure our bags and stuff were securely in the rooms underneath. I ran back up the stairs for one last wave goodbye as we set sail for a new adventure.

What comes next? Whatever may, we'll be ready for it, storms and all.