Dispersing the guests who had come for the wedding was not too difficult for Joey. He found them at the venue, feeling far from bored. There were loads of refreshments and those who had been invited to double as musicians were busy entertaining themselves and everyone else. When Joey finally announced that the wedding would have to be postponed due to the bride having 'severe seizures', he was beseiged by the sympathetic guests who sought to know everything from whether she would be alright to how the groom was holding up. Some even wanted to know the name and location of the hospital she had been taken to, so they would visit her or send flowers and well wishes, but Joey managed to fend them off by telling them that he was not very sure about the name of the hospital and that he would let them know as soon as he finds out. At last, he was able to extricate himself from their grip and he left most of them at the venue, especially the musicians, who were now playing a song of prayer for the quick recovery of the bride.
By the time Joey got back home, it was late afternoon. He had spent most of his time, after leaving the wedding venue, with the private investigator, briefing him on the case, answering all his questions and providing him with all he needed - minus anything about the mermaids. Instead, he had replaced them with himself. Walking into his house, he wasn't surprised to find a mermaid conference in progress. So he quickly begged their pardon for intruding and went straight to his room, where he spent the rest of the daylight wondering who on Earth would have cause to kidnap a cool guy like Ben while also expecting a call for ransom to come through on his phone.
***
As soon as it was sufficiently dark, Maana led her eleven children and carried the still unconscious Tara to the shed at the water's edge. Joey found it shocking that the poor girl was still unconscious and he wondered how on Earth they would carry her to their house, but he didn't dare ask. He just followed behind them. Halfway to the shed, Maana handed Tara to some of the younger mermaids, who continued the journey while she had a word with Joey.
"Thank you very much, Joey. We've known you for only a day, but you've done so much for us within such a short period. Unfortunately, for reasons too difficult to explain, we have to go back home now. I do hope you find your friend as soon as possible. If you need help or you have any news, you know how to reach us, right?"
"Yeah. Through Madame Size Plus," Joey nodded, glancing at the chubby Maalina.
"What! What did you just call me?", Lina demanded in disbelief.
"I.. I..."
"Let it go," Maana said, coming to his rescue. "Nobody asked you to take after your mother. Let's go, everyone."
With a wave at Joey, they turned on their heels and began making their way to the water's edge, with Lina turning to take one last glance at Joey. But an idea suddenly hit Lisha and she came to a halt.
"Mother, why don't I stay behind to follow the developments and update you from time to time. I'm sure this Joey guy has better things to do than to hunt down empty bottles with which to send messages to some jobless preserver (with a meaning glance at her sister)."
"No, I can't allow you stay behind. We..."
"But Mother, I'll give you updates every day."
"And I said, No. You've never been to the land before, I can't allow you to stay here alone."
"But Joey here will take care of me. Won't you, Joey?"
"I..."
"I doubt it," Lina cut him off. "I'm sure he has better things to do than to hunt down ways to keep a certain universal problem called Aaanlisha in check."
"Oh shut up your bottle-like mouth, you fool," Lisha fired back.
"Hey hey hey! No bickering!", Maana ordered. "Joey, Lisha will stay behind, if you want.. or rather, if you can promise to take care of her."
Lisha, who had since grabbed his hand, was now slyly applying pressure on it, goading him to accept.
"Well, uh.. I.. I guess I can do that."
"Okay then. Remember, I'll hold you to those words. If she misbehaves and gets herself in trouble, I'll hold you responsible."
"Oh Mother, don't you trust me?", Lisha pouted.
"Oh my dear girl, I do trust you a lot. I trust you to always surprise me... negatively. Let's go, Lina."
*****
*****
*****
Lisha had hardly spent an hour in his house, but Joey was already beginning to regret his decision to allow her stay behind. Half-naked and spread full length on the couch, she alternated between listening to insanely loud music and consuming every piece of edible item Joey had. He could neither rest nor think. Music blared so loud that his brain began to hurt. He tossed and turned on his bed, wondering how sisters of the same mother could be so different. Never had he known Tara to be careless about other people's feelings, but this freckly, crazy centrefold material was a complete opposite - a real pain in the gut! He would have tried to tell her to turn down the volume of the TV, but his embarrassment at her state of undress made it impossible for him to go anywhere near the parlour. He had to endure. Getting wads of cotton wool, he stuffed his ears with them. Even though they didn't stop the sound, at least they reduced it. With a sigh, he went back to bed to see if he could catch some sleep. Sleeping early wasn't normal for him, but Lisha's disturbance and his powerlessness about Ben's situation had sapped the energy out of him. Hopefully, morning would bring good news.
Joey was in the middle of the deepest sleep of his life when he felt a soft slap on his cheek. At first, it failed to make much of an impression on his sleep-drenched brain, but several more taps brought him a little closer to planet Earth. He turned and hissed in his sleep - an involuntary attempt at moving away from whatever object was touching him. He was now flat on his back, geting into the second phase of his deep sleep and snoring softly. But he didn't enjoy it for long. The frustrated source of the earlier slaps let loose a stinging strike on his cheek that brought him back to Earth instantly.
"Christ!", he shouted as he jumped up to a sitting position.
"Sorry," a voice said in the darkness. "You're just too difficult to wake."
He now recognized the voice as Lisha's.
"What is it? What do you want?", he grumbled, rubbing his smarting cheek.
"I'm going out. Just thought I should let you know."
"Uh? Going out where? It's the middle of the night."
"So?"
"So.. so you should stay in bed."
She just sighed and shook her head.
"See you later," was all she said as she walked out of the room.
"Hey hey, wait," Joey called as he ran after her, cotton wool hanging out of his ear. He caught up with her at the front door. "Hey, what is it that can't wait till morning, huh? It's not safe to go out at this time of the night."
"Thank you for your concern," Lisha nodded, flashing him a smile that was clearly fake. "I'll be perfectly fine."
"No no. Look here, freckles. I promised your mother that I'll look after you and that's exactly what I'm gonna do. You're new here, you know. I know this area and I'm telling you, you can't go out at this time of the night. Wait till..."
"What if I don't, hmm? What will you do? Stop me?"
"Look, I..."
"Why not try it, and see how it'll turn out?", she threatened, her blue eyes becoming brighter by the minute.
Joey swallowed.
"Look, just calm down," he pleaded. "I'm just trying to help. It..."
"Help yourself and your earring. I have an appointment to keep."
With that, she turned on her heels and walked out of his apartment. Joey took off the cotton wool from his ear, but didn't dare try to stop her. She had left with her blue eyes shining as bright as torches and he didn't know what would follow if she were to get angrier. But suddenly, she stopped and turned around to face him.
"And don't you dare call me freckles ever again."