Free Fish Out of Water by MaryJanice Davidson Page A

the court of public opinion doesn’t come back in your favor.”

“I would hope,” he replied stiffly, “I am not as shallow as that.”

“Well, Artur, so would I.”

“Fred!” Moon gasped.

She turned. “Don’t you think you and Sam should—”

And then, for the dozenth time (at least), her front door opened and Thomas was racing into the room. “Fred, Artur found out your father’s in town and he’s coming over here to—oh.” He screeched to a halt, narrowly avoiding slamming into the table. “You, uh, already know.”

Fred was resting her forehead on the table. “I want all my keys back,” she said into the wood.
    Twenty-two
    An hour later, her parents had departed for their hotel, Artur had dived off the dock in a sulk, Farrem had retired upstairs, and Fred and Thomas were drinking the last of the beer.

“What a day,” she moaned. “And it’s barely half over!”

Thomas grinned at her. “A week with you is more exciting than a year anywhere else.”

“Cut the shit,” she said morosely. “I’m in no mood for idle flattery.”

“Who said it was idle?”

“Idle is your middle name. I s’pose Tennian blabbed that Artur was coming.”

“Tennian?” Thomas looked puzzled. “I haven’t seen her since dinner last night.”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t you staying with her? Or she with you? Or however you guys worked out the details? Are you shacked up in the URV, or what?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what? Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

Thomas was looking more and more mystified. “Fred, what the hell are you babbling about? Tennian and I are just friends.”

“I don’t babble, and what the hell are you babbling about? You guys sailed off together last fall to live happily ever after.”

Thomas laughed at her. “The hell we did! I mean, we went off together, but I went with her first strictly as her doctor—she was shot, you’ll recall.”

“Well, she did board a pirate ship.”

“True,” he admitted.

“And you two were making goo-goo eyes at each other.”

“No, we weren’t.”

“I was there!”

“I’m really fond of her, okay? I thought—think—she’s a fascinating individual. But I was never in love with her.”

Fred tried to digest this, but he wouldn’t stop talking, so it was a lot to take in.

“And don’t forget about the new book I’ve been working on.”

“ Love in the Time of Fish ?”

“ The Anatomy and Physiology of Homo Nautilus.”

“Oh,” Fred said. “That.” Luckily, this time she managed not to go off into gales of humiliating laughter when he told her.

And he was still talking . “So far as I know, I’m the only doctor on the planet who’s treated surface dwellers and Undersea Folk. You should do it, too, Fred.”

She was having major trouble tracking the conversation. “What?”

“Write a book. You could write your life story—or at least, a book about the Undersea Folk. Or best of all, a book about the Undersea Folk through the eyes of the only hybrid on the planet. It’d sell in about two seconds. You’d be a bestselling author!”

“I’ve got enough fame, thanks. But about you and Tennian—”

“Well, like I said, Tennian’s been a big help with my book. And to pay me back for taking care of her, she showed me some unbelievable things.”

“I’ll bet.”

He ignored the jibe. “I mean, just knowing you, I thought I’d seen things, but she—” He shook his head. “You know, you really need to get over to the
Black Sea
and see all the underwater castles. Thanks to the URV, the pressure didn’t squash me like a caterpillar.”

The URV—Underwater RV—was the submarine Thomas had had built eighteen months ago . . . it had allowed him to observe various Undersea Folk gatherings. It was also ridiculously comfortable, tricked out with a kitchen and a bedroom, among other things.

“So you broke up?” Fred said through numb lips.

“What, broke up? We were