She gave him her phone. “Sure.” She had nothing to lose. Literally. The phone couldn’t get worse.
He stuck the phone in the bag and pressed it between his hands. “The heat helps activate the beads.”
“How long will it take? If it’s going to work, that is.”
“Fifteen, twenty minutes? If you want to go finish your bath, you can.”
“I should at least drain the tub.” Although the water was probably still hot. “Fifteen minutes?”
“At least.”
“Okay. Maybe I will get back in for a bit.” She gave him a wave and headed back to the bathroom.
This time she checked under the tub for Bowie. Then behind it. Either spot would have made a good hiding place. She stripped down again and got in, shaking her head. Ruining her phone was not in her budget, but what could she do?
Maybe Ethan’s magic beads would work, but the phone had gotten good and truly soaked. There didn’t seem like much chance anything could fix it.
She shifted and relaxed in the still-hot water until it began to cool. She retook her human form, got out, dried off again, and dressed. She went to look at her phone to see the time, remembering as she searched for it that it was in the kitchen.
Funny how ingrained some habits were.
She walked out and checked the time on the microwave. Ethan was sitting at the table, reading something on his phone. It had been seventeen minutes. She took a seat. “Do you think it’s been long enough?”
He looked up from his phone. “How long was it in the water?”
“A second or two. Only as long as it took me to drop it, then get it out again.”
Bowie hopped up on the chair between them, making Ethan shake his head. “You’re a bad cat.”
“He didn’t mean it.” She scratched his bald little head. “Did you?”
Bowie leaned into her caresses.
“I still feel awful. Nothing like opening your home to someone with a personal-property-destroying pet, huh?”
She smiled. “It’s kind of hard to be mad at this face though. I mean, look at it.”
Bowie’s eyes were closed, and he looked completely blissed out by her attentions.
“Yeah, I know. He chewed through two of my guitar strings once. I was in the middle of telling him what a rotten thing that was to do when he rolled over and started making air biscuits. It’s like he knows just what level of cute is necessary for forgiveness.”
Undrea laughed.
Ethan grabbed the bag with her phone in it. “Let’s see if my desiccant has done any good.”
“Fingers crossed.” Fins too.
He opened the bag and took the phone out. “Look at the beads.”
She studied them. “They look bigger.”
“They’ve absorbed water.”
“Now you’re just getting my hopes up.”
He pressed the power button. For a moment, nothing happened. They both stared at the black screen.
Then the startup icon appeared.
She sucked in a breath as she glanced at him. “I can’t believe it.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet. Just because it starts doesn’t mean it’s functional. Unfortunately.” He looked at her. “You do have everything backed up to the cloud, right?”
“Um… I think so?”
He made a face. “I hope you do. If you lose all of your pictures and other stuff because of Bowie, I will feel even worse. I promise you, I’ll help you get that all set up when you’re back to having a working phone.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
He glanced down at the screen and frowned, then tipped his head. “Did you have the camera on?”
“I did. I was going to take a selfie in my face mask to send to my friend to make her laugh.” She looked down at the phone in his hands.
And saw a slightly blurry but still very distinct picture on the screen. Her tail sticking out of the end of the tub.
Ethan stared harder at the image before him. “That looks like—”
Undrea snatched the phone out of his hands. “Seems like it’s working. That’s great. Thanks. I really appreciate the help. I should put it on the charger. Battery was pretty low. Wouldn’t want it to go dead again.”
And with that she disappeared down the hall in a flash of frantic energy.
Leaving him to wonder what that was all about. He knew what he’d seen. A large fish-like tail sticking out of the bathtub.
Sure, the picture had been crooked and slightly blurry, but not enough to make him question what the subject matter was. Tub, water, tail. It was about as straightforward as you could get.
In fact, a man with a more fanciful imagination might have even thought it was a mermaid tail. It was certainly big enough. And it had the kinds of colors and iridescence you’d imagine a mermaid tail would have.
He stared into space a little longer, his mind working overtime. Was that really what he’d seen? A mermaid tail? It had to be a filter, right? Although it looked so real. In what scenario would that happen? Was it possible Undrea had one that she put on to…imagine herself as a fish?
Would it be that strange for a woman who owned a custom aquarium business to have a fish fetish? Or that kind of rich, fantasy life?
He imagined not. After all, she’d told him she was also a free diver and working on being able to hold her breath for long periods of time. That fit with the mermaid tail, too. But if that was true, it would explain why she’d freaked out about him seeing that picture.
She clearly hadn’t expected anyone to find out about what she did in private.
He looked at Bowie, who was still sitting on the chair. Keeping his voice down, he asked, “Did Undrea have a tail on in the tub? Is that what made you so curious?”
Bowie just blinked at him.
“Maybe it was just a filter. But it’s too bad you can’t talk. Then again…it’s probably better that way.” What was he going to do about Undrea? She was obviously embarrassed by what he’d seen.
He didn’t want her to feel that way. What did it matter what she liked to do in the privacy of her own home?
He had to try to make things right. He felt bad that she felt bad. And a little like he’d invaded her space. She was probably regretting inviting him.
“Wish me luck, Bowie.” He stood up and went down the hall. Her bedroom door was shut. He knocked gently so he didn’t disturb her too much. “Undrea?”
A moment of silence passed before she answered. Her voice held a tentative note, like she wasn’t sure what he could want to talk about. “Yes?”
“Whatever that picture was, I don’t care. I really don’t. What you do in the privacy of your own home is none of my business. But it’s cool with me, too. I swear. I do a lot of things people would think are weird, so I get it.”
After a moment, the door opened a crack. “Yeah?” There was no belief in her tone. “Like what?”
“Well, I don’t snap pics of myself in the tub with a mermaid tail filter, or maybe that was an actual costume tail? Anyway, whenever I go to Japan, I sing karaoke. A lot of karaoke. Embarrassing amounts, actually. And to be perfectly honest, I can’t carry a tune to save my life.”
She peered through the door at him. “You thought that was a mermaid tail filter?”