"We did it, babe. You did it. I did nothing. It was all you."
There's clapping, and yet, I don't move. It feels too strange, like I'm underwater and weighted down by a particularly heavy tail fin. One made of cement.
Am I actually good at something other than swimming and being cute?
"Babe, they want you to go up and accept the award and the check. C'mon. I'll go with you."
My face is mashed into Remy's chest, and I pull back, opening my eyes.
"Okay," I murmur.
I'm clutching his hand as he and I walk the few steps to the stage. Thank goodness we're at a table close by, otherwise I'd probably collapse on the way. Remy points to the podium and lets go of my hand.
With trembling legs, I make my way up the two steps. Why are people still applauding? Is this real?
The woman hands me an envelope and gives me a quick hug. Her gesture to the microphone indicates that I'm expected to say something to the room.
I inhale. "Thank you to the judges for this award. Wow. I never dreamed we'd win. Not with the amazing competition we had."
My gaze sweeps around the room and my stomach twists into a knot. So many people, looking right at me. Somehow, I feel more vulnerable now than when I swim in a mermaid tail in front of strangers. Weird, right?
What do I do with my hands? I lift them in the air, then drop them onto the podium.
"Wow. Um. I'm not used to this. I'm a mermaid."
The audience laughs.
"I mean, I used to be a professional mermaid. Up at Weeki Wachee. Now, I'm a business owner, which still feels really weird to say. Maybe I have a bit of imposter syndrome." Oh, geez, what am I talking about? "Ah, well. I wanted to thank the judges and most of all, thank my mentor, Remy Hastings. He's been asweetheart throughout this whole process, and I couldn't have done it without him."
I turn in Remy's direction — or at least where I last saw him, because I can't quite see anything in focus — and smile. "Thank you."
Mercifully, people begin to clap and I take this as my cue to step aside. Still quivering like a blade of grass in a hurricane, I manage to climb off the stage without falling. Remy's there to put his arm around me.
"You were amazing, Leilani. Truly. I’m so proud of you."
"Thanks. Um. Can we go to the bar? I need a moment away from here."
"Sure. Anything you want, beautiful."
We walk to the side of the room, and then to the back, where the bar is. More awards are being announced, and no one's paying attention to us. At least I hope not.
I order a gin and tonic.
"Oh, that was so difficult. I must have looked like a lunatic, stammering and sweating." I fan myself with a menu.
"No, babe. People loved it. They loved you, Leilani. Everyone loves you."
I look over at Remy, and he's giving me that earnest look of his, that adorable, little boy expression.
Everyone loves me, but him.
An excruciating hour and a half later that includes several photos with various people around town, including the hot dog cart-owning mayor (and after tossing two gin and tonics down my throat) Remy threads his fingers in mine and pulls me down the hall of the resort.
I scowl. "The parking lot's not this way."
"I have a surprise."
He leads me out a door and through a courtyard that's landscaped with massive, tropical bushes, the kind with leaves as big as pillows. With a flick of his thumb, he punches in a key code and we enter another part of the resort.