Theanore ran as fast as her little legs allowed. She needed to tell Marinus they had a baby. He would be so happy. She found him arm wrestling with Cassius. She was sure it was over something silly.
"Mari, you are a father now!" Theanore said, and both boys fell off the stumps they used as chairs.
"What?! I am not," Marinus said. He looked over Theanore and found her stomach was just as flat as ever. What was the meaning of this? The few pregnant mermaids he had seen always had big bellies.
"I planted a tree, and Mary was born. She has your red hair and freckles. She is your daughter, Mari," Theanore said. She didn't understand why Marinus was not happy right now.
"Oh," both boys said at the same time. Then Cassius spoke.
"How do you know she is Marinus' daughter? She could be mine," he said hopefully. Some children didn't look like their fathers. And he and Theanore had been married. Married couples had children all the time.
