Mermaids

Tasca Shadix

Nothing particularly unusual happened on 17 August, 2007. My husband went to work early, leaving me alone with our then almost-three-year-old daughter, Bo, who spent most of the morning wearing only a pair of baggy pants and a tutu into which she had tucked, for reasons known only to her, a toy duck and a dishtowel.

We played with Play-Doh that day. We read stories. We watched television and ate a good snack, followed by a decadent lunch of tomatoes, carrots, fresh bread from the local bakery, a deliciously creamy avocado, cheese, and (in my case) an entire tin of sardines. Then we made a huge smoothie, the consistency of sorbet, and ate every last bit of it. If either of us so much as licked another item of food, I imagine we would have exploded. ... (continues)