Page 1 of Naughty Nelle

UNFORGETTABLE

PROLOGUE

Zoey

Twenty years earlier

Mama. She’s beautiful. As beautiful as a princess. She has long, wavy red hair that dances in the wind. And whenever she waltzes around our house, singing so pretty, her hair prances too. She reminds me of Ariel, The Little Mermaid. Except my mama never ever swims.

After I saw that movie with Mama, I asked her why she won’t swim. She told me she once almost drowned in the ocean when she was a little girl. Like my mama, I’m afraid of the water. Even Papa, when he was alive, couldn’t get me to go in. I miss Papa and so does Mama.

Especially on days like today. I’m five! I’m a big girl now, says Mama. For my special birthday, she’s taken me to the Santa Monica Pier. I may be afraid of the big bad ocean, but I love the pier. And so does Mama. So many fun rides! And games to play too! And guess what! Now that I’m a big girl, I can finally go on the ginormous rollercoaster. Yippee! Mama and I sit together, and holding on to her floppy straw hat, she screams as much as me. Whoosh! It’s so fast! So much fun!

“Pretty please. One more time,” I beg when it’s over. One smoochie and she lets me do it again. I wish my cousin Jeffrey was here too, but Mama told me he came down with the flu and had to stay home with Auntie Jo.

“Mama, I’m hungry,” I say after we hop off the ride.

“Me too, baby girl. Let’s get some corn dogs.”

“YAY!” I love corn dogs.

Mama buys two corn dogs from a food stand, one for me and one for her. “C’mon, let’s look for dolphins while we eat them.” She takes my hand and we walk over to the edge of the pier. The blue-gray ocean is below us. I know that color from my Crayola box. We watch the high as the sky waves roll in. Mama tells me the water’s very rough today.

I take a big bite of my corn dog and then ask Mama, “Do you think we’ll see a dolphin?”

She smiles. “Of course, my precious girl. They’ll dance for your birthday. But I want you to hold my hand and not lean in too close to the railing.”

I giggle. “Mama, I won’t fall in!”

She squeezes my hand. Mama’s beautiful hands are soft like velvet. And they’re magical too. They make me feel safe and fix all my boo-boos.

I keep my eyes out for some dolphins. The sun is so bright it hurts them. Squinting, all I see are lots of squawking sea gulls.

In the background, I hear music. There’s a concert going on. They always do concerts on the pier in the Spring. I know that song! It’s Mama’s favorite. “Unforgettable.” She sang it all the time after Papa died. It reminds her of him. Mama smiles and sings along. I love the way she sings. She sounds like an angel.

In the middle of the song, a creepy man walks up next to me. He’s got an eyepatch like a pirate and a cigarette in his mouth. I thought people weren’t allowed to smoke on the pier. He blows out a puff and I cough. I want to tell him to put it out, but he scares me. I move closer to Mama and hope the man will get in trouble. If Uncle Pete were here, he’d arrest him and put him in jail.

I frown. “Mama, the dolphins are hiding today. Let’s do one more ride.”

“Patience, sweet girl.” Mama always says patience has its virtues, but I don’t know what she means by that.

I beg again for another ride and even say the magic word, “please.” Then, just after I take the last bite of my corn dog, I see one, leaping out of the water. And then, another and another! “Look, Mama! Dolphins!” Jumping up and down, I point at them.

But Mama doesn’t hear me. She’s slumped over the railing. She’s got an ouchie! And she’s bleeding! A whole big bunch!

She whispers my name. The blood is spreading all over the back of her pretty sundress. Why won’t it stop? I must help her!

“Mama! Mama!” I tug on her. But I can’t get her to budge.

I turn to the yucky man for help.

“Mister—”

A loud grunt and then he falls to the ground. Face up. There’s blood all around him. Everywhere! His shirt is all red. His eyes are still open, but I think he’s dead. I scream so loud my throat hurts. And then I see him. A scary man with a gun! He fires it one more time—at me—and then he runs away. He disappears into the crowd, but I’ll never forget his ugly face.

I turn back around. Oh no! Mama she’s gone! Spinning, I search everywhere for her and then I look down. I scream again. Louder.

“Mama!” She’s fallen into the angry ocean. It tosses her. Around and around and around. She’s drowning!

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