The King and Queen of the Mermaid Parade.
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It feels like it will stay, but can you make it more viney-windy?
she asks, pulling a short curl, spray-painted green for the occasion, out of its binding.
She applies a coat of turquoise lipstick and threw on a Cockney accent: Oi!
What do you know about actual mermaids?
My glitter is shedding everywhere, he says when I knock on the door.
His face, framed by a heavy mop of silvery curls, is dusted in glitter.
Hed also grown his beard out.
Ive seen pictures of Neptune, and there are none in which he is clean-shaven.
Its not a thing.
What did he think Neptune was up to today?
Probably homeless at the edge of the sea, Gaiman says, after a moment of consideration.
Kind of diseased, talking about his glory days.
Still, Neptune isnt completely forgotten.
Sailors still have little rituals, he points out.
I think he may get a little bit more worship than a lot of gods.
Ive wanted to go to the Mermaid Parade ever since I heard that it existed.
Theres something very inclusive about a mermaid parade, he muses.
Itwaslike a crown, and now it looks like a little old ladys hat, Gaiman says sadly.
He attempts to restore its shape, tentatively puts it on, and surveys himself in the mirror.
Given that Ill be sitting next to Amanda, no one is going to be looking, anyway.
They weremarriedin the home of the authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman.
They were each cult-famous before they wed, but their marriage seems to have multiplied the effect.
They currently have what Gaiman has described as a theoretically open relationship.
Its kind of closed in practice, he told theU.K.Timesin 2017.
Neither of us is going to sleep with other people when weve got a two-year-old with us.
At the amphitheater, they imagine a first encounter between the characters theyre playing at the parade.
Lured to my doom.
There is something so elegant and sleek about the water, he says.
And the idea of merpeople has always been beautiful.
Were just fucking tourists, trashing the joint!
Palmer cuts in, with the sort of lusty enthusiasm that fans of the Dresden Dolls would find familiar.
Exactly, Gaiman replies.
She glances in the mirror, then removes the crown.
No one knows that hes the magic behind the mystery.
Gaiman studies the phrase Mermaid Power drawn on Palmers chest in black marker.
I think that we could probably use mermaids to replace coal, he begins.
On the other hand, the captive mermaids …
You look beautiful, Palmer interrupts.
You just have to look at me with fresh eyes.
says Gaiman, now 57.
(Palmer is 42.)
This is the true person you married.
Their 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Ash, climbs up on the couch beside his father.
Lets at least give you some beads, Gaiman tells him.
If youre going to be a mer-creature, lets have some green beads.
And some blue beads.
He slings a few strands around Ashs neck.
You look like a small sea prince in his pajamas.
You look fucking fabulous!
a parade attendee dressed like an orange sea urchin shouts.
shouts Gaiman as he does the honors.
To whistles and cheers and whoops, she dives into the ocean.
Gaiman removes only his shiny black boots and beaded jacket and walks in after her.
When the last photo has been taken, he turns to me.
He slings an arm around my shoulder and gestures toward the beach.
Look at that, he says.
