Lisle hugged her arms and twirled around in the kitchen. "It's perfect, honey," she said with a lilt in her voice.

Harold frowned slightly. He thought that showing emotion about a potential house purchase was a poor negotiating posture. "Well," he said, playing it down, "it does have a certain rustic charm, but there is a lot that needs to be done."

The real estate agent took this as a good sign. "It has been on the market for quite a while. I'm sure the bank will consider any reasonable offer." She had no idea what kind of offer the bank might consider but that was what she had been taught to say. "All that is left to see is the back yard." As she opened the back door she turned to her clients, "Lisle, you are going to love this pool." She held the door as they stepped out.

"EW!"

"Ahrg," followed by a gagging sound.

The smell hit them first. Then, through watery eyes, they could see that the swimming pool was completely covered with scum. Actually, scum was too mild to describe what they were seeing. It was not just floating on top, the algae had depth and texture that suggested a thick mass of living organisms. Slow bubbles formed on the surface and burst, releasing the fetid gas that was assaulting their olfactory nerves.

"The filter must have failed. We will have the pool completely drained and scrubbed." The realtor literally dragged them back into the house.. "Let's go back to my office and talk about offers."

Doors slammed, locks clicked.

An hour passed.

Beatrice waited.

The sun dropped low in the sky. Beatrice still waited.

Finally, when the sun was well below the horizon, when the clouds were no longer red-rimmed and the bubbles stopped rising in the thick soup, Beatrice stirred. A scaly head lifted from the surface of the pool. Gold-flecked black eyes searched the area, the bulk of the beast rose slowly to the apron.

Beatrice knew enough human-speak to understand that her home was about to be taken from her, again.

A sound similar to the startup of a 727 jetliner passed her lips as she sighed. It had been a good find but now she needed to move on.

She collected some samples of her decor; bits of various Chlorophyta, a prize Cladophora, and a Aphanocapsa that had been handed down through the family for generations. Tucking them safely in a pouch in her scaly hide, she turned south

There was a droop to her shoulders as she plodded down the road. Once again she was homeless.