Dolphin Tale 2

by Gabrielle Reyes

  Sawyer shrugged. “She’s a wild animal. She got freaked out.”

  “Did Clay say how long till you can go back in with her?”

  “No,” Sawyer responded, his face stoic.

  Lorraine considered whether she should say anything more. “You know,” she started, “Dr. Aslan is going to need an answer —”

  But Sawyer cut her off. “Mom. I know. When I have an answer, I’ll say so.” He got up and walked out of the room. Lorraine sat down as Sawyer shut his bedroom door behind him. She thought about walking out after him but knew he just needed some space. Besides, she wondered, what could she say to make any of this easier? She glanced at Sawyer’s computer and saw the SEA Semester website. She pressed PLAY on the video and watched the dolphins swimming in the sea.

  George Hatton sat down at the table in Clay’s office, adjusted his necktie, and opened his bag. He started to spread its contents out in front of him: medical files, a worn copy of the USDA regulations book, a legal pad, a can of root beer, and a pen. He held the pen and started to write a note on his legal pad, but nothing came out.

  “Oh!” Clay said, walking into his office. He saw George shaking his pen vigorously. “George, I … This is a surprise.”

  “Hello, Clay,” George said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Your staff let me in.” He gestured to Clay with his pen. “You got a pen I can borrow?”

  Clay walked to his desk slowly, reached for a pen, and handed it to the older man with dread. George worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and regularly visited CMA to inspect the facility and make sure it wasn’t breaking any laws designed to protect the animals. This visit is going to be a rough one. The papers George signs with that pen are not going to be good.

  “Hey, Clay,” Phoebe said, popping her head in the door. “We need to —” She stopped. When she saw whom Clay was with, she went pale.

  “I may be a while, Phoebe,” said Clay.

  “Right,” she said. She nodded, sent a worried glance over to Clay, and shut the door.

  After a few minutes, George packed up his files and the two men left Clay’s office to tour the building. They started at the rooftop pools.

  “So, is the necropsy on CMA 0219 in yet?” he asked, referring to Panama.

  “No. It’ll be another month,” said Clay.

  “Preliminary results?” asked George.

  “Well, she was confirmed at forty years old, and the pathology does point to respiratory failure.”

  George nodded. “Pretty common at that age. And her companion?” He looked at his notes. “CMA 1108?”

  “Winter?” Clay gestured toward the pools. “Over here.” Clay walked with George into the cordoned-off area and past the sign that read “We’re sorry, Winter is unavailable to the public until further notice.”

  When they reached the edge of the East Pool, George pulled out his medical files. “Behavior’s off,” he said, reading. “Elevated cortisol levels …” He peered at Winter. “Clay — this animal is stressed.”

  “I know. We’re doing routine medical workups and keeping a twenty-four-hour watch.”

  George made a note. Then he looked up and gave Clay a pointed look. Clay is a smart guy. He has to know what’s coming. “And you’re aware — it’s a major violation for her to be isolated like this.”

  Clay had imagined this conversation over and over again. Still, the implications of what could happen to Winter hit him like a punch in the stomach. “It’s just temporary,” Clay said. “We have Mandy — uh, 1307A — who is rehabbing very well. We’re hoping to pair them as soon as possible.”

  George scribbled more notes. “And when would that be?”

  “Uh … I’m not sure. We don’t have a date scheduled.”

  George eyed Clay with suspicion.

  “Yet,” Clay added.

  “I see,” George said, and wrote that in his notes, too.

  * * *

  Hours later, Clay stood at the medical pools watching Mandy play with a toy in the water. He glanced at a desk where George continued to write lengthy notes on his legal pad. Finally, the inspector looked up.

  “Clay?” George straightened his papers and walked over to Clay. “I’m going to be frank with you.”

  Clay stood motionless. “Please do.”

  “I’m citing you for a number of violations,” said George. He read from his notes. “Your backup generator hasn’t been tested in six months. Fish freezer in the kitchen is a couple degrees high.” He pointed to some bottles beside the pool. “Those chemicals aren’t labeled legibly. And take a look at the wiring for your webcams, will ya?”

  Clay swallowed. “Sure, of course.” He hoped that was everything.

  “However, the most egregious violation is your female bottlenose.” George went on reading from his notes. “Winter is stressed. She’s isolated. Her scoliosis is worsening.” George looked at Clay once more, his expression grave. “She needs to be paired with another female ASAP. I know you know that, Clay. I’m just making it official.”

  Clay tightened his jaw and nodded.

  George handed Clay the violation. “You have thirty days to correct the problem.”

  * * *

  Across town in a crowded waiting room, one patient was getting a lot of attention.

  “Mavis Haskett?” a nurse’s aide said, reading from a clipboard. She looked up and saw everyone was staring at her next patient. A turtle?

  “Yup!” said Hazel. “This is Mavis,” she announced, holding up the turtle.

  After the nurse picked her jaw up off the floor, she guided Hazel, Mavis, and Rebecca to the CT scan room, where Lorraine was setting up the machine.

  “I hear you’re getting your own MRI machine soon,” Lorraine said, adjusting Mavis on the scanner. The turtle had to be in just the right position for the machine to capture images of her organs and bones. “I’ll miss these visits.” She smiled. “Now step back, Hazel.” She looked at the young lady in front of her and shook her head in awe. How are she and Sawyer growing up so fast? she wondered. Then she turned her attention back to the turtle. “Say ‘cheese,’ Mavis,” Lorraine said, and pushed the button.

  * * *

  Back at the aquarium, Susie was hesitant. Sawyer was sitting by the edge of Winter’s pool and she didn’t want to bother him, but she couldn’t bear wasting the opportunity. She approached the pool. “Uh … Sawyer?” Sawyer turned around and looked at Susie blankly. “Sorry to bother you, but, uh …” She pointed to an elderly man behind her. “That’s my grandpa.”

  Sawyer glanced back. Susie’s grandfather was wearing a baseball cap that read “3rd Marine Division, Vietnam Veteran” and standing on a prosthetic leg covered with an American flag decal. Sawyer wasn’t sure what to do, so he gave a small wave at the man, who responded with a jaunty salute.

  “He’s just visiting,” Susie continued. “And … I know nobody’s supposed to get close to Winter, but I was wondering if there’s any chance he could just have a peek —”

  “Now, Suze, don’t strong-arm the man,” her grandfather said.

  “Grandpa, I’m not. I’m just asking.” She looked at Sawyer. “If not, we totally understand.”

  The hope in Susie’s voice hit Sawyer in the heart. He thought for a moment. “Come on,” he said, getting up on his feet. He led them toward the stairs.

  “Right behind you, Commander,” said Susie’s grandpa. His prosthetic leg clunked as the three went down the stairs. Susie offered out her arm but her grandfather shooed it away. “I’ve been walking on this thing since before your mom was born,” he said, giving her a wink.

  Sawyer led them through the crowd in the aquarium’s Great Hall and down a side hall that was only accessible to staff. They entered a big room that was under renovation and that Susie had never been in before. Susie surveyed the scaffolding up against the walls, which were covered in tarps. When she realized Sawyer was already pulling some tarps away from the wall, she walked over to help him.

  �
�Oh! What happened to your hand?” she said, noticing his cast.

  Sawyer shrugged. “Oh, nothing. I fell,” he mumbled.

  Susie was about to ask how he fell when Sawyer lifted the last tarp, exposing a small viewing window into the East Pool.

  “There you go,” Sawyer said.

  For a moment, Susie and her grandfather were speechless as they took in a square view of the pool from under the water’s surface. Her grandfather limped up to the window and peered through the glass at Winter resting under the platform. “Well,” he whispered, “will you look at that?” Susie’s grandfather looked Winter in the eye, then his eyes traced along the dolphin’s body. “Man,” he said, taking in her stump, “there’s nothin’ there.” He looked back to Sawyer. “How come she’s not wearin’ her rig?” he asked, moving one of his hands to his own prosthetic leg.

  “She’s been kinda down lately. She hasn’t really felt like wearing it,” Sawyer explained.

  From the other side of the glass, Winter drifted over to the window, curious to see who was visiting her. She watched the young lady walk up to the older man and saw him put his arm around her. The man nodded. “Yeah,” he said softly, “we all get that.”

  “Okay, Mandy. All done!” Phoebe chirped. Mandy slid off the platform and into the pool while Phoebe labeled her blood sample. The young dolphin disappeared from the water’s surface only to leap out of the water a moment later. Splish!

  “Got a lot of moxie,” Reed observed from the side of the pool. He glanced at his son, Clay, standing beside him, and then continued to adjust the settings on the pool’s filter system. Clay nodded. He had seen the leap, too.

  “Clay? You want a full panel done on these?” Phoebe asked.

  “Yeah,” Clay said, watching Mandy zip around the perimeter of the pool in a circle then take a big leap out of the water. Splash!

  “Her sunburn’s a lot better,” Phoebe said, following his gaze.

  Clay nodded again and caught his father staring at him. They locked eyes for a second, thinking the same thing: That’s one very healthy-looking dolphin.

  * * *

  The next day, Clay called Sawyer and Hazel into his office. “So … I’ve got all of Mandy’s test results. And I wanted to talk to you two before I briefed anyone else.” He motioned for the two teens to take a seat at the table. “The blood work all came back fine. The X-rays of her lungs look good,” he said, reading from his files. “There’s no sign of infection, so we’ve discontinued antibiotics. White cell count is normal and her sunburn’s healed.” He looked up at them. “Pretty much a clean bill of health.”

  Sawyer and Hazel exchanged looks.

  “That’s fantastic!” Hazel exclaimed.

  “It’s one of the most successful rehabs we’ve ever done,” Clay agreed.

  “So,” Hazel said with a wide smile. “When can we put her in with Winter?”

  Clay paused. He took a deep breath. “Hazel. What I’m saying is — Mandy is fine.”

  Hazel started to nod, but then a cloud came over her eyes and her face fell. She looked at Sawyer, whose face had gone pale, too.

  “As you know, we have an equal obligation to every animal that —” Clay continued.

  “But you can’t let her go!” Sawyer burst out. “We’re gonna pair her with Winter!”

  Clay kept his voice steady. “If she can survive in the wild, how can I keep her?”

  Hazel was horrified. “You don’t have to keep her forever! Just a year — or six months — just until we find another —”

  “We have no idea what’s going to happen, Hazel,” said her father. “We might wait two years, or five, or ten…. Don’t you think we have to consider Mandy? Don’t you think she deserves to go home if she can?”

  “But we’ll lose Winter!” Hazel fought through the feeling of her throat closing. “We lost Panama and now we’re going to lose Mandy and then —”

  “Hazel, I haven’t decided yet!” Clay snapped. Doesn’t Hazel realize this isn’t an easy decision for me? After all, he cared about Winter, too. He took another deep breath. “But if Mandy can catch live fish — which you know is the last test — that is the decision I am going to have to make.”

  * * *

  Later that night, Clay stepped out onto the deck of the houseboat and found Reed mending a shirt. “Hey,” he said to his dad.

  “Hey … How’s Hazel?” Reed asked.

  Clay sighed. “Gone to bed. Let’s just say I’m not exactly her favorite person right now.”

  Reed smiled and shrugged, not looking up from his needle and thread. “Well, whaddya gonna do?”

  Clay sat down next to his father and stared at the light reflecting on the surface of the water. Reed paused to look up at his son. “So, what are you gonna do?” he asked more gently this time.

  “I don’t know.” Clay shot a side look at his father. “Something tells me you’ve got some fatherly advice all lined up, though.”

  “Oh, I’ve always got that.” Reed laughed. “In this case, I only got three words for you. And they’re yours, not mine.”

  Clay’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Mine?”

  “All the way back when we started this place — just after the Civil War …” he joked. The two men chuckled. “You wrote three words. On the back of a cocktail napkin at Frenchy’s, if I remember.”

  Clay smiled, thinking back. “Rescue. Rehabilitate. Release.”

  “The words you built this place on. You didn’t build it to keep animals. You built it to heal ’em and let ’em go…. Tell me something. Poor Winter can’t ever go home. But if she could …?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  “There you go,” said Reed.

  Clay regarded his father. He always seemed to know what to say. Clay had an idea. “Dad, how do I tell Hazel?”

  “Beats me,” said Reed with a shrug. “I got enough trouble tryin’ to figure out how to talk to you.”

  Clay sighed. He was on his own for that one.

  That night, Clay couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned all night until finally he got up at the break of dawn. He went to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee and noticed something moving outside his window.

  “Hazel?” he called, opening the door of the houseboat. His daughter was wearing a hoodie and shorts and lacing up her sneakers. “What are you doing, honey?”

  “Going for a run,” she answered without looking up from her shoes.

  “I’m thinking we should talk….”

  “No. You’re thinking you should talk,” she shot back, “and that I should listen.”

  Clay felt like he had been slapped across the face. He hated when Hazel was mad at him. “Hazel, come on now —”

  “I told you. I’m going for a run.” Without waiting for his response, Hazel ran up the gangplank and down the marina.

  “Hazel!” Clay shouted. She wouldn’t really take off like that, would she? But when she turned down the dock and out of sight, he had his answer. Clay kicked a chair, making it topple over. Then he noticed his father in the doorway of the houseboat. He had seen the whole thing.

  * * *

  At first Hazel just ran. She just had to get away from the aquarium … and from her father. How could he even think of releasing Mandy back into the wild when they needed her in order to keep Winter? Her father said it wasn’t fair to Mandy, but losing Winter wasn’t fair either. Hazel’s feet pounded harder against the pavement. She knew she needed to talk to someone who understood how important Winter was and who might be able to talk sense into her father. Up ahead, Hazel saw the sign for the Clearwater General Hospital and she knew what to do.

  Half an hour later, Hazel and Lorraine took their coffee cups to a bench in front of the hospital. “It’s like I’m a plate-glass window. He doesn’t even see me,” Hazel complained. “He doesn’t listen to me or tell me things. All I’m saying is to keep Mandy a few months. Just until Winter’s settled, and maybe we can pair her up with another female. But he won’t e
ven try. It’s like he doesn’t even care about Winter.”

  “Oh, you know that’s not true, Hazel,” said Lorraine. “But he has tough decisions to make….” She trailed off as the blare of an ambulance’s siren drowned out the sound of her voice. Lorraine and Hazel watched the ambulance pull up next to the emergency room. Two paramedics jumped out of the back and unloaded a patient on a stretcher. Next, three hospital staff members rushed the patient into the building.

  “You know … I don’t know much about dolphins, but I do know about hospitals,” Lorraine said, deep in thought. “You know what I think sometimes? What if one day, I came to work — and the whole place was empty? Room after room, no patients. Just doctors, nurses, all sitting around bored because everybody in town is fine. Nobody is sick. Nobody needs surgery. Wouldn’t that be great?”

  Hazel tried to follow.

  “These patients aren’t here because they want to be,” Lorraine explained. “They’re here because they need to be. Nobody stays a single minute longer than they have to.”

  Hazel looked down at her coffee cup. She knew what Lorraine was getting at.

  “Talk to your dad. Children grow up so fast — it’s hard for parents to keep up sometimes. Just talk — the way you’d want him to talk to you.” Lorraine lifted the corners of her mouth. “Do something grown-up. Take him to coffee, maybe.”

  Hazel scoffed. “I hate coffee. This is hot chocolate.”

  * * *

  “You know, I was born the year you and Mom started the aquarium,” Hazel declared. She had run back to the aquarium from the hospital and found her father working at Mandy’s pool.

  Hazel had startled Clay but he tried not to show it. “I guess that’s true….”

  “It’s not right to exclude me from things. I’m not a child. I’m as capable of making informed decisions as anyone here.”

  Clay nodded. She’s right. “Yes. Yes, you are.”

  “If we’re going to consider Mandy a candidate for release, I would like to see her files,” Hazel said — just as she had practiced in her head while running on the way back. “Medical records, blood work, cytology, everything. I’d like to read them now.”