Clay’s eyes grew wide.
“Please,” Hazel added.
Her father blinked slowly, then turned to the files stacked on the metal cart beside him. He picked them up and handed them to Hazel. How is this the same little girl who would howl and giggle when I used to toss her in the air?
Hazel took the files. Without another word, she went to find a quiet place to sit. She had a lot of reading to do.
* * *
That afternoon, Hazel directed the others at Mandy’s pool. She had spent all morning reading the files. As much as she wanted to disagree with her father, it was clear that Mandy was fully rehabilitated. “Phoebe, are those the fish?” she asked as Phoebe brought over a large cooler.
“Yeah, a dozen,” Phoebe replied.
“That should be fine.” Hazel opened the cooler and took a look at the live capelin fish. She turned to Sawyer, already standing in the pool with Mandy. “All right. We’re ready. Sawyer, hold her attention.”
Sawyer used a rubber toy to get Mandy’s attention, then stroked her head while Hazel brought the cooler to the edge of the pool and put it down where the dolphin couldn’t see it.
“When I say,” said Hazel. She took a net and scooped out three squirming fish from the cooler. She quickly dumped them into the pool. Hazel, Sawyer, and Phoebe held their breath as they watched the fish scatter in the water. “Now, Sawyer,” commanded Hazel.
Sawyer let go of Mandy’s face and stepped away from the animal. Whap! Whap! In seconds, Mandy had gobbled up two fish. She spun around to chase the third — whap! She swallowed it in one gulp.
“Whoa,” Phoebe whispered. “Good girl.”
The group stood together in silence, feeling the same mix of emotions. Without a doubt, Mandy had passed the last test.
* * *
“Of course you have a choice!” Phil Hordern bellowed. He started pacing around the boardroom, walking back and forth past an architectural model of the expanded aquarium.
Clay started to explain the situation — again. “My obligation —”
“I’ll tell you what your obligation is,” Phil ranted. “It’s to this institution. The people, the animals, and the work you’ve done for the last few years. And what about the community? Think what Winter means to them.” The board director swept his arm over the model. “You’re jeopardizing everything.”
Clay clamped his jaw. “I founded this place on the principles of —”
“I know the principles. But if you let Mandy go, the government will take Winter. End of story.”
“Somebody might still have a —”
“A what?” Phil interrupted. “A bottlenose? Female? That they haven’t paired and that can’t be released? They don’t, Clay. We’ve tried.”
“If Mandy can catch live fish, I cannot morally keep her in captivity!” Clay said finally, raising his voice.
Phil wanted to shout back but he kept his voice level. “We’ll lose Winter.”
Clay rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath. “We might. But when we shook hands that day on the dock, you told me I could run the place my way — and that’s what I’m doing.” The two men glared at each other. “And if you don’t like it, fire me.”
Clay watched as his staff lifted the stretcher carrying Mandy into the back of the truck. Mandy made a high-pitched chirping sound.
“Sounds like she really wants to go,” Hazel said.
Clay looked at his daughter. He knew this was Hazel’s way of apologizing. He put his hand on her shoulder and nodded.
“Keep her sternal!” Phoebe instructed. “Easy now … smooth.”
“I figure you’ve been on enough releases,” Clay said to Hazel. “Why don’t you run this one?”
Hazel was stunned. Does he really mean it?
“Oh, come on, you could do it in your sleep,” Clay joked, seeing her expression. “Just promise me you won’t.”
Hazel laughed just as Mandy vocalized. The dolphin was confused. Why isn’t she in the pool? What’s happening?
Kat signaled to Clay from the back of the truck, where she was positioning Mandy in the transport tank. “She’s a little angled. Is that okay?”
Clay gave Hazel a nudge. “It’s your show.”
Hazel snapped out of her shock and turned her attention to Mandy. “That’s fine, Kat,” she said. “Just watch her peck on that far side.” Clay watched his not-so-little girl take charge and he smiled.
* * *
When the truck pulled onto the beach, there was a lot to coordinate. Out on the water, Kyle was already positioned in a follow-boat with two other aquarium staff. Once Mandy was released into the ocean, it would be their job to follow her into the deeper waters and make sure she was okay. On the shore, a crowd gathered to watch Mandy’s release. Inside the truck, Sawyer tapped Hazel on the shoulder and pointed to three familiar faces. It was the little girl named Mandy with her brother and mother. They were the ones who found the dolphin in the lagoon. Together, they were holding a sign that said “We ♥ Mandy 4-Ever!!!” Sawyer and Hazel smiled and waved.
A few minutes later, Hazel led Kat and Rebecca as they moved Mandy out of the truck. Clay helped the team carry the stretcher down to the shore. “We’re getting ready, Kyle,” Hazel said into a walkie-talkie.
Kat stroked Mandy on the back as the team waded waist-deep into the water. “Good girl. You’re doing great.” Mandy responded by giving a strong slap of her tail flukes.
“Whoa, watch out!” Clay called out.
“This is far enough,” said Hazel. She looked at Clay, who gave her a little nod. “Phoebe, how’s that transmitter?”
Phoebe checked the transmitter tag on Mandy’s dorsal fin. “All good,” she reported.
“We’re good here, Kyle,” said Hazel into the radio. “You guys got a good signal?”
Out in the boat, Kyle checked the GPS screen. “You bet. Nice and strong.”
“All right, everyone,” Hazel announced. “It’s time. Left side — lower on three. One, two, three!”
The team lowered the left side of the stretcher while Clay maneuvered the dolphin into the water. She slid off the stretcher and splashed into the ocean.
“That’s it!” Phoebe exclaimed. “Go on, Mandy!”
Mandy rolled onto her back, then onto her front again, getting a feel for the water. Then she gave a big flip of her tail up and down, propelling herself farther into the water. “YES!!” Everyone cheered.
Looking with binoculars, Kyle and his team watched Mandy swim off. Kyle checked his receiver and saw a strong blip on the GPS. “Got her,” he said into the radio, observing the dot moving briskly. “And she’s really movin’!”
Back on the beach, the little girl Mandy held her sign higher. “Bye, Mandy!” she shouted. “Get home safe!”
Beep! Beep! Beep! went the GPS on the boat. Kyle looked at the screen and frowned. He picked up the radio. “Hang on. Something’s coming.”
“What do you see?” Hazel replied.
“I … don’t know yet.”
“What do you see, Kyle?” Hazel repeated faster, grabbing a pair of binoculars.
Kyle studied the screen. “It’s a school of … something. Sharks, maybe. They’re coming right at her. And fast —” He looked to the others in his boat, who were watching the screen with a tense focus.
From the shallow water, Hazel, Clay, and Sawyer strained to see if they could spot Mandy or the predators. “They should move in!” Sawyer shouted.
“Wait!” Hazel said, pointing. “There!” She handed Clay the binoculars.
Clay adjusted the binoculars and focused in the direction Hazel was pointing. “Dolphins,” he said, handing the binoculars to Sawyer.
Sawyer was in awe. “It’s a whole pod,” he said.
“Kyle! They’re bottlenose!” Hazel said into the radio.
“You sure?” Kyle asked.
Under the water, Mandy’s pod family surrounded the young dolphin. They bumped her with their rostrums and swam circles
around her. Mandy was home!
“Look!” Phoebe shouted, pointing at a dolphin leaping out of the water. It was followed by another and another. Suddenly, the team saw Mandy leap out of the water.
“Ho-ly smoke …” marveled Kyle.
Clay’s face lit up. “Looks like she’s getting a hero’s welcome.”
George scrolled through the X-rays on Clay’s laptop one by one, studying each image. The click of the mouse was the only sound filling the houseboat. Finally, the USDA employee pointed to the screen. “This here, on her spine. New inflammation?”
Clay grimaced. “Yeah.”
“And curvature’s getting worse.” George stopped to clean his glasses and think. He had hoped that in the thirty days since his last visit, Clay and his team would have made more progress. “Has anyone else seen these?”
“Just one or two of the staff.”
George spotted a coffeemaker. “May I?”
“Sure.” Clay walked over and poured him a mug of coffee, and then one for himself.
“You know, I used to run a facility, too. Just like this one.”
“I didn’t know that,” Clay said, handing him a second mug.
“Palm Bay Marine Hospital. Seventeen years. Do you have sugar?”
Clay handed him the sugar bowl.
“Believe me, I know what you’re going through,” said George, spooning the sugar into his coffee. “Sometimes my job’s not much fun.” He took a sip. “Congrats on that release, by the way.” George lifted his coffee mug, indicating a toast to Clay. “We love to see success. Although, in this case, I guess it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.” He put down his coffee and started writing on one of the many forms stacked in front of him. Clay put down his coffee and watched in silence. His stomach was too tied in knots.
* * *
Sawyer stood on the platform in the dolphin pool brushing the walls and enjoying the quiet. It was the end of the day at the aquarium and most of the visitors had left. Sawyer was relieved to have more mobility in his hand now that the soft cast was off. It felt good to be able to help out more around the aquarium.
“That was nice of you,” Hazel said.
Sawyer looked up to where Hazel was standing on the partition separating the two pools. On the other side of her, Winter drifted listlessly in the East Pool. “Huh?” Sawyer mumbled.
“That vet with the prosthetic leg. Letting him see Winter.”
“Oh. Right.”
Hazel adjusted the long-handled brush in her hands then resumed cleaning the pool walls. “And that volunteer, too.” She glanced over to Sawyer. “What was her name?”
“Who?”
“Dark hair … pretty …” Hazel said, trying to sound indifferent.
“Oh,” said Sawyer. “Susie.”
Hearing her friends talking, Winter wandered closer to the gates to listen.
Hazel wanted to know more about Sawyer’s feelings for Susie — if he had any — but she couldn’t figure out how to ask. Instead, she just said, “So, you book your flight yet?”
Sawyer stiffened, but he kept cleaning. “No. I mean, Kyle did, but — I don’t know.”
Hazel stopped to look at the boy. “What don’t you know?”
“I … I don’t know if I’m going.”
“Oh, Sawyer! But you have to go!”
“Why? Why does everybody say that?” Sawyer said, his frustration bubbling to the surface.
“It’s such a great opportunity —”
“I know it is,” he said, cutting her off. “That’s all anybody ever says to me anymore. ‘Wow, Sawyer! What an opportunity!’ I should just wear a T-shirt that says ‘I GET IT!’”
Stunned by his outburst, Hazel kept quiet.
“But what am I supposed to do?” Sawyer said softly. “Mandy’s gone. Panama’s gone. Winter’s getting worse.” The thought of something happening to Winter because he wasn’t there was unbearable. “I can’t even go in the water with her anymore. How can I leave now?”
Hazel looked past her cleaning brush and watched Winter swim slowly around the pool. She and Sawyer both seemed so sad. If only there was something I could do, she thought. Then she had an idea. “When do you have to tell them?” she asked.
“A week,” Sawyer muttered.
But Hazel wasn’t really listening. Reaching with her brush handle, she pushed open the gate separating the two pools.
Sawyer looked up. “Hey! What are you doing?”
The two friends watched Winter swim through the gate and into the Main Pool.
“It’s gone on long enough,” Hazel said quietly.
Sawyer didn’t take his eyes off Winter. “We are going to be in so much trouble.”
Hazel was determined. “At least we’ll know,” she said as Winter swam in a big slow circle around the pool. “Hold still.”
“I am,” Sawyer practically hissed. Of course he was going to hold still. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Winter — again, he thought. He held his breath.
“If she gets aggressive, get out.”
“No kidding.”
“Just talk to her,” advised Hazel.
Sawyer bristled. “Hey, I’ve known her longer than you have.”
Hazel took her attention off Winter for a split second to roll her eyes. “Yeah, like, twenty minutes.” She glanced over at Sawyer and they started to laugh.
“Okay, shush!” Sawyer whispered, getting serious again. “You know what I mean. Don’t be so pushy. I know how to do this.”
Hazel stared as Sawyer reached his hand out over the platform. He called out to the dolphin. Winter nudged toward him and looked him in the eye. Hazel was afraid to even blink. Oh, no, what if I made a huge mistake and Winter attacks Sawyer? At that moment, Winter raised her head and tweeted.
Hazel gasped. “Tweety Bird!”
Winter bumped Sawyer’s bandaged hand with her rostrum and looked up at him. Sawyer realized she wanted to see his wrist, so he dipped it into the water. The dolphin submerged to take a closer look. When she came back to the surface, she tweeted again.
“Answer her!” Hazel encouraged.
Sawyer inhaled and whistled the notes familiar to Winter. She tweeted again.
“Hang on!” Hazel ran over to the basket of toys and pulled out the yellow rubber-duck ring. She scurried over to Sawyer and handed him the toy.
Sawyer slowly held out the ring. Winter inched forward, getting closer and closer to Sawyer. He pushed out the memory of the last time he tried this with the dolphin and she slammed him into the side of the pool. Instead, he concentrated on keeping the ring steady. With one quick motion, Winter came rushing toward him — and speared the ring.
“She did it!” Hazel squealed.
Sawyer let out a long breath as Winter swam around the pool with the ring on her rostrum. When she swung back around to the platform, Sawyer reached out to her again and Winter let him remove the ring. She stayed close to him, so he reached down to pet her. “Hey, girl,” he said softly. “Long time no see. Everything okay? We good now?”
Winter replied by snuggling her dorsal fin under his hand. He looked at Hazel. Is this a good idea? She nodded.
Sawyer took hold of Winter’s fin and she swam forward, pulling him into the water. The boy’s face lit up as his old friend towed him across the pool. When the dolphin turned to do a big barrel roll, Sawyer rolled, too. The two were together again.
When Sawyer came up for air, Hazel was grinning widely. It worked.
“She’s okay!” he called out, swimming over to her. Hazel reached out to give him a high five. But before she knew it, Sawyer had taken her hand and pulled her into the pool.
“Hey!” Hazel said, sputtering.
Sawyer laughed. “Serves you right!”
Hazel took her hand and sent a palmful of water at Sawyer’s head. Seeing her friends having a water fight, Winter came over and dipped her head down. She lifted it up quickly and a huge splash of water rained down on Sawyer and Hazel. The kids shrie
ked with delight. Sawyer took Hazel’s hand and laid it on Winter’s dorsal fin. As soon as she took hold, Winter pushed off, taking Hazel for a ride around the pool while Sawyer swam next to them. The three of them dove under the water, twirling and gliding together. Sawyer felt happier and more relaxed than he had in weeks. Finally, Winter was acting like herself again.
After a bit, Hazel and Sawyer came to the surface with Winter between them. “That’s a good girl….” Sawyer said, stroking the dolphin. From the other side, Hazel began to pet her, too. For a moment, Sawyer’s and Hazel’s hands touched. They both stopped and looked at each other. Their eyes locked. But before either of them had a chance to speak —
“HAZEL!”
— the kids spun around. It was Clay. And he was furious.
* * *
“It wasn’t his fault, Dad,” Hazel said, standing with Sawyer by the side of the pool. They were wrapped in towels with their clothes still dripping. “It was my decision.”
“I don’t care whose decision it was. It was dangerous,” Clay scolded. “These are wild animals — not pets. I told you specifically.”
“But you weren’t here,” Sawyer blurted. “And I know Winter better than anyone. So we made our own decision. And she was fine. Don’t blame Hazel for anything.” Sawyer took a breath. “If you need to blame somebody, blame me.”
Clay sighed. Sawyer and Hazel weren’t kids anymore. They could make grown-up decisions and they would have to handle bad news, too. “Guys …” he said. “It doesn’t matter….” He looked at Hazel, who was glancing at the wall clock. She gave her father a panicked look.
Clay checked out the time and frowned. “I know this is a bad time,” he said, “but I have to tell you that George Hatton came by.” Sawyer tensed. “He wrote a new violation … and a transfer order.” Clay held up a piece of paper. “They’re moving Winter to a marine park in Texas.”
Out in the parking lot a few minutes later, Sawyer walked his bike. He didn’t have the energy to ride it. The last half hour had been a roller coaster. Being able to swim with Winter again made him happier than he had been in weeks. But the thought of her leaving CMA was devastating. What are we going to do? How can we get George Hatton to let Winter stay? His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar car pulled into the lot and drove up next to him.
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