Seal With a Kiss

by Jessica Andersen

  Smitty gritted his teeth. She was right, he'd overreacted. But he hadn't liked the way Mr. Convertible had been looking at her, and he'd liked the direction of his thoughts even less. "I don't think Brody was suggesting that we pick up men at a truck stop in Connecticut, do you? I think he expected us to get to Florida and make nice with the Seaquarium folks. That's the kind of contact Dolphin Friendly needs right now."

  "Well, it's not the kind of contact I need," Violet grumped, and Smitty cringed to think what kind of contact she'd been looking for from Mr. Convertible. A slick guy like that would never be good enough for her.

  He held up both hands in surrender. "Well, I can't help you there, Vi."

  And, surprisingly, she got even madder at that. But it wasn't the loud, exciting, pretty anger Smitty loved so much. It was a quieter, sadder anger that made him feel like he should apologize for something. Her shoulders slumped. "Yeah, you've made that more than clear. You can't give me what I need. Don't worry-I figured that out when you married Ellen."

  She climbed into the truck, taking the driver's side, and slammed the door.

  Though Smitty tried to start several conversations-and one fight-Violet made it clear she didn't want to talk through the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening. The miles rolled beneath the refrigerator truck's wheels, and they passed from country to city and back again, the temperature warming as they slid southward.

  By the time they stopped at dusk, Smitty was tired of silence and his own confused emotions. Had she been trying to tell him that she wanted a relationship after all? He wasn't sure, and he was tired of trying to figure it out. He was tired of the truck and tired of being in the same clothes. He was hungry and cranky and inexplicably tense from having spent the last hundred miles staring at Violet's hands on the steering wheel.

  He'd seen those hands just about every day for the past eight years, ever since she'd rejoined Dolphin Friendly after her stint in Seattle. He'd seen those hands soothe a seal tangled in fishing nets. He'd seen them push a stranded dolphin back to sea, and he'd seen them fly like fury over the computer keyboards back on Streaker. And he realized as he watched her drive that he'd never seen the perfect oval nails unpolished.

  Such a small thing, but it reflected her personality so well. Nothing undone. Nothing out of place.

  "How often do you paint your fingernails, Vi?" he asked as they dragged their duffels out of the truck and into the generic lobby of the generic just-off-thehighway hotel.

  She glanced at him, then away. "We've been driving since this morning and that's the best conversational gambit you can come up with? Pretty weak, Smitty." She signed the register and grabbed her key. "And I'm out of here. I'll see you in the morning."

  He stopped her. "Vi? Don't you want to grab some dinner or something? Maybe go for a swim?"

  Even as he made the invitation, it felt strange. They ate together and swam together seven days a week, but never alone. There was always someone else around, either joining in or passing through. That was what Dolphin Friendly was all about. Or least it had been, before Brody and Maddy's marriage.

  Violet shrugged and faked a yawn. "I don't think so. I'm just going to crash. See you tomorrow." She disappeared up the stairs.

  Smitty got his own room and changed into his swimming trunks. He called the front desk and ordered room service to be sent up to Violet, knowing that she'd forget to eat if there wasn't food in front of her. Then he went down to swim.

  He was twitchy from all the driving and needed to burn some calories. That's all it was, he told himself-too much energy.

  His restlessness had nothing to do with the woman down the hall.

  ccWhere are you?" Brody's voice on the cell phone was as clear as if he were sitting next to her. Violet glanced at the driver's side and wished for a fleeting moment that Brody was the one sitting next to her. His presence never bothered her the way Smitty's presence did.

  Which is probably why her and Brody's relationship had died of boredom.

  "Somewhere in South Carolina," she answered. "We're making pretty good time." Mostly because there hadn't been much conversation. Smitty was driving like he wanted to get the trip over with as soon as possible, and she couldn't blame him. It wasn't his fault she hadn't slept well the night before, but she'd snapped at him first thing that morning anyway.

  Well, technically it was his fault she had tossed and turned through the night, ending up staring at the ceiling, angry and frustrated that she kept remembering scenes of their time together at U.C. Santa Cruz. She was remembering things they had shared B.E.-Before Ellen.

  "So you'll reach the Seaquarium sometime tomorrow?" Brody's voice was familiar and settled her jangled nerves. He continued, "Remember, Jasper won't be ready for transport until the day after tomorrow, so don't feel like you have to rush down there. You'll have to hurry home, though, to be back in time for the opening ceremonies."

  Violet assured him that they had everything under control and finished the call. When she'd returned her phone to the ugly green bag she kept meaning to replace, she realized the truck was slowing.

  "Want to switch drivers?" She made her voice as pleasant as she knew how, hoping Smitty would take it as an apology for her attitude that morning. She wondered whether it would lighten things between them if she tried a practical joke. Then she decided that with her recent luck with practical jokes, she'd probably try to give him a hotfoot and accidentally blow up the truck. If that happened, she'd be on land duty for the rest of her natural life.

  Smitty guided the big box truck down an off ramp and turned down a side street, following a series of big blue arrows. "No. We're stopping here. Brody said there was no hurry, right?"

  "Yes, but...."

  "No buts. We've made great time and we've been working our tails off the last few months at the stranding center. Let's take a break for a couple of hours. What do you say?" He waved at the colorful latticework of slides and tubes, at the enormous sign they were parked under.

  Water World.

  Violet felt her heart turn over. It could've been another sign, at another park on the opposite side of the country-a decade in their past.

  She shook her head. "Smitty, I don't think...

  He touched her hand gently. "You used to love these places, Vi. Don't let what happened back then take that away from you." He tried for a light tone. "I promise I won't ask you to marry me this time."

  The words were wistful, the memory bittersweet. Violet pushed it aside and found a hint of the anger she'd carried for the past decade. "Somehow, I don't remember you asking me to marry you in the first place. It was more like `I don't want to be alone. Let's make a family.' "

  The engine idled roughly and a pair of children on their way to the entrance of the water park glanced curiously at the refrigerator truck as their parents tugged them past.

  "It's the same thing," he said, sounding surprised.

  Violet shook her head. "Not to me it wasn't, and not to you either or you wouldn't have replaced me so easily. Ellen wanted to be a family. I didn't. Your choice seemed simple." She sighed and reached for the door handle, then forced false cheer into her voice. "But why rehash all this now? It was a long time ago and a lot of water under each of our bridges."

  She hopped out of the truck and turned to rummage through her squashed bag for her bathing suitwhat there was of it.

  "Wait a second! That's not fair. You turned me down!" He was out of the truck in an instant, coming around to her side practically radiating shock and indignation.

  "Yes, I did. And beyond that, I don't really want to talk about it, do you? It's ancient history, Smitty. Let's leave it in the past." Determinedly, she pushed the sadness back into the corner of her mind where it belonged. "And you're right. We deserve a break. Let's hit the water park and see if we still remember how it's done."

  She looked up to see if he was with her and found his eyes glued to the bikini. She dangled one of the tiny straps off a finger. "You with me
?"

  He swallowed. "Um. Yeah."

  Though a faint sadness echoed in her chest, Violet grinned, grabbed a towel, and sashayed towards the entrance of the park. She had, she realized, spent so much time recently being mean to him that she'd forgotten how much fun they'd once had together. And how good it felt when the thought of seeing her in that bikini could make his eyes bug out, even though it had been ten years since they'd been anything more than friends.

  Ten long years during which he'd been married and divorced, and she'd not... been married.

  The water park had been his idea, but as he watched Violet disappear into the ladies' changing room, Smitty wished he'd pulled over at a petting zoo instead. Even a flea market or a country fair would've been easier than this.

  It hadn't been until he'd pulled into the water park and set the brake that he realized that he'd brought them back to the place where it had all gone wrong. Until that day at California's WaveForm Water Park, he'd truly believed that he and Violet were going to spend the rest of their lives together. He'd truly believed they were soul mates.

  He'd been so lost when classes began that year at U.C. Santa Cruz. His mother's death had set him adrift in the world without any family and only a few close friends. Then he'd met Violet at orientation. She'd been smart, sassy, beautiful... and seemed just as alone as he'd felt.

  They'd become friends, then a couple. And the more he'd learned about her sprawling, loving family in the middle of the country, the more Smitty had envied it. The more he'd wanted those kinds of roots, that kind of commitment.

  He'd thought she wanted it too.

  "You're not changed yet!"

  He blinked back from the past. And blinked again. The tiny blue bikini danced before his eyes, partially hidden by a clever wrap that she'd tied across her hips.

  "Smitty? You okay?"

  He swallowed and nodded, trapped somewhere between the past and a fantasy. "Fine. I'll just. . . ." He gestured towards the changing rooms. "Be right back."

  He needed a minute alone. The past and the present were too tangled up in his head. And thoughts of the future? They were just as tangled. It seemed obvious they couldn't keep on fighting the way they'd been doing lately, but he didn't see how they could be something as simple as friends. And if not friends, then what? He didn't like the idea of not seeing her on a daily basis, but the alternative was impossible.

  Sighing, he shook his head and went to change into his trunks.

  By the time he caught up with her at one of the monstrous water rides, Smitty had his thoughts back under control. He and Violet were coworkers, nothing more. They'd tried the other before, and she'd made it painfully clear that they weren't looking for the same things out of life. So they'd have some fun at the water park, get the rattling box truck back on the road, and reach Florida sometime the next day. They'd pick up Jasper, drive like heck to get home before either the sea lion overheated or they killed each other, and find some way to convince Brody that they were friends again.

  Simple.

  "Oh good, you're here. I've saved you a place." Violet grabbed his hand and swung him into the line just as the family in front of them was buckled into a fake log and sent on their way. Smitty noticed that there weren't seats in the logs-the riders were jammed in together, strapped down and expected to hold on for dear life.

  He heard screaming from the other side of the ride, and a big splash.

  "Our turn!" Violet pushed him towards a bobbing log. The attendant helped him sit in the soggy hollow, then gestured to Violet to sit in front.

  "Put your arms around your girlfriend and hold on tight," the attendant chirped, and Violet backpedaled.

  "Oh, I didn't realize-" The rest of her statement was lost when the attendant deftly shoved her into the log, tightened the belt across her hips, and sent them on their way.

  At first, Violet held herself stiffly away from him, and Smitty smiled grimly when the first series of bumps and dips earned him an elbow in the ribs. "Vi, you might want to lean back against me. I don't bite, honest."

  Then the fake log was picked up by a clanking track that lifted them high into the sky and they both forgot that they were feeling awkward with each other and started pointing at the other rides they could see from their new vantage point.

  "Look over there! Let's hit the wave tank next." Violet grabbed his knee and pointed to a huge body of water. As they watched, a ten-foot-high swell started at one end and sped to the other, carrying swimmers and bodysurfers with it. Squeals of delight floated up to them, carrying over the rush of water and the clank of machinery.

  And still the fake log was carried into the sky. Short jets of water pumped over them and Violet squealed as she took a blast in the face. Then they were at the top of the enormous hill. The little log teetered a moment and she pressed back against Smitty as a rush of water pushed them over and down.

  He felt the fake log lunge forward and freefall towards the ground, felt Violet's back mold itself to his front, and he wrapped his arms around her as they fell.

  Then they were laughing and screaming and the water was coming at them from all sides, and as the fake log plunged into an enormous tank and raised a splash that seemed a mile high, Smitty reached for the sky-look Ma, no hands!-and felt ten years fall from his shoulders like they'd never passed.

  They didn't make it to the wave tank right away, though Violet was itching to try it. The one thing she disliked about being based on Cape Cod was the lack of decent surfing. The Atlantic was okay, if you liked that sort of wave. And the Cape's North Shore even got decent rollers after a storm, but it didn't come close to the California beaches where she'd learned to surf.

  As they bobbed down an artificial river that wound around the perimeter of the park, relaxing in separate black rubber tubes, Violet glanced over and wondered whether Smitty ever thought about the time he'd taught her to surf. Then she ground her teeth, annoyed that the only things she could seem to think about were things that had happened between two dumb kids at U.C. Santa Cruz.

  She and Smitty weren't those kids anymore. They were grown-ups, well-respected researchers. Coworkers. A lot had happened since that long-ago day at a California water park.

  Smitty had been married and divorced. Violet had spent the two years following Smitty's marriage studying killer whales in Puget Sound. After his divorce, she had rejoined Dolphin Friendly and the group had prospered. Each year, they had landed more interesting, more lucrative grants, seen more marine mammals, and rescued more stranded animals. Everything had been great. Then Brody had married Maddy.

  And everything had changed.

  It wasn't that she wanted Brody for herself-their brief relationship had been a big snore because they knew each other too well-but his marriage had been a shock to the trio of friends.

  After Smitty's marriage failed and Violet rejoined the group without any rekindling of their romance, it had seemed obvious to her that marine researchers just weren't cut out for marriage. They were on the water too many months out of the year, and cared more for the ocean than they did for most people.

  The founding members of Dolphin Friendly were all single, and they liked it that way. Or did they?

  Standing on the sidelines while Brody and Maddy recited their vows, Violet had felt an unexpected and unwelcome tug. She'd wanted a family once. Maybe not as much or as quickly as Smitty had wanted one, which had been the big stumbling block between them, but she'd wanted kids. Wanted a husband who cared if she came home from sea every now and then. She rarely saw her own family anymore, and when she did, they asked careful questions and "tsked" when she said she didn't have anyone and grandchildren weren't in the forecast.

  She'd glanced at Smitty and thought she saw her own regrets mirrored in his face. She had wondered whether he would someday marry again and once again leave her the odd man out in Dolphin Friendly.

  The next day-when Brody and Maddy were off on their extended honeymoon-she had filled Smitty's diving duffel
with shaving cream. And the battles had begun.

  "What're you thinking about, Vi?"

  She looked over and saw that Smitty's rubber tube had drifted close to hers. His hair was wet, darkening his sun-bleached highlights to a rich chestnut. He pushed her tube ever so gently, making her spin. She let her head fall back and felt her hair dip in the water. Felt the familiar liquid surround her. God, she loved the water. The coolness caressed her scalp and made her think of being under the ocean. In every image in her mind's eye, Smitty was diving at her side.

  And suddenly she wanted to tell him what she was thinking. She wanted to know whether he felt the same way about Brody and Maddy, whether he ever wondered what it would have been like if he'd waited for her rather than running off with Ellen two weeks after that fateful day at the water park.

  She wanted to know if he ever thought of her that way now.

  "Vi? Mackerel for your thoughts."

  It was an old private joke.

  "I was thinking of Brody and Maddy's wedding. . ." she began, then paused to gather her thoughts, struck by sudden indecision. What if he didn't feel the way she did? What if he hadn't noticed the way things had changed within Dolphin Friendly? What if he didn't care?

  But she didn't get a chance to continue. Smitty's face twisted and his eyes shut once, as though he were in pain. "Oh. Yeah, right. Brody."

  With a lurch, he slid off his inner tube and grabbed hers as well, dragging her into the shallow side of the lazy river, over to where a cluster of signs pointed to the next group of rides. He asked, "Ready for the Tidal Wave?" and boosted her onto dry land before she could answer.

  "I-" Not really, she wanted to say. I wanted to talk to you about Brody and Maddy. About us. About Dolphin Friendly. About why we always fight and what we could maybe do to change it.

  And it was then that Violet realized why she absolutely, positively could not voice the crazy feelings that had started creeping up on her just after that wedding. Why there was no way she and Smitty could try to pick up where they'd left off ten years ago.