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One
DELILAH
His eyes were this incredible cerulean blue, flecked with streaks of deeper color that made him look wise and intelligent beyond his years. They were eyes that locked onto you, and captivated your soul. The type of eyes that would makeanygirl melt…
… in about fifteen or sixteen years.
“Hi honey!”
The little blond boy smiled back at me from his side of the bleachers. He’d been running back and forth along the concrete riser, playing a sort of peek-a-boo between me and what looked to be some other little girl his age.
“Where’s your mommy?”
The question seemed to confuse him. He hesitated for a moment, let out a little laugh, then ran off again.
Wow. He’s cute as hell.
I turned my attention back to the sea lion show, which was just about to start. I knew this because the trainer — a pretty brunette in her early twenties — had started pacing the platform, gathering up everything she’d need to entertain the audience. Including a bucket of mushy-looking smelts.
Another pang of sadness rose up from the pit of my stomach, and I pushed it down. Normally I would be pointing and smiling. Tearing off pieces of blue and pink cotton candy, and doling them out in even, perfectly-suitable proportions to my niece and nephew.
Only right now, for the first time ever, I was at the aquarium alone.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!”
The trainer’s voice cracked with static somewhere between her bluetooth headset and the overhead loudspeakers. It was an old system. They really needed to upgrade it.
“Please be seated, the show’s about to begin!”
Almost on cue, the little boy came sprinting up to me again. He was getting closer each time, seeing me as less and less of a stranger and more of a playmate. I waved again, wishing I had bought some cotton candy. Then again, feeding other people’s children wasn’t exactly a good idea.
“Look,” I pointed to the open-glass tank. “Better sit down, the sea lions will be coming out soon!”
He stared at the tank for a moment, then looked back at me wide-eyed.
“Go!” I shooed him away. “Find your parents!”
My latest crush laughed at me, then ran back to the little girl. She’d been lifted into the corded arms of a big, handsome-looking man in a black, studded-leather jacket. His torso was so long he looked taller than I was, even while sitting down.
Dang.
Another insanely good-looking man with a dark goatee sat beside the first, poking her until she giggled. I spent a moment just admiring the fun they seemed to be having, among other things.
Rory laughs like that.
She sure does, I thought hollowly. My niece had the same high-pitched giggle, whereas her brother Luke’s laughter was more of a low, machine-gun chuckle. I knew them well, because I’d made them laugh a thousand times.
Right about now they’d be staring intensely at the left-hand tank, waiting for the underwater gates to open. The two sea lions would come out like a pair of bullets, swirling and criss-crossing back and forth through the crystal clear water, cruising at full speed.
I sighed, resting my hands in my lap. This was the first time in all five years I hadn’t taken them here for their birthday. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. When they turned three we’d tried the children’s museum over in Bridgehampton, instead. And while the colorful place was still very fun, it didn’t hold anywhere near the magic of the Riverhead aquarium.
No, my precious duo loved this place as much as I did, from the butterfly and bug exhibit all the way to the circular touch-tank near the exit where you could feed and pet the smooth little stingrays. Once a year I stole them away from my older sister, driving all the way out east so we could walk through the darkened cave alongside the shark tank, gawk over the octopus, fawn over the sea-horses, and of course, head to the outdoor arena to watch the sea lion show.
I also spoiled the crap out of them, sending them home with bellies full of candy and about three or four stuffed sea-creatures each, courtesy of the Aquarium’s gift shop.
But now…
Now Patrice and her husband John had moved to Maryland, taking the kids with them. And here I was, still going to the Aquarium on this very special day. Only this time, alone.
