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“Yes. Absolutely,” I lied.
“Climb in,” he said.
“Seriously?” I asked.
He laughed. “Yes.”
I climbed into the water in my wetsuit.
“Are you planning on interning here when school starts?” he asked as he showed me where to hold my hands so Otto could rest in them.
“I sure hope so. It’s my dream to work here when I graduate.” I laughed as Otto spun in my arms, stopping once he lay belly side up.
“Good, boy,” Jose said to Otto, before checking out a small wound he’d suffered. “Well, keep interning. It’s how I started, too.”
“It is?”
“They like to hire people they know. People who’ve invested time here. So, stick around, and you’re almost assured a job.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
Otto clicked.
“I think he likes having you here,” Jose said.
“I like being here,” I said, smiling down at the gorgeous dolphin in my arms. If my dad could only see me now.
On my way home from interning, I called Seren who didn’t answer. I tried again after I ate dinner. But still, he didn’t answer. The next morning on my way to the rescue center, I tried again but still no answer. “Hey, it’s me again,” I said to his voicemail. “Call me when you get this. I’m worried about you.” I ended the call and stared down at my phone, willing him to call me back. I was just as disappointed as him that the plan failed. But if I was going to begin to heal after what I’d been through, I needed to let go of some of the pain I’d been carrying. Seren, Sawyer, and Saint now shared the burden of carrying it with them. It wasn’t all on me anymore, and while that sucked for them, it had taken some of the pressure off me. And though we may have failed at our first attempt, I had faith they would come up with another plan. And then, Martine would pay for what he’d done.
* * *
Jack and Rya, a couple of the other interns, invited me out after our shift that evening. If I was going to stay in Tampa, I needed friends. And since we all shared a love for dolphins, they were the best type of friends to have.
“I can’t believe you’re out with us,” Jack said from across the table in the dive bar they’d picked.
“Why?” I asked.
“You just said no so many times, we were about to give up,” Rya said.
“And, you’re so quiet all the time,” Jack added. “Like you’re always thinking about something.”
“Oh, I just left home kind of abruptly. There were a bunch of loose ends I needed to tie up.”
The waitress came over with our pitcher of beer. They definitely didn’t card in this type of place.
“I’m sorry I’ve been distracted because I love being here,” I said. “And everyone’s so nice.”
“Say no more. We all understand what it’s like to leave home,” Jack said as he poured our beer into plastic cups. “It’s never easy.”
After returning from Alabama after making things right with Seren, I’d been so much more hopeful. I’d gotten to work with the dolphins, and I’d met new people who I could finally begin to let in. I’d been closed off my first month in Tampa—with good reason.
“Did you leave a guy behind?” Rya asked as she sipped her beer.
I nodded. “And it wasn’t on good terms.”
She cringed. “Bummer.”
“We’re all good now,” I explained as I sipped the cheap beer. “At least I think we are.”
