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“Huh,” Claire said, more to herself than to Molly. She shook her head, as if shaking away whatever thought was inside, and turned to Molly. “You ready to check out the Discovery Lagoon?”
“I’d love to.”
They continued down the concrete steps, past the rows of smaller square tanks toward a huge amoeba-shaped pool outlined with large stones. The path continued on its downward slope, heading to what Molly assumed was the front of the pool, but Claire stepped onto one of the boulders on the pool’s edge and motioned for Molly to join her.
Molly followed and looked over into the pool. “This isn’t just kind of cool. This is one of the most amazing aquariums I’ve ever seen.” From this angle, she could see several sea turtles swimming among natural-looking coral formations and live sea plants above a white sandy bottom. Schools of colorful fish weaved in and out of the stone structures.
Claire giggled, seeming to relax. “We like to downplay it in front of Grant so it doesn’t go to his head, but this pool is spectacular.”
They walked along the rocks on the side to where a small stone bridge crossed over the corner of the pool. From up there, they could look down on top of the water to get a better view of the action, and it was fascinating. Molly could’ve stood there and watched for hours.
“Two hundred thousand gallons, six different coral structures, and I don’t even know how many tons of rock. It makes our old one-hundred-thousand-gallon rectangular pool look pathetic,” Claire said.
“It’s enough to make most aquariums in any zoo jealous. We had a pretty big tank at the zoo I worked at, but it was nowhere near this gorgeous.”
“We use this mainly for our permanent residents.” Claire turned her attention to Molly as she explained, “Our goal is to return every turtle to the ocean, but the reality is some face damage that makes it impossible to survive in the wild. They turn into ambassadors either here or at other zoos and aquariums around the country who teach the public about their amazing species.”
“How many permanent residents do you have?” Molly asked, trying to count the turtles that were in constant motion in the tank.
“Right now we have five who will live here with us forever. But there are three who are waiting to get transported to their forever homes and one who’s hanging out with us while his display undergoes renovations at his aquarium.” She pointed to the far side, where a giant net sectioned off a small part of the pool. “And, of course, Chompers is in our solo pool. We were hoping maybe a more authentic environment would help him calm down.”
“Has it?” Molly asked, watching the giant loggerhead meander through the rocks in his space.
“As far as we can tell, he’s as crotchety as the day we brought him in.” She smiled lovingly at the animal. “But I like the ones with the big personalities. They always leave the most lasting impressions.”
Molly nodded in agreement. She had the same thought with the animals she worked with. “How long have you worked here?”
“Officially, I’ve been on the payroll since I graduated from college last year. But I’ve been up here working with turtles since I was old enough to walk. Same with Grant. I guess that’s the way it goes when your family started the rehab center.”
“Your family started this place?” The turtles seemed to notice who was standing on the bridge and slowly started making their way over to them.
Claire nodded. “To be specific, my dad did when he was a teenager. Of course, he had no idea then of what it would become.”
Molly pulled her focus off the turtles and looked at her tour guide with a whole new interest. “How did he decide to start something like this?”
Claire pulled a handful of what Molly could only assume were turtle treats and handed a few to Molly before she tossed some into the water. “My dad came from a family of commercial fisherman, and they’d find injured sea turtles from time to time. Back then, forty years ago, there weren’t a lot of options for places to take them. He started bringing them here, to what was his family home, and researched ways to help them. Over time he realized that what was a side project had turned into his passion, and little by little this place grew into what it is today.” She held her hands out as if putting it on display. “The largest nonprofit turtle rescue and rehab center along the Florida Panhandle, committed to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing sea turtles.”
Molly tossed a few of her treats in the water and watched the turtles scoop them up. “That is quite a legacy.”
“My parents were amazing people.” An expression crossed her face that was part wistful, part heartache. “That turtle over there, our largest resident, is named after my dad. Bart.”
Molly laid a sympathetic hand on Claire’s arm. “Thanks for sharing the story with me. This place seems very special.”
They were both quiet for a moment while Molly watched the turtles glide elegantly through the water.
“Sorry about that,” Grant said as he joined them on the bridge. “What’d I miss?”
“Your sister was just telling me the background of this place.”
“Ahh.” He grinned. “Did she include that before I came in with the Discovery Lagoon project, this was a regular ol’ rectangular pool with a few boulders at the bottom?”
Claire rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘inspired.’ Or ‘amazingly talented.’ Either works.”
“‘Arrogant’ was actually what came to mind. Or ‘big-headed.’ I could go on.” She gave him the taunting look only a sibling could pull off.
Grant ignored it and turned his attention to Molly. “So now that you’ve seen the whole thing, what do you think?”
