“What are you doing here?” he yelled.
“Oh my gosh, he’ll suffocate!” I shouted.
At that second, Ryan reached through the door for the jar, but Manuel jerked it away, running several steps down the hallway. The top flew off the jar, and Iggy slid onto the floor.
My heart leaped to my throat. Poor Iggy! I elbowed my way past Manuel, but Iggy had taken off down the hall, scampering and skittering from one side of the corridor to another.
“Go, Iggy!” I yelled.
Manuel and I both ran down the hall after him. I could hear Ryan’s heavy footfalls behind me. Two employees were coming the other way, and their faces took on looks of amazement. They plastered themselves against the wall as Iggy scampered by, and then we raced by after him.
“Somebody catch him!” Stephanie squealed.
16
STEPHANIE
I couldn’t believe Iggy had gotten away! Now all of us were running down the corridor after him. The corridor opened up to a landing with stairs and an elevator, and Iggy veered onto the landing, and then began scrambling up the stairs.
I was terrified someone was going to step on him! We raced upstairs right behind him, but it was amazing how he could leap once he got started. I glanced behind me and saw that Lauren had brought the video camera after all. She was taping everything that happened!
Iggy skittered up to the next landing, then darted into the employee bar, which was full of people having drinks after a long day of work.
“Catch him!” Manuel said to people sitting at a table as Iggy ran under the table legs.
A woman screamed and jumped to her feet. “What is that?”
Diana was close behind, and she zigzagged past another table to block Iggy from heading that way. Iggy veered away from her and raced underneath another table.
“Get it!” Ryan yelled.
Everyone at the table leaped to their feet, knocking chairs over, and Manuel got down on his stomach and tried reaching under the table, but Iggy was too fast for him and skittered to the corner of the room.
“What is it?” people were asking.
Then he was cornered. Manuel and Diana both dropped to their hands and knees and crawled toward him.
“Come on, Diana, get him!” I said, coming up close behind her. Ryan had found a broom and was trying to sweep him out.
“Be careful!” Diana yelled. “You’ll hurt him!”
He swiped at Iggy, who leaped in the air and landed right on my thigh!
I screamed.
“Stephanie, get him before he gets away!” Diana shouted.
I looked at his golden eyes and tense trembling body. Could I make myself touch him? I held my breath. Then I grabbed him. When I felt his dry, cool skin, I almost let go, but I made myself hold on. Putting my fingers underneath his front legs, I picked him up. His eyes darted about frantically, and I could feel his little heart pounding inside his body. Gasping, I handed him to Diana.
“Nice work, Steph!” Diana said. She pulled him close and cradled him against her chest.
Suddenly I heard a voice behind me.
“What seems to be going on here?”
I turned around and saw the head of ship security in his uniform right behind me.
“These girls smuggled an iguana on board the ship from Grand Cayman!” said Ryan loudly. “It got away, and we were trying to catch it!”
I covered my mouth with my hand.
“No, we didn’t!” Diana cried.
“They did!” said Lauren, pointing at Ryan.
The security officer crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s take this to my office right now,” he said.
A few minutes later, all five of us, including Diana holding Iggy, were seated in the security director’s office. The name on the outside of his office and his name tag said Officer Decker.
“All right,” said Officer Decker, “I want to hear from the employees first. What is this animal and how did it get on board?”
After a few tense seconds, Manuel sighed deeply and sat down in the chair by the desk. “A few weeks ago, Ryan told me that he knew an American who would pay a lot of money for a blue iguana. They are so rare, they are practically extinct. He told me if I could help him get one, he would give me half the money. My son needs hearing aids, and I am desperate for money, so I said okay. I did research on the places in Grand Cayman where the wild iguanas live. This past visit, when we docked on Grand Cayman, we sneaked up on the iguana and grabbed it from a low branch on a tree.”
“And then you smuggled the iguana onto the ship?” asked Officer Decker.
Manuel nodded. “I taped it inside my sock. But it took us longer than we thought to catch it. Those little creatures are fast as they race up tree trunks and across the forest floor. I ended up being late getting back to the ship, so I was not able to return to my room before I came back to the passenger deck to do my evening duties. I had the iguana taped to my leg inside my sock, but I did not tape it securely enough. It got loose and crawled out of my sock and escaped not far from these girls’ cabin. I have not seen it since, until just now.” Manuel ran his hand over his face. “I assume the girls found it and kept it in their room.”
“Yes,” Diana said. “For almost two days. I was feeding it from the buffet.”
“We took the iguana up on deck this afternoon to get some sun because we read they need vitamin D to survive. And I saw him up there watching us,” I said to Officer Decker, pointing to Ryan.
Ryan pressed his lips together but didn’t say anything.
“When we got back to our room tonight, Iggy was gone,” Diana said. “I think one of them came into our room and stole him. We followed Manuel back to his room after he finished his steward duties and heard them arguing about the iguana. Then Manuel came out of the room with the iguana in a jar, and it got away.”
“I have all that on video,” Lauren offered. “You can see Manuel coming out of their room with the iguana in the jar.”
“Did you take the iguana from the girls’ room?” Officer Decker asked Ryan.
Ryan pressed his lips together and refused to answer.
“Yes, he did,” said Manuel. “I changed my mind. I only did it to help raise money for my son’s hearing aids. I did not realize I could do jail time. The lizard is so small!”
“It can grow to over five feet long,” Diana said. “The iguana needs to go back to Grand Cayman and live in the wild. It’s illegal to keep blue iguanas as pets.”
“So, let me see this iguana,” said Officer Decker, peering across his desk at Diana holding Iggy.
“Do you want to hold him? Be careful. He can get away.”
“Not just yet,” said Officer Decker. “And you say this iguana is extremely rare, practically extinct?”
“The only place blue iguanas live is on Grand Cayman,” Diana said. “There are only about six hundred and fifty of them in the entire world. He needs to go back to Grand Cayman where he belongs.”
Officer Decker rubbed his face thoughtfully. “Well, we’re going back to Grand Cayman tomorrow after we dock. We could return it then.”
“Oh, could you? That would be the best news ever.”
“I imagine we need to do more than simply release the iguana when we arrive.”
“There is a special group of people on Grand Cayman that take care of the iguanas, and I could call or email them, and maybe someone could meet the ship and take Iggy back to his habitat.” Diana, with excitement, raked her hair behind her ear. “I can tell you how to feed him. He likes just about any vegetable, from kale to carrots.”
“All right, then,” said Officer Decker. “I am sure someone can handle this.”
“Oh, it’s very important that whoever takes him gives him a chance to get some sun. Iguanas need their sunbaths! Hey, maybe I should keep him until I get off the ship tomorrow?”
“That’s okay. Can you get me the phone number or the email address of the blue-iguana people in Grand Cayman? We might e
ven have an aquarium or terrarium around here where we can keep him temporarily for the couple of days it will take us to get back to Grand Cayman.” Officer Decker stood up. “Okay, girls, you may go. We can take it from here. Gentlemen, you stay here.”
“Oh, and he likes to have his chin scratched,” Diana added.
“He does, does he?” said Officer Decker. “Well, it’s time to say your farewells.”
Diana held Iggy’s face up close to hers. He cocked his head, looking like he was smiling again. “Bye, Iggy.” She cradled him against her chest. “You be good now.”
Iggy blinked his golden eyes and moved his front legs, trying to get away.
“You’ve got to watch him every minute,” Diana said. “I kept him in the shower with the door closed. It’s best if you hold him just behind his head.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” said Officer Decker. “Thanks.”
And so we left Iggy in Officer Decker’s office. I couldn’t meet Manuel’s eye as we walked out.
“What time is it?” Daddy was in his pj’s, and Diana, Lauren, and I were sitting at the foot of his and Lynn’s bed in their cabin. He squinted at the clock on his nightstand and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “You found what?”
“A blue iguana. A crew member smuggled it onto the ship from Grand Cayman, and then it got away. I found it in the hallway outside our room,” Diana said.
“And you kept it in your cabin for two days?” Lynn said. “Without telling anyone?”
“Yes, but we just turned it over to ship security, and they’re returning it to Grand Cayman,” I said quickly. “We found out that it’s a felony to bring one into the United States,” I added. “You can go to jail for five years.”
“Five years! A felony!” Daddy sat up and put his head in his hands.
“And we didn’t want to do that,” I concluded.
Lynn put on her robe and tied the belt around her waist. “I remember reading to you girls about the blue iguanas being among the endangered species that live on Grand Cayman. But I never dreamed that you’d actually be taking care of one.”
“We actually prevented a crime from being committed,” I said.
Daddy closed his eyes. “That is the best news I’ve heard so far tonight.”
It was the wee morning hours, but back in our room none of us could sleep. We relived chasing Iggy down the ship’s corridor and through the employee bar. We discussed every minute of our interview in Officer Decker’s office.
“What do you think will happen to Ryan and Manuel?” I asked, pulling my sheet up over my chest.
“They’ll probably be fired,” Lauren said. “And maybe they’ll have to go to jail.”
“I feel so terrible,” I said. “I liked Manuel.”
“They smuggled the iguana,” said Diana. “They have to take the consequences of their actions.”
“Still,” I said. “I still feel terrible.”
The next morning before we got off the ship, Diana and I took the phone number of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme to Officer Decker, who dialed the number right away. He’d put Iggy in a giant clear plastic container from the kitchen. Two little cups the kitchen used for ketchup were in the container, holding water and an assortment of vegetables.
“Hello?” Officer Decker introduced himself and explained the situation. “It seems we have a rare baby iguana. What’s that you call it … a hatchling? A rare iguana hatchling here on our ship. One of our employees smuggled it onto our ship from your island. We are on our way back to Grand Cayman, and we are prepared to return the hatchling when we dock in two days’ time. Will that be satisfactory? So a representative will meet our ship. Splendid. Do we know how to care for it? A young lady here has apparently done some research on the topic, and she has instructed me to give it vegetables from the buffet and to take it outside for a sunbath each day. Is there anything else I need to know? … Splendid. Thank you.” He hung up. “All set. Iggy will be taken care of.”
Diana seemed happy as we headed back to the room. She chattered about Iggy’s future in the wild. Now that we were together without Lauren, I thought maybe this was my chance to tell her how sorry I was that I had started the rumor that caused people to call her “annn-i-mal.” Both Guy and Grammy had advised me to admit it to her and apologize. That was the right thing to do. But she was so happy! And when I told her, I was sure she’d get so mad. Now that things were good, I didn’t want to stir up trouble. I could always talk to her about it later.
So I didn’t say anything. Was that bad? I wondered what God might think about that, and I hoped he would forgive me.
When Diana and I got back to the room, we found Lauren inside packing up her stuff. Manuel, knocked on our door.
“Thank you for all you have done for me,” he said to us. “Words cannot express my gratitude.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. I felt so guilty for what might have happened to him.
“The videotape that was shown last night,” he began. And as we were standing there, a man came up to Manuel in the corridor.
“Last night I saw the videotape about you and your son,” the man said. “I was moved and touched. I know what it’s like to want something for your child and not be able to get it for them.” He handed Manuel an envelope. “Here. This is to help with your son’s hearing aids.”
Manuel had a look of amazement on his face. He opened the envelope. Inside was a hundred-dollar bill. At that moment a woman came up. She handed Manuel a second envelope. “I saw the video too. Here.”
There was more money in the second envelope. Tears came to Manuel’s eyes.
“Oh, thank you,” he said, beginning to sob. “Thank you so very much.”
Seeing Manuel’s joy and gratitude, I could feel tears stinging my own eyes. Diana and I looked at Lauren and smiled.
“I do not know how to thank you for what you have done,” Manuel said to us. “I will probably lose my job, and perhaps I will have to go to jail, but at least my son will have his hearing aids.”
That was when I felt like we had done the right thing.
Later, we ran into Guy and Evan in the buffet line for breakfast, and we all sat together. Guy quickly used his diabetes kit, in his lap, to test himself and bolus.
“You are never going to believe all that’s happened,” Lauren told them. “We caught the guys that smuggled the iguana onto the ship!”
“No way!” said Evan.
It was pandemonium while we were telling them.
“We followed Manuel back to his room—” said Lauren.
“That’s where they were keeping the iguana—” Diana continued.
“And Manuel came out with the iguana in a jar—” I added.
“And Iggy got away,” Diana said.
Lauren continued, “—and then we chased Iggy all around the ship—”
“—and I finally caught him!” I said.
“Can you believe Stephanie caught him?” Diana said. “I was proud of her. She had refused to touch him the whole time.”
“Good job!” Guy said. “Gimme five!” We slapped hands, laughing.
“And so, anyway, the security officer on the ship is going to take Iggy back to Grand Cayman and give him to the people from the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme. They’re meeting the boat,” Diana said. “I wish I could have kept Iggy, but I realize he’s a wild animal and should be in the wild. Most of the time we had Iggy, he was gray-looking. When they’re happy and confident, they turn blue, and we didn’t see him blue much. I hope when he gets home, he’ll be blue again. I’ll miss Iggy, but I told Officer Decker how to feed Iggy and everything. Anyway,” she said, standing up, “I better go finish packing. We have to have our luggage ready to go soon.” She looked at Guy and Evan. “It was nice meeting you guys,” she said.
“Same here,” said Guy.
Eventually, everyone had left except Guy and me. I felt aware of him sitting next to me, with his elbow on the table close to mine. I had memorized his Gran
d Cayman T-shirt with the turtle on it, and the pair of wrinkled khakis and the rainbow flip-flops he wore.
Then a silence fell between us. I remembered the kiss, how soft his lips had felt, and I felt goosebumps on the back of my neck.
The thought came into my head that I probably would never see him again.
He started twirling an empty glass on his tray, and I wondered if he was thinking the same thing.
I could feel my heart beating in my throat.
He tossed his hair off his forehead. “So … heading home,” he said. “Are you on Facebook?”
“No,” I said. “It was okay with Mama, but Daddy thinks I’m too young. I can’t do it until I’m sixteen.”
“Oh. Well, we could call or text.”
“Okay.” I had just gotten my cell phone out after not using it for the whole trip. We exchanged cell-phone numbers.
“I’m glad we had a chance to hang out.”
“Me too.” I twirled my phone on the table nervously. “Well, next time you sing karaoke, think of me,” I said, smiling.
“I will!” He smiled. “And when you think of Pirates of the Caribbean, think of me!”
I hesitated. “That was my first kiss.”
He looked at me. “Really?”
“Yeah. So I’ll always remember you.”
“Wow,” he said.
“It’ll be a good memory. You’re really a kind person. And I’ll remember your advice about Diana too.”
“I’ll remember you too, Stephanie.”
We stood up, and as we walked across the dining hall together, my mind was racing. This is the last time I’m ever going to see him, I thought.
We stood in front of the elevators as people hurried by carrying packages of photos and other last-minute shipboard purchases before disembarking.
I was shaking a little bit as I looked into Guy’s eyes, and I could tell he was trying to think of a way to maybe kiss me again. Part of me wanted him to, but another part of me didn’t want to do it in a public place like this with all these people rushing by.
Then he seemed to make a decision. He kissed the tip of his finger and touched it to my forehead.
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