Dolphin Summer

by Catherine Hapka

  The big flatbed truck from the aquarium was just pulling in when we arrived near the dock.

  John was standing with a few other people, watching as his father and the driver maneuvered the truck closer to the water. “Hi,” I said, hurrying over to join him. “How’s she doing?”

  “Same as ever, I guess.” John smiled at me. “I’m glad you could make it.”

  “I’m glad your dad let you come along this time,” I said, though I was a little distracted by the thought that Wanda was up there, in that big metal box, waiting to be released back into the wild.

  “Me, too.” John pulled out his cell phone. “I’m hoping to take lots of photos for the blog.”

  I nodded. The crane truck had just rumbled into view. It pulled over next to the first truck.

  My parents were hanging back on their own, but Nia came over to join me and John. “Are they going to use the sling again?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” John snapped a few pictures of the trucks. “That’s the safest way to move Wanda. Come on, let’s go closer.”

  The three of us walked over to the flatbed truck. Dr. Hernandez lifted a hand in greeting.

  “We’re almost ready to go,” he told us. “The crane operator just needs to get everything in position.”

  My heart thumped with worry and anticipation, and my gaze wandered up to the aquarium employees who were perched on the edge of the crate keeping Wanda moist and calm. “Can I see her before they lift her out?” I asked. “I, um, kind of want to say good-bye.”

  Dr. Hernandez looked uneasy. “I don’t know, Lily. I’m not really comfortable letting you climb up that high—it’s a bit risky.”

  “What if my parents said it was okay?” I crossed my fingers behind my back, suddenly glad that they’d insisted on coming today. “They drove me here, so you could ask them yourself.”

  Dr. Hernandez looked surprised. “They’re here? Well, then let’s go talk to them.”

  A few minutes later, it was all settled. My father and Dr. Hernandez had shaken hands like old friends. And my mother was all smiles as she chatted with him about how much I’d always enjoyed science and sea life. Wow! When had she started to notice that? All I’d ever heard were a few jokes about the “wallpaper” in my room. Once again, I tucked that observation away to ponder later.

  A couple of the animal-care techs from the aquarium helped me clamber up onto the edge of the big metal tank. Finally I could see Wanda hanging in her sling inside.

  “Hey, girl,” I said softly. Then I let out a dolphin chirp, not even caring that the techs were listening. “I hope you had a good trip. You’ll be happy when you see where you are.”

  At least I hope you’ll be happy, I added silently, once again crossing my fingers.

  “Hey, looks like she’s listening to you,” said one of the techs, a young guy with freckles and bright red hair who always seemed to be smiling. “I bet she’s glad you came to see her off.”

  For a second, I felt tears welling up. But I swallowed them back. “Thanks,” I told the tech. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

  He nodded and traded a glance with another tech, a woman with a dolphin-shaped eyebrow ring. “You can touch her if you want,” she told me. “Go ahead—it’s okay.”

  “Really?” I gulped. I wanted to touch a dolphin—this dolphin—even if it was only this once.

  Then I bent over, hanging on to the edge of the crate with one hand so I wouldn’t fall in. I hesitated for a second, remembering the times Wanda had moved away before I could reach her. Was it fair to touch her now, when she was trapped?

  Just then the dolphin let out a soft chirp. And somehow, that made me feel it really was okay. She wouldn’t mind—not now, when we’d become such good friends. When I’d helped figure out how to make her happy.

  I leaned in even more. I was just barely able to stretch down far enough to run my fingers down Wanda’s back.

  Her skin was damp, and warmer than I’d expected. It felt smooth and sleek, sort of like a rubber wet suit.

  “Hi, Wanda,” I whispered, too overwhelmed to speak any louder. “Hi, girl.”

  She wiggled in the sling, her flukes flapping, and I pulled my hand back in alarm. Had I scared her?

  “It’s okay,” the female tech said. “She feels you touching her, that’s all. Keep talking so she knows it’s you.”

  “Okay.” I cleared my throat. “It’s okay, Wanda. It’s just your friend Lily saying good-bye. Thanks for letting me touch you, and thanks for being my friend and being such a good listener. I hope—I hope—” I wasn’t quite sure what to say next. So instead, I switched to Wanda’s language, letting out a few more chirps, clicks, and whistles.

  Then I heard Dr. Hernandez calling up to us that the crane operator was ready. The male tech helped pull me upright, and then other people were reaching up for me, helping me down from the truck.

  “How was it?” John asked when I rejoined him and Nia.

  I couldn’t answer. I just shook my head and smiled.

  “Dr. Gallagher said they put a tracker on Wanda,” Nia told me. “That way they can keep tabs on where she ends up.”

  “I hope she finds her pod,” I said.

  Nobody answered, because just then the crane lifted Wanda up and out of her crate. She sailed through the air, out, out, out over the water of the bay. Then something on the crane shifted and the dolphin slid gracefully out of the sling and into the waves, disappearing instantly beneath the surface.

  “Oh wow!” Nia said. “That was cool.”

  John started talking excitedly, but I didn’t hear what he was saying. I stepped closer to the edge of the dock, scanning the water. Then I gasped.

  “There she is!” I cried, pointing.

  Wanda had just surfaced, her head bobbing in the bay. Then someone else let out a shout. It was the red-haired tech, who was still perched up on the crate.

  “Dolphins!” he exclaimed, pointing a little farther out from where I’d seen Wanda surface. “Out there!”

  Suddenly everyone was crowding the edge of the dock. Even my parents came closer, squinting against the sunlight reflecting off the restless waters of the bay.

  There were at least a dozen dolphins, though it was hard to keep track as they leaped and skimmed over the waves.

  “It’s Wanda’s pod!” John cried, raising his phone to take more pictures. “It has to be!”

  I held my breath as Wanda turned toward the other dolphins. She disappeared underwater, and for a second my heart sank.

  But then she burst into view again, arcing up and out of the water as she leaped toward the pod. “Yes!” I cried. “I think it really is her pod!”

  “Yeah.” John was grinning from ear to ear. “And she sure doesn’t look sick anymore, does she?”

  “No way.” Nia clapped me on the shoulder. “Lily was right!”

  Seconds later Wanda was with the pod, and after that I couldn’t tell which dolphin was my friend anymore, not from this distance. They were a joyful mass of wet gray skin leaping and playing, and all the people watching laughed and chattered happily, and a few even applauded.

  But I didn’t make a sound. I wanted to watch her for as long as I could. Already the dolphins were getting smaller as the pod moved farther out into the bay, closer to the channel leading down between Brooklyn and Staten Island and eventually spilling into the open sea.

  “Good-bye, Wanda,” I whispered as I watched.

  Once they were gone I still felt elated—but also a little sad. I wandered a short distance off from the others, thinking about what had just happened and what it meant. Wanda had really started to feel like a friend, and I didn’t have enough of those lately.

  Just then I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, then again, and again. I’d brought it to take pictures, though I realized I’d forgotten all about it. Oh well. I was pretty sure John would share his with me.

  I pulled out my phone and glanced at it. It was a series of several texts, an
d I almost put the phone away again, not wanting to spoil this moment. But something made me open the messages.

  Hi Lily, it’s me Amber, and Jules is here too, the first text read. We’ve been talking, and we want to say two things to you. First, we miss you. A lot. We haven’t been apart this long since kindergarten!

  I nodded as I read, realizing it was true. This was the longest the three of us had been separated since I could remember. Then I read the next message.

  Anyway the second thing is we want to say we’re sorry we switched camps without talking to you even though we knew you don’t like soccer that much. We thought you would just go along with the plan anyway.

  I grimaced. Of course they’d thought that! Good old Lily never complained, right? I moved on to the third text:

  We believed you when you said your parents said no to soccer camp. Then we got your text on Saturday and we figured it out. You are the one who said no, right?

  “Yeah,” I murmured, both embarrassed and relieved. Why hadn’t I told them the truth sooner? They were my friends—I should be able to tell them anything.

  Anyway, the next text read, we want to make it up to you. So if you will forgive us we promise we’ll spend a whole week at the aquarium when we get back!

  I smiled. They got bored if they had to spend more than half an hour at the aquarium. I wouldn’t make them spend a whole week there … probably.

  Text us back and tell us you’re not mad! the last text read. Please? Because you are our bff and we are REALLY sorry!!!!!!!! xxxxoooooxxxxxooooo A&J ♥

  I typed in a quick response:

  I forgive you! Busy now—ttyl OK?

  As I hit send, John hurried over. “Hey, guess what?” he said. “My dad is over there talking to your parents again—and I think I know what they’re talking about.”

  His grin looked sort of mischievous. I glanced toward my dad’s truck. He and my mom were standing next to it—and sure enough, so was Dr. Hernandez.

  “What are they talking about?” I asked John.

  “You,” he replied, still grinning. “My dad’s pretty impressed by how much you’re into marine biology, and how you figured out what was really wrong with Wanda. So he wants you to intern at the aquarium two days a week for the rest of the summer!”

  I gasped. “Really?” I exclaimed. Talk about a dream come true!

  Still, for a second I didn’t quite allow myself to believe it could actually happen. What would my parents say?

  But when I looked over at them again, my mom was beaming at Dr. Hernandez. And a second later, my dad grinned and stuck out his hand, and the two men shook.

  I was still trying to take in what that might mean when John poked me in the arm. “That’s not all,” he said. “If you think it might be okay—and you can say no if you want—but …”

  I was so surprised by how nervous he sounded—not like himself at all—that I turned to stare at him. “Spit it out, okay?”

  He smiled sheepishly. “I was just going to say, it would be cool if you wanted to write a guest column about Wanda for my blog.” He shrugged. “Only if you want to, though; it’s okay if you don’t.”

  My eyes wandered back out toward the water, and I wondered where Wanda was right now. Wherever she was, I hoped she was happy—as happy as I was.

  “Sure,” I told John with a smile. “That sounds like fun.”

  JOHN DORY’S JOURNEYS TO AN UNDERWATER WORLD

  By special guest blogger Lily Giordano

  Hello, readers! As you might know from John Dory’s last post, I’m the girl who found Wanda and helped release her. It was an amazing day! I was sad to say good-bye to my friend, and I still miss having her around. I think about her every time I walk past the Gowanus Canal, and lots of other times, too.

  But that’s okay, because I was really happy to get to see her reunite with her pod. (John already told you all about that, so go read his post if you missed it!) It’s been almost a week now, and I get to help monitor the tracker they put on her as part of my work as a student intern at the aquarium. It’s so cool! We can see exactly where the pod goes. Right now they seem to be heading toward the south shore of Long Island, so any readers in that area should keep an eye out for them—and if you see them, tell Wanda her friend Lily says hi!

  Can’t get enough fun in the sun? Read on for an excerpt from Catherine Hapka’s

  DOLPHIN DREAMS!

  The girl in the dolphin shirt glanced back once while Kady Swanson dragged her away like a cougar dragging its prey, but I pretended I didn’t see. Who was she? Related to Kady, maybe? It seemed a likely guess, since I could see the family resemblance between the two of them—same bright blue eyes, raw-sienna hair, sharp little chin, and pale freckly cheeks. The only thing the new girl was missing was the haughty expression, which Kady used like a weapon at school, striking at those of us she deemed less than worthy. I closed my eyes and smiled, imagining drawing a cartoon of that, with daggers flying out of Kady’s icy blue eyes …

  “Maria?” a familiar voice called.

  I opened my eyes and spun around, nearly dropping the book on my toes. Josie was striding toward me. Not walking, not ambling, but moving with purpose and energy, like the athlete she was. Josie never did anything without purpose. Or without the big smile she was beaming at me right now.

  “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, chica,” she said, tossing her sleek brown ponytail over her shoulder. How did her hair always stay so smooth and perfect, when mine exploded into a rat’s nest the second it dried? We had the same mother, the same father. It didn’t seem fair.

  “I was just browsing.” I tucked the dolphin book back on the shelf before she could see it and start asking questions. The last thing I wanted was to become the topic of conversation at family dinner that night, pinned in my chair like the moths and weevils in Nico’s old childhood insect collection. If things worked out the way I hoped, well, the family would find out about it soon enough. If not, I figured they never needed to know.

  I followed Josie out of the bookstore, glad to see that Kady Swanson and her cronies had disappeared. I was still a little bit curious about the dolphin girl, but not curious enough to risk the wrath of Kady. Even though the dolphin girl had seemed nice, she was with someone not-so-nice, which made me think she might be not-so-nice herself. As my abuelita liked to say, “Dios los cría y ellos se juntan”—birds of a feather flock together.

  “Hey.” Josie poked me out of my thoughts. “Are you daydreaming again, little sister? Wake up—there’s a sale at the department store. Maybe we can find you a new swimsuit.”

  “I already have a swimsuit.” I was tired of shopping. The air conditioning was too cold, making goose pimples dance up and down my arms and legs. The only reason I’d come at all was for a peek at those dolphin books.

  “That ratty old blue thing?” Josie snorted. “Don’t worry, Mom gave me money to get you a new one.”

  I wasn’t sure why it mattered. Hardly anybody saw me in that suit. I avoided the busy public beaches, preferring my own company to the chaos of crowds. As my sister charged off toward the department store, I trailed along after her, dreaming about going to my favorite hidden cove.

  Hours later, I finally picked my way down the steep, rocky trail leading into Spotted Dolphin Cove. That wasn’t its real name—the place was so obscure it wasn’t labeled on any map I’d ever seen. But I’d named it when I’d first discovered it two summers earlier. Since my friends Iggy and Carmen had moved back to Mexico with their family last year, I’d only ever run into someone else at the cove a few times. Most people didn’t know it was there. The entrance wasn’t easy to find and the trail looked like it led to nowhere. And even the ones who found it usually didn’t like it—the beach was rocky and narrow, and there was no cell phone reception, and the water was too calm for anything but beginner surfing. But I didn’t mind. I liked it for other reasons.

  I dropped my surfboard and the backpack with my sketchpad and other stuff in
it onto the rocky sand and stepped to the water’s edge, letting the surf roll in and cool my toes. Squinting against the bright bursts of sunlight reflecting off the constantly moving water, I scanned the cove for signs of life. A gull was circling lazily overhead, letting out the occasional raw squawk. But that wasn’t what I was looking for.

  A smile spread over my face as I finally spotted a dorsal fin breaking the water. A second later the dolphin leaped up, arcing toward me, followed by another and another. I grabbed my board and waded in, not bothering with the leash. My parents didn’t know I swam in the cove by myself, but then again, they’d never really asked. When I reached the drop-off where the water got deep, I belly flopped onto the board, paddling out to the middle of the cove with my arms.

  The dolphins were close now—only the length of three or four surfboards away. I sat up on my board, dangling one leg off either side while I watched them play. How many were there today? It was hard to keep track of the sleek gray bodies as they popped into view one after another. I recognized the one with the crooked snout, and the smaller, leaner one that I called Little Sister. The rest were just a blur of dove-gray grace.

  Then I saw another familiar shape burst into view. “Seurat!” I blurted out.

  This was the dolphin I’d seen the very first time I’d come here—the funny-looking one with white dots mottling his smooth dark skin. That first day I hadn’t known why he looked so different from the others, but he’d reminded me of something a pointillist painter might have created. That was why I’d named him Seurat, after Georges-Pierre Seurat. The human Seurat was a famous French painter who pretty much invented pointillism, which is just creating images out of lots and lots of dots. If he’d ever painted a dolphin, it would have looked like my Seurat.

  Later, I’d looked up dolphins online, trying to figure out if there was something wrong with my pointillist dolphin. But it turned out he was a whole different species from the regular bottlenoses he hung out with. As best I could figure, he was a pantropical spotted dolphin, a species that loved warm tropical water and so usually didn’t come this far up the California coast, just north enough to make the water a little chilly once you left the sun-warmed surf line. But it seemed Seurat liked it here, because I’d seen him lots of times since.