Page 23 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
Every day, she found something new to do, something that would cheer her mother when she finally came home. She scrubbed the bathroom, organized the messy kitchen cabinets, pulled the weeds from the garden, and baked batch after batch of brownies.
After a week, her mom still hadn’t returned to sample the brownies and Sheila started to panic. Her dad found her on the front porch late that night, pacing back and forth.
“What’s the matter, Sheil?” he asked, though he knew full well what caused his daughter’s distress.
She finally worked up the courage to say it out loud. “When is she coming back, Dad?”
The look on his face told her everything she needed to know. His eyes were rimmed with tears, his face scruffy and wrinkled. “I don’t know, Sheil.”
Secretly, she was sure her mom would be back for her birthday, with stories to tell, hugs to give, her arms full of presents.
On the morning of her birthday, Sheila put on her best dress, tidied the house, and waited.
She was allowed to stay home while her sisters went to their friends’ houses.
She waited, and waited, and waited.
Her dad came home from work early. “I have something to show you,” he said.
He took off through the back door, weaving along the trails in the forest behind their house.
Sheila was hardly able to keep up with his long strides. “Where are we going?”
“I’ve got something for you,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “I caught it yesterday.”
He’d had plenty of interesting catches through the years – fish with pretty-colored scales, lost hats, and even a life-sized plastic Santa once.
“Is Mom going to be there?” she asked, but he didn’t answer, instead pressing on.
They were almost to the water when she heard it – an awful, wailing cry, repeating over and over.
Her dad reached the shore first, and when she caught up, she put her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
That was when she saw it – a black fin towering over the water.
“Dad!” she gasped. “Is that a whale?”
As if she’d heard, the orca bobbed her head from the water, spy hopping for a moment before dropping back beneath the surface.
“Happy birthday, Sheila!” Her dad said, beaming. “The little one got caught in my net yesterday. I was able to get her out before she drowned. She’s a sweet little thing. Feisty. Reminded me of you.”
Sheila stumbled forward, tripping and falling into the rocks sloping down to the water. She picked her head up as the smaller whale, closer to them, swam over.
Sheila could not take her eyes off the little orca, who, also curious, was now peering at her from the water. She had a black freckle on her white chin, and her fin was tiny compared to her mother’s.
She laid on her side, looking at them. Sheila was close enough to look her in the eye.
“That’s a baby?”
“About four or five.” He grinned at her. “What do you think?”
“She’s beautiful.” Sheila watched as the little whale blew out a breath, then swam back toward the net separating her from her mother.
“I was thinking we could get McDonald’s tonight. Whatever you want,” her dad said.
The baby whale swam along the length of the net, her mother crying out on the other side.
“She’s sad, Dad. You have to let her out of there.”
