Page 64 of Sharkbait
“Well, don’t work on it too hard,” she says. “As I recall, your motormouth came in handy that first night.”
Her cheeks immediately turn pink.
“Oh my God, did I just say that?” She covers her face with both hands.
I laugh, but quickly school my features and get faux serious. “You did. But I am willing to accept the compliment. I’m pretty sure that was a compliment…?”
“It was, yeah.” She nods quickly and waves her hands like she wants to keep the conversation moving.
“And move along to another topic if it makes you feel better,” I finish.
“I would appreciate that, thank you.”
“Cool, cool. I did want to say one thing, though. You said before that you thought we had time. Well, we do. We have twelve weeks.”
“Twelve weeks,” she repeats.
“Yeah. Plenty of time to become friends, don’t you think?”
She smiles.
“Yeah. That—That sounds nice.”
How the hell I’m going to be just friends with this woman is beyond me, but I will do my damnedest.
The bell over the door jingles.
“Speaking of friends!” I nod toward the entrance where Wally and Mabel are making their way in, followed by a stream of other punctual party people. “Hey, everybody!”
An hour later, the party is in full swing. We’re just waiting on the birthday boy. Louise has been keeping me company this whole time, drinking and laughing with Mabel and Wally. Her usual edge has softened, and I like seeing her more relaxed side.
When Wally and Mabel get up from the bar to dance, I’m surprised she sticks with me.
I’m certainly not complaining.
“The coolest thing happened the other day at the aquarium,” she says with a sparkle in her eyes. “Want to hear about it?”
“Course! Tell me.” I finish a pour and slide the glass to a guy with Clark Kent glasses and a sweater vest. I’m loving this crowd tonight.
“So. I’ve been taking my lunch break with Meilani whenever I can. Most days, I bring my easel and paints too. I’m building this whole portfolio of her. I’ve painted more in the past three weeks than I have in the last two years. And she loves it! I swear she’s posing and performing for me. It’s so funny and makes me feel so good.”
“Amazing!”
“Yeah but get this—this is the really amazing part—the other day, I kid you not, she let me know that she wanted to paint too.”
“How did she do that?”
“Through the movements she was making. It was like she was mimicking what I was doing on the canvas. I know it sounds weird, but I ended up doing some research on it, and I learned that painting can be a good enrichment activity for sea lions. So I talked to Dana, and we’re going to try it out with her this week.”
“That is damn cool. Keep me posted on how it goes, will ya?”
“I will.” She smiles. “Oh and the best news is, her trainers say she’s putting on weight and being more responsive with themtoo. She’s making some really rapid improvements.”
“That’s incredible. Sounds like you’re making a real difference with her.”
“Yeah.” She lets out a breath. “I don’t really understand why or how, though.”
“When there’s a connection, there’s a connection,” I say. “Sometimes these things are hard to explain.”
