Dolphin Pod

 

THEY MADE THEIR way through the galley and up another flight of stairs, Odette keenly aware of Harris right behind her. When they emerged on the sun deck, Odette couldn’t help but take a deep, gulping breath of the damp salty air.

This was, Odette thought as she leaned against the dark wood railing, watching the foam of waves against the side of the ferry, the closest she had ever come to a date. She couldn’t have been more nervous if a horde of zombies rounded the corner in her direction.

Harris leaned against the rail next to her, his arm so close that she could feel the fabric of his jacket brushing against her fleece. She stole a sideways glance. Tapping fingers, shock-wide eyes. He looked as bad as she felt. At least that was something.

Then, “Boats make me sick,” he said.

“Oh.” Odette didn’t know what to say to that. “Maybe chips and soda weren’t the best idea?”

“Yeah. I thought eating a snack might distract me, but I guess not.” He grinned and looked at Odette. “Maybe you can distract me,” he said, which Odette resolved to remember exactly so she could report it later to Mieko.

“Um,” she said.

“Are you guys on vacation?”

“Sort of,” Odette said.

“How can you be ‘sort of’ on vacation?”

“It’s kind of complicated.” The boat lurched to the left, and they both grabbed on to the rail to keep their balance.

Harris took a deep, slow breath through his nose, like he was trying to keep from puking.

He really did need to be distracted. “We lived in Southern California until a few weeks ago,” Odette blurted. The words poured out of her easily now. “My dad lost his job, and my Grandma Sissy has been sick, so my parents decided this would be a good time to take a break from everything and go on an adventure.”

Her story seemed to have done the trick, or maybe the boat’s motion had mellowed. Either way, Harris seemed less ill. “No way,” he said.

“Yes way,” Odette answered. “That’s why we’re going to Orcas Island. That’s where Grandma Sissy lives.” A moment passed, uncomfortable, both of them silent. Then Odette blurted, “What about you?”

“Mom and I are on vacation. We’re going to spend a week touring the islands. Orcas first, and then Fidalgo.”

“Cool,” said Odette. She couldn’t think of a follow-up question. The silence between them condensed like the clouds overhead.

“Hey,” said Harris. He smiled widely and pointed out into the blue-gray sea. “You think those are dolphins?”

Odette narrowed her eyes and scanned the water. She didn’t see anything at first, but then—there! A fin, and then another, and then three more.

“It’s a pod! A pod!” Rex ran across the sun deck, his arms flailing wildly as he lost his balance and skidded from side to side before ramming into Harris. “Look!”

“We see them, Rex,” said Odette.

Rex shoved himself in between Harris and Odette at the rail. He bounced up on the balls of his feet in his Rex way and pulled the neck of his T-shirt into his mouth so he could suck on it, which he did when he got excited or nervous. Half his shirts had gross stretched-out neckbands. Odette shot a look at Harris to see if he was weirded out by Rex, but he didn’t seem to notice, his eyes focused out to sea. Together they watched the dolphins swim at an angle toward the ferry. All along the boat’s edge, people lined up to see the pod. When they got close to the boat—just a few feet from it—the dolphins swam right alongside it, as if they were playing around.

Everyone pulled out their cameras and cell phones, recording the dolphins or taking pictures. A youngish dad held his daughter up so she could see, and she waved her chubby little hand like she was saying hello.

Behind them, in the center of the sun deck, a couple of guys and a girl in stripey tall socks pulled out some instruments—a banjo and a fiddle and a harmonica—and they started playing a jaunty song.

The dolphins swam with the boat like they had nowhere else they needed to be, nothing else they needed to do. The music floated like a happy balloon. Odette felt, right then, like the dolphins, like the music. Free.