Page 13 of Mail Order Splash

“Sorry I yelled at you.” Josh sat across from me. “I care about this place as much as you do, but I can’t do the asking for you.”

“I know, I know, but Doc is right. I have to find something big.”

“Or someone big.”

We sat talking for another hour then I told Josh to go to sleep, giving me time to read more of the medical books Doc had brought me. He’d been saying for a while that I needed to do the final year of internship to complete the aquatic degree. I’d finished veterinarian school and residency and was close when I had to quit to help out.

“Kleine, I can hear the gears churning,” Josh mumbled two hours later. “Why don’t you go back and finish? Then you can get a job making big money to pay for this place.”

“I wouldn’t get the money fast enough, Josh, but I would love to go back and finish.”

“You’re already a veterinarian, you could work anywhere during the day and here at night.”

“Day is when we do nearly all of our rescues. How could I if I was in a room looking at sick dogs? I mean, I put in three nights a week at the veterinary hospital. I suppose I could add more nights, but what would happen if I needed to be here?”

“I get it, but it would be more money, and you do have me to be here, as well as Doc.” He sat up. “Alright, no more beating yourself up tonight. Come with me, I’m hungry again.”

“I think you spend too much time around dolphins and now you think you also have more than one stomach.” I pushed up out of the cot to follow him to the food stash in the tiny office.

“So, tell me, why don’t you really want the guy from the yacht to come here?” He handed me a bottle of water. “He’s attractive. Maybe he’s single and interested.”

Attractive? He was a gosh darn mermaid. I’m still not sure he was real.

“What’s that smirk about?”

“Nothing, I had a funny thought is all.”

“Uh-huh, sure you did. I’ve known you for far too many years to believe that one.” He held an open bag of chips toward me.

“Chips at this hour?”

“Don’t get judgy on me, we don’t have a lot of options.”

“Fine, give me the chips.”

We wasted no time finishing off the rest of the bag then moaned about it once we laid down.

“You always do this to me. We need healthier food for these long nights.”

“What fun would that be? We need fatty carbs to get us through it.”

“I’m not sure that’s how that goes. You don’t get a free pass on your health just because you’re doing an all-nighter.”

“It most certainly does!” He scoffed.

“Well, when I’m as big as one of those whales out there, you’ll have to rescue me.”

“So dramatic. It was chips, and not even that many, you’ll survive.” He leaned up on his elbow. “Look over there. Netty is splashing a little.”

“Yay, I need to give her some shrimp.” I ran over holding one little shrimp to her mouth. “Come on, girl, you need this. I promise it won’t hurt you.”

“Good girl, Netty.” Josh joined me next to her, watching her eat.

We sat with her an hour, feeding her little pieces of fish and shrimp, then gave her the next antibiotic injection as the sun was rising over the intracoastal. She was doing so well I had high hopes to let her out of the sling soon, then head out to where I found her to look for her pod. Just after sunrise, we fell asleep knowing Netty was improving.

Her pod has to be out there, and I need to find them.

“Rise and shine, Joshy, we have rescuing to do.”

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