Page 97 of Sharkbait
“Oh wow! Did you make these?”
I turn the brushes over in my hands. One look at them, and I know they’ll be perfect for our experiment with Meilani today.
“I did. I do a lot of things around here,” he huffs.
“I know you do. Thank you for this.”
He nods and turns to leave.
“Hey, Brendan?”
He stops.
“I know we got off on the wrong foot when I started here. You were generous in wanting to welcome me and show me the ropes on my first official day, and I wasn’t very receptive to that. I’m sorry. I’m not always the most… open when it comes to getting to know new people. But I’m working on it. And I appreciate this”—I lift the paintbrushes—“more than you know.”
That apology was necessary, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take a lot out of me. Brendan is no saint. He’s still your typical old-school guy who carries around heaping doses of unchecked misogyny, but he has been making an effort to connect with me. And, like all of us, maybe there’s hope for him too.
I think I was in so many bad relationships for so long thatonce I figured out how good it feels to be on my own and to answer to no one, I got it in my head that I need to shut guys out the instant they show interest in me.
Maybe it’s safe now to be a bit more accessible to people.
To men.
Platonic or otherwise.
“Would you like to stay and watch?” I ask.
Brendan’s face lights up in an honest-to-goodness grin, not at all like the smarmy smiles he was flashing me on that first day.
“I would! Yeah!”
“Great. I’m really excited to see how she responds.” I feel a giddy smile grow on my face too.
Dana and two sea lion trainers enter the space and say their hellos.
“So? We ready to give this a go?” Dana asks me.
“Yup!” I point up the short set of shallow stairs that lead to the rubber flooring at the top of the rehabilitation tank. “I set up a small easel on the upper level that should be a good height for Meilani, and all the paints I brought are water-based, non-toxic, and safe for animals.”
The trainers assure me that all looks well, and we head up the stairs together.
Meilani comes right to the surface like she knows something exciting is about to happen.
The trainers place down two large buckets filled with fish and give Meilani the hand signal to exit the water and join us on the rubber flooring.
She slides onto the floor with grace and ease.
I’ve only seen Meilani out of the water a few times, and she takes my breath away every time. She’s so powerful. So beautiful. So trusting even after having gone through so much.
The last time I worked with her trainers, they showed me the hand signal for “kiss.” I do it now, and Meilani waddles right over to me and plants one on my cheek.
The trainers give her some fish, which she gobbles down happily.
“Good girl,” I say with a smile and give her a rub behind theears. “Are you ready to play?”
The trainers guide her over to the canvas and let her explore it for a moment. They show her the new T-shaped paintbrush Brendan made for her and place it in her mouth. She bites down on it like she’s done this a hundred times, though we all know she hasn’t.
They teach Meilani how to dip the brush into the paint. She “chooses” blue. I know that sounds crazy, but I swear to God, I watch this magnificent creature peruse the colors I’ve laid out in front of her and choose blue.
