Page 49 of A Me and You Thing
Is my Sawyer-bubble bursting? This subject is a real yawner. Maybe he’s not what I always imagined him to be. Maybe I’ve romanticized him into something he’s not.
Maybe I don’t really know him. It’s not as if I spent a lot of one on one time with him. Spending time with him and Quinn is very different from spending time with Sawyer alone. I’m not sure why this never occurred to me before. The dynamic is completely different.
But then his eyes glitter. He tells the girls, “The electric eel can produce enough electricity to light up ten light bulbs.”
They’re too young for this stuff, but they love it. They repeat after him and say, “Wight bubs!”
I can’t help but laugh at their enthusiasm.
Okay. My opinion changes a little smidgen. It’s kind of cute to see him entertain his girls. So, this is what he does with them during dinner? I’ve been missing out.
Or maybe it was a lucky escape from being bored to death.
Next, he brings up a picture of an octopus.
The girls giggle and say, “Ocapus.”
He turns to me and says, “Did you know an octopus has blue blood?”
I fake a smile. “Really?” I set my fork down. I can’t eat and talk about this stuff. It’s disgusting and makes my stomach turn.
“Bwew bwod,” the girls say.
This has clearly been discussed many times. Who knew?
“I spent some time in the cephalopod lab today. We grow all of our own animals in there until they’re ready to go on exhibit as adults. It’s tough work to keep them all healthy and well fed. Fascinating though.”
“Cepha-what lab?”
“The cephalopod lab. All different types of squid. Had fun playing with an octopus today. He’s a friendly little guy.”
Slimy and disgusting creatures. Gross. “Did you actually touch it?”
“Yeah. He attached to my arm and I had to pull him off. Their suckers are really powerful. Gotta watch those guys. They’re highly intelligent and are notorious little escape artists. An aquarium in New Zealand actually had one sneak out of his enclosure and slither down the hall until he found a pipe that led to open water. They only live one or two years. Guess he wanted his freedom.”
I suppress a shiver, feeling as though aliens are among us. “They can survive outside of the water?”
“For short periods of time.”
I glance behind him, hoping one didn’t follow him home. I fully expect to see the creepy little sea monster sitting in the hallway, waiting to play with Sawyer.Can Sawyer come out and play?That’s it. I’m going to have nightmares tonight.
I watch his hands as he picks up his roll and takes a bite. I hope he washed them. Like really, really well.
Clearly he did, because he doesn’t smell like a fish tank. He never does, and it seems like an incredible feat, given his job. No, he smells good. Really good. His aftershave always attacks my senses and leaves all of my nerve endings on high alert.
Sawyer brings up a picture of a dolphin and lets the girls guess the name. I didn’t realize the game wasn’t over.
“Dawphin,” they say.
Huh. I have to admit, I’m impressed. I didn’t know they knew that.
“Dolphins sleep with one eye open to watch out for predators,” he tells me.
It’s the most animated I’ve seen Sawyer and I feel myself starting to warm up to this conversation.
“Be a sleeping dolphin,” he tells the girls.
They both close one eye and hang their heads to the side as though they’re sleeping.
