“Lovely. Just lovely,” Harper fumed as she read her email the next morning:
Our newest sea lion mascot has suffered a seizure and is in the hospital.
Harper shook her head with a mirthless laugh. Were mascots cursed at the New York Aquarium? The first was a drunk, the second had sex in public, and now the latest was apparently epileptic. But that wasn’t the worst part of the email. It got way better.
Our animal show narrator left for maternity leave. We need you to pull double duty for them temporarily starting this afternoon. Please report to show coordinator Jim Turner at the Aquatheater at 10:00 to get your costume. Enclosed are the show notes for today’s two sea lion shows at 10:30 and 2:30. Please study and memorize.
Thanks,
Rachel Morales
Personal Manager, Education Department
What was this girl smoking? Personal manager? Clearly it was an accidental-on-purpose typo. Rachel knew Harper hated speaking in front of crowds, which was injury enough. Then Rachel had to add insult to it by putting her in a sea lion costume. She must have been trying to get back at Harper for dating her ex. Conveniently, Rachel was out of the office for ‘development training’ with some of the other executives. So now Harper was left with a dilemma – follow orders or tell her to shove it?
It was hard to make a decision with all the uncertainty clouding her judgment. With Gabe refusing to come up to her apartment night before last, she felt kind of like a ho. She'd tried turning up the heat between them, hoping he'd change his mind and race her up the stairs, throw her on the bed and make love to her until the wee morning hours. But nope, he had to go home to his mother, he said, their only communication yesterday summed up in a few texts:
How’s your mama?
She’s fine, but I’m staying here again tonight.
Ok, let me know if you need anything.
Thx.
Then she felt guilty because the poor guy's father had died recently. She couldn't blame him for stepping up for his family's needs, could she? Whatever she should or shouldn't feel about Gabe's resistance, she certainly didn’t feel like narrating one of his shows, much less as a goofy sea lion mascot.
She slouched in her chair, head resting on the back of the seat. She had no school groups coming in today, so that excuse was out. She wasn’t one to pretend to be sick, even though she felt the first pangs of a headache in her temple. If she refused, she could very easily lose her job, and finding one here that could pay the rent for her nice apartment could be a real challenge. Who’d hire her anyway, fresh out of college and freshly fired?
Harper stood and grabbed her coffee mug. Fine. She’d wear the stupid costume and narrate the stupid show, but she sure as heck would not bark like a seal. Crap – not seal, sea lion. She headed straight for the coffee maker. This day would require a refill. Maybe two.
****
Ten o’clock came around too soon. Harper stormed through the staff entrance in the Aquatheater, startling Gabriel, who was busy scrubbing Pepper’s water dish in the big stainless steel sink. His scrub brush clattered on the floor. Pepper woke from his nap in the pool, eyeing her with a shake of his whiskers and a grumpy snort.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Gabriel asked as she breezed by him, heading for Jim’s office.
She paused at the door. “Oh, nothing. I’ve just been assigned to be your narrator – in the mascot costume.”
He smiled as he bent and picked up the brush. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Serious as a heart attack."
“Who asked you to…” He cut his question short, his face dawning with the unspoken answer.
“Yep, none other. Your ex has it out for me, and I’m about to…never mind.”
He walked over and caught her before she went into Jim’s office. “What do you mean? About to punch her?”
Harper drew in a long breath and let it out, unable to look Gabriel in the eye for once. “No, I’m about to tell her that she can have you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
She opened the office door and stepped inside. The words had come easily thanks to her temper, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of Gabriel’s stunned expression, her resolve threatened to melt away with the rising heat of the warm September day.
Jim was at his desk picking something from his teeth. Instead of pausing his disgusting dental grooming, he kept picking and spoke around his finger. “Yeah? What’s up?”
“Um, I’m supposed to stand in for the mascot and the narrator starting today.”
He pulled his finger out, looked at it, and wiped it on his pants. Jim’s behavior matched his appearance, which consisted of a stained uniform shirt, greasy brown hair with a sad comb-over, a pot belly and a few too many chins. “Oh right. I got the email. What’s up with that?”
“Rachel Morales is up with that.”
“Hmm.” He nodded as though not surprised that the education director might resort to such tactics. “Costume’s in here,” he added, gesturing with his thumb toward a rusted locker behind him.
He didn’t bother to get up, so Harper walked over behind him, wincing at his phlegmy cough. She opened the locker door and immediately turned away, holding back a gag reflex. The wall of putrid air that hit her smelled like a combination of dirty gym socks, body odor, and chum.
“Meant to get that cleaned,” Jim said, his back turned to her while he scratched through his comb-over and picked up his phone.
Harper gingerly took the hanger and held the costume as far away from her nose as she could. It was dark brown with a beige belly and muzzle. She looked around until she found a can of air freshener and went into the bathroom. After she hung the foul thing on a hook on the back of the door, she sprayed the heck out of it, until she almost gagged from the aerosol aroma of "Clean Linen". She opened the door and breathed in the semi-fresh air. She thought she’d smelled some foul things while taking care of her mother. This took the cake.
If Rachel had walked in then, she wouldn’t have hesitated to ram that costume down her throat. She sure as heck couldn’t count on Gabriel to come to her defense. Did he still have feelings for Rachel? He had talked like he was over her, but actions spoke louder than words.
The first show started in just fifteen minutes. She wiggled her way into the suit, which opened from the front. She stuck her feet through the ‘back flippers’. They felt like fluffy house shoes. Then she slid her arms into the ‘front flippers’, where they ended in something like thick brown mittens. Finally, she closed the suit up with the zipper built into the body side of the suit so that it didn’t show on the big beige belly. She looked in the mirror and frowned. The stupid thing made her look like a brown Barney the dinosaur with its ridiculous potbelly.
She let the head portion dangle off her back like a hoodie for now. If the inside of that smelled anything like the rest of it, she’d probably puke, which would not be a nice addition to the already-reeking suit. Swallowing her pride, she left the bathroom and Jim’s office.
Gabe was squatting beside Jorge, checking his mouth and eyes with a small flashlight. He looked up and offered a hopeful smile. “Looks good on you.”
“Liar,” Harper said.
“I never lie.” He had already dressed in his spandex shorts and aquarium t-shirt, black with blue stripes down the sides, both of which fit him like a glove. The sea lion costume had already made her sweat. Now she felt flushed from head to toe.
“How’s Pepper? Is he performing?”
“No, he’s still recovering, but he’s getting better all the time. And Jorge seems fine so far.”
“That’s good. Is Jorge performing then?”
“Yes. He’s a showoff, but a natural.”
Gabriel stood and went to the cabinet near the sink. He opened a drawer and put away his flashlight, then took a small headset out and came over to her. “You’ll need a mic.”
“Oh, okay,” she muttered, mesmerized from his pecs and arm muscles flexing beneath his shirt as he fitted the headset over her ears. His fingers brushed her cheek when he adjusted the mouthpiece. The realization that she had to narrate a show in front of an audience made her tremble. She lifted her gaze to find his fixed on her face.
“You’ll be fine,” he said softly.
“I studied the notes and tried to memorize everything, but…”
“Don’t worry. I know it by heart. I’ll be here to guide you. But you’re one of the smartest women I know. You’ll catch on fast.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” He stroked her cheek and leaned in like he wanted to kiss her, but stopped short. Was it the smell of the suit or fear that stopped him? “It’s time to go.”
He turned away quickly and put on his own headset and his whistle that hung from a lanyard around his neck. Harper sighed and put on her sea lion head. It was roomy enough inside to allow plenty of space for her mic. Luckily she’d sprayed enough Glade in it to cover up most of what smelled like stale cigars and whiskey. “Is this thing on?”
“Yes, it’s wireless. Can you see okay?”
“Yeah, kind of.” She blinked, trying to adjust to the screen-like texture of the sea lion eyes.
“Take my hand. I’ll help you.” His strong hand enveloped hers through the thick plush of her seal flipper mitten. No doubt about it. She wanted this man. She sure as heck didn’t want Rachel to have him back. But she wouldn’t be anyone’s doormat or rebound lover. Her mother had suffered the aftereffects of a man she couldn’t depend on. No matter how hard she had fallen for Gabriel Castillo, she knew better than to depend on love alone. Either he’d come around and commit to forging a relationship with her, or he wouldn’t. She couldn’t wait around for him to make up his mind. And now she had a job to do, like it or not, and she’d put her best foot – or flipper – forward to do it.
Gabriel led her out to the Aquatheater itself. The blue waters lapped happily in the show pool, surrounded by concrete platforms of various heights. A dark submarine shape she could only assume was Jorge cut seamlessly through the water. From behind the screen-patterned holes in the suit’s eyes, she caught glimpses of the crowd in the stands. Her breath hitched. She squeezed Gabriel’s hand so hard, he laughed.
“It’s okay. They’re here to see Jorge. We’re just part of the scenery.”
“I’m more worried about suffocating in this thing. I thought September in New York would be cooler than this.”
“We have a few warm spells in fall. Trust me- you’ll be glad for this warm weather come December and January. Okay – you stand here by this wall. You can rest against it if you feel dizzy or anything.”
“Sure, thanks.”
He walked away, giving a couple of chirps on his whistle. Jorge swam right up to the ramp at the edge of the pool and waved at him with one flipper. The audience cheered. Okay, so this is where she had to start narrating. Though sweat flooded from every pore on her body, Harper was thankful for the not-so-good vision the sea lion head afforded. She couldn’t see the audience’s faces clearly unless she really focused on them. That brought her stage fright down a notch, but what if her mic wasn’t working? A baby cried from somewhere in the crowd. The chatter and laughter faded. This procrastination would lead to nothing more than angry spectators. It was now or nothing.
“Welcome to the New York Aquarium!” she announced. “I’m Harper the sea lion, and this is Gabriel, our very talented sea lion trainer."
"Hey, everyone!" he called out. "Isn't she a lovely sea lion?"
The audience cheered. Good. That meant they could hear her. And that was kind of sweet too, what he'd said, though it was probably just for the show. She certainly didn't feel or smell lovely. Gabriel’s whistle chirped. Jorge took a fast lap around the pool, then shot out of the water onto the ramp where Gabriel stood. What came next? Oh, right…
“Give a big hello to Jorge, our six-hundred-pound California sea lion!” Good, she didn't call him a seal. Maybe she could do this after all.
Another whistle chirp. Gabriel waved to the audience while Jorge turned around and waved one flipper at them too. The crowd went as wild as one might expect at ten-thirty on a Tuesday morning.
Harper took a deep breath and rested her plush flippers on the wall as sweat trickled down her back, tickling her skin. “Sea lions can be found on the west coast as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico. They’re very social and gather together in big groups called rookeries. And let me tell you, they get very loud!”
Gabriel’s whistle chirped, and Jorge responded with a round of loud barking. The audience laughed and applauded.
"Come on, Gabriel, I think Jorge deserves a kiss for that."
"I don't know. I think I forgot to brush my teeth."
"I'm sure he doesn't mind, do you, Jorge?"
Jorge barked and lifted his head toward Gabriel. He leaned in for a quick sea lion kiss. Everyone laughed. Gabriel gave a couple of chirps on the whistle, prompting Jorge to go back in the pool and make several fast laps.
Harper remembered the next line after a brief pause. "That was a very nice kiss, Gabriel!"
"Thank you - want one?"
She laughed. "Maybe later." Oh, yikes - that wasn't in the script. But the audience laughed and clapped anyway. Perhaps a little improv was a good thing. "That kiss, ladies and gentlemen, is one way sea lions communicate with one another, and it's not a kiss at all. They're smelling each other's breath, kind of like dogs do when they sniff each other's butts, but sea lions are much politer about it."
That brought on a nice round of laughter, even from Gabriel. It remained to be seen whether delighting the audience would make the sweat soup she was cooking up in this suit worth it. But at least she hadn't totally forgotten her lines or passed out yet.
"A lot of people often get sea lions and seals mixed up," she continued. "They're all members of the pinniped family of mammals, which includes the walrus and means 'fin footed' in Latin. What makes sea lions different from seals are their ear flaps. You won't see those on seals. Sea lions are louder and tend to be more social. Their flippers are larger and allow them to walk on land, because they can rotate them under their bodies to support their weight. Seals pretty much have to belly crawl on land. But sea lions can move in water and on land with ease."
Gabriel whistled, and Jorge swam up onto the ramp. Tango music came over the speakers. Gabriel offered him a fish, and he slurped it up. Then Gabriel bowed, and so did he. Then Gabriel put one hand out to his side and the other on his abdomen and shimmied backwards, then forwards, with Jorge mirroring his every move. Gabriel chirped the whistle again, and Jorge slid back into the water. Like a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, Gabriel spun around, stopping with his arm up in the air, chin held high. Jorge spun in the water, stopping with one flipper up and his whiskered chin pointed to the sky. The audience cheered louder than ever.
Harper hadn't fully realized until then just how good Gabriel was with these animals. They clearly respected him, and he obviously loved them, if his bright smile and the admiration in his eyes were any indication.
He chirped the whistle again, sending Jorge back into the water for a slower lap around the pool. "I bet our mascot could tell us what sea lions and seals have in common," he said.
"Oh, um, yes - seals and sea lions are both expert fishermen and love to catch herring and other small fish."
At the sound of Gabriel's whistle, Jorge swam down deep and then shot straight up out of the water as Gabriel threw a fish his way. He caught it and did a belly flop on the surface, splashing water out onto the front row of spectators. A few startled squeals and laughs rose from the crowd.
"Now, Gabriel and Jorge and our other sea lion, Pepper, have been working together for years. While it is hard work, it also involves a lot of play."
The whistle chirped, Jorge came out onto the ramp and walked onto a small two-level platform, where his front flippers were higher than the rear. Gabriel picked up a Frisbee from the ground and flew it toward him. He caught it in his mouth and waved one flipper at the audience. Everyone cheered.
"Who's having more fun, the sea lion or the trainer?" Harper asked.
"Jorge's my BFF." Gabriel walked over to Jorge and turned his back toward the big sea lion. For a moment, Harper worried about Gabriel's safety. Jorge could easily bite him or knock him down.
But Jorge dropped the Frisbee and hugged Gabriel from behind with both flippers and rested his chin on Gabriel's head. That got a huge 'Awwww' from the audience. It didn't hurt Harper's growing admiration for the man, either. Maybe they could talk after the show or over lunch and figure out where to go from there. Did he want her or not? It shouldn't be a hard question to answer.
There'd be time to worry about all that soon enough. For now, she had a show to finish. "While they are superb predators, sea lions are also prey."
The whistle chirped twice. Jorge came down from the platform and headed for the water.
Harper continued. "They're always on the lookout for their mortal enemy..."
At the water's edge, Jorge plunked his head in the water and turned it this way and that. The audience laughed.
"...the great white shark!"
Gabriel blew his whistle three times. Jorge swam into the pool and made a lap with one flipper sticking out, imitating a shark fin. Scary music from the movie Jaws played from the speakers. The audience laughed, but most of it came from the adults. From what Harper could tell, some of the younger kids in the front row looked uneasy.
"But don't worry - sea lions are very fast swimmers, and they can often escape!"
The whistle chirped, sending Jorge back down in the water. Then he dove and shot back out, several feet from the surface, and hit a red ball that hung from a support beam above with his nose. Everyone applauded, even the kids that time.
"But folks, it's sharks that face the biggest danger. Up to seventy million are killed every year just for their fins. You know why?"
Jorge swam out of the pool and onto the ramp. Gabriel shook his head, and so did the sea lion.
Several kids yelled, "No, why?"
"For soup!"
Gabriel covered his mouth, in pretend shock. Jorge flopped down on his side and covered his face with a flipper.
"If you haven't been there yet, be sure to visit our new Ocean Wonders exhibit, where you'll learn about sharks and many more wonderful creatures that live in our waters right here around Coney Island. I hope you guys have enjoyed the show and the rest of your day is swimmingly grand!"
The audience cheered, and as they started to leave the stands, the high wore off. Harper had to get this costume off. Now! She headed for the staff door, which required maneuvering past the various platforms, but her flipper foot landed on the edge of the pool. She teetered, on the verge of toppling into the water, but someone grabbed her arm.
"Whoa, watch it!" Gabriel said. "You shouldn't try to walk around here by yourself with that suit on."
She reached up and yanked off the sea lion head, gasping for breath as she clung to him. "I can't breathe in this thing." In hindsight, she hoped no kids had seen that - they might be scarred for life, especially with her hair drenched in sweat and her makeup probably smeared down her cheeks like the Joker in that Batman movie.
Gabriel's shocked expression confirmed her suspicions. "Okay, let's get you inside. I'll get you some water."
"Thanks."
"No more costume today. Just narrate the show. We can do without a mascot."
Once back inside, Harper cleaned up in the bathroom as much as she could. Her makeup was indeed just as horrendous as she expected. She washed her face and patted it dry with a paper towel. She'd have used the showers if she'd had a change of clothes here, but the job had been sprung on her in the last moment, thanks to Gabriel's conniving ex.
When she walked back out, Gabriel had ice water and some leftovers his mother had cooked waiting for her.
"Thanks, smells great." She sank onto one of the folding chairs and gulped down some water.
He was already eating and glanced up at her. "You did well today."
"Really? I improvised a little."
"It worked. The audience really enjoyed the show."
Was that regret in his eyes or pity? Whatever it was just left her more confused. After she'd taken a few glorious bites of a Cubano sandwich and fried sweet plantains, she felt ten times better. She finally cooled down from nearly being cooked within that costume, which meant her brain was finally working again, enough to remind her that they had to clear the air.
"Listen, Gabe, I... we...okay, it's like this. What do you want out of our relationship? I'm getting some serious mixed signals over here."
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"You seemed ready to get it on one minute, then switched to monk mode the next. And what about Rachel?"
"What about her?"
"She totally screwed me over today, but you didn't seem surprised or upset about it."
"What am I supposed to do? She's not even here today."
"That's not the point. You could at least have said something in my defense, like 'Yeah, she's a real bitch. Sorry she did that to you.'"
Gabriel's face reddened. He put down his fork and stood, taking his plate to the trash even though his food was only half-eaten. "I'm not Rachel's keeper, all right? I am sorry she did that, but what's done is done. Do you really want me fighting your battles for you?"
"No, I can fight my own battles. What I can't do is make you feel something for me you obviously don't." This time, Harper stood, scooting her chair back rather violently as she did so. Pepper grunted and covered his face with his flipper as he lay in his recovery pool. Gabriel just stood there, staring down at the sink, his shoulders and back held straight and stiff. Unbending.
She went back to the office and stayed there until the two-thirty show. She narrated it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, rousing the afternoon audience out of their lunchtime stupor. But as soon as it was over, she left and clocked out, taking a few hours from one of her sick days. Back in her apartment, she took a long, cool shower, had a short, ugly cry and sat on her bed with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and reruns of Supernatural.
She tried to reason with herself that it was better to let go now as opposed to suffering through a bad marriage the way her mom had. All the reasons in the world still didn't make it hurt any less.
Sometime later, she woke to a dark room and someone banging on her door. She didn't smell smoke or hear an alarm, so it couldn't be a fire. Bleary-eyed, she shuffled from her bedroom and through the living area until she reached the door. Then she closed one eye and looked through the peephole with the other. Gabriel stood there, one hand in his jeans pocket, the other raking through his mussed-up hair.
Her heart raced. She took a deep breath, then unlocked the deadbolt and chain and slowly opened the door. He stood up straight, his eyes wide as though he hadn't expected her to answer.
"What, no flowers?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood, though her voice trembled with pent-up emotions.
Confusion wrinkled his brow. He shook his head and pointed behind him with his thumb. "No, but I can-"
"It was a joke. What are you doing here at this hour?" She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What hour is it, anyway?"
"It's midnight, almost. Maybe I should have called first, but I had to see you."
"Why?"
He stepped closer, leaning one hand on the door frame, his body so close she could smell his intoxicating scent. His gaze swept over her from head to toe, making her keenly aware of the thin gray tank top and short black shorts she wore for bed. Her nipples hardened in response to the hot desire in his eyes as they met hers again.
"Because I do want you, Harper. You have no idea how badly I want you right now."
"Are you drunk?"
"No." His forehead wrinkled again.
"It's a valid question - my dad never wanted anything to do with my mom unless he was drunk."
"I'm completely sober, I promise. I'd want you drunk, sober, and anywhere in between."
She stood there partially hid behind the door, using it like a shield. If she wasn't careful, he'd rip her heart out and leave her to pick up the pieces. But the sight of him in a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and those jeans that hugged his butt so very well melted her inhibitions. She might regret it later, but right now, she had Gabriel Castillo all to herself.
Harper opened the door, took his hand and drew him inside. As soon as the door closed behind them, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He responded immediately, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She broke from the kiss, stepped back, and smiled at the disappointed downturn of his features.
"I have a gift for you." Then she grabbed the hem of her tank top and lifted it up and over her head, dropping it on the floor.
Gabriel's eyes immediately honed in on her breasts. "That's some gift," he whispered.
She followed with her shorts and panties, leaving her standing before him completely naked. Her skin turned to gooseflesh in the cool air, but she propped both hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side. "Well, now that I'm all unwrapped, what are you going to do with me?"