All morning, Wyatt was a Mexican jumping bean. He hopped from one place to another, double, triple and quadruple checking lists. He called every member of the release team at least three times. Janie thought it was only a matter of time until they quit, since he wouldn’t stop pestering them.

He had already spent the entire night checking the equipment and preparing the dolphins. Although it was obvious to Janie that the only one needing preparing was Wyatt.

It was killing him to say goodbye to his pod. To say that they had become a part of his family was no exaggeration. He would miss them terribly, and he worried about their future out in the ocean.

He worried if they were ready to be wild dolphins again. He worried that they couldn’t survive on their own. He worried that they would seek out humans and eventually get hurt.

Objectively, he knew that he had prepared them as well as they could be prepared. And objectively, he knew that this was the goal of his work and had to be played out.

Even though he was a scientist, he did not think completely objectively, Janie knew. They had stayed up many evenings discussing his concerns. Janie let him talk as much as he needed, and when she felt he was receptive, she would console him.

Wyatt treated Janie with great respect. He honored her scientific opinions, and they had grown into a well-working team. Nevertheless, Janie knew that the Dolphin Freedom Project was his baby. He conceived it, gave birth to, and raised it. Even though he would not claim ownership, Janie respected his rights to it. And now, he had to let it go, which was probably the hardest thing he ever had to do. Janie was determined to be there for him and to try to make it easier for him.

Despite his concerns, Wyatt was thrilled that the pod would soon be able to swim free in the ocean as wild dolphins. He also knew that he had to make room for the next group of dolphins that were set to arrive in only two weeks. His success had been heralded, and word had spread around the world.

A large group of international scientists had traveled there for the release, and Wyatt would be speaking later in the week about dolphin rehabilitation. Most exciting for Janie, they were working on an academic paper together. Wyatt was finally convinced that Janie was indeed a good report writer.

Once he saw the glowing report she wrote to the government, he was happy to let Janie write more about the dolphins.

It had been a whirlwind nine months. Janie went back to the mainland to quit her job and pack her belongings. She made sure that the funding for the Project went through, and she told her parents the good news.

She was surprised by their reactions. They were genuinely happy and hugged her. After breaking out the champagne, they wanted to hear all about Wyatt and Sam, and they said they couldn’t wait to go the wedding. They even offered to pay for it.

Even though Wyatt and Janie wanted to pay for the wedding themselves, Janie’s parents did come to the wedding, and her father gave her away.

Keiko got her wish. The wedding took place on the beach at sunset. About 500 people showed up. Janie wore a shift dress, really no more than a nightgown, and flowers in her hair. Samantha was the flower girl, and she wore a lovely pink dress, which caught the attention of her friend, Cody.

Wyatt had four best men, after his brothers tried to compete for the position. They devised a log throwing competition (Virgil won) and a drinking competition (Doc won). But no one would agree on the results. They said that Virgil and Doc had won in advance because they competed in their best fields. Finally, they created a wild endurance race to definitively decide who would be best man. The race included not sleeping for 48 hours and eating bugs. Just as they were ready to start, they came to their senses and went out for a steak. Later that night, they banged on Wyatt’s door and told him they decided they would all be best man. Wyatt shouted at them for waking him up at three in the morning and slammed the door in their faces.

Despite the difficult start, Wyatt was obviously very happy to have his four brothers in position of best man. It would have been too hard to choose between them.

The biggest surprise of the evening for Janie was Miles, who, it turned out, was a retired minister. He dusted off his collar to perform the ceremony. He was beautifully articulate and personalized the ceremony to make it very meaningful. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as he spoke about Wyatt and Janie’s love for each other and how sometimes love captures a person quickly and never lets them go.

As the sun dipped down, the ceremony ended with a long kiss, and Keiko lit the torches and the party began. Good food, music, and friends made the party stretch past the evening, long into the night. And Keiko was right: The best part was that nobody had to wear shoes.

Even though Morgan offered Janie and Wyatt the presidential suite at his resort for their honeymoon, they decided they would rather get away completely. They chose a little bungalow on the island of Kauai. For two glorious weeks, they had no electricity, phones, television, or interruptions. They stayed in most of the time, only leaving occasionally to get food or to go for a swim in the nearby water.

They promised themselves that they would go back every year for a mini-honeymoon, but now Janie doubted they would be able to go in a couple of months. Too much would be going on.

Setting up house was more fun than Janie ever imagined. Being the woman of the house with a ready-made daughter and a blustery husband was a perfect fit for Janie. She spent her days with Wyatt and the dolphins, and the evenings were spent as a family, helping Sam with her homework and making or going out for dinner.

The nights were better and better. When the door to their bedroom closed, Wyatt made her feel like the most beautiful and cherished woman in the world. Their lovemaking grew in intensity as time went on.

“The release team is here. Do you want to come and supervise?” Wyatt poked his head in the kitchen. He looked like a boy on the first day of school, nervous and excited at the same time.

“I’ll be there in a little while. I’ll let you get things organized.”

Janie knew it would be better to let Wyatt take the reins. Getting the dolphins in the truck would be long and stressful, and it would take all his attention to direct the action. Besides, lately it was difficult for her to do a lot of lifting, and she tired easily.

She cleaned the morning dishes and called Sam down. Sam was spending a lot of time on the phone and looking through teen magazines in recent weeks. The teenage years were coming fast, and Janie hoped they wouldn’t be too tumultuous. However, Sam had a good head on her shoulders, Janie thought, and she didn’t expect her to get into anything too crazy as she went through the confusing time of adolescence.

Janie sat down at the kitchen table and put her feet up. She enjoyed the moment of relaxation and drank some juice.

“Janie, we’re ready to go,” Wyatt whispered to her. She realized that she had dozed off. She looked at the clock. A full 45 minutes had gone by.

He kissed her face and neck. “You okay, sweetie?”

“Yes, I must be more tired than I thought.”

“Are you all right to go?”

“Absolutely!”

Janie was suddenly filled with energy. She jumped up, and they hurried out of the house, eager for the next step in setting the dolphins free.

The beach on the usually secluded section of the island was packed with people. Their whole family and most of their friends and acquaintances were there. Not to mention scientists and news crews. There was even an IMAX film crew, which would film the occasion for use in museums.

The attention really brought home to Janie the importance of the event.

Wyatt squeezed her hand and rushed off to check on his dolphins, which were being unloaded. He moved from one dolphin to another, making sure that they were calm and well-cared for. Yasuo was there, too, checking vitals.

Janie approached and said one last goodbye. The dolphins were anxious about being moved and confused by the people. She wished that she could tell them that something wonderful was about to happen, but soon enough they would have their first taste of freedom.

When they were all checked, Yasuo gave the thumbs-up signal to Wyatt, and Wyatt gave the order to release them.

The release team worked in unison, letting the dolphins swim out into deeper water. “Go! Go! Go!” Wyatt yelled from the beach. He worried that they would stay near the beach, but they didn’t disappoint him. After one taste of deep water, the pod assembled and swam out farther. They swam out as a group and left no one behind.

Tears rolled down Janie’s face, and she didn’t try to stop them. “You succeeded,” she said. “You made them a family, and now they have a chance.”

Wyatt traced the line of a tear on Janie’s face. “Oh my darling, are you okay?”

“Yes.” Janie let out a strangled laugh. “You know me. It’s just hormones.”

She touched her belly. She was big, now almost in her seventh month. Wyatt caressed her belly. “You made our family, you know. I would never have made it without you.”

“I’m so happy for you,” she continued. “Your life’s work realized.”

“I’m happy for both of us,” he said. “This is your work, too. Your life, too.”

Wyatt kissed her softly. The moment was cut short when Wyatt was called away to do an interview for the evening news.

She could hear him talking about how the dolphins formed a pod, about Jethro and Cindy and their chances of making it in the wild.

Janie smiled to herself and walked over to Keiko, who kept her distance from the action.

“So much excitement,” she commented. “So much excitement about some fishes. I don’t really understand it, but I love an excuse for a party.” She patted Janie’s big, round belly. “In a couple of months, we’ll have another excuse for a party.” She tapped her chin with her finger, thinking hard. “He’ll give you a lot of trouble if he takes after his father.”

Janie thought about the little baby boy that was growing inside of her. “I hope he’s exactly like his father. A lot of trouble, but well worth it. Besides Keiko, Wyatt’s brothers are all different, but they’re all a lot of trouble. I think that’s just how men are.”

“Templeton men, anyway.”

When the excitement died down, and the crowds thinned out, Keiko announced the start of the party. As the music started, Keiko bemoaned the fact that no one was dancing.

“Don’t look at me,” Janie protested. “I can barely walk let alone dance.”

Keiko looked defeated. “Then, who is going to dance?”

“Ahem.” Keiko turned around to see Miles. “Keiko?” he asked shyly. “Would you dance with me?”

“Hallelujah! I thought you would never ask!”

Keiko and Miles began to dance with Keiko leading and Miles not seeming to mind at all. Soon, they were joined by more couples.

Janie was content to sit down on a blanket on the sand, leaning back on Wyatt, who caressed her shoulders and neck. They watched the waters for some sign, and after staring for a long while, Janie could swear that she saw Jethro far out, signaling a farewell to them. She gasped and grabbed Wyatt’s leg.

“Yes, I saw it, too, Janie.”

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said, holding her closely to him. “It’s all good.”