Dolphin Tale 3

Chapter [25]

Lorraine Nelson put her head against the door, her heart broken, and her resolve shattered. She loved Sawyer, and she loved Clay. She had no idea what to do, anymore.

Dr. Clay placed a comforting hand on her back and said, as sincerely as he could, "Everything will be all right, Lorraine. Everything will turn out to be just fine, in the end. We just need to give Sawyer some space so that he can work things out for himself. Us being here and nagging him to talk to us won't do him any good. He just needs space, Lorraine, and we should give it to him."

Lorraine placed her head on Dr. Clay's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I have one more question, Clay."

"What is it?"

"Won't your wife be angry and jealous?"

Dr. Clay bit his lip and sighed. "I miss her, and I wish that she was still here with me. But the world is not a wish-granting factory, Lorraine. I'm lucky enough to have you in my life. And I'm certain that she'd want me to move on; to live my life the way I want to live it. I know she'd be happy for us. There will come a time when one must move on, and that time has come for me. I have since moved on, but have not forgotten her entirely. She lives on in my heart and my thoughts. She lives on, in me." Dr. Clay closed his eyes. "I love you, Lorraine, just as I loved her. Is that wrong?"

"No, Clay. Your love is my everything."

•••

"Hazel, can I talk to you?"

Hazel stole a glance at the speaker before looking away. "Not now, Phoebe, I'm busy," she said curtly.

Phoebe sighed and placed the bucket of fish she had been holding, onto the ground. "Hazel, if you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me. I may be busy with the dolphins, but I'm always going to be there for you when you need me, okay?"

Hazel didn't answer, She just into the ahimmering water of the main pool. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Hazel..."

Hazel opened her eyes, still refusing to look at Phoebe. "I'm fine, Phoebe. I'll see you tomorrow."

Phoebe sighed as she watched Hazel leave. From the pool, Winter whistled hopefully. Phoebe sighed and walked over to the main pool, crouching down to stroke Winter and Hope.

"Sorry, Winter. I don't know if Sawyer will be coming back anytime soon."

Winter whistled sadly, nodding her head slightly as though she had understood.

•••

"Clay, Hazel--- Oh, sorry. I'll just go."

Dr. Clay pulled apart from Lorraine and stared guiltily at Phoebe. "Sorry, what were you going to say?"

Phoebe shook her head. "This is an office, Clay, not a kissing booth. We do work in here, not other things, okay? I was just going to say that Hazel has been acting oddly."

"So has Sawyer."

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Right. Now that I think of it, everyone has been acting oddly. Nevermind."

Dr. Clay sighed. "Just give them some space, and I'm sure they'll come around."

Phoebe nodded. "Right, I should probably give you some space, too." She left the room, shaking her head.

Dr. Clay cleared his throat awkwardly. "Right, I should get back to work."

Lorraine nodded. "See you tomorrow."

•••

"Sawyer, I know you're home. Please, could you just let me in?"

Sawyer glanced at the door before glancing at the clock. "Just leave, Hazel, okay? You should be at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, not at the front of my house. It's eight in the morning."

Hazel sighed in relief. "I know, Sawyer. We have a presentation today, remember? You get to swim with Winter. Please come, Sawyer. We need you."

"Please leave, Hazel. Just leave."

"I can't just leave, Sawyer. I love you. Don't you love me?"

Sawyer closed his eyes and remained silent.

"Sawyer...?"

Sawyer sighed. "Please, Hazel. Just go."

Hazel shook her head. "Okay, I'll leave. Bye, Sawyer." She turned on her heels and marched off, tears rolling uncontrollably down her face.

Sawyer placed his head on the table and closed his eyes. A single tear broke free from the dam and trickled down his face, leaving a salty trail. The others stayed in the dam. There was a time to be broken, but this was not it. He had to be strong for everyone's sake.

•••

The mood at Clearwater Marine Aquarium was gloomy so the presentation was cancelled. Everyone had agreed that it wouldn't be the same without Sawyer.

Hazel spent the day with Winter and Hope. She played with them to take her mind off things, but when she climbed out of the pool, her mind was immediately awash with thoughts about Sawyer. She sat on the edge of the pool and sighed as Winter swam up to her and imitated a Tweety Bird whistle.

"Oh, Winter. I know you miss him. I miss him too. Love does weird things to us, doesn't it?"

Winter whistled sadly.

"Not that you'd know, you've never really fallen in love, have you? It does some really strange things to us. Anyway, I'd better go. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hazel stood up and walked away, wondering if she would ever be able to convince Sawyer to come back to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and how she could do it. She walked home and was surprised to see her grandfather waiting by the door.

"Ah, Hazel. Just in time. I have something I'd like to tell you."

Hazel frowned. "What did you want to tell me?"

Reed Haskett smiled. "Come in. It's a surprise."

Hazel followed her grandfather into the house and saw her father sitting on a chair in the living room. She sat in the chair furthest away from him and avoided eye contact.

"As you know, I've been doing some work on my boat. It has been refurbished and is ready to go."

Hazel raised an eyebrow. "Ready to go where?"

"To sea, of course. I propose a trip around the world in my boat."

Hazel swallowed. "With who?"

Reed smiled. "Just the three of us, of course. You, your father, and I."

"For how long?" Dr. Clay asked.

"More or less three months."

Despite all attempts to avoid eye contact, Hazel found herself staring at her father who stared back. Both of them were thinking the same things.

What would happen to Clearwater Marine Aquarium? What would happen to their relationships?