Dolphin Tale 4

Chapter [11]

As soon as the boat stopped beside the dock, or even moments before it completely docked, Hazel jumped onto the jetty and ran into Lorraine Nelson's arms. "I missed you so much."

Lorraine Nelson smiled. "I missed you too."

"Lorraine."

Lorraine eased herself out of Hazel's grasp and turned to face Dr. Clay. She smiled broadly at him and ran up to hug him. "Clay."

Dr. Clay stood there, shell shocked, before hugging her back. "I missed you so much."

Lorraine nodded, smiling. "Me too. I missed you so much. It's so good to have you back. And Reed!" She released Dr. Clay and smiled at Reed Haskett. "It's good to have you back, too. It's great to have all of you back. You've been missed by everyone."

Hazel frowned, slightly disappointed that Sawyer hadn't been there to greet her. "Where's everyone else? Where's Sawyer?"

Lorraine sighed. "They're all tending to Winter. Something came up with her and they're trying to figure out what happened."

Dr. Clay and Hazel looked at each other, shocked. Reed Haskett looked nervous.

Hazel turned to face Lorraine. "Is everything okay with Winter? What's going on?"

Lorraine shrugged, sighing. "At this stage, it's too early to determine what happened. They're still trying to figure how it happened..."

"What happened? What exactly happened?"

Lorraine looked at Dr. Clay sadly. "I'm not sure. Maybe you should go and find out for yourselves. I'm sure they'll be more helpful than me."

"Where are they?"

"Winter's pool."

"Let's go."

Lorraine watched, somewhat amused, as the three Hasketts ran up the jetty and into the distance. She smiled to herself, attempting to imagine the looks on their faces when they discovered what really awaited them by Winter's pool.

***

"It's awfully quiet and dark," Hazel said, slowly climbing the stairs, using the banister for guidance. "You don't think that something bad happened to Winter? You don't think...?"

Dr. Clay shook his head. "No. I don't think so. Kat and Phoebe aren't dolphin specialists for nothing. I'm sure that they will have everything under control. I just hope that everything is okay."

"Everything will be fine," Reed Haskett said, attempting to comfort his son and granddaughter. "Everything will be under control. Phoebe and Kat and Sawyer are perfectly capable of taking care of Winter."

Hazel reached the next level and looked around. She raced towards the dolphin pools, but before she could turn the corner, she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Sawyer!"

The pair of hands left her eyes and Hazel was left staring at something she had never expected.

"Surprise!"

Hazel gazed around, her mouth agape, her eyes wide, and her heart thumping wildly. "Oh my goodness!"

"What is it?"

Dr. Clay and Reed came running around the corner, both stopping in their tracks as they caught sight of their welcoming party. 

"What is this?"

Sawyer slipped an arm around Hazel and smiled. "Welcome back, guys. This is your well deserved welcome back party. It's so good to have you back. We've missed you all so much." He turned to face Hazel. "I've missed you, Hazel. I've missed you so much. I love you. I always have, and I always will." To prove his point, he kissed her gently on the cheek.

Hazel blushed and wrapped Sawyer in a warm, but suffocating embrace. "I missed you so much too, Sawyer. I love you more than anything else in this world. More than anything in this entire universe, even. That's how much I love you." And she kissed him on the cheek to emphasize her point.

There was a moment of clapping and cheering before things calmed down again.

Sawyer cleared his throat, smiling happily. "This party is held in honor of the Haskett family and all of the amazing, often unnoticed, work they do. Three cheers for the Haskett family. Hip, hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip, hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip, hip!"

"Hooray!"

***

"Hey."

Hazel spun around to face Sawyer, smiling. "Hey, Sawyer. I've been looking for you everywhere. Where on earth have you been?"

Sawyer laughed softly. "Where on earth have I been? Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question, Hazel? You are, after all, the one who sailed around the world with your father and grandfather. So, where on earth have you been?"

Hazel sighed. "It was beautiful, what we came across. Shells as spiralled as a dream, sand the color of snow, and sand the color of the evening sky. Coral as unique as each and every person, skies of such an impossible blue, and waters as clear as polished glass. Storms as deadly as a teenager's mood swings, calm as gentle as a lullaby, and so many other sights as beautiful as your heart."

Sawyer smiled. "Wow."

Hazel nodded. "Yes. Wow, indeed. It's funny how you can think that you've seen the whole world when you've just stayed in one place the entire time."

"But you can't," said Sawyer, "because there are things that you could see that are beyond your wildest dreams. Things that only your imagination can come up with."

"Indeed," said Hazel, nodding in agreement. "There are even some things that are beyond our imagination..."

"Hey, guys."

Sawyer turned and found himself face to face with Lacie. "If you're looking for drinks, they're that way," he said. That was his way of cryptically telling Lacie to go away without Hazel realising his true intentions.

Lacie smiled, fully understanding what Sawyer had said. "No, I'm not looking for drinks. I'm here for Hazel." She smiled slightly at Hazel. "Phoebe would like to talk to you."

Hazel smiled awkwardly. "Sawyer? An introduction would be nice..."

"Oh... Hazel, this is Lacie Armstrong. She's a new member of staff."

Hazel smiled. "Nice to meet you, Lacie. I'm Hazel Haskett."

Lacie nodded. "I know. Sawyer has told me all about you. Anyway, Phoebe wants to talk to you. She's by the drinks table."

Hazel nodded. "Right, thanks. I'll see you two in a moment." And with that, she disappeared into the crowd.

Lacie smiled at Sawyer. "Well, I'll be off. See you around." And she too vanished into the crowd.

Sawyer glanced around at the people around him, all of whom were happy. All except...

Sawyer's heart rate slowed to match the beat of the bass drum as he saw Hazel walking back towards him. His nerves fluttered around like the flute's solo. His mouth felt dry.

Hazel was walking towards him, her happy, relaxed demeanor gone, replaced by a shell that she had withdrawn into. She came to a halt in front of Sawyer, staring sullenly at the concrete ground.

"That was fast," Sawyer said nervously.

Hazel looked into his eyes. A spectrum of colors, a crescendo of emotion, and a dam of glistening tears greeted Sawyer's eyes. Hazel took one deep breath, and let the dam burst.

"You lied."