Karbie Forever: Mr. and Mrs. Carson

Kamehame-Llama Drama

With the wedding behind them, our favorite OTP is back home in Hawai'i! What hijinks and mischief and drama will these two – plus friends and family – get into now?

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To say that the past month was a whirlwind of excitement, anxiety, stress, relief, and wild schedules and meetings and routines would be the understatement of the century.

For starters, the day everyone had been waiting for had finally come and gone: the wedding of childhood best friends to lovers, Barbie and Ken.

It was beautiful, it was immaculate, and it was perfect in every possible way. From the rehearsal to the ceremony, from the reception to the after party... and even the private wedding night after... Each and every second was memorable beyond belief. Even when things didn't go as planned, their guests and loved ones were none the wiser, which made it easier to deal with.

And when the day and night was all said and done, the bride and groom finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Until it came to Ken's graduation a month later.

The newlyweds were unable to partake in a full-blown honeymoon trip because of Ken's continued schooling at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, including the marine biology internship. Between the final internship the week after the wedding mid-April where he had to immediately spend two weeks on-site on the main Hawaiian island assessing, evaluating, and reporting on the demographics of spinner dolphins off the coast and the required reports, the thesis paper, the final exams... it was a lot.

Not to mention the family stay... Being newlyweds and having your families over for a full week and a half to celebrate the Graduate wasn't exactly a dream come true... But, they made do.

The plus side of the two-week long internship? Ken actually came into contact with the same dolphin that had saved his life a year and a half ago!

Aaaaaafter it knocked him unconscious off his surfboard...

'Snappy', so dubbed by Mr. Carson, had surprisingly – or not so surprising– remembered the unfortunate surfer that he so carelessly pummeled into the wake. He was playful enough to disrupt Ken's research quite often, much to everyone's chagrin and confusion.

It was an odd site, for sure, because of the prohibited interaction between humans and Spinner dolphins, so this particular case was completely shocking and limited due to the risk of altering their behavior... but at the end of the day, it was a pleasant distraction to see the loving dolphin that behaved much like a playful Bottlenose rather than an aggressive and territorial Spinner..

But now that tests were taken, grades were earned, graduation had commenced, and family was back home in Malibu, it was time to get to work... Literally and figuratively.

Ken had applied to several marine biology opportunities in the area, but was only fortunate enough to see the green light with the local Waikiki Aquarium. At least he was able to alternate between lifeguarding and working at the aquarium.

Cleaning tanks.

While it wasn't what he was hoping for right off the bat, it was a start... Within the next year, he was hoping to either move up the ladder in the aquarium or find a marine biology position somewhere, the latter being more of a priority.

Even Skipper was getting back into the swing of things. More college classes, more hours at the daycare facility. She was on more of a routine than anyone else. And surprisingly, she loved it!

Last but not least, Barbie was still working as an entry-level journalist for the local Waikiki news. Hoping to break out to become a full-fledged reporter, she knew she had to put in the man hours and years worth of work to make that happen. But for now, she was enjoying her time writing for the local columns for the newspaper and online sources. When she wasn't offering some of her services helping Skip at the University's childcare center, she was working from home for part of the week.