Deep in my heart

Chapter 13: A Taste of Freedom

After getting Elaenna seated in the car and strapping her in, he got inside, took the wheel, and gently pulled off. For Elaenna, seeing him handle that steering with his big hands while carefully checking his mirrors, caught her off guard. There was something about how manly yet gentle he looked while driving and it was driving her crazy. In a bid to distract herself, she put one earbud in and played some music to ease the tension which faded when she saw the stars stretched across the night sky. Elaenna ended up staring at the stars the whole time and didn't even notice them pulling into their destination until Jeremy tapped her.

He smiled and said"We're here....I hope you like it" Elaenna looked at the sign before her eyes lit up and she screamed"You're taking me to see an aquarium...I get to pet cute little dolphins and whales!" Jeremy giggled and said," I noticed you'd been looking at it on TV a lot and I thought I'd take you here ". Elaenna pulled him into a bone-crushing hug which despite the tight squeeze, Jeremy wished it would never end. When she finally let go, he said"Y-you will get to pet the dolphins since I paid for the all-exclusive pass".

After hearing that, Elaenna grabbed Jeremy's hand and walked as quickly as she could without falling and unfortunately, she didn't get that far but at least he stopped her from hitting the ground. First, they stopped at admissions, got their passes and after that, Elaenna went wild. The first place they went was to pet the dolphin and the timing was perfect since they had just finished the final show of the evening. As the audience filed out of the room, Elaenna and Jeremy went in and walked up onto the stage that was level with the tank where they met a beautiful blonde woman in a wet suit.

She smiled and said, "From your badges, I take it you two are here to help me get Samson ready for bed huh?" Elaenna's eyes sparkled as she said"Yes, I love dolphins and it's my first time seeing one so I'm excited and nervous. The woman said" There's no need to be scared, Samson is gentle and he loves being rubbed and he loves meeting new people. Today we'll let you feed him and pet him for a bit and I am going to have both of you wear a life jacket in case you fall in".Jeremy said, "Elaenna just be careful, we haven't relearned peddling yet so if you fall in one of us will get you".

The woman nodded and said"Exactly, but Samson isn't aggressive, it's just sometimes he likes to play and kick up a lot of water and splash people....he's a bit of a jokester".Elaenna smiled and said" I can't wait to feed you Samson" and the dolphin jumped up in excitement. The woman turned to Jeremy and said"I'm going to take good care of your Wife, sir, so feel free to watch and take pictures, I'm sure she wants to remember this". Jeremy blushed and said, "Okay, but just watch her, she's still in rehab and doesn't have full use of her legs a-and I'm her caretaker".

The woman blushed and said, "I'm sorry, it's just you two really look like a cute newlywed couple...but okay I got you, I'll keep a lookout". Jeremy watched from the safety line as the woman and Elaenna fed Samson and he came up to be rubbed and even tried to hug them. It was all so cute and Elaenna's super smile was priceless; it was something Jeremy couldn't let fade so he made sure to take tons of pictures. Once Elaenna had dried off and said her goodbye to Samson and his handler, they continued their tour. As they walked, Elaenna grabbed his hand and said"Thanks for this Jeremy, I know you're not having much fun but It means a lot that you did this for me".

Jeremy said"Of course I'm having fun, I've been having fun since the day we first met and you smiled at me. Since then, every day with you has been full of new adventures and unexpected moments both good and bad but It didn't matter bec-". Jeremy stopped himself before he said anything else but Elaenna, turned around to face him and said"Go on finish what you were gonna say". Jeremy blushed and said"I-I forgot" and Elaenna said"you better tell me before you ruin my first time at an aquarium". He sighed and said"it didn't matter because being around you makes me happy and energetic...there's something about you that just rubs off on me and makes me feel stronger than I ever have...maybe it's because deep down I want to be as strong as resilient as you are. I mean I'm physically strong but what you showed me is I still have stuff to deal with and possibly need to rethink my life and start living for myself".

Elaenna smiled before reaching up and kissing his cheek. Afterwards, she turned back around and said"I'm glad you think so highly of me but the truth is I'm like this because of your support that you gave and continued to give when I was down and unsure of what to do".Before Jeremy could say anything else, Elaenna dragged him over to the turtles and began taking selfies with them. She continued dragging Jeremy around and saying "ooh ah" like some excited 4th grader at just about every fish that she saw. When they neared the area near the bathroom, Jeremy let go of Elaenna's hand and sat her down on a bench. He said, "I'm going to use the bathroom, I'll be right back so just stay here". She nodded as he headed off to the bathroom but as quickly as he left, two weird guys appeared and approached Elaenna as she stared at the tank behind her.