Out of the Blue

11

Stephanie rode her bike to work the next day with a bright smile gleaming across her face. She waved to every stranger she passed. When Stephanie arrived at the aquarium and locked her bike up she walked into the air conditioned building. Noticing Ms. Darla at the counter, Stephanie cheerfully said "Good morning Ms. Darla! It's a beautiful day to be back at work isn't it?"

Ms. Darla had her reading glasses sitting at the bottom of her nose and gave a long closed grin to her. Drawing out an overly dramatic "mmmhhhh" Stephanie's cheeks began to pink as she smiled at her boss.

"The day that boy bought those flowers for you, I knew" Ms. Darla began to chuckle to herself, " I knew for certain"

Stephanie was pretty sure of the idea she had in her head of what Ms. Darla meant but she still asked, " knew what?"

"Oh baby girl, I think that pretty little head of yours will figure it out."

With that, Stephanie walked to the break room smiling with her long pony tail swaying back and forth. As she entered the room, Stephanie looked on the clipboard for the job list. Andrew and Stephanie both had to pick up the damage from the hurricane. she opened up her locker to put her keys in and she found a folded up piece if lined paper. Unfolding two times, she found a written note. The handwriting was sloppy but still legible. Stephanie read, " waterfall tonight at 9:00 pm." It was signed "Andrew". A smile creeped on her face.

Before she had a chance to turn around Stephanie heard footsteps and then two muscular arms wrap around her waist. Soft lips gently kissed her cheek. Stephanie's smile still remained.

"Good morning beautiful" a tired, yet caring voice spoke into her ear. Stephanie placed her arms over Andrew's and he gently swayed her back and fourth.

"Beautiful huh? I kinda like the sound of that" she said as they both let go of each other. now facing Andrew, she could tell he was tired. His piercing blue eyes were slightly heavy, a drowsy smile remained on his face and he tried to force himself awake.

"Long night?" She teased. Andrew simply nodded.

"I've had stuff to do. Ya know?" He tiredly smiled. One thing that raced through Stephanie's mind was his sleepy voice. She didn't know why but it made him more attractive somehow. A silly thing she thought but she isn't care. He was hers. Andrew walked over to the clip board and glanced and the schedule. " Well, by the looks of it outside seems like we have a lot of work to do."

It was disheartening to look at. The grass was covered with all sorts of debris covering the grounds. Plastic bags and other plastic materials littered the tanks and exhibits. The whales and dolphins swam low in their tanks and when they had to come up for air, they were upset to do so, seeing that their homes were trashed. It made the entire atmosphere seem gray.

"I'll get the grounds and you can clean the animal tanks and exhibits" Andrew leaned over and said in her ear. She nodded and said it sounded like a plan. Stephanie first cleaned the exhibits and then grabbed the skimming net and ran it over all the outdoor tanks, leaving the dolphin one for last. During all the cleaning she had a sad long face. After she was done cleaning the tanks ad exhibits she sat down on the dolphin deck.

The dolphin who they called Mila slowly glided through the water towards Stephanie. With her sleek, gray nose, Mila nudged Stephanie's leg. Stephanie looked Mila in her black, glinting eyes.

"Oh Mila, I'm so sorry. This storm was awful. It's so heartbreaking to look at all you're sad faces. I feel like I've been here for so long every animal feels like part of my family. But, the damage will soon clear," Stephanie then looked up to the sleet sky, " and now I'm talking to a fish."

"It's actually a mammal." Andrew said behind Stephanie and sat down right beside her on the dolphin deck. Two pairs of feet dangling in the crisp water. " Hey do you remember the first day of work when we were both together?" Andrew smirked, moving his hand to brush back her hair and then holding her hand.

"You mean the night that you grabbed me and fell into the water?" She gave him a look with a little bit of sass and they both burst out laughing.

"Yep. That's the night." Andrew chuckled, calming down his laughter. They both stood up and the laughing finally ceased. Andrew put his arms around her and stared into Stephanie's large chestnut eyes. " That was the night I looked at you differently, a good different. And I've regretted not knowing you ever since. I did everything I could to know you better. And I'm glad I did."

Stephanie pulled back a little out of his grasp and smiled. "I always saw you. But I was terrified to talk to you since you were always surrounded by your group." She kissed him on the cheek. And then said, " oh, and this is a little payback from the first night." Taking one large step back, catching Andrew off guard, Stephanie placed her hands on his muscular back and with all her might shoved him in the dolphin tank. Hearing a large splash she knew she had succeeded. Stephanie began to laugh again, even harder. After a few seconds, Andrew emerged from the bubbles and shook his wet sandy hair and began to laugh with Stephanie.

"Hey, how about you help me up." Andrew said, reaching out for her hand. Stephanie walked over ( even know she had a feeling what was going to happen next) and gave Andrew her hand. She felt him grip her hand a little harder and Stephanie quickly held her breath. The cool rush of water engulfed her. For a second everything was silent until the woosh of water and breaking of air brought her back into reality.

Stephanie took in the fresh air and felt her lungs expand. Opening her eyes, Stephanie found herself staring into the deep, Caribbean blue Crystals that were Andrew's eyes. Stephanie smiled and they both swam to the ledge. As they both grabbed the edge of the pool with one hand, Andrew took his other arm and wrapped it around Stephanie's waist, pulling her close to him and Stephanie put her free hand around his shoulder and neck, putting her fingers through his wet hair. Andrew kissed her. But it was a different kiss. It was a long, slow kiss. The two of them kept kissing until they heard the foot steps of Ms. Darla come outside a few minutes later. Although to Andrew and Stephanie, time never seemed to move.