Chapter 5 #2
Mark glanced at the tattoo, but then his gaze flicked back to Terry’s face and lingered for a moment. Clearing his throat, he focused on the tattoo again as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. “I can just imagine.”
“Well since I can’t wear a shirt announcing that I’m gay, it seemed like a good idea,” he teased.
Motion in his peripheral vision caused him to look out to sea, and he grinned.
A pod of dolphins was approaching the boat, porpoising out of the water, the sun glinting off their sleek bodies.
“Hey Mark, look over your right shoulder.”
Mark’s eyes widened in comprehension, and he shifted his whole body toward the dolphins. “They’re gorgeous,” he breathed, his voice barely audible above the noise of the other passengers, who were also gasping and chattering with excitement.
“Gorgeous,” Terry agreed, but he was looking at Mark, not at the dolphins. Mark was undeniably handsome, but the look on his face, the awe and delight, made him positively breathtaking.
Mark turned back to Terry, his whole face alight with undisguised joy. “My biggest fear was that the dolphins would pick today not to show up,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m glad I was worried over nothing.”
“Me, too,” Terry agreed.
He didn’t want to look away from Mark, but the ship’s captain, an older man with a gravelly voice and skin weathered by sun and sea, called for everyone’s attention.
“We’ll be going off the swim transom in a few minutes.
I suggest you take pictures now of our new friends, because unless you have a waterproof camera or phone, you shouldn’t take it into the water.
And yes, that means a waterproof case isn't good enough to protect your phone, because the dolphins can get playful.”
He beckoned to Terry, who smiled apologetically at Mark. “Duty calls,” he said, as he reached out to touch Mark’s arm. “Stick close to me in the water, and I’ll get you those pics I promised.”
The captain wanted to discuss his procedure, and Terry listened carefully while the passengers all snapped pictures and continued to chatter. Before he lowered the transom, however, he dropped his voice so only Terry could hear.
“It’s blowing up good from the south,” he said. “I’ve got radar up, and it’s slow moving, but we need to keep everyone close to the boat. Undertow can be bad when the wind picks up.”
“Got it. I’m scuba certified, so I’ll keep an eye out,” Terry promised. The captain looked relieved and gave Terry a thump on the back with one massive hand, making him stumble.
“Good, good. They send me someone useful for once! Marco! Tony! Lower the sugar scoop!”
Within a few minutes, the “sugar scoop”, more commonly known as a transom, had been lowered.
It was a large platform that essentially made a deck right at the water level, with a small ladder that went down into the water to make it easy for people to get back up onto it.
The sea was a bit choppy from the wind-blown waves, but it wasn’t anything Terry wasn’t used to.
He stripped off his shirt and donned his flippers and mask, before grinning at Mark and stepping off into the water.
“I’ll help everyone down,” he said, beckoning Mark to come forward. “Don’t be afraid, those life jackets will keep you afloat if you need it. If you were cleared as an experienced swimmer, you can take off the vest, but I highly recommend keeping it on since the water is rough.”
Mark eyed the choppy water as he accepted Terry’s help in getting down. “I’ll keep the vest on,” he said. “I don’t want fulfilling one of my life goals to be the last thing I do.”
“As wise as you are handsome,” Terry said as Mark settled into the water beside him. “There are grips along the transom, see? Let me get everyone else in and I’ll take your picture, okay?”
The bright smile returned as Mark grabbed hold of a grip and began to tread water. “No rush,” he said, and then he began craning his neck for another glimpse of the dolphins.
Terry spotted the pod bobbing in the water off to the port side of the boat.
They were accustomed enough to humans being near that they waited almost politely as everyone got into the water.
Once the last passenger was in, the captain gave a whistle, which seemed to be the signal the dolphins were waiting for.
They swam up to the transom and began to play with the people.
Terry wasted no time taking his camera out of the pocket of his trunks. He grinned at Mark as a dolphin approached him, its mouth open in a playful grin. “Say cheese!”
But Mark was staring at the dolphin, enraptured as it drew nearer. “Hi, buddy,” he crooned. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Mark’s face was full of wonder, and Terry made sure to take several pictures as the dolphin drew nearer. He remembered his own first encounter with wild dolphins, and the awe he’d felt. He wanted Mark to remember this moment forever and be able to relive the experience through pictures.
“You can touch him,” he said softly.
Mark glanced over at Terry as if seeking reassurance, and then he slowly stretched his hand out toward the dolphin and brushed his fingertips along the side of its head.
“Oh….” Mark’s eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open as if he was so focused on the dolphin, he couldn’t be bothered to regulate his expression. “You feel so smooth. Is that okay?” he asked the dolphin as he grew a little bolder with the petting. “Do you have a favorite scritchy spot?”
Terry melted at the sight of Mark caressing the dolphin.
There was a childlike wonder about him, something so sweet and open and innocent that Terry envied the dolphin.
How would it feel to have Mark look at him like that, touch him in that awestruck, wondering way?
He was so caught up in his own feelings that he almost forgot to take pictures, but he recovered enough to snap several as the dolphin gave a squeal of pleasure and leaned into Mark’s gentle touch.
“He likes you,” Terry said. The dolphin turned, presenting Mark with its dorsal fin. “Oh, he definitely knows humans. He’s inviting you for a swim.”
“He is?” Mark’s voice cracked a little, and he appeared to be on the verge of delighted laughter or tears. The laughter won out as he accepted the invitation and grasped the dolphin’s fin.
In a flash, the dolphin gave a mighty flip of its strong tail, and Terry watched, laughing, as Mark was pulled away.
He flipped the camera to video mode, and he recorded for several minutes while the dolphin pulled Mark in a wide circle away from the boat.
There were several other people nearby, enjoying the same adventure, and the shrieks of joy and amazement echoed around the boat.
After a few circles out in the water, the dolphin headed back to the boat.
“Here, you’ll need this,” a voice said above him, and Terry glanced up to see one of the crewmen placing a small pail onto the transom.
Terry could smell the scent of fish, and he nodded in approval.
The dolphins were expecting the treat in exchange for their services, which made sense.
No doubt this pod was very familiar with this boat and crew and knew they would get lunch out for showing up and playing with the humans for a while.
“How was it?” Terry asked once the dolphin brought Mark back to the transom.
Mark let go of the dolphin’s fin and tread water beside the transom, looking dazed, drenched, and delighted. “Perfect! I would’ve been happy just being in the water with them, but this—!” He shook his head as if he didn’t have the right words.
“It’s pretty special,” Terry agreed.
The dolphin surfaced beside Mark, nudging him in the shoulder, and Terry pointed at the bucket. “I think he’s expecting payment for the dolphin Uber ride.”
“That’s fair,” Mark said with a warm chuckle. He didn’t seem squeamish about plucking a cold, dead fish out of the bucket, and he tossed it to the dolphin. “There you go, buddy. Thanks for the swim.”
The dolphin didn’t hesitate to pop up and snatch the fish out of the air, swallowing it in a single gulp. Then it dove under the water and popped up beside Terry.
“Oh, you think I should give you one, too?” he asked, and reached into the bucket as well. He tossed the fish, which the dolphin caught before giving another squeal and heading off to cadge more fish from someone else. Terry chuckled. “I swear they are the cutest mooches on the planet.”
“They really are,” Mark said with an absent nod, his attention still focused on the pod.
As the encounter continued, Mark seemed to grow more secure and no longer hesitated when a dolphin approached him.
He reached out to pet them and talked to them as if he was certain they could understand him, and he gave a fish to each visitor even if they didn’t offer him a swim.
As Terry watched, he got the sense that he was seeing beneath all the armor and facades that adulthood demanded and getting a glimpse of who Mark was at his core: someone who still found joy and wonder in the world around him.
Terry was so engrossed in watching Mark that he nearly jumped out of his skin when another guest touched him on the shoulder and asked him to take pictures of him and his boyfriend both petting a dolphin.
Terry pulled his attention away with reluctance, knowing he should pay more attention to the other guests and not focus so exclusively on Mark.
But it was hard, since all he wanted to do was enjoy Mark’s enjoyment of the experience.
Still, he went about his duties, leaving Mark and circling the transom, offering to take pictures for those who didn’t have waterproof cameras.