15. Lucky
Lucky
“There were so many fish today! We haven’t had a bust that big in forever.” Jack exclaimed, almost knocking over his drink in his frustration.
“Let the man eat, Jackie.” Teague hummed, methodically working through his lasagna.
“I don’t mind.” Antonio smiled, making a show of eating, “The food’s delicious by the way.” Lucky could tell the alpha was desperate to make a good impression. “What do you mean by ‘bust’ though?”
Lucky rubbed his thumb over the back of Antonio’s hand under the table.
“Ah, well, Paradise has pretty strict restrictions on what tropical fish can be kept as pets. It goes in two directions – what fish can be bred for sale and what fish can be imported. Some people don’t like listening to regulations like that. ”
“Especially the ones around Lyrica Beach.” Teague shook his head.
“I’ve heard tales of the black-market fish trade, but I never considered what they were getting the fish for.” Antonio tilted his head.
“Usually, it’s personal tanks but sometimes we find out about them being kept in like, those big ornamental lobby tanks. It’s very frustrating. Especially when we have to go in and forcibly remove the fish, the entire process can be quite stressful – for us and the fish.” Lucky explained.
“It was a big bust this time, they even had coral. Coral! And the real problem in this case is that the fish were wild caught but who knows how long they were in the tanks and who knows what they were exposed to so we have to treat them and then put them in the aquarium tanks cause we can’t release them.
It’s really annoying.” Jack cut through with an ease Lucky always envied.
“The rich and powerful really do as they please.” Lucky sighed, “Though… you live in the Verde Cliffs area, you must see some of that.”
“Yeah…” Antonio leaned back in his chair. “That’s my mother’s property. It’s the house I grew up in. Though right before my mother moved back to Spain six years ago, we had it renovated.”
“Did you know that over half of the pirates who founded Paradise were from Spain or the various Spanish colonies? Sure, we had lots of British, French, and Portuguese pirates too, but it’s really skewed towards Spain which is why so many people still speak Spanish here.
” Jack’s autopilot history lesson never failed to amuse him..
“Jack is a real history nerd.” Lucky teased. While their conservation work always made for fun chatter, a chance to show off Jackie’s talents couldn’t go awry! “You should see the pictures he’s taken of the historical sites… or the shipwrecks!”
“You’re a photographer?” Antonio tilted his head, curious.
“Sort of. I’m not doing much of anything right now. Just enjoying life.” Jack shrugged.
“Jack’s been working on the Marine Center’s website. It keeps him busy and gets more people to visit.” Teague’s pride was warm. Lucky never once questioned how much their father loved them.
“Any chance we’ll see more TV specials?” Antonio probed with a hopeful look, “I’ll admit, when Lucky’s mayday came through, I was a little awestruck.”
“There might be.” Teague shrugged, “Lucky’s turtles come first. Speaking of, we finally got approved to collect the documents he requested. You can pick them up tomorrow.”
Antonio lifted their linked hands and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. Lucky felt his cheeks heat, mouth going dry. “Soon you will have your proof, and it will all be put to rest.” The confidence in Antonio’s warm voice made it easy to believe him.
“You two are so cute, I’m going to get cavities.” Jack broke the moment. Lucky kicked his brother lightly under the table.
“No more gold teeth, you already look like a pirate.” Teague rumbled.
Jack threw his hands up, “Coming from the walking pirate himself!”
Antonio laughed at their antics and Lucky had never felt more at ease. Everything would be okay. If it wasn’t, well… He had the best family. They could get through anything together.
The Department of Records was housed within one of several glittering government buildings in Hulltown.
The capital of Paradise was a beautiful blend of historical buildings and recent construction.
Statues stood, looking over Pirata Bay where the first ships had landed in their bid for freedom.
It was where they repelled colonizing forces who sought to end them the same way they’d ended the Republic of Pirates, and it was where the first council was formed of captains and first mates to create the principals all in Paradise continued to live by.
Historical paintings lined the hallway, depicting various captains and their stunning vessels. Lucky took his time. He might have his issues with government – something they all swore lived in their blood, but he really did like learning their history.
Following the signs, Lucky found the department he was looking for and stood in line behind another omega with an eager teen by his side.
The child talked rapidly about historical birth certificates for a class project.
He remembered doing the same with Jack at his side, talking about which pirate dad was related to and what ship they’d make a diorama of…
After a few minutes, he was motioned forward by an older woman wearing red-rimmed glasses.
“Hi, I’m here to pick up some documents? They should be held for Lucky Wilde.” He rested his fingers on the wooden counter, rubbing his thumbs along the chipped varnish.
“Oh! You’re with the Marine Center then.
” She smiled happily. “I’ve got… a folder on the protective status of Playa del Tesoro, does that sound right?
” Her brows furrowed, “We’ve all been talking about it here in the office!
Terrible stuff they’re doing, surveying the land for sale.
No one’s happy about the proposal. Me and my book club are planning on attending the town hall to raise our concerns. Will you be there?”
“We always have a representative at every town hall.” He confirmed, “As for whether we’ll be raising concerns about this, we absolutely will. An endangered turtle species historically nests on that beach.”
“Well, if you need signatures for anything, you make sure to keep me in mind, I’ll get my book club, oh and my husband can get his ‘sip and paint’ buddies involved too!” She seemed excited to potentially be involved. He liked her enthusiasm.
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind but really, we’re hoping these documents confirm the land is still under the necessary protections.
” Lucky smiled, pointing at the manilla folder in her hands.
He was surprised by how thick it was but then these types of documents tended to have pages and pages of text that were more boilerplate than meaningful.
“I took my grandkids to the Marine Center a few months ago, they were so excited! My youngest granddaughter keeps telling everyone she’s going to be a starfish doctor.” The woman laughed, shaking her head as she placed a clipboard in front of him, “Just sign there and you’ll be all set dear.”
Lucky signed his name with a flourish. “We actually just expanded the educational touch tank. Next time you bring her, there will be even more starfish for her to learn about.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for her birthday!” She handed him the manilla folder, “Anything else I can help you with?”
“Nope, that’ll do it.” Lucky gave her a wave and tucked the folder into his messenger bag.
With every step, anxiety squirmed beneath his skin.
It was like having his body picked apart by a million ghost crabs.
Tiny, endless pinpricks from his toes to his forehead.
The elastic pulling his hair into a puffy ponytail at the base of his neck felt too tight.
The strap of his tank top suddenly bit into his shoulder in an inescapable way.
He was hyperaware of every inch of flesh.
The air conditioner in his father’s old truck took terribly long to actually blow cool air. For a moment, Lucky was certain he was going to rip apart at the seams or melt or worse… puke.
But that blessed icy breeze started and suddenly his lungs fit properly within his chest. He tipped his head back, breathing slowly. In. Out. In. Out. And the whole while, his bag sat heavy on his lap.
Lucky worked his fingers inside to pry the folder from its depths.
A few more deep breaths. A few more seconds of avoiding reality by pulling the hair-tie free and slipping the straps of his tank top off.
When there was no reason to avoid it, he finally undid the seal and pulled the stack of stapled papers out.
The proposal for protective status of Playa del Tesoro.
His mother’s name stood in lovely bold beneath the title.
On behalf of the residents of Rosaria and with the backing of the Marine Research and Rehabilitation center, she pitched the idea three years before they actually released the eggs.
But the document bore two dates on the cover.
The submission date stood next to the finalization date stamped there just three days before Maria Victoria Wilde passed away.
He traced his fingers along her name. “I won’t let you down, mama.”
The first few pages simply outlined the proposal request. It was a short research paper on the Paradise Leatherbacks, a condensed history and their importance to the ecosystem. Seven pages of two column ten-point font.
Lucky read every word.
It was like coming home. He could hear her voice in every letter, in every word, in every punctuation.
When he reached the final page, where the acknowledgements were laid out, he brushed his fingers across his own name.
She always listed their little family. It wasn’t the usual way of things, but she liked to include them and seeing it now made his heart ache fiercely.
Figures, charts, and tables made up the next several pages. Paradise Leatherbacks were smaller than others in the same group. Their smaller size contributed to their habit of staying closer to their hatching grounds though they still swam out to deep waters for most of their life.
Her words and her supporting materials outlined their importance to the ecosystem and what would be needed to restore them. The paper suggested a timeline of ten to twenty years.
Fifteen was the magic number. If the final signed petition said fifteen years or more, then everything else was moot.
They could file for an extension, and they could keep any construction from being considered with research tailored to the protection of Playa del Tesoro.
Anything less would make their lives infinitely harder…
Lucky began flipping through the pages of legal work. The outline of the project, the review, and finally – the bounds of the request.
An unnatural cold settled in his bones.
It started in his face. His cheeks were stiff, his lips trembled, then his skin prickled with bumps and his hands began to shake. His eyes burned as the papers slipped from his fingers. The file fell heavily into his lap.
What was he gonna do?
Lucky wasn’t sure how he got home. He didn’t remember the drive at all. His body was on autopilot, making moves without a single thought passing his brain. It was pure luck that he didn’t crash and die… And it was also luck that Jack was outside watering the plants when he pulled in.
He must have looked a wreck as he stepped out of the truck because Jack’s smile vanished halfway through his greeting.
It felt like he was underwater. He couldn’t quite hear Jack, but the warmth of his brother’s hands on his arms nearly burned. That’s what broke the dam. Hot tears burned tracks down his face as his lips quivered. “Jackie…”
To Lucky, there was no one as reliable as Jack.
Jack, who helped him sit on the pavement when he wobbled dangerously on his feet. Jack, who went to the car, fetched the keys and picked up scattered papers. Jack, who read them over with fast eyes and grit teeth.
Lucky knew exactly what his brother would see.
Grainy scans of their mother’s handwriting, a 10 or a 15 that couldn’t be distinguished, and ultimately a finalized print document that read ‘protection granted for ten years’ with their mother’s initials on the final page.
It was dated just a few days before she passed.
Her handwriting was smudged everywhere, and the scanning process did nothing to help.
“Okay.” Jack said, and Lucky could only shake his head mutely. Nothing was okay. Nothing could possibly be okay. But Jack’s hands were back on his arms, and Lucky was given no choice but to stumble into the house.
Up the stairs, one shaking foot at a time, and straight into Jackie’s bed.
It was the best nest. Jack always took care of nesting, of the blankets and pillows and sheets.
But it was what Jack pulled from the closet when Lucky was face down in the pillows that brought a fresh wave of hot tears pouring down his cheeks.
“Mom’s blanket…” The knit one they’d worried holes into with their fingers. It had various constellations embroidered on top of the midnight blue weave.
Jack climbed into bed with him, bundling him in the blanket that smelled always like home. He didn’t sleep. He couldn’t. But in Jack’s arms, bundled in that precious memory of their mother, he didn’t have to hold himself together.
Lucky let himself break. He’d worry about picking up the pieces later.