Seal With a Kiss (17 page)

"Quit manhandling my wife," Brody ordered without heat, then hugged Smitty himself, with lots of
manly back-slapping so the intimacy was okay.
"Scotty."

"Not you too." Smitty groaned. "Let's just save
that for special occasions, okay? Speaking of
which. . . ." He glanced across the Smugglers Cove
town commons towards a cluster of little shops, then
over towards Jasper's tank as a plan took shape in
his mind. "I may need your help with something."

Brody simply nodded. "Anything." He grinned.
"What else is family for?"

Violet couldn't help herself. She sat next to Smitty
at the opening ceremony. It was enough for her to
be near him this one last time. It would have to be
enough.

She'd blabbed about her job change to Maddy,
amidst other tearful declarations she'd rather forget
about, and had tendered her resignation officially to
Brody not long after. He hadn't seemed surprised, so
Violet assumed that either Smitty or Maddy had
beaten her to it. Or both.

He hadn't asked her to reconsider, which had
stung.

"Glad to know I'll be so sorely missed," she muttered, annoyed.

"What, Vi?" Smitty turned to her and she scowled
harder. He looked amazing in a tux-always had. His
studs and cuff links were a matched set of sterling
fish she'd bought him three years ago for Christmas
when they'd been getting along relatively well.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to memorize the way his blond-tipped hair waved across his
forehead and the way the lines next to his eyes deepened when he smiled. Then she turned away. "Nothing important."

They fell silent as the lights in the new educational
arena dimmed. The seats angled up on two sides
from a central pool that would be used for rescued
animals when the time came. A stage jutting out from
one end of the glowing green pool would double as
an exam table. A huge screen descended from the
ceiling, and a spotlight hit Brody, who stood at the
center of the stage.

Violet heard a lovesick sigh come from her other
side and glanced at Maddy. She smiled. "Brody looks
pretty good down there, doesn't he? Almost sexy."

Brody's wife shot back, "Not even you can ruin
this moment for me, Violet." But she grinned as she
said it, and Violet felt a pang that their friendship would be over just as it was beginning, because she
was leaving as soon as the gala was over. She'd even
called Chaz to confirm the job.

There'd been an oddly resigned note in his voice
when he assured her that yes, indeed she was still
welcome at Seaquaruim Florida. He even had part of
her team assembled already.

Violet hoped she would like them.

Brody opened the ceremony by welcoming the
various VIPs, particularly the members of the organizations and committees that had already donated to
the Smugglers Cove Stranding Center. He then explained the center's mission by way of introducing
the video that he and Maddy had put the finishing
touches on just that morning.

The lights dimmed further and a glittering ocean
appeared on the screen, which was visible from both
sides of the arena.

"Brody flew in a film specialist from California to
save it," Smitty whispered, and Violet didn't understand until she saw that video she'd shot the other
day, the video that had set her and Smitty on their
road trip.

Smitty's image smiled on the screen, the dolphins
leaped and played at his command, and Violet felt
her heart turn over in her chest. She saw the sun set
behind him and turn his auburn hair to flames, and
she felt tears threaten. It was that beautiful.

She felt Smitty take her hand. She didn't pull away
when he laced their fingers together. She held on
tight.

The screen dimmed for a moment and the audience
murmured. Then Brody's voice rose in narration.

"Have you ever dreamed of the ocean? Of swimming through it fast as a jetski, or flying above it on
seagulls' wings?"

On the screen, a montage of shots flowed past like
water. Violet saw Smugglers Cove, saw Streaker
forging her way through the Atlantic, saw herself
tending a stranded seal pup with Smitty holding the
frightened baby still for her.

Brody's amplified voice continued, "We have
dreams like that, and so do the endangered marine
mammals we represent." He went on to describe Dolphin Friendly and the goals of the stranding center.
All the while, scenes flashed on the screen. There
was a shot of the two of them on Streaker. Smitty's
head tilted towards her and his teeth flashed as he
laughed at a pair of playing humpbacks. Together,
they pushed a stranded pilot whale out to sea. They
stood shoulder to shoulder and waved as the whale
headed for open ocean with a flick of its black flukes.

She heard a whisper from a few rows back. "That
must be the married couple that runs Dolphin
Friendly. Aren't they cute together?"

Maddy quivered, though whether from affront or
amusement, Violet wasn't sure.

Married couple. Once, she had wished for it. Now
it seemed impossible.

Brody continued. "Your generous funding makes
possible programs like this. . . ." The screen showed
Ishmael leading a group of school children through
the animal care center and boosting a little girl up so
she could see the baby seals more clearly. "And
this. . . ." On the video, Ahab paddled in the water,
surrounded by a pod of wild bottlenosed dolphins, a
transcendent smile on his face. Brody's tone of voice
shifted to one of amusement. "And of course, this."
The scene shifted topside on Streaker, where Violet
and Smitty could be seen hollering back and forth at
each other until she walked over and attempted to
push him overboard. Laughing, he fended off her
hands until he could grab her by the waist and toss
her in the water, following a moment later in a clean
dive. They wrestled in the water while the bottlenoses chattered and splashed.

Violet sighed and felt those darn tears prickle
again. What had felt like anger at the time looked an
awful lot like love on the big screen. She wondered
whether it was a trick of the camera.

"They are an awfully cute couple, don't you
think?" Smitty whispered. He raised their joined
hands to his lips.

The contact bloomed like a rose and she closed
her eyes. Then she felt a tear leak from beneath her
lids. "Darn it, Smitty."

"And now," boomed Brody's voice, "I'd like to
introduce the members of Dolphin Friendly!"

The overhead lights came up as the video screen
rose, and Smitty pulled her out of her chair. "That's
us." They followed Ishmael, Ahab, and Maddy down
to the stage, where the lights were so bright Violet
had to squint. A stagehand pinned lapel microphones
on each of them, in case they had to answer questions
later on.

Brody introduced them and said a few words about
their dedication, teamwork, and deep affection for
each other. Violet snickered at that and Smitty poked
her in the arm when the mike picked up the noise.

"And now, before we cut the ribbon that will signify the official opening of the Smugglers Cove
Stranding Center," Brody proclaimed, "I would like
to extend a special thanks to two of my best friends,
two of the founding members of Dolphin Friendly,
and two people I will sorely miss as I've recently
learned they will be leaving Dolphin Friendly to pursue other interests. Violet? Smitty?" Brody waved
them forward.

Smitty went. Violet didn't.

"What do you mean two?" Her voice rose to the border of hysterical, but she didn't care. "Where's he
going?"

Her question echoed throughout the arena, which
was suddenly deathly quiet as the audience sensed
impending drama.

Brody replied, "Smitty gave his notice today too.
It seems he's taken a job with another team."

"He can't do that!" she cried, her voice squeaking.
She stomped over and stood in front of Smitty. She
put her face close to his and didn't care that the lapel
microphones were amplifying every word. "You
can't do that. Dolphin Friendly is your family. You
can't leave the team."

He smiled gently and tapped a finger under her
chin. "I could say the same for you too. You're as
much a part of this as I am, but you're leaving.
Aren't you?"

She thought of the brand-new condo in Florida.
Then she thought about her room at the inn, all decorated just the way she would have done it herself,
and she wavered.

Then she thought about the baby manatees in the
tank at Seaquarium. About the scars on their backs
and the very real threat of extinction.

Then she thought about Smitty finding someone
else and leaving her alone.

"I'm going," she said firmly.

Smitty nodded. "Fine. Then so am I. Chaz is expecting us first thing Monday morning to inspect the
new boat." He gently spun her around to face the
audience, and tucked her against his side.

She didn't stay tucked for long. Just as Brody took
a breath to continue his speech, she jumped back out
of line and faced Smitty again. "You're coming to
Florida!" Shivers of hot and cold raced through her
at the thought. "You can't do that! How can I get
over you if I still see you every day?"

She hadn't meant to blurt that out, particularly not
over a loudspeaker in front of five hundred or so
strangers. She winced at the echoes and the sudden
flurry of whispers and giggles.

Smitty grinned. "I sincerely hope that you won't."
He took her hands, holding them loosely. "You said
earlier that Dolphin Friendly is my family, right?
Well, they are. But even more so, you're my family,
Violet. You always have been, even when I was too
confused to know it. I love you."

This time, her lip trembled and a big, fat tear
spilled over and slid down her cheek for all the world
to see.

Violet didn't bother to brush it away.

Smitty looked startled and a little afraid. "Vi? Are
you okay? You never cry."

She shook her head. "I've cried over you more than once, you big dummy. I've just never let you
see it before." She sighed. "I love you too, Smits. I
always have, even when I was too mad to see it."

She went into his arms willingly, trembling a little,
not quite ready to believe this was really happening.
It could be a dream. She always dreamed about water. And Smitty.

This dream had both. With an addition.

"HORK! Buuuuurp."

A small tidal wave slopped over their feet as Jasper arrived on the scene. Smitty and Violet broke
apart and stood side by side, trying not to laugh hysterically when the sea lion belched a second time.
Brody would kill them if they lost it on-stage.

As it was, the audience was humming with Jasper's arrival, probably trying to decide if the animal
was supposed to make noises like that.

"Here, I'll take that. Thanks, buddy." Smitty deftly
retrieved a zippered baggie from Jasper's mouth and
popped it open. He pulled a small, velvet-covered
box free and Violet felt the bottom drop out of her
world.

He dropped to one knee, clearly not caring in the
slightest that his tuxedo pants were quickly soaked
with salt water. He took her left hand.

"Violet, I asked you this once before when the
timing was about as wrong as it could possibly be." He paused as the microphone amplified his words
and sent them to the farthest reaches of the arena. "I
don't know that the timing's any better now, but I
do know that I'm not spending another day without
knowing you're mine." He glanced around and Violet saw Brody and Maddy give him thumbs up. "So
I'm asking you in front of the rest of our family," he
looked out at the audience, which was following his
echoing words with rapt attention, "and five hundred
people we've never met before.... Will you marry
me? For good. Forever. Because you are everything
to me. I love you."

Speechless, with tears streaming freely down her
face, Violet nodded. He slid the ring onto her finger
and she saw that it was a pair of white gold dolphins
curled around a single diamond.

He stood and kissed her.

And this time it was no casual lipshake.