Hannah wasn’t so sure about that. She’d far rather have seen him from the safety of a much bigger vessel, say a cruise liner, instead of the one she was currently paddling. She peered anxiously into the water on either side of her. ‘What if he capsizes us?’
‘I promise you, he’s perfectly safe. He’s never hurt anyone.’
‘There’s always a first time,’ muttered Hannah as she gave the water another dubious scan. ‘Do you think he’s gone now?’
She could almost see Conor weighing up the pros and cons of his answer.
‘He has gone, hasn’t he?’ There was a tinge of hysteria in her voice which she hated but which she allowed. Being out at sea with a huge, unpredictable, wild animal was as risky as it got. Her teeth began to chatter and her chin tucked down into her chest. She wanted to go back. Back to the cottage. Back to sit in front of the fire, safe and warm.
His face gentled with concern as he paddled alongside her. ‘Hannah, honest to God, he’s as safe as houses. I promise you I wouldn’t have brought you otherwise. There’s nothing to be frightened of.’
Nothing to be frightened of!Hannah shrieked inside her head.Apart from capsize them, what if he didn’t like them? Dolphins had teeth, didn’t they?
Suddenly the dolphin surfaced right beside them and she jumped before going rigid with tension as the sleek, shiny body glided by, one intent eye watching her before the dolphin sank below the surface again. He was so close she could have reached out and touched him. She watched warily, grateful that Conor had brought his kayak alongside hers. Then, with a shower of water like an elaborate waterfall, Fungie burst high out of the water in a twisting jump, followed in quick succession by two more similar leaps. A moment later he jumped again, completing several flips, then diving below before resurfacing for a third time.
Fascinated in spite of her fear, Hannah marvelled at the strength in the supple body as it spun in the sunshine, its distinctive tailfin silhouetted by the sun. For the next few minutes, he put on quite a show, swimming and leaping in front of the kayaks at a safe distance as if he knew how precarious they were in the little boats.
‘He knows we’re here,’ she said at last.
‘Yes. It’s difficult to believe, but he loves an audience.’
‘And he’s never capsized anyone?’
He leaned over again and touched her arm. ‘Never. I swear on my mother’s life. Granny Bridget’s too.’
‘Incredible,’ she said as the dolphin resurfaced and executed another three leaps and then another two and another three. ‘He’s amazing.’ She laughed as the spray drifted over them carried by the wind. It was impossible to believe that he was putting on such a display just for them and quite the most extraordinary thing she’d ever seen.
After a little while he disappeared and they waited for a moment to see if he’d emerge again.
‘Show’s over, I think,’ said Conor. ‘Will we head back? I don’t know about you but I’m starting to get cold.’
They began to paddle back across the bay.
‘That was… so special. I’ll never forget that as long as I… oh! Look!’ Next to the little red kayak, the dolphin rose, his beady eye meeting Hannah’s for a heart-stopping moment, and then he flipped onto his back and began swimming alongside them, the wide mouth beneath the bottleneck nose grinning at her and its flippers in the air. She smiled in delight, her mouth so wide she could feel the tautness of the skin on her cheeks. ‘Hello.’ The dolphin disappeared, reappearing a second later almost as if he were escorting her. ‘Aren’t you gorgeous?’ The silvery-grey skin, with water pouring off the surface, looked as smooth as glossed paintwork, the big unblinking eye trained on her. She was so fascinated she forgot to be afraid.
‘I didn’t even know there were dolphins in Ireland.’
‘We get the occasional sighting. And by the way, therearesharks.’
‘Conor Byrne, a dolphin I can accept but now I know you’re pulling my leg.’ She gave an anxious look into the water. ‘Aren’t you?’
At that moment the dolphin flipped back onto his front, circled in front of them and gave one final leap before skimming over the surface of the water towards a small boat heading out into the bay.
‘Someone new to play with,’ said Conor.
She watched as the dolphin disappeared from view. ‘Do you think he’s lonely?’
‘Who knows, but he’s certainly no wallflower, although I’ve not seen him swim alongside a kayak like that before.’
Hannah’s smile held a tiny hint of self-satisfaction. She was imagining it, but she liked to think that Fungie had known she’d been scared at first and had come to reassure her.
What would her parents have thought of this adventure? Would it have been too tame for them? She wasn’t sure she’d tell Aunt Miriam and Uncle Derek – at least not the full details; they’d be horrified.
Chapter Eighteen
When they gently beached the kayaks, Hannah tugged off the spray skirt she wore and wormed her way out of the fibreglass body, managing to step out of the boat without too much indignity. She yanked off her life vest and threw her arms around Conor, desperate to share the heady mix of gratitude, delight, and happiness that thrummed through her veins. ‘Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.’
From the expression on his face, it was clear she’d startled him but he responded immediately, snaking an arm round her and pulling her as close as his vest would allow. After a moment she pulled back and they both stared at each other, sombre for once. Hannah wondered what he was thinking.
