"Exactly!"Marta said, picking up the thread."So, if you think about it, every time the dolphins come out to the ocean, we're giving them that $1,000 by feeding them all their fish out here.But still they choose to come home with us."As Marta smiled at Gray, he realized there was something more important at the Lagoon, and the women saw he was understanding.
"Home is the Lagoon; there's safety there, their friends are there, we're there, and yes they still get fed there but it's mostly their home.And I'm sure that while you're here, these two pests will break out at some point.We think they must hear wild female dolphins, and so they come out to the ocean for a frolic and return in the morning.They have the audacity to wave at us from the jetty, asking to be let back into their pens when we can all clearly see the giant hole in the net that they made.They will turn their heads to the side, pretending they don't see it and refuse to come in unless we let them in the gate; it's actually hilarious."Cici threw the boys another few fish each and closed their coolers.
"It takes a lot of trust to train them to come out to the ocean, and we practice a lot, especially the emergency recall.But the saying is true—there's no place like home."At this, Cici leaned over the side of the boat and gave each boy a lip-smacking kiss on their heads and they clicked happily at her, wiggling and nodding their heads back and forth, obviously very pleased at the attention.
"Okay, Gray, hold on tight to the railing because we're going to pick up some speed!"Marta warned him before kicking it up a notch.Gray, realizing his sea legs weren't there yet, decided sitting down and holding onto the railing was the safest option.He'd only been out on a boat a few times before.
Cici glanced back and laughed."You're gonna get wet, but you won't fall down!"She stood effortlessly, not holding onto anything.When Marta pushed the throttle, the boat's nose jumped out of the water, sending Gray sprawling back, while both women stood perfectly balanced, watching him with amused expressions.
As the boat gained more speed, it levelled out, and Gray sat back up.The water was still splashing, but much less so than when Marta had first pushed the boat faster.And then he noticed the dolphins — they were surfing!
"That's amazing!How are they doing that?"Gray asked, totally enthralled.
"This is why we feel the need—the need for speed!"Cici laughed as her ponytail whipped around in the wind."These boys love to surf, and when we go fast, they can cruise along in the boat's wake."
And indeed, that was what they were doing, cruising, then jumping up for a breath and settling back into the wave.Wait, was he seeing this right?
"Cici, they're not swimming?It looks like their flukes aren't moving at all until they jump up," Gray observed, unsure if he was seeing things correctly.
"Oh, they're totally letting the wave push them forward.Come to the front of the boat, and you can see better."Cici motioned him forward.Gray, still unsteady, opted to crawl instead of walk, not caring how ridiculous he looked.There was no way he was standing up.Cici and Marta tried to stifle their giggles, but his crab walk to the front was too much.
"We need to get you some sea legs.This," Marta motioned to his crawl, "is very unbecoming of a researcher!"
"Yeah, right now I pretty much don't care.My heart is jumping out of my chest!How fast are we going?It feels like we're trying to break the sound barrier!"Gray was exasperated from the effort of crawling across the sandpaper-like deck.
"Let's focus on the dolphins, and then we'll get you trained!"Cici motioned to the dolphins with a signal that looked like she was throwing a bowling ball.Abaco saw the signal, ducked below the water, and with Anejo at his side, they hit a burst of speed, turning up at the bow of the boat.Gray leaned over the front and saw firsthand that the dolphins weren't moving their flukes, what most people incorrectly called their tails,--they were letting the pressure from the boat's wake push them forward.They both turned onto their sides and looked up at him, waiting to see what he would do.Gray stared back, equally curious.Now that he was this close to them, he noticed some of the slight differences between them.One had what looked like a scar at the base of his pectoral fin, a white patch that he'd ask about later.And the other dolphin had fine lines that looked like stripes of dark and light grey along his side After a moment, both dolphins did a quick kick to get ahead of the boat, took a breath from their blowhole on top of their head, and then returned to cruising.
The awe Gray had felt earlier was now replaced by pure elation.How was he even here, sitting in this boat, watching these two dolphins perform what seemed like magic?He must be dreaming because none of this felt real.But then he had a question, something he had just realized he saw but hadn't registered until now.
"Wait, Cici, you made that motion with your arm, but only one dolphin saw it, yet both dolphins did the exact same thing.How is that possible?"
"Are you really a researcher?Because I think you should know this," Cici teased, her tone amused.
"I should?Well, I don't.I've only been around one dolphin at a time and mostly working on physiology stuff.All this," he motioned to the wide-open ocean and the two dolphins quietly cruising at the bow of the boat, "is totally new to me.I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot being here.I've already learned so much, and it's day one!"
"Well, shoot!I'm sorry I sounded like an ass.I didn't realize you'd only worked with one dolphin at a time.It's pretty simple; they can communicate with each other.So, if I signal one of them to do something, they tell the other what the crazy human wants, and off they go.There's research showing that they can communicate with each other; the research papers are back at the lab.I'll show you when we get back.It was an amazing project from years ago.I like to say they're smarter than most humans I know!"Cici said with a grin, and Marta nodded in agreement.
"Definitely smarter!Some days I watch them and think how lucky I am to be a part of their world.Now, how about we get you some sea legs because I can't keep a straight face watching you curled up on the deck.Let's get you standing up!"Marta slowed the boat and motioned for Gray to stand.
"Oh, I don't know about this.What if I fall in the water?"Gray asked hesitantly.
"You'd better not tell me while we're out here in the ocean that you can't swim!"Marta said in a more serious tone than Gray had heard from her before.
"I can swim!I'm totally proficient, but standing up on a moving boat that's also jostled by waves and speed changes, yikes!Maybe another day we can learn this?"Gray admitted, feeling seasick.
"Gray, you're looking green.You okay?"Cici asked absentmindedly, tossing fish to the dolphins, who lazily grabbed them.
"I am feeling a bit off now that we're not moving.Maybe we could start moving again?"As Gray said this, there was a big splash, and suddenly both Abaco and Anejo shot off away from the boat.
"What's happening?"Gray asked, alarmed at the dolphins' sudden retreat.
Both Marta and Cici began scanning the clear water below, and suddenly Cici spotted what had scared them."Look!"Cici shouted.Marta rushed over to the side of the boat where Cici was, causing it to rock, making Gray even more queasy.
"Gray, you gotta see this.It's a tiger shark!"Cici motioned for him to join them.
"I'm fine here!And also a shark?Aren't you scared it will attack the dolphins?"Gray was now thoroughly confused.
Both women looked at him in wonder."No, really, are you sure you're a researcher?That shark is not interested in the dolphins.They don't enjoy being around sharks, so they've gone home.But it's so majestic!"Both women sighed, clearly enamoured with the shark.
