“Let me grab a t-shirt.” I hand her the bag of food and the drinks while I throw on a t-shirt, then lock up. I take the food from her and she holds the drinks as we walk down the boardwalk towards the beach.
“Have you ever seen an emergence?” she asks, practically jogging and skipping towards the sand.
“A what now?” I take long strides to keep up with her. Although, I’m pretty hungry, so the quicker we get to the nest, the sooner I can eat.
She threads her arm through mine, hanging on to my forearm. “Technically, the turtles would have hatched a few days ago. Barriers go up around day fifty, preparing therunway for the turtles. It’s why that section was off-limits last week. After hatching, the turtles emerge and head to the sea.”
“I’ve only ever seen it on David Attenborough.”
“I love his documentaries.”
“Let me guess,The Blue Planetwas your favourite.” I chuckle, loving how she smiles at me. I’ve never seen her move so fast or be this animated as with the impending emergence.
We walk by the bandstand on the edge of the resort and step onto the sand. The light fades the farther away from the resort we get. Moonlight bounces off the sand, lighting our way to the nesting area near the sand dunes.
Shelly pulls me along, her cheeks flush from the exertion and excitement. “It’s just up here. See the runway?” She waves at two of her colleagues sitting on the dunes. “Samantha and Oli have taken the evening shift.”
Sea oats bunch all around them, two wooden barriers forming the runway lead to the ocean like a bowling alley with the kids’ barriers up.
As we reach the nest, Shell leans over the netted area. Her voice is soft and barely a whisper on the breeze. “I see it.” She points to a small indent in the sand. “Finn, look.”
“What am I looking at?” I whisper back.
“The dip means that the emergence is happening. It should get bigger and then we’ll see them breach the surface.”
“So, how long does it take?”
Oli whispers, “It can take anywhere from thirty minutes to a few hours.”
I sit down with the conservationists and open the bag of food. Shelly sits next to me and hands me my soda. I give her a box that says vegan.
“Have you guys eaten?” she asks.
I silently pray they say yes. The smell of my taco has been tormenting me ever since it arrived and no way in hell am I sharing.
“We shared a sandwich,” Samantha says.
I groan inwardly and offer my bag of fries and fake smile with gritted teeth when they take it.
Shelly smiles approvingly at my begrudging generosity and offers one of her tacos. “Here guys. If I’d known, I could’ve ordered you something.”
“This is plenty, thank you,” Samantha says.
As we eat, Oli shines the torch on the nest. The dip is significantly bigger now. Waves crash against the shore in harmony with the breeze against the rushes. The sounds of the elements create a lullaby, soothing the earth to sleep under the night’s sky.
After eating, Shelly clears up any packaging from the food and places it back in the paper bag.
Oli stands. “I’ll dispose of the trash back at the hut. You coming, Sam?” He widens his eyes, tilting his head towards Shelly and I as if to signal why Sam needs to go with him. She gets the message after several eye and head movements and they both walk to the hut, leaving Shell and me alone.
“Well, Oli didn’t make it obvious at all.” I chuckle as I manoeuvre the torch to shine more on her than the nest.
“I’m glad you’re here, Finn.”
I slip my arm around her waist and pull her into my side. “I’m glad I’m here too.”
The torch lights up her beautiful face, the day’s makeup washed away with her tears, windswept hair, just how I like her, natural, wild and free. Despite the majestic setting, my eyes fix solely on her.
“What?” She glances at me staring and looks down at the nest.
