Maiden Voyage: Book One Heart of the Sea by Jamie K. Schmidt

Author:Jamie K. Schmidt [K. Schmidt, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Day Three: Cozumel

April Davis

"I'm going to swim with the dolphins," she told Parker. She touched the container briefly. "Wish you were here."

She read over her ticket and headed down to the gang plank and waited to be let off the boat. As she was scanned out by security, she noticed that Jake was on the pier getting his picture taken with an iguana wearing a diaper.

Walking up to him, she asked, "Why is the lizard wearing a diaper?"

"Why does anything wear a diaper?" Jake answered.

"Good point."

The cruise photographer handed him a ticket and turned to her. "Would you like a picture?"

"No thanks." She backed away from the iguana handler who was offering the lizard to her.

Jake placed a hand on her shoulder. "They've got a red macaw over there."

"That's more my speed. He's pretty," she said when they passed by.

"No photo souvenir for you?"

April shook her head. "No, I've got enough pictures of me."

Jake stopped her. "Well, then let's take one together."

She couldn't think of a good reason why not. If Parker had been here, they would have been hitting all of these guys and taking crazy pictures. One couldn't hurt. They didn't have to buy it if they didn't like it. "Okay."

"Get closer," the photographer said. "Put your arms around each other."

"Um," April said, looking at Jake to see if he was comfortable with that.

At first it was awkward and the situation was exasperated by the heavy bird the handler put on her shoulder. "It's good you're not wearing earrings," the handler said. "He likes earrings."

"How does he feel about ears?" April squealed and pressed closer to Jake.

Jake tightened his grip around her in a hug and she relaxed and hugged him back. She hadn't been hugged in a long time. Her family wasn't the demonstrative type. Parker's family were mostly dead. He hadn't wanted a funeral. He told her as he lay dying that he wanted her to scatter his ashes in Grand Cayman. When she promised him that she would in another fifty or so years when he actually died, he opened his arms and hugged her. That was her last hug. She had been kneeling on the pavement, screaming for the paramedics who were running towards them. When she answered the call for the gunshot wound, she hadn't expected that the victim bleeding out was her best friend.

A sob shook her.

"You all right, Miss?" the photographer asked.

April nodded, unable to speak. She wasn't able to smile though, so she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against Jake's chest. She barely felt the bird being lifted off her shoulder and Jake guiding her away.

"Thanks," she said, scrubbing at her face.

"Where are you heading to now?" He gave her a concerned look and kept one arm slung around her waist. She was glad for the comfort.

"Dolphins," she forced herself to say.

"I was going to go snorkeling, but that sounds like a lot more fun. If you don't mind me tagging along."

"You don't have to babysit me." April forced herself to move away from him.

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