Curtis was puttering around the equipment shed when she arrived at Seaworthy Labs. Watching him, she tried to decide how to tackle the subject of the dolphins. Maybe Faye had talked to him already and he would be receptive to what she had to say. She squared her shoulders and stepped toward him.
He must have heard the sound of her slippers slapping the pavement, because he turned and shaded his eyes with his hand. “How’s the research coming?”
“It’s coming.”
He frowned. “I suspected you weren’t making progress. Kaia, I want to be straight with you. We’re not getting the grants I’d expected. When that article came out last week saying another lab was close to a breakthrough, we lost funding I was counting on. Face it: we’re about done with research here. I’m going to move ahead with the sea park.”
No other lab was doing exactly the work they were. “We’ll beat the other lab—all I need is a little more time. Besides, you just bought the lab. You’ve got to expect to lose a little money at first.”
“And I was prepared to do that in the beginning. But things are going downhill fast. I had to pay last week’s salaries out of my own pocket.”
She hadn’t realized the lab was in such dire straits. “Then why did you loan me out to the navy?”
He sighed. “I didn’t have much choice. When the navy asks, a patriotic citizen helps out.”
“The missile test will be over in a few days. I’m sure I can get that breakthrough in just a few more weeks of work.”
“We don’t have a few more weeks.” He nodded toward the lagoon. “I’ve arranged to begin construction next week. I’ll need to bring in the younger two dolphins and start their training right away. Maybe I can leave Nani in the research project for now.”
“I need all three dolphins,” she said. “They interact and follow one another’s lead in learning the clicks and whistles. It will set the project back if you take them from the pod. I raised Nani. She followed me here to learn, and the other two dolphins followed her. You have no legal right to do this. Besides, they are Pacific dolphins. They need deep water.”
“You’re saying you own Nani?”
Why was this so hard for him to understand? “Nani isn’t owned by anyone. And neither are the other two. They are free, wild dolphins.”
“And all I’d have to do would be to put a net fence over the lagoon to keep them here.”
Over her dead body. She curled her fingers into her palms and felt her nails bite into her flesh. The only way to save the dolphins was to prove they were capable of language. She needed time for the research, but Jesse needed her for several more days. The only way to do both was to get along on five or six hours of sleep a night.
“You look as though you’d like to punch something,” Curtis said. “Kaia, Seaworthy Labs won’t cease to be humane just because we’re dropping our research function. They’ll be happy in the sea park.”
“I’m going to get you the proof. You’re not capturing the dolphins.” The pressure was almost unbearable. Everyone was depending on her, and the thought of failing was unacceptable.
Curtis sighed and his stance relaxed. “It’s nothing personal, Kaia. I’m in business, not just research.”
Kaia didn’t answer him. If she had to, she’d make sure the dolphins never came into the lagoon again. They wouldn’t survive being cooped up. “I’ve got work to do.” She left him standing by the shed door and walked to the water.
Nani greeted her with an excited chatter. Kaia kicked off her slippers, sat on the pier, and dropped her feet into the water. “What are you trying to tell me, Nani?” Tears blurred her vision. She’d been trying so hard and still no breakthrough. What would it take to bridge the gap between her and Nani? The missing link was there somewhere. She just had to find it.
She pulled her fins and snorkel from her backpack and slipped into the water, adjusting her equipment into place. Nani brushed against her, and Kaia grabbed the dolphin’s dorsal fin and swam through the clear water with her friend. A school of bright yellow tangs scattered as they approached, and Kaia paused and floated as she watched them.
If only she and Nani could really communicate. Nani bumped her with her nostrum, her signal she wanted affection from Kaia. Kaia could feel Nani’s love and devotion to her, and she was sure the dolphin could feel how Kaia loved her as well, but the sense of connection wasn’t enough.
Kaia floated in the buoyant water and watched Nani try to imitate her. Why was this so important to her anyway? Other people, even her own family, sometimes acted as if they thought she was a little obsessed. But until she could share words with Nani, there would always be a wall between them. She wondered if Nani ever felt the distance the way Kaia did. Maybe the dolphin sometimes tried to communicate with her like God tried to communicate with man. Each group had such a different frame of reference.
Jenny was standing on the pier when she surfaced. “How’s it going?”