Althena Book 2

36. Vacation Day

I sit at the table and stare at everyone in the morning. Clayton is wide awake, running in circles. Mike is chugging coffee.

"Eat your eggs." Monte pushes them at me.

"They have breakfast there. She can eat there." Clayton spins in a circle. "I lost my phone."

"Eat something here so I know you ate. You're going to get there and run all over." Mike refills his coffee.

Drogon hands out papers. "Everything is on your pass, but I printed it out too. Don't worry if you lose these. Thena and Clayton, you have passes for every animal encounter, but you have to take an adult. Any of us will work. Just grab someone. The adult doesn't do the encounter with you, they only stand there. Like the dolphins yesterday, we only have to be present. The underwater walk is at 11. We are going at the same time. You have a specific time for your dolphin time."

"What time are their dolphin times?"

"Both at 8. I wanted to get them done early, so they didn't miss it."

I raise my hand.

Drogon smiles. "Yes, babygirl."

"How do I do the monkeys with no time listed?"

"You go up to the entrance of the monkeys, and they will scan your wristband."

"Do I have to do them?"

"No. I thought you wanted to see the monkeys."

"I do."

He chuckles and winks at me. "I think that's it. Just make sure you have an adult for each animal thing or they won't let you do it."

Clayton nods. "We got this."

Mike fills up the biggest coffee cup he owns. "Let's go."

Conner scratches his head. "Woman, do you have a swimsuit on under that?"

"I forgot." I have shorts and a t-shirt on.

He holds his arms out. "Come on. I'll help you."

Mike nods. "It's on the dryer."

Conner gets me fixed, then he carries me. I lose my sandal halfway and point at it. I put my bottom lip out.

Drogon picks it up and glares at Mike. "Why didn't you let her sleep last night?"

"Sleep is not what she wanted to do."

"She's going to have melt down after melt down."

"She wasn't up that late. She'll be fine once she wakes up."

The lady lets us right in. Conner carries me to a cabana. It's private. Tropical trees, bushes, and flowers surround it. It has 2 couches and a table with 4 chairs. A little kitchen with a refrigerator. A big ceiling fan. The sides are open, so the breeze comes through. The front is a patio with 2 sun beds on it. Then a small path leads back out to the main park area.

Conner sits in a chair at the table with me and reads a menu. "This stuff doesn't cost anything?"

"Nope. Food and drinks are included."

Cyrus comes up the path. "This is a nice spot."

Drogon nods. "Yea, I told them close to the middle."

Cyrus bounces my hair. "You going to wake up so you can see the dolphins again?"

I sit up. "Yes."

Conner pulls me back against his chest. "Don't ruin my cuddles, man."

"I don't want her to miss the dolphins. She needs to go over there in 10 minutes."

"Oh, I thought it was at 8."

"They need to be there 15 minutes early for the wet suit."

"Fair enough. You want anything else to eat, babygirl?"

"Milk."

"There's some in the fridge. She can order something later. There's no time now." Drogon flips through his papers.

Cyrus hands me my milk.

I stand up and take my shorts and t-shirt off. Then I stretch.

Clayton grabs my arm and pulls. "Time to go."

I think all of them follow us. Mike zips the wet suit on me and fixes my hair.

A trainer and a photographer come up to me like yesterday. They do everything again. I get kisses and flips from the dolphin.

Clayton and I get out as Mike, Drogon, and Conner are getting in.

Cyrus smirks. "You want to see another animal while they do that?"

"Monkeys."

"They have a line. We better try them later. There's something in the next pool."

Clayton pulls me over to it. A man scans our bracelets. "Are you their adults?"

Monte nods. "Yea, that's fine."

"Come on in. 2 are ready."

I follow a guy and a photographer into the water. We walk in until it's about 4 feet deep.

"Pat the water in front of you and he'll come up to say hi. We have a few things you can feed him."

I jump up and down and pat the water. I don't even know what dolphins eat.

The photographer smiles. "Can you hold your breath and go under, so I can get a better picture of you?"

The trainer puts something bloody in my hand. "Once you get under, toss it about a foot in front of you."

I take a deep breath, drop under the water, and toss the bloody thing. Then I see a f*****g shark coming at me. That thing has some damn big teeth. I freeze solid. I know I pee. He gets closer and I run like hell. I run out of the water and jump on Monte. I shake from head to toe.

"What?" Cyrus runs over.

I can't speak.

"You want me to take you?" Monte takes 2 steps into the water.

"NO." I jump off him and pull him out. Then I hug him.

He picks me up. "What is this?"

The man smiles. "It's a shark encounter. She can feed them and touch them. The ones we have in the pool are safe. They like people."

I shake my head.

Monte bounces me. "You want me to touch it with you?"

"No." My eyes fill up with tears.

"Ok. We're done here. Thank you." He carries me back to the cabana and sits with me on the couch. Then he unzips the back of the wet suit and rubs my back. "You're alright. You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

I wake up when Cyrus and Mike are arguing about something. Monte is sleeping under me. We sit up and stare at them.

Mike kisses my head. "Do you feel better now?"

"I'm hungry."

"We need to go over to the last pool and do the walk. Then we'll have lunch."

The last pool is massive. Drogon zips me up. "You need to take this off while you eat, baby. I don't think it's supposed to be on you all the time."

An instructor smiles. "Welcome to sea walk. We have special shoes for you that will keep your feet on the bottom. A diving helmet so you can breathe. And I will be with you the entire time. We have built a man-made reef at the bottom of this pool. Beautiful tropical fish swim freely. Feel free to touch things and take pictures with the fish. We have 2 photographers coming with us. Hopefully, they'll get some good pictures for you. Does anyone have any questions?"

I raise my hand. "Are there sharks in there?"

"No sharks in this exhibit."

I relax and they put the helmet on me.

We walk in. It's amazing being able to walk on the bottom. The ground is sandy and made to be like the ocean. Whoever thought up this place is genius. She didn't lie about the fish. It seems like there are thousands. Some are fairly big. Others are brightly colored and travel in packs. They swim around the reef. The reef has so many different colors.

I'm mad when we have to get out. I could stay there forever. But I'm hungry too. We sit in the cabana and eat burgers.

Drogon puts his feet up. "Did everybody do everything?"

"No. We took a nap." Monte chuckles.

"Your dolphin thing isn't until 3. You have time."

"I'm done." Clayton smiles. "The shark was the best. He ate right out of my hand."

The boys agree with him and I shiver. That was not fun.

Mike scans my bracelet with his phone. "She has a lot left."

"We'll make sure she sees everything. Don't worry about it." Conner kisses my head.

"You're running around with Clayton. Drogon is stuck in his papers. Don't tell me not to worry about her."

Drogon rolls his eyes. "Mike, she'll be fine. She took a nap and ate. She did the 2 main things already. The only thing left that she wants to do is see the monkeys. One of us will make sure she sees the monkeys."

"The two main things are all she's done. Everything else is still listed. Monkeys, rays, bird, shark."

"I saw birds yesterday. That was enough. And I'm not seeing the shark anymore."

Monte nods. "They must have put it back on there. She did try, and I can take her to see the monkeys when we're done eating. We can feed monkeys and relax for a little bit."

Mike holds his arms out. I run and hug him. "Cyrus and I have to go into the office now. You call me if you need anything. I love you."

"I love you too. Did you do everything?" I glance back and forth at them.

"Yea. You were sleeping and Conner was doing everything with Clayton. It worked out well for us. We got our stuff done. I'm just sad I didn't get to do anything with you." He kisses my head.

Clayton rolls his eyes. "You were on the walk together."

I giggle and Mike pats my butt. "I guess I did get something with you. We'll see you tonight, baby."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

The 2 of them leave, and I glare at Conner, Drogon, Monte, and Clayton. "If any of you lead me to the shark tank, I will feed you to it."

Monte and Drogon crack up laughing.

Drogon stands up. "We understand that was a warning to Conner and Clayton. Do not f**k with her when it comes to sharks. We will never find your bodies."

Conner stands up and hugs me. "No sharks. We know, babygirl. We won't do that to you. Let's get this off you. You don't need a wet suit to sit on land and pet monkeys."

"My skin is so much happier."

"I bet. You can put your shorts and t-shirt on if you want. Or wear the bikini."

"I'll wear my clothes. I can put pictures on evo if I do that."

"True."

Monte takes me over to the monkey spot.

"Do you have a ticket for monkeys?" I nod and hold out my arm. She scans it and smiles. "Is this your adult?"

"Yes."

"Come right this way."

"Do I stay back here?"

"No. We'll take a boat over to the island. Kids do better with an adult they know on the boat."

This is not a boat. It is a raft with a motor. I sit in the middle on my knees. I make sure to touch Monte at all times. "Are there sharks down there?"

"Nope. This is our freshwater swimming pool. No fish. No sharks. Just people swimming in the zero entry part over there. If you fall out, float that way, and wave at the lifeguard. He'll get you."

I laugh, and we pull right up onto the island. It was like a 30-second trip.

The island is very small. It has a few trees and some grass. 5 monkeys see us and come running. The trainer smiles. "You have the whole island. You caught us at an empty time. You are lucky."

I sit in the grass. "So lucky."

One burrows up my side and wraps his arms around my neck. I hug him too. The others play with my hair or cuddle me. I love them. The photographers are going crazy.

Monte comes over with a basket of fruit and helps me feed them. I put a monkey on him and it hugs him. It's so sweet. We sit on the grass and play with them until the guy tells us the next people are coming over.

Monte takes me to the stingrays next. It's a pool about as deep as my knees. We walk around and touch them as they swim around. It's not the most exciting encounter, but it's unique.

We get out of that at 2:30. "What time is your dolphin time?"

"3."

"Let's go. I'll watch you."

"You want to do it with me?"

"I can't. I already did mine. I want to watch. I love the dolphins."

The lady scans him. "Can she come in and watch?"

"Yea, that'll be fine."

I run in and sit by the water. Monte gets a wet suit on. I zip it for him, and he goes with a trainer. Then another comes up to me. "You need to put a wet suit on."

I put it on so damn fast. I don't even think about it. I follow him out and smack the water. The dolphin swims up and kisses my cheek. Monte cracks up laughing. He's about 15 feet away from me. "Get over here. You little sneak."

I run to him and giggle. "I didn't sneak. He told me I needed a wet suit to go in. So, I put it on."

Monte and his trainer laugh. "That's one way to do it."

I smile and smack the water. When the dolphin comes up, I tap Monte's cheek. It gives him a kiss. "I love them."

Monte smacks the water and does the same thing to my cheek. When the dolphin kisses it, he kisses my other one. I cannot stop smiling. This is the best day ever. "Did he swim with you?"

"He did. He swam all over the place and brought me back."

"They are fast."

"Yes they are. And so good." Monte pets his little nose.

"Last thing. Raise your hand up, and he'll go do a flip to say bye."

I splash the dolphin. He laughs and turns around. Then he splashes us so hard with his tail. My hair is instantly soaked. I laugh so hard.

Monte nods and raises his arm. The dolphin swims off and does a flip. Then he picks me up. "I'll get the sneak out of here too."

We get back to the cabana and Conner is sleeping outside on a day bed. Clayton crashed on a couch. Drogon's at the table. "You want to see a sloth and pick out a souvenir, babygirl?"

"Is that a shark?"

"No. It's a sloth. They live on land."

"Ok."

Drogon and I go into what seems like an empty room. Then a lady brings a monkey and something else in. I run and sit in the middle of the floor. I play with the animals while they talk to Drogon about their conservation efforts and what they do with money. I don't care or pay attention to them. I snuggle the animals.

"What do you think, babygirl?"

"I love these guys."

He laughs. "I'll have to talk it over with the advisors."

A man smiles. "All donations go to help the animals."

"Did you take time out of our paid day to ask us for money?"

"No. This meeting is for you to meet the sloth. We also brought a monkey."

"Ok. Thank you. Goodbye." I pull Drogon with me.

He turns and pulls me when we get out. "I need to get the rights to the photos."

"I don't feel good about spending anymore money here."

"The photographers get it. They're a different business. And it's not their fault."

"Ok."

By the time we get back to the cabana, the boys are awake and Monte is there. "How much time do we have left?"

"Half an hour, if you want to do anything, you better do it. Then we're packing up and heading home."

Monte checks the pamphlet. "The river is the only thing I haven't seen."

I grab his arm.

Clayton and Conner jump up. "We'll show you where it is."

Drogon nods. "Yea, I want to see that cave again."