Getting each dolphin back in the water meant lifting at least four hundred pounds of struggling muscle, turning them around and carrying them ‘til the bay was deep enough for them to swim. It was noisy and terrifying, but the other dolphins were getting the help they needed so I gave all of my attention to mine.
“Guys, help me with her, please!” I said to Blake and Mica, putting my arms around her in order to prevent her from doing further damage to her skin. Though it felt like the sturdy rubber of a wet suit I could see from the scrapes already on her that it was as sensitive as mine.
“On three,” Mica said. He and Blake had moved on either side of the dolphin and had wedged their arms underneath her body to protect her from the scraggy surface as we pushed her back into the welcoming sea.
We carried her ‘til we were waist deep, releasing her as soon as it was possible. Then we all collapsed together in the water, reeling from the stress of so many dolphins breaching on the sand at once. She took a second to nuzzle us, showing gratitude to each one of us in turn. But we couldn’t stay in the happy moment for long. We needed to help the other dolphins whose clicks and whistles had gone from happy to stressed, the ones safe in the water as well as those stuck on the sand.
Now that I was practically on top of her, I realized that she was a rare albino dolphin, not just a light-skinned one. The albino swam away from the rocks, calling the other dolphins towards her and out to sea. The ones who could turn did so and followed, leaving twenty or so gray animals struggling in the shallows. Moving as quickly as possible, I ignored my own pain to run to the others with Blake and Mica. We worked with everyone on the beach to turn the rest of the dolphins and get them back in to the ocean, happy when they finally moved to a deeper, safer part of the sea.
Before swimming from sight, the albino turned, eyeing me just like Mica had done, as if to check that I was okay. Seemingly satisfied, she turned away and went back to the open ocean with her pod. I scrambled to shore to find my girlfriends to tell them what had happened with Blake.
Moments later, surrounded by concerned partygoers, I sat on a bench and bit my lip to keep myself from crying. The scrape on my shoulder didn’t hurt when it happened but it sure burned during a thorough cleaning with peroxide. Billy produced a first-aid kit and used the lights on the golfie to see the damage. When I could no longer hold back the tears, Celeste pushed her way in and applied the liquid bandage herself.
“Epic First Night, huh?” Mica joked, attempting to break the tension. He looked over at Billy for confirmation.
“I’d say. Maybe we should always have them on the summer solstice, instead of just around it. Mad dolphin calling skills, Cami,” Billy said, giving me a gentle fist bump while Celeste continued to cover the scratches on my back.
“Well, yeah, as long as the dolphins—and Cami—are fine,” said Blake, eyes flashing over to mine in the firelight.
“Not totally fine,” I said, flicking my red plastic cup to make the point.
“Boys, I think Cami needs another beer,” said Celeste, “and so do I.” Mica and Blake fell over each other moving towards the keg with Billy, while they talked about the crazy speed and the size of the pod that had joined us for the swim.
Celeste finished her bandaging and quickly went from serious caretaker to giggly fangirl. “That was amazing!” she squealed, right into my ear.
With every russet curl on her head bouncing with excitement, it was hard to remember she was a serious research scientist.
“You mean embarrassing,” I said. “How am I ever going to make The Guard if some rocks and a foot of water almost made me drown?”
“Cami, that was hardly a drowning. So what did happen out there?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. As soon as I dove in I got carried up in their wakes, or something that felt like it,” I guessed, remembering the feeling of the albino dolphin moving me through the waves.
“You were in a slipstream?” Celeste asked eagerly.
I smiled.
“Wow, that’s how moms carry their calves in the water before they can swim fast enough to keep up. I can’t believe so many of them came—and then beached. And that we got them all back in the water so fast! Why did you swim up on the rocks, anyway?” Celeste looked at me with concern.
I paused, furrowing my forehead, considering her question. “I guess I got turned in the wrong direction? I don’t remember, except that I didn’t want to come up for air and leave the slip stream,” I said.
“Maybe you passed out under water?” she asked, looking concerned. “Either way, that albino saved you. Isn’t that a sign of fortune, according to the Island legends?”