4.10 The Abyss of WonderLand
Chapter Thirteen It was easy to take the beauty of the hotel for granted. I’d walked through its elaborate reception room a number of times, but I still had that first stunned moment at each entrance into the reception room. It was frankly stunning. The red carpet, the chandeliers, the classy seats and tables with individual lamps. I think it was the shine of it all that hit me mostly, as if lemon polish had just been applied to every piece of wood and someone had made the glass of the door and windows sparkle. And then there was the huge wooden desk with the women all in a line, doing whatever they were supposed to do, looking busy, but glancing up to smile each time anyone approached. Their hair was always immaculate, and their dresses were minus a single wrinkle. The bouquet of flowers, a fresh one each day, held a practiced display of color, even if the flowers stank. Oh, and the huge wooden bowl filled with red delicious apples. I couldn’t forget them, even though I no longer grabbed one as we passed by since we had a bowl full in our room. As we rounded the corner, my eyes took in the elevator. I think that was the item that caught my eye the most. How did someone get that kind of shine? Unfingered or smudged. A shine so brilliant, you could actually see yourself in the reflection as you waited for the doors to open and to step inside. Timothy pushed our buttons, five this time, just in case, then smiled down at me. “Your face shows me all that I now fail to observe on my own. Never lose that ability my darling. I hope you always see the beauty in simple things like the shine of an elevator door.” Timothy’s words startled me. Was my face that reflective. Was I like the shiny elevator door, providing an image of my inner mind? But I said nothing and only smiled back at him. It was easy to do that. Timothy’s smile produced smiles, not just from me, but from everywhere. He had that quality of charisma, I guess they called it. I wondered what my grandmother would have said. Would she have fallen under Timothy’s spell as I had?
4.9 The Abyss of WonderLand
I’ve heard that there are people who dislike zoos and hate Sea World even more. I guess it’s bad to train animals to entertain us, and they are keeping animals in captivity in the three SeaWorlds, but perhaps, the benefit is that the more people learn about these creatures, the more they will want to protect them. Also, according to Frank, SeaWorld has reached out and saved 42,000 sick, wounded, and orphaned animals. Once these animals are rehabilitated, they are set free, back into the wild. Additionally, Frank told us that the Conservation Fund sends money to protect sea creatures all over the world. That’s something, something super good. The two giant scoops of ice cream we each got at the old time ice cream parlor were far too big for me. I’d chosen chocolate flavors, of course, and they were both delicious, but I couldn’t finish mine. I gave the rest of my cone to Bob when Timothy didn’t want it. Terry scolded Bob, saying. “That’s an extra three laps in the morning.” Bob didn’t even look guilty for being a glutton. He lapped at the ice cream like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, even though he’d just finished off his own hot fudge sundae with extra whipped cream and nuts. Terry stared at him and shook his head, but that didn’t bother Bob in the least. As we waited to hear from our driver, I was thinking about our day and about what we’d do the next day. Vacations always end, mostly when you’re not ready to return home, but I guess that’s a good thing. Otherwise home wouldn’t be home, right? Where would we be in the morning? Would we be flying home? (Horror of horrors. It was a short flight, I reminded myself.) I was just about to ask Timothy about what was coming next when we got the buzz that Alan was ready for us. We wiped up our mess, tossed our napkins, and walked out to the front where the limo was parked.
4.8 The Abyss of WonderLand
“The dolphins have whiskers at birth, but most species lose them as they grow,” Frank told us. Bob piped up, “That means they never have to shave.” I laughed. It was not only funny, but I’d been thinking a similar thing: no hair meant that Dolly didn’t have to shave her legs in the morning. Whoops, duh, no legs. When I started giggling over that, I had to sit down on the bench to get myself under control. Timothy took advantage of my moment of bench sitting to go up and touch the dolphin himself. I think the dolphin liked him best. She let out a squeak the moment she slid back into the water, then did a watery moonwalk, just for Timothy. Obviously, Timothy had charisma not just for human females, but for dolphin ones as well! Up until that moment, I hadn’t been sure that the dolphin liked us touching her. Frank told us that they were most sensitive on their snout, but their teeth were too sharp for me to reach out and touch one there. But, after Timothy rated such a tribute, I supposed that answered my question. It depended on who was doing the touching. We scurried off to see the beluga whales and the penguins. The penguins were adorable but smelly. But I absolutely loved the beluga whales. There were three of them: Allua, Klondike, and Oliver. They all looked the same to me, like triplets. But I guess their keepers could tell them apart. I asked Frank about seeing a manatee because I’d once read that Sea World had some, but Frank informed me that the manatees had been sent back to Florida. No more sea cows at Sea World. “We’ll just have to fly to Florida to see one then,” Timothy whispered in my ear, punctuating that with a gentle kiss. What a wild thought. I smiled at him, drugged by his nearness, but I was still conscious enough to shake my head. Stuff like that just wasn’t part of my life. A trip to Florida just to see a manatee? I laughed, a bit nervously because of his wild proposal. I could tell he meant it. We were all tired by that time of the day. I know we journeyed about on a cart, but there was still a lot of walking involved (and petting of strange creatures.) We were ready to say goodbye. There were a bunch of rides we could have gone on and more entertaining shows, but we said thank you to Frank and watched him drive off to the place where carts spent their night. As a finale, we decided to visit the ice cream parlor near the exit to wait for our limo driver to return to our drop off/pick up place. Of course, we ordered something. (We felt obligated. Ha ha.) Besides, the day was warm, our clothes were dry from the water ride and the animal splashes, and ice cream sounded ideal.
4.7 The Abyss of WonderLand
My least favorite part of the day was at the Flamingo Habitat. Flamingos are very beautiful birds, but they really stink. They were also extremely noisy. I’d thought they were like swans, elegant and mute. (Although when I mentioned that to Frank he told me that even the mute swan made a whistle sound, and then informed us that the trumpeter swans made a bunch of different noises, everything from honks to hisses.) When a couple of the flamingoes got into an argument, the noise level accelerated. Then they suddenly started poking each other with beaks and snapping at each other’s heads. It looked like they were having a dispute louder than the girlfriend/boyfriend combo in my apartment building that time. That couple had yelled, screamed, and called each other names for about twenty minutes. After their very loud and door-opening up and down the hall fight, both moved out of our apartment complex. I don’t know if they went in separate directions. I certainly hope so. But the flamingos seemed to get over their spat more quickly. They moved away from each other and went right back to doing their thing, which seemed to be leg juggling and water sipping. I won’t say that silence descended after that, but at least it wasn’t world war a la flamingo. I dreaded having an argument like that with Timothy. I just couldn’t bear it. “We will never have a spat like that, my darling,” he said, picking up the thought. “We are too attuned to each other.” Mind reading again. I rolled my eyes, but I didn’t move away. I liked his arm around me, and the way he sat closely whenever we watched some activity. In fact, I really, really liked everything about Timothy. He seemed to drip sweetness. (Amazing after my introduction to him when he’d seemed the most objectionable and the rudest person I’d ever met.) We left the salmon stinkball birds, and Frank took us to the Dolphin Adventures arena. That was an incredible show. I love dolphins. Who doesn’t? They are graceful, friendly, and adorable. Afterward the show, we got to get up close to them. Bob, always eager to stick his hand in a fish bucket, fed Dolly. I’d had enough of fishy substances and hung back, but I did reach out and touch her. Smooth and rubbery, kind of like the stingray. Frank told us their skin was hairless.
4.6 The Abyss of WonderLand
A while later, we rode something called the Arctic Rescue. They called it a straddle coaster. I was hesitant to do that, but the guys talked me into it. “It only goes 40 miles per hour,” Bob said. “You can be that brave.” Timothy argued, “She can skip it if she wants.” Forty miles an hour? Cars on the freeway go faster than that. Thinking like that seemed logical, even though I could hear the screaming and could see the way some of the riders were hanging onto the sides of the cars with whitened grips which should have told me that my initial judgement was correct, but I bowed to the pressure. And, of course, once the thing started moving, I discovered that riding such coasters was a lot different than sitting in a car seat contained in a nice, sturdy and comfortably heavy metal frame. Coward me, I shrieked and squealed most of the way down, and when the ride ended, I had legs so shaky I could barely stand up. Never, never again. I sincerely hate roller coasters of all kinds! Timothy’s arms around me and a few kisses for reassurance made my terror slip away. I leaned into him and forgot my moments of panic, but I did take the time to glare at Bob. He was the one who’d talked me into going on the ride. I wouldn’t be listening to him again. Feeding the stingrays in the Bat Ray Shallows was cool. It was kind of scary if you thought about how in the wild, rays could sting, but these didn’t. They felt like smooth rubber, only wet. Not impressive. But animals in all shapes were wondrous (even the scary sharks,) and we learned more about all the amazing sea creatures as Frank continued to weave his stories and offer fascinating facts. We ate lunch with the orcas. Luckily, our food was better than their raw fish. I had tortellini with marinara sauce and a side of roasted butternut with cranberries. I was also served a couple of tablespoons of Brussel sprouts, which was my absolute favorite vegetable. . . oh, and we got cupcakes for desserts. Of course, mine was chocolate. Meanwhile, the orcas were putting on a show, jumping up and diving down, excited about something. They were racing around their tank, faster than an animal that weighs more than 12,000 pounds should ever be able to go, at least that’s what I thought, but obviously the orcas didn’t agree. After stuffing ourselves, we moved into the stands of the Orca Encounter arena and saw the presentation. I guess that’s why the orcas were all agitated. They wanted a full audience to perform for. Timothy and I were spooning together, as old folks like my grandmother used to call it. The guys sat behind us. I know they were on duty, guarding us from the evils of such folks as Mr. Peters, but I think both Terry and Bob were enjoying the day as much as Timothy and I were. Bob, though, kept talking about how much fun the Artic Rescue was. He tried to convince me that I’d enjoy it more the second time. Not a chance.
4.5 The Abyss of WonderLand
In between all the oohing and ahhing, there were some sweet exchanges between Timothy and me. Neither of the guys paid attention to what we were doing since they were busy watching anyone who got near us, so a few kisses, hugs, and verbal interactions made the morning even more special. Being with the one you are falling in love with and sharing everything, well, let’s just say, that I was feeling like those jelly fish, just drifting in the watery depths of wonder. Timothy I was learning why some men called their wives honey. It was for the sweetness of their presence, the way the right woman seemed to bathe everything in a bubble of delight: with a smile, a kiss, a soft laugh. Everything Penelope did ricocheted inside my soul bouncing happiness about. How could I have lived without her quiet song? Of course, I had moments of disquiet. What if after our trip to San Diego, Penelope didn’t want me by her side? What if she grew tired of the trauma of men like Peters plaguing us, and even worse, what if she refused to join her life with mine? Could I endure a future without her? Such dark thoughts only struck me now and then. I couldn’t dwell in such worry, not when I was soaking up her joyfulness, her great enthusiasm for everything she saw. She was the zenith of all I’d ever wished for. Because she was beside me at that moment, laughing over the antics of a silly seagull strutting away with a piece of ice cream cone, I inhaled deeply and centered her warm giggle deeper inside my soul. Penelope The sea turtles at Turtle Reef were just my cup of tea. It’s not like they were cute, but they were enormous and rather sweet. We got to touch them and feed them. They seemed gentler than the seals had been. But in defending the sea lions, those seals did have the most adorable whiskers, and barked just like dogs. Well, almost. The turtles didn’t do anything except take lettuce from our hands. The turtles apparently had no speech, although Frank said they made a sound like a heavy yawn, emitting that sound in the water as a small eruption that came from their lungs. Perhaps they also blew some bubbles, but, in general, the turtles didn’t seem like you’d want to spend a lot of time with them, unless sea turtles were your thing.
4.4 The Abyss
I was a little unsure about picking up a fish and offering it to a sea lion, but after Terry showed off, saying it was easy, the rest of us followed suit. The shiny black female I fed had tickly whiskers and very bad breath, well, at least fishy breath. I guess that wouldn’t be nasty breath to another sea lion. Maybe, in fact, it was like cologne or perfume to other seals: eau de sea stink. We watched a show called Flippers, Facts, and Fun: the Sea Lion Experience. The show was adorable, funny, and incredible because the sea lions were more obedient than any dog I’d ever seen. (Yes, I know that some people don’t like seeing trained animals, but these sea lions (and otters) seemed quite happy to demonstrate their prowess in barking, diving and being cute. And it was probably easier for them to get mouthfuls of fish for a performance than to retrieve them in the wild where the sea lions might have to do an obstacle course with boats and sharks.) We toured the Jewels of the Sea where we got close and more or less friendly with a lot of jelly fish. First there were the moon jellies. They glowed. Then, there was a fourteen foot tall aquarium! It was like being in the ocean with them, except a lot safer. The interactive passages allowed us to stare up at a Gallery where we were surrounded by bioluminescence. It was all so wonderful. I’d say it was the highlight of the adventure, but Bob and Timothy both liked the fact that they got to touch the rubbery creatures. Timothy said the jelly fish felt like gelatine, the kind that is hard enough to make into cubes and sort of shimmies when you wiggle it. Bob said the jelly was a slimy balloon. Terry and I just hung back, more comfortable watching than putting our hands into the water. Next was the shark encounter. I was glad we didn’t feed or touch the sharks. They looked fierce and mean as they swam their restless circles. None of them paid any attention to us, which was a good thing. A staring shark might have given us nightmares. (Jaws in the flesh?) The Reef tidepool was filled with little kids. We didn’t stay there long, but we did see the starfish, mostly salmon-colored, although a few were tannish brown. All of them were elegantly shaped, like geometric art. (Okay, except one. It was missing a leg or tentacle or whatever. But Frank assured us it would grow the part back. He said that losing a limb was often a defense mechanism for the creatures, like a lizard losing its tail when a cat chases it.)
4.3 The Abyss of WonderLand
“Bob is right. We have dolphins, orcas, belugas, and penguins to see,” Timothy said, smiling at me. “But to get you into the mood, you’ll have to change into something more appropriate.” I glanced down at my zoo sweatshirt and glanced at Timothy puzzledly, but Timothy was already pouncing over to a bag stuck in the closet. “Here,” he said. “A Sea World rescue tee and another hoodie in case it gets cold. I’m afraid the website only had one cap without children’s characters. We all get a Mako shark, which I believe is from SeaWorld Orlando, but we’ll have to make do.” The men topped their heads with the caps, and I went into the bathroom to change into Sea World clothes. I actually liked my zoo sweatshirt and tee better, but I didn’t tell Timothy that. He was like a little boy with how cute he acted when he had gifts to hand out. The same limo driver was waiting for us in front of the hotel. (Mr. Peters was not sitting on one of the fancy couches anticipating our entry into the lobby, which pleased everyone. Terry seemed so happy about it that he cocked a full-lipped smile, a rarity for him.) I discovered that our driver’s name was Alan. He gave us a quick good morning, then headed directly towards Sea World. The vistas on the way were gorgeous, all ocean scenes. Bob said he saw dolphins out in the bay, but the rest of us missed them — if there were any. A bit later, we arrived at the entrance to Sea World and marched ourselves to guest services, which was right next to the restrooms, for all the people who drank too much coffee while munching on breakfast muffins. Thankfully. Timothy had signed us up for the Ultimate VIP Tour (of course.) So, we were met by a middle-aged man with a fringe of white hair on both sides of his head. The man, Frank, he told us to call him, was wearing a cool, dark blue official shirt, jeans, and a fleece jacket that informed us that he was a staff member, even though his badge hanging on a lanyard around his neck had already assured us of that. Frank said we’d be starting our visit that day with the sea lions, so we all piled into the little cart he was driving and headed off about as fast as a toddler on his tricycle, which was a good thing since there were a lot of people not paying attention. Frank had to beep at them to move sometimes, because the visitors often seemed completely oblivious to the occasional vehicles heading down the path where they were walking. But even though it seemed at times that we were only making a snail’s passage, Frank putted us forward. He seemed extremely skillful at dodging kids darting out in front of him and people ambling about without looking before they rushed to one side of the path or the other. Thankfully, there were no crushed pedestrians on the way to see the beautiful black circus seals.
4.2 The Abyss of WonderLand
“Bridesmaids?” I sighed and thought about it. “Sammy and Cara, if they could get free. Well, I know that Cara could, even if she’s in middle of a painting, but Sammy would have to ask for time off.” I stopped then, suddenly realizing what Timothy had just done. He’d spun the wedding into a reality feast. “Oh, you,” I said. I felt like slugging the man, but I didn’t. Instead, I took another gulp of coffee, topped my muffin with some honey, crammed it into my mouth, and chewed. There was silence between us then, me because I was chewing, he because he was cautiously waiting to find out what I’d say next. At least, I imagined so. But I couldn’t help letting my mind babble on. “I guess Simone should be a bridesmaid, too — and Judy. They were essential in bringing us together.” Timothy snorted. “You, my darling are as unpredictable as the stock market.” I knew little about that. Mostly, I thought the stock market was something akin to gambling, although I knew that lots of people said it was necessary in order to save up for their retirement. I guess it was something I should investigate. There were huge stack of things I needed to learn about, come to think of it, but if what Timothy said was true, after he bit me, I’d have a very long time to soak it all up. That was the good part about marrying a Pooka, at least I think that was a good thing. “If you involve the latter two ladies, the wedding should be an evening event. Simone, especially, has clients who depend on her.” I nodded, but it seemed odd that since she owned her own business she couldn’t take off a day. But that didn’t matter. Evening was good. “You’ve got me going again,” I said, sighing woefully. “I wasn’t the one who was talking about bridesmaids,” Timothy teased as he nuzzled my neck with his lips. I suppose we might have discussed flower arrangements, cake designs, and wedding invitations if a knock hadn’t suddenly pounded at the door. I could tell right off that it was Bob. He somehow made a fist against the door’s wood sound hollow and lengthier than a knock in general. Terry’s knock was more timid, a question, not a demand. Timothy stood up, walked over, and after looking through the peekaboo, opened the door. “We were just wondering when we were leaving for Sea World,” Bob asked. “That was supposed to be a surprise,” Timothy growled. I noted that his growl was nothing like Bob’s and Terry’s. Theirs sounded wolfish. Timothy’s was gravel striking wood.
4.1 The Abyss of WonderLand
There were a thousand things I could have said at that moment, like back away or don’t pressure me, but it was my fault the conversation had come up. I’d said yes when Timothy popped the question. And, then there was that other part to our moment of drama. Timothy still WANTED TO MARRY ME. Wow!!!! I guess the shock of that realization is why, instead of arguing, putting him off, or hedging about the when’s, where’s and how’s, I just blurted out, “My father’s dead. I don’t have anyone to walk me down the aisle.” Timothy sat down on the chair beside me and placed his arm around my shoulders. “Well,” he said, giving his attention to the subject as if my resistance to getting married had all melted away. “There’s Chris Shafer, the dancing instructor. Or Chef Stevens. And, we could ask Jack Peters . . .” When Timothy added the name of the crazy vampire hunter, I burst out laughing, which is exactly what he’d been hoping for. Meanwhile, while I was recovering with a healthy gulp of coffee, Timothy shoveled a heap of scrambled eggs on his plate and mine, sorted through the muffins and found either a walnut or banana bread one, offered me one (chocolate chip, of course, then poured himself a second cup of coffee. He refilled my cup, too, knowing that I always wanted more of the black nectar. “Now, seriously,” Timothy said after a minute. “Andrew would love to walk you down the aisle and so would Ed Sanders. Since Ed is your boss, that might be ideal. That way he can’t blame you for missing more work days while we’re off on our honeymoon.” I nodded as I thought about it. He and his wife certainly deserved to be included in the wedding since they were the ones who had set us up for that first meeting at their house. I nodded and took a sip of my cup of fresh coffee. Yes. Mr. Sanders would be perfect —if he’d agree. Of course, I was pretty sure that Judy wouldn’t give him any choice. She’d insist in that way she had of getting everyone around her to agree with her wishes. (I don’t mean that to sound negative. I loved Judy, but she was halfway between a hurricane and a tornado, except not destructive. But definitely a strong force of nature.) “And your bridesmaids?” Timothy asked.