mortality is extremely high. Up to fifty
percent of all orcas die in the first seven months of life. Oh, and
this is cool! Orcas can live to over a hundred years old! But they
only live a quarter that long in captivity. Did you guys see that
documentary, Blackfish ?"
"Let's all try," Kevin said, ignoring
Gunnar, still talking about moving the creature.
So we all tried (even Min, which I
gave her credit for, considering we were probably committing a
major crime). The black skin felt really cool to the touch and had
this rubbery texture. As for the whale itself, it was almost
surreally heavy. It was like trying to push several tons of wet
towels all piled in a heap, somehow both loose and solid at the
same time. Even all of us together couldn't budge it.
Finally, we gave up.
Not far away, seagulls stood on the
rocky beach, eyeing the carcass.
"Maybe the tide'll take it away?"
Kevin said hopefully.
"Maybe," Min said, but I could tell
from the stark expression on both her and Gunnar's faces that there
was virtually no chance of that.
"Well, maybe it's not so bad up on the
porch," I said, trying to stay positive.
But if anything, the smell was even
worse at the top of the stairs. It was like the breeze off the
water lifted it right up to the deck.
I didn't know what to say to Kevin.
I'd said the night before that nothing was going to go wrong with
our wedding, but now something had. As long as that whale was down
on the beach, there was no way we could get married at the Amazing
Inn.
CHAPTER FIVE
"This is a disaster ," Kevin
said.
We were still on the deck, above the
dead killer whale — er, orca — down on the beach.
"It's not a disaster ," I said. "We
could get, like, citronella candles."
"Absolutely," Min said,
nodding.
"A perfect solution!" Vernie
said.
But even as we stood there, the breeze
blew, washing another cloud of dead whale stink up around us like
an ocean wave. Vernie coughed, almost choking, even as she tried
valiantly to suppress it. It didn't seem possible that the smell
could have gotten so much worse in the last few minutes, but maybe
it was more obvious now that we weren't focused on moving the
whale.
"How is it not disaster?" Kevin said
to me. "We can't possibly have the wedding here."
"So we'll just have everyone stay
inside," I said, waltzing toward the house.
"Totally," Gunnar said.
"Hells to the yes!" Otto
said.
Everyone followed me into the
house.
You could even smell it inside the
house with the doors closed. I also realized the dead whale must
have been what I smelled all the way over in Amazing.
"It's not that bad, mate," Nate said
to Kevin.
"No," Ruby said. "Really not bad at
all."
Everyone was lying. I knew
it and Kevin knew it. And the other thing that went unsaid was:
This was how bad that dead orca smelled now . How much worse would it be
twenty-four hours from now, after sitting in the sun all
day?
I spotted Vernie and something
occurred to me.
I stepped closer.
" This is a movie
moment," I said. "Isn't it?"
"What?" she said.
"The orca down on the beach. And the
fact that the smell is so bad that we can't possibly hold the
wedding here."
She thought about it. "I hate to admit
it, but I think you're right."
If this had been a scene in a
screenplay I was writing, I considered how I'd have my characters
solve the problem.
"We need to find another wedding
venue," I said to the group.
"Twenty-four hours before the
ceremony?" Kevin said, agitated. "On an island? With a budget of
zero?"
He was officially freaking
out.
But that was okay. That was the great
thing about being in a couple: if one person freaked out, there was
still one person left to stay in control and try to make things
right.
"It's a big island," I said. "There's
got to be someplace we can have a wedding."
"Yes," Min said. "Let's see what we
can find."
"Absolutely," Otto said again,
nodding.
We all started moving for the door,
but Vernie stayed where she was.
I looked back
percent of all orcas die in the first seven months of life. Oh, and
this is cool! Orcas can live to over a hundred years old! But they
only live a quarter that long in captivity. Did you guys see that
documentary, Blackfish ?"
"Let's all try," Kevin said, ignoring
Gunnar, still talking about moving the creature.
So we all tried (even Min, which I
gave her credit for, considering we were probably committing a
major crime). The black skin felt really cool to the touch and had
this rubbery texture. As for the whale itself, it was almost
surreally heavy. It was like trying to push several tons of wet
towels all piled in a heap, somehow both loose and solid at the
same time. Even all of us together couldn't budge it.
Finally, we gave up.
Not far away, seagulls stood on the
rocky beach, eyeing the carcass.
"Maybe the tide'll take it away?"
Kevin said hopefully.
"Maybe," Min said, but I could tell
from the stark expression on both her and Gunnar's faces that there
was virtually no chance of that.
"Well, maybe it's not so bad up on the
porch," I said, trying to stay positive.
But if anything, the smell was even
worse at the top of the stairs. It was like the breeze off the
water lifted it right up to the deck.
I didn't know what to say to Kevin.
I'd said the night before that nothing was going to go wrong with
our wedding, but now something had. As long as that whale was down
on the beach, there was no way we could get married at the Amazing
Inn.
CHAPTER FIVE
"This is a disaster ," Kevin
said.
We were still on the deck, above the
dead killer whale — er, orca — down on the beach.
"It's not a disaster ," I said. "We
could get, like, citronella candles."
"Absolutely," Min said,
nodding.
"A perfect solution!" Vernie
said.
But even as we stood there, the breeze
blew, washing another cloud of dead whale stink up around us like
an ocean wave. Vernie coughed, almost choking, even as she tried
valiantly to suppress it. It didn't seem possible that the smell
could have gotten so much worse in the last few minutes, but maybe
it was more obvious now that we weren't focused on moving the
whale.
"How is it not disaster?" Kevin said
to me. "We can't possibly have the wedding here."
"So we'll just have everyone stay
inside," I said, waltzing toward the house.
"Totally," Gunnar said.
"Hells to the yes!" Otto
said.
Everyone followed me into the
house.
You could even smell it inside the
house with the doors closed. I also realized the dead whale must
have been what I smelled all the way over in Amazing.
"It's not that bad, mate," Nate said
to Kevin.
"No," Ruby said. "Really not bad at
all."
Everyone was lying. I knew
it and Kevin knew it. And the other thing that went unsaid was:
This was how bad that dead orca smelled now . How much worse would it be
twenty-four hours from now, after sitting in the sun all
day?
I spotted Vernie and something
occurred to me.
I stepped closer.
" This is a movie
moment," I said. "Isn't it?"
"What?" she said.
"The orca down on the beach. And the
fact that the smell is so bad that we can't possibly hold the
wedding here."
She thought about it. "I hate to admit
it, but I think you're right."
If this had been a scene in a
screenplay I was writing, I considered how I'd have my characters
solve the problem.
"We need to find another wedding
venue," I said to the group.
"Twenty-four hours before the
ceremony?" Kevin said, agitated. "On an island? With a budget of
zero?"
He was officially freaking
out.
But that was okay. That was the great
thing about being in a couple: if one person freaked out, there was
still one person left to stay in control and try to make things
right.
"It's a big island," I said. "There's
got to be someplace we can have a wedding."
"Yes," Min said. "Let's see what we
can find."
"Absolutely," Otto said again,
nodding.
We all started moving for the door,
but Vernie stayed where she was.
I looked back
Similar Books
