“She was so tired, I think she forgot to set her alarm clock.” Marion set a plate in front of Ben just as a door slammed open somewhere in the back of the house.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Meena came barreling down the hallway into the kitchen, and I stuffed a big forkful of eggs into my mouth. Hopefully my mouth hadn’t hung open for too long. She was wearing a tiny tank top that hugged her braless body and showed off her toned stomach. If her parents knew what I was thinking right that moment, they would have skewered me with the spatula.
“What is he doing here?” Her voice cut through the room and you could hear a pin drop. She skidded to a stop and crossed her arms over her chest. I swallowed my eggs and saluted her with my fork. I decided I liked seeing her off-balance. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were wide with shock. Even if we got off on the wrong foot, her reaction seemed a bit on the excessive side. Maybe she just wasn’t a morning person.
“Meena!”
“He got here early, so I figured he might have missed breakfast.” Her parents talked over each other, but there was no mistaking their shock at her behavior. There went the morning person theory. Looks like it’s only me that gets the cold shoulder. Great. If I couldn’t spend some time with her pressed against me in that little toolshed, I’d settle for keeping her angry. I liked the way her eyes snapped.
“Is this your seat?” I wiggled on the stool and almost smiled when her eyebrows drew together and she took a deep breath. Yep, I liked seeing her pissed off.
“It is, but I don’t have time for breakfast.” She turned on her heel, giving me a nice view of her ass as she stalked back down the hallway. “Mom, toast me a bagel, would you?” She slammed her door shut and I laughed. I couldn’t help it.
“You sure did manage to piss her off, huh?” Ben elbowed me and smiled. “She’s usually a lot calmer.”
“We got off on the wrong foot.” I tore my toast in half and shoved a piece in my mouth. “I didn’t realize she was your daughter.”
“Uh huh. What did you say?” Marion leaned a hip against the counter and sipped from her coffee cup.
“I sort of hinted that I wasn’t happy about having to do community service.” I tried to find a diplomatic approach.
“I heard you thought this place was a real hellhole.” Marion looked at me over her coffee cup and I almost choked.
“Er, something like that. But mainly I was just complaining about giving up my summer.”
“Hellhole?” Ben looked at me and frowned. “That would certainly piss Meen off.” He chewed on a piece of bacon thoughtfully. “What exactly is so hellish?”
“Nothing.” I pushed back from the counter and took my empty plate to the sink. After rinsing the plate, I looked around for the dishwasher, but didn’t see one.
“Leave it. I’ll clean it with the others.” Marion’s eyes were thoughtful, and I felt like squirming.
“No, no. You don’t get off that easy.” Ben looked at me before standing up and kissing Marion on the cheek. He motioned for me to follow him out the door.
“Thank you, Marion.” That had been the best breakfast I’d had in years.
“Any time, Blake.” If it had been anyone else, I would have dismissed her words. But something about Marion and Ben put me at ease.
“I take it that your first impression of Flukes wasn’t that great.” Ben stuck his feet into his sandals and headed down the path toward the employee area. I kicked my feet into my shoes and hurried after him.
“Well…” I let my voice trail off. My first impression hadn’t been good. My second impression hadn’t really required any thinking. At least not with my brain. Which is why I wasn’t on Meena’s favorite-person list.
“It’s okay.” Ben sighed. He stopped for a minute and surveyed the sanctuary. “That’s actually what I’m going to have you guys working on. The place needs to be spiffed up. We’ve spent so much time and money on caring for the animals the other stuff fell through the cracks.”
“I can understand how that would happen.” The sanctuary sat in a natural cove that had been exaggerated by dredging. Roped-off areas and wooden boardwalks marked swim areas that housed dolphins. There was a bird house not far from the toolshed and a building that housed tanks and smaller animals.
“You’ve probably picked up some things from your father. What would you suggest focusing on? You’ve had a week to check things out.” Ben surprised me when he waited for an answer. He was really asking me.
“I don’t think I inherited the family business trait.” I was pretty sure I hadn’t inherited anything from my father.
“C’mon, Blake. You’re smart. I can see it and hear it. So, tell me the first thought that pops into your head.”
“A new sign.” I don’t know why I was actually answering him. “Not just a repaint, but a whole new logo. You need something more modern, something that won’t get lost in the crowd. Something bright and catchy, but welcoming. There are a bunch of dolphin-swims and you need to stand out.” I thought about it for a minute. This was an interesting puzzle. What would work? “Maybe a cool font that twists up into a dolphin tail, or shimmers like water.”
“That’s a good point. What else?” Ben turned to face me, intent on what I was saying. My father never asked me questions, just issued orders or demanded information. There was never a give-and-take conversation.
“Landscaping. Freshen everything up, make it look inviting and exciting. There isn’t anything tourists like better than to take pictures.” I looked at Ben, who was nodding his head. “Maybe hold a big event or something to announce that everything has been revamped.” I stopped there, because I had no idea what kind of money they had for this type of stuff.
Looking away from the man in front of me, I caught a glimpse of Meena walking down from the house and froze. I swear to God, my heart actually stuttered. Her hair was braided and pulled to one side under a little hat and her tiny shorts shouldn’t be legal, not even in the Caribbean where people were just as likely to show up in a bathing suit. The old shirt she wore hung off one shoulder, revealing her bronzed skin. It was a mouth-watering image and I looked away. The last thing I needed was to be thrown out of the program by her father for ogling his daughter.
“Meena, come here.” Ben waved her over and I fought a groan. Shoveling fish crap suddenly sounded appealing. At least then I wouldn’t be distracted or say something stupid.
“Hey, Dad. Did you already check on Mitch?” Meena stepped onto the little platform we were standing on and hooked her fingers into her back pockets.
“Not yet. Listen, Blake had some good ideas on how to get us into shape. The cruise-line people are going to be coming by in a few weeks, and I want us to have our best foot forward.”
Meena’s eyes darted to me as her father talked and I shrugged. It wasn’t like I’d suggested anything for the hell of it; he had asked me, but she was going to think I had ragged on her home again.
“So, I think you two should work on designing a new logo and maybe you can show him a little bit about how the sanctuary works. It might give him some more ideas.” Ben looked at me and cocked his head to the side. “That okay with you, Blake? I remember seeing your name on some of the pieces when the high school had their art showing last year. You could always come scrub tanks and help lay stepping stones instead.”
“No, I’d like to learn a little more about the sanctuary.” The man was sneaky. He had known I did graphic design and painted before even asking me. Ben smiled and I could see he was feeling a bit smug.
“All right! Get to it, then!” He clapped his hands and turned around, heading toward the toolshed.
I looked back at Meena, who was staring at me. Her face looked confused and nervous. My smile was immediate.