The Last Song

“Who’s the stiff?”

“Nobody. Just a friend. Go away.”

As the words drifted through the hazy corridors of his mind, Will struggled to remember where he was. Squinting into the sun, he realized he was face-to-face with a little boy.

“Oh, hey,” Will mumbled.

The boy rubbed his nose. “What are you doing here?”

“Waking up.”

“I can see that. But what were you doing here last night?”

Will smiled. The kid acted as serious as a coroner, which seemed comical given his age and stature. “Sleeping.”

“Uh-huh.”

Will pushed back, giving himself room to sit up, and noticed Ro

“I’m Will,” he offered. “And you are?”

The boy nodded toward Ro

Will scratched his head, smiling. “I see.”

Ro

“Oh?” Will asked.

“Yeah,” Jonah answered. “Except for the nosy part.”

“Good to know.”

Jonah continued to stare at him. “I think I know you.”

“I don’t think so. I feel like I would have remembered meeting you.”

“No, I do remember,” Jonah said, begi

The memory of that night came surging back, and Will turned to Ro

Oh, no.

Jonah was still going on. “Yeah, Officer Pete brought her home, and she and Dad had this big fight the next morning…”

Will saw Ro

Jonah stopped in midsentence, wondering what he’d said.

“Thanks for that,” Will growled, then hopped to his feet and sprinted after Ro

“Ro

He reached for her arm as he caught up with her. When his fingers grazed her T-shirt, she whirled to face him.

“Go away!”

“Just listen to me for a second-”

“You and I have nothing in common!” she snapped. “Get it?”

“Then what was last night about?”

Her cheeks were red. “Leave. Me. Alone.”

“Your act doesn’t work on me,” he said. For some reason, his words kept her quiet long enough to go on. “You stopped the fight, even though everyone else wanted blood. You were the only one who even noticed the kid who started to cry, and I saw the way you smiled when he went off with his mom. You read Tolstoy in your spare time. And you like sea turtles.”

Though she raised her chin defiantly, he sensed he’d struck a nerve. “So what?”

“So I want to show you something today.” He paused, relieved that she didn’t immediately say no. But she hadn’t said yes, either, and before she could decide one way or the other, he took a small step forward.

“You’ll like it,” he said. “I promise.”

Will pulled into the empty parking lot of the aquarium and followed a small service drive that led around back. Ro

He held open the door for her, feeling the cool draft as it mingled with the hot, humid air outside. He led her down a long corridor, then pushed through yet another door that led into the aquarium itself.

There were a handful of people working in their offices, although the aquarium wouldn’t open to the public for another hour. Will loved being here before it opened; the dim lights from the tanks and absence of sound made it feel like a secret hideaway. Often, he would find himself mesmerized by the poisoned spines of the lionfish as they moved in saltwater loops, skimming the glass. He wondered whether they realized their habitat had shrunk in size, and if they even knew he was there.

Ro

“Aurelia aurita,” Will said. “Also known as moon jellies.”

She nodded, returning her gaze to the tank, transfixed by their slow-motion movement. “They’re so delicate,” she said. “It’s hard to believe the stings can be so painful.”

Her hair had dried curlier than it had the day before, making her appear a bit like an unruly tomboy.

“Tell me about it. I think I’ve been stung at least once a year since I was a kid.”

“You should try to avoid them.”

“I do. But they find me anyway. I think they’re attracted to me.”

She smiled faintly, then turned and faced him directly. “What are we doing here?”

“I told you I wanted to show you something.”

“I’ve seen fish before. And I’ve been to an aquarium, too.”

“I know. But this is special.”

“Because no one else is here?”

“No,” he answered. “Because you’re going to see something that the public doesn’t see.”

“What? You and me alone near a fish tank?”

He gri

In a situation like this, he normally wouldn’t hesitate to take a girl’s hand, but he couldn’t bring himself to try it with her. He motioned with his thumb toward a corner hallway, tucked neatly away so as to be practically u

“Don’t tell me they gave you an office,” she teased.

“No,” he said, pushing open the door. “I don’t work here, remember? I’m just a volunteer.”

They entered a large cinder-block room crisscrossed by air ducts and dozens of exposed pipes. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, but the sound was drowned out by the enormous water filters that lined the far wall. A giant open tank, filled nearly to the top with ocean water, lent the air a tang of salt and brine.

Will led the way onto a steel-grated platform that circled the tank and climbed down the industrial steps. On the far side of the tank was a medium-size Plexiglas window. The lights above provided enough illumination to make out the slowly moving creature.

He watched Ro

“Is that a sea turtle?”

“A loggerhead, actually. Her name is Mabel.”

As the turtle glided past the window, the scars on her shell became apparent, as did the missing flipper.

“What happened to her?”

“She was hit by a boat propeller. She was rescued about a month ago, barely alive. A specialist from NC State had to amputate part of her front flipper.”

In the tank, unable to stay completely upright, Mabel swam at a slight angle and bumped into the far wall, then began her circuit again.

“Is she going to be okay?”

“It’s a miracle she’s lived this long, and I hope she’ll make it. She’s stronger now than she was. But no one knows if she can survive in the ocean.”

Ro

“Why did you want me to see this?”

“Because I thought you’d like her as much as I do,” he said. “Scars and all.”

Ro

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” she asked.

“It’s my day off.”

“Working for Dad has its perks, huh?”