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Contents (45)
  1. ALSO BY AUDREY SCHULMAN
  2. THE DOLPHIN HOUSE
  3. ONE Tampa, Florida Feb. 1965
  4. TWO Aug. 1957 Ogunquit, Maine
  5. THREE May 1965
  6. FOUR March 1958 Orlando, Florida
  7. ARRIVAL
  8. FIVE June 4, 1965
  9. SIX June 4, 1965
  10. SEVEN June 5, 1965
  11. EIGHT June 6–10, 1965
  12. NINE June 11–16, 1965
  13. TEN June 17–26, 1965
  14. ELEVEN June 27–30, 1965
  15. TWELVE July 1–8, 1965
  16. THIRTEEN July 9–13, 1965
  17. FOURTEEN July 14, 1965
  18. LANGUAGE LESSONS
  19. FIFTEEN July 15–17, 1965
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN July 18–25, 1965
  22. EIGHTEEN July 26–Aug. 1, 1965
  23. NINETEEN Aug. 2–7, 1965
  24. TWENTY Aug. 8–15, 1965
  25. TWENTY-ONE Aug. 16, 1965
  26. TWENTY-TWO Aug. 17–30, 1965
  27. HOMEARIUM
  28. TWENTY-THREE Homearium, Day 1
  29. TWENTY-FOUR Homearium, Day 3
  30. TWENTY-FIVE Homearium, Days 4–7
  31. TWENTY-SIX Homearium, Week 2
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN Homearium, Week 3
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT Homearium, Week 4
  34. TWENTY-NINE Homearium, Week 5
  35. THIRTY Homearium, Weeks 6–8
  36. THIRTY-ONE Homearium, Weeks 9–11
  37. THIRTY-TWO Homearium, Week 12
  38. THIRTY-THREE Homearium, Week 13
  39. THIRTY-FOUR Homearium, Week 14
  40. THIRTY-FIVE Homearium, Week 15
  41. THIRTY-SIX Homearium, Week 16
  42. THIRTY-SEVEN Homearium, Week 18
  43. THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  45. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gift, she asked.

Yes, they said.

Occasionally she threw other types of fish to the dolphins, not just butterfish. She’d toss in a snapper, squid, mackerel or tarpon, experimenting to see what they’d eat. She wanted to expand their diet, give them more nutrients. In general, the higher the fat content, the faster they jumped for it.

She varied the mixture daily. If they seemed less interested in any type of fish, she wouldn’t offer that kind for a few days.

The dolphins clearly had individual tastes. Junior seemed to crave mackerel. He closed his eyes as he swallowed it, like a child eating candy. Mother, on the other hand, whistled in excitement (loud enough even for Cora to hear) at the sight of a tarpon.

It was Kat though who loved the squid. At the sight of a squid flying through the air, she’d jump high into the air, her mouth open, ready to catch it. Her eagerness was so large that Cora would throw the squid in her direction.

However Kat wouldn’t eat the squid. She’d hide the squid instead at the bottom of the lagoon until feeding time was over. Then she’d pull the body out. It was such a different shape from the solid biscuit of a butterfish or mackerel. Kat would explore the tentacles for the longest time, nosing them and clicking, fascinated. She’d shoulder her way into the body, then swim forward trying to balance it in place, wearing the squid on her fin as an epaulet. Or she’d grab it in her mouth and torpedo fast around the lagoon, a frenzied beard of legs.

Kat would play and play with each squid until it was shredded and in pieces. Only then did she abandon it.

In the mornings Cora would take the pool skimmer and scoop bits of squid legs off the surface of the lagoon.

* * *

Each day the dolphins swam a little closer to Cora while she was snorkeling. They clicked and stared at her. Their brown eyes focused and curious.

Returning their gaze reminded her of a neighbor’s baby she’d babysat as a child. The 11-month-old baby had stared at her solemnly, an old soul, considering each of her actions, not yet ready to speak.

* * *

One morning, she decided to breathe only when Bernie breathed. She wanted to find out how long she could breathe as infrequently as a dolphin. She picked Bernie because he was the biggest and she hoped he needed more air than the others.

So the next time he surfaced and inhaled, she sucked in air through the snorkel and then held her breath, floating there motionless, watching him. She counted off seconds in her head: one Mississippi, two Mississippi. Meanwhile he dove under the water and swam around, investigating the bottom of the lagoon, clicking down at it, turning rocks over with his beak, hoping to scare out something edible. The seconds ticked by, his actions relaxed and leisurely.

Within twenty seconds, the air in her lungs had expanded, the pressure in her throat. At twenty-six seconds, he rose to the surface and exhaled. The air burst from her mouth, loud in the snorkel. All the dolphins turned to look at her.