BooksBarbecue
Back Whirlwind
Chapters (95)
  1. Title Page
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. 85
  87. 86
  88. 87
  89. 88
  90. 89
  91. 90
  92. 91
  93. 92
  94. Also by DAVID KLASS
  95. Copyright Page

My question dies on my lips as Eko takes off in flight. She soars two, three, four feet in the air, rising above the dark lagoon. Even Eko can’t jump that high, especially from shoulder-deep water. Then I see that she’s getting a lift, on the back of a bright pink dolphin!

The dolphin must weigh several hundred pounds, but it swims with grace and rubberlike flexibility. I see that it has a hump on its back instead of a dorsal fin. Its head pivots all the way around to look down at me, and it smiles. Eko grins, too, sharing a joke at my expense.

I feel something moving under me. Another pink dolphin! It gets me in the position it wants, and then rises with me on its back. I feel myself being launched out of the lagoon, and suddenly I’m flying next to Eko! We both laugh out loud at the wonderment of the moment.

We spend half an hour swimming with the two pink dolphins in the purple twilight of the Amazon evening. I can’t shake the feeling that we’re on a kind of enchanted double date. The dolphins have long beaks, friendly faces, and silky-smooth skin. They’re clearly devoted to each other, and they also love Eko, who can communicate with them telepathically.

I can’t find their wavelength, but it doesn’t take telepathy to figure out that they’re every bit as smart as we are, not to mention fun-loving and mischievous.

As the sun starts to sink, one of them tugs my shorts off and swims away with them. I cover up and move into deeper water as my shorts are deposited by dolphin beak on a branch of a distant floating tree. “Eko, did you tell him to do that?”

“They’re naked and I’m naked, so it seems only fair.”

“Fair to who?”

“Stop asking so many questions!” She laughs and then springs forward and dunks me.

It’s hard to win a dunk fight with a martial arts expert, but I feint right, go left, and dunk her right back. In a second we’re laughing and wrestling with each other, all knotted up in a jujitsu hold that could lead to strangulation or impregnation if it’s pushed much farther.

I didn’t plan it, but innocent fun changes into something much more serious. In a heartbeat we’re locked together, looking into each other’s eyes. Our heads incline. Our lips brush …

With a tremendous effort I break away and swim off underwater. Eko doesn’t chase me.

I stay away for a few long minutes, retrieve my shorts, and get my body back under control. When I swim back we resume the fun and games with our pink humpbacked friends, and try to pretend that nothing happened.