Eva’s muscles only hurt more when she climbed off her bike at home. The rest of the day had been a slog. She hadn't even gotten a chance to help train the dolphins and she only ever worked backstage during the shows. She didn't like being center stage or performing, she liked working with the animals.
She unclasped her helmet and locked her bike against the railing of the small one-story house she lived in with her mother. The early evening sky was a beautiful sight as she climbed her porch and unlocked the door.
She could practically smell the booze as ignored the living room. Tossing her bag on the counter and looking through the fridge. She grabbed some bread and cheese before turning on the stove to make some food.
“Evangeline!”
Eva sighed and shrugged off her jacket, mentally preparing to go to the living room. Her mother was on the couch in front of the television, watching some old show from the 90s on repeat. All the lights were off and the curtains drawn gave the room a stuffy feel.
“Hey, Mom,” she said, noting the half-empty bottle of wine. “Any luck finding work?”
Lilah groaned and sat up from the couch, noting her hand away from her eyes as if the light had been hurting her eyes despite the fact the room was dark. “No, you know how hard it is to find work right now.”
“You at least looked?”
“Course I did, sweetie,” Lilah replied with only a hint of a slur.
“Ok, that’s good then.”
“How was your day? Did you do anything fun with Mike?”
“Mum, we’re coworkers. There is a zero percent chance of that happening,” Eva groaned. Her mother drove her nuts, while she heard the things that Eva told her, her mother never seemed to actually listen.
“I don’t know what your problem is, Eva. He seems like such a nice boy.”
“He dropped me off once, you know nothing about him,” Eva sighed, the fight in her quickly deflating. She did not feel like rehashing things right now.
“Well excuse me for caring about you.”
“Goodnight Mom,” Eva replied, heading back to the kitchen before her temper got the better of her.
She quickly made and ate dinner before heading to her room. Her bedroom was small and stuffy but it was very much her space. Eva was a little embarrassed about the room, her childhood obsession had followed her to adulthood and she couldn't bring herself to get rid of all the stuffed animals and posters depicting different sea creatures.
Regardless it was a little slice of comfort in this uneasy household. She flopped on her bed and pulled out her phone. To her surprise, after all day of anxiously waiting she finally had a reply.
“Hello, my work is a mess right now but I would be free for lunch tomorrow if that works for you.”
She chewed on her cheek. It wasn't the friendliest response, but it was a start. She sent a message back saying that lunch tomorrow would work. Unsurprisingly her nerves remained, the general feeling of unease she always felt when walking into unfamiliar territory.
She sent Felisha a message, updating them on the situation less she witnessed their wrath tomorrow. They replied with enthusiasm and a large amount of emojis.
Eva plugged in her phone and sighed. She could hear the television in the living room. Her mother was getting worse and she didn't know what to do about it. She had tried to help her mother but Lilah needed to want it herself.
If Lilah wanted to drink herself to death then that was her choice and she couldn't stop her. The only thing stopping Eva from moving out was that she couldn't afford it. She ensured there were groceries but she had forced herself to stop trying to help. For her own sanity.
She had tried to get Lilah into rehab but her mother was still in denial of having a problem. The entire situation felt hopeless and a constant stressor in her life. All Eva could do was pull away. Lilah was an adult and she was barely an adult, she was in no position to deal with this sort of thing.
Swallowing the lump in her throat she clicked off the light. Focusing on the adventures that tomorrow would bring she drifted into sleep.
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Eva blew the whistle and Shelly, Nixie and Patch swam over to get their rewards. She lavished them with attention as they swallowed the fish whole.
“They've got the routine down to a T,” Mike grinned as he put the target pole back on the wall.
Patch screeched at her as she petted his snout. “Definitely. Assuming Patch doesn’t get distracted.”
“Oh, Doc says Mars will be fine but she wants us to keep an eye on him for a few days. Make sure he isn't being picked on.”
“Okay. Do you mind cleaning up? I have to meet someone for lunch,” Eva said, already getting ready to go.
“Sure, uh have fun,” Mike replied awkwardly. Eva knew she had been distracted all morning but it was impossible not to be. She didn't even have a real reason to meet Philip. That wasn’t true, he was family. With no relationship with her dad and a shitty one with her mom, she hoped they could hit it off.
Felisha had been right, their interests definitely seemed to align and it was quite a coincidence for them to run into each other here.
Eva quickly changed out of her work clothes and into something more casual as she slipped out of the park through crowds of people and headed for a nearby cafe.
She ordered a coffee and found a table. Her leg bounced anxiously as she waited. 12:15 came and went with no sign of Phillip. She checked her phone but there was no message from him.
She ordered herself a sandwich and a cookie, figuring she should still eat even if he didn’t show, though her appetite was long gone.
Finally, more than 15 minutes late, Phillip hurried into the cafe. He was a shorter plump man with large glasses, he still wore his lab coat and park ID around his neck.
“Sorry I’m late,” he apologized, hurrying over and sliding into the chair opposite from her.
Eva bit back saying it was fine, it wasn’t. So she just gave him a noncommittal shrug. “It happens.”
“Right… coffee, good idea,” he muttered. “One sec,” he said, heading over to the counter to order. Eva’s annoyance was quickly fading, he seemed like he was a bit of a mess, his hair was uncombed and his white coat had several stains matching the colour of the dark circles under his eyes. “I only have an hour until I have to get back. So… what do you need?” He finally asked when he returned with his coffee.
“I… I just wanted to have lunch,” Eva replied.
“Oh… ok, sure, um,” he said, seeming to stumble over himself even more now.
“I didn’t ask you here for help or anything, just… wanted to have lunch,” she repeated.
His short-circuiting brain finally seemed to process this and he smiled. “Good then, well… I feel like I’ve made this awkward,” he laughed.
“Maybe a little.” This was not at all how Eva expected this to go but she felt a little more comfortable knowing she wasn't the only one feeling awkward. He wasn't as intimidating as she had built him up in her head.
“Well… how do you like working at Ocean Land?” he asked after an awkward pause.
“It's good, I’ve always wanted to work with marine mammals so it's kinda a dream come true.”
He nodded, “You’re working with the dolphins right?”
“Yeah, I didn't expect to get promoted after only a year,” she replied pointedly. Ocean Land would have just been a summer job if it wasn't for that and she was pretty sure who was responsible.
He held up his hands, “I just put in a good word for you, Harry and I have been friends for years. I knew you would be great at it.”
“You barely know me,” Eva laughed. She hadn't realized the promotion had come from the top. Harry Hawes was the park manager, a cheery older greying man. She had maybe said ten words to him ever, the idea that they were talking about her made her a little uneasy but she decided to let it go. She was quite grateful for the job even if how she got it put a sour taste in her mouth.
“I seem to recall your fascination with orca so I know you have good taste,” he shrugged sheepishly.
Eva laughed and pulled the collar of her shirt aside, revealing a tattoo of an orca in front of a large crescent moon and starry sky on her shoulder. “I’m definitely team orca.”
“Oh wow, that's beautiful. I haven't committed myself quite that much. Though I'm now working…”
Eva cocked her head as he trailed off, clearly remembering that he wasn't supposed to say anything about whatever he did.
“We uh… found a very rare specimen that I've been quite busy learning about but it's been rewarding.”
“An orca?” She pried, unable to help herself.
“Um yes, a distant cousin maybe,” he replied shifting in his seat.
“That sounds really cool. So that's what you do in your top secret lab, study rare animals?”
“I do all sorts of things, most of my work is just managerial. It's not really that exciting,” he explained, seemingly grateful for the change in topic.
“I don’t suppose they have a bring your niece to work day?” she asked. The idea of a rare kind of orca certainly interested her and his work sounded more research based which did interest her. She felt a little conflicted about training the dolphins though she did enjoy spending time with them.
“No, unfortunately not, but I do run the department. I could… possibly arrange something,” he offered hesitantly.
“Really?” Eva asked, pouncing on the opportunity.
“I’d have to clear it with my boss, and you’d have to sign an NDA. I’m not making any promises but I would really like to show you what we’ve been working on. It's like nothing you've ever seen before.”
Eva did not miss the awe on his face. Images of pale white-grey orcas flashed through her mind, bulbous-headed orcas, some kind of hybrid species and more. She knew orcas were evolving thanks to their individual culture, the only other species besides humans to do this, whatever Phillip had in his lab sounded like something truly incredible.
With the ice now broken the rest of lunch was far less awkward. Phillip really seemed to want a relationship with her, unlike her father, Eva couldn't help but note bitterly. She brushed aside his questions about her life, he already knew about her mom to some degree and she didn’t want to get into it.
Her entire career being the result of nepotism still didn’t sit well with her. But she could only care about that so much when she got to work with the animals she loved. A sanctuary wouldn’t pay as well and she wouldn’t be able to get so close.
The visit was over far too soon as Phillip had to get back to work. He seemed more cheerful compared to before though there was still very much the undertone of exhaustion.
When she arrived back at the park she was a bundle of energy. The sound of the park was almost deafening compared to the quiet cafe. People screaming on rides, families yelling, and kids running. The normal utter chaos of sensations that she was usually used to but today it felt like a shock.
“How did it go?” Felisha asked when I found them in the fish kitchen.
“Good, I might be finding out what’s in the research facility.”
“Damn, you better spill the beans.”
“All I know is that it's got something to do with an orca.”
Felisha’s excitement dimmed at that and they rolled their eyes. “I knew he would be an orca lover.”
“Oh god,” I winced at their wording and they burst out laughing.
“Maybe I worded that badly,” Felisha wheezed.
“He might work with fish too, I don’t know.”
“If he does tell him I wanna come too.”
“Where are we going?” Mike asked, making both of them jump as he dropped an empty cooler in the sink.
“If he’s got dolphins I’ll invite you too,” Eva snorted.