A Dolphin For One

Chapter 1

As the only child of Ray and Dani Ross, Kaileigh sometimes thought about what it might be like to have someone around for bit of company, maybe some late night whispered conversations when sleep ran away and hid under the pine trees-when the Colorado skies turned that skybluepink and forced every living creature to rest for the following day. There had even been a few times when she wished for a brother to irritate her and steal the glory by cleaning the garage perfectly when she had done all the work.

But that was only sometimes. Most of the time, Kaileigh found herself quite contented in the fact that she was the center of her parents world and shared the spotlight with nobody else.

Ray and Dani enjoyed showing their love for the teenage girl and gave her everything they could; there may have been times when the family had to pinch corners or save up for certain things they wanted, but that never bothered Kaileigh. Growing up in the mountains, material possessions never rated high on her priority list anyhow.

Their daughter thought of herself as being practical, able to discern between the wants list and the needs list. It had actually been half a quarter's home schooling class in economics, taught by her mom in the upstairs laundry room-makeshift class room that her parents had designed right before she started kindergarten.

Home schooling had never been anything her parents planned in advance. They had, in fact, never even thought about it until they bought that house up on the Colorado hilltop in the middle of nowhere and it dawned on them that their daughter could be hurt on the playground several miles away or God forbid, the brakes on the school bus went out going around those steep inclines.

Without even discussing the matter, the couple simply began preparing the class room, bought a case of notebooks-and it was a done deal.

The way Dani looked at the situation, she worked at home anyway; her freelance writing had taken off and the work schedule allowed her to work around her family's needs. Kaileigh's education fit in just fine with a schedule like that.

*

The girl's eyes scanned her bedroom, over the plum-colored curtains, past the bookcase and the pair of guitars propped up in the corner. Blue eyes scanned for that one last item to stash inside her duffel bag; can't go camping without a book light! When she caught sight of it sticking out from under a pile of folded laundry on the end of her bed, Kaileigh scooped up the treasure and did her version of the Happy Dance.

She'd been looking forward to this trip for ages. Even though her parents had planned to go more than once over the last couple of years, something always forced her parents into postponing their vacation plans. Each time she heard the bad news, the duffle bag found its way back to the top shelf of her closet-along with dreams of sleeping under the stars and feeling the breeze blow across her nose.

But this time her family was really going on that camping trip, no doubt about it!

She'd known it was a for-sure deal when her mom announced that school would consist of two full days of non-stop home economics; time to fill plastic zip-top bags with trail mix, jerky and other snack foods the Ross clan loved.

Her dad had already gone to the trouble of crawling under their house; he dragged out the folding chairs and chest coolers. Once the tents were watertight and all the parts were collected into one container, Ray folded the tents back up and stowed them in their respective bags again. He was one of those dads who believed in making sure everything was in working order before leaving the house.

*

Dani stood in the door frame of her daughter's room, her back firmly planted against the cedar.

So what are you wearing in the morning?

Kaileigh's startled jump showed her mom that she had no idea her mom had been standing there; did she catch her performance in the hair brush a few minutes earlier?

Pointing to the brass chair in the corner of her room, Kaileigh showed her mom the chosen ensemble: jean shorts (otherwise known in the teen circle as jorts), a long sleeve yellow t-shirt with matching yellow socks, and of course, the pair of hiking boots she'd broken in long ago.

Cool, her mom confirmed. Might as well haul your stuff out and set it on the couch so Dad can pile it in the trailer. He's gone now to fill up the propane tanks and top of the tank on the truck; he's hoping to roll at daybreak. I might also warn you that he decided to bring his banjo.

Kaileigh stopped cold. I thought he said I couldn't bring my guitar-what gives?

Dani winked at her daughter and gave a swift nod toward the corner of her room. "Which one do you like most? Daddy never said I couldn't bring one."

That one, her daughter pointed to the acoustic guitar, the one she would be least sad about if anything happened to. Thanks, Mom! You're the best."

It's what I do, Dani waved as she made her way out of the room to sneak their secret into that overhead ledge in the trailer.

*

Why do you insist on being so loud? Kaileigh's unpainted fingertips fumbled around until they found the little lastic switch protruding from the back of the alarm clock and mechanically gave it the familiar flip. For a blissful three seconds, the teenager fell back into slumber.

As if some invisible creature poked her from underneath the bed, Kaileigh bolted straight out of the blue gingham comforter, her feet plunking down on the carpet in one fluid motion. She flipped the long dark hair from her face and grinned. Oh yeah. It was goin' down!

Woo hoo! Vacation day, everyone – wakey, wakey! The smile revealed perfect white teeth, compliments of the local orthodontist. On her last visit, she'd chosen the black and neon pink bands to reflect her inner rock-star.

Tripping her left foot on the lamp cord, Kaileigh darted right by the White Rabbit boy band poster she'd proudly displayed on her wall-instead of pausing to stare at Danny Montgomery, as she normally did before leaving her room Lead vocals and bassist, he and his pop group had earned the coveted Group of the Year award for three straight years. Every teenager in the nation knew who the guy was.

Instead of her normal pause, however, the girl burst out of her room to crane her neck up toward her parent’s upstairs lofted bedroom.

C'mon! The sun is almost up already, you sleepyheads, she hollered up.

No response.

Mom?

Nothing.

Kaileigh gave a look of disgust and shook her head; how could they sleep in today, of all days? That look of disgust quickly turned to a childish grin as she began tip-toeing up the staircase. She remembered jumping into the center of their bed as a little girl and shouting 'hiyegi', which means 'wake up' in the Cherokee language.

Each step widened the girl's grin as she made her way down the skinny hallway toward their room.

But the joke was on Kaileigh, because their room was empty, the bed had been made, and there was a note waiting on the comforter for her; it simply read, Meet us outside when you're ready. We have a surprise for you!

If she thought she could have gotten away with jumping down over the side of the lofted bedroom without breaking a leg, she probably would have opted for that maneuver. Instead, teenage feet raced back down the staircase and out the front door; once she'd firmly planted herself to the porch, her eyes found the surprise.

No way! she shrieked when her eyes fell on the matching neon green and white quads tethered to her dad's flatbed trailer.

Aw, ya hear that, Mom? She doesn't want them. Guess we'll just have to take them back now, he teased.

His daughter raked one hand through her mop of hair and pointed one finger at him as she caught her breath.

Not a chance, Mister! When did you do this? I am always with you!

Ray Ross nodded. Yea, but you haven't been with the Wilsons. I asked Mark to bring them home with him when he went into town a couple of weeks ago. They've been in his garage ever since, and then last night when I made a fuel run, I swung by and grabbed them. Sneaky, huh? Her dad wiggled his eyebrows up and down, flashing that grin of his."

Kaileigh's grin turned completely upside down as a vision crept into the back of her mind.

Ewwww...what about-

Her words cut short, Dani knew exactly what was on her mind.

He's been away at his uncle's ranch for a week and a half now. No, he didn't sit on them, came the assurance she needed to hear.

They were referring to the Wilson's teenage son, who, in Kaileigh's opinion, was a total idiot. She'd been turned off by the boy several months before, when she and her dad were rebuilding a transmission for Mr. Wilson.

Hey, I don't wanna hafta get up, she called to the Village Idiot. You wanna hand me that torque converter?

He'd just stood there. Blankly staring first at her feet and then at the work bench. He had no clue what she was talking about and the girl rolled her blue eyes at him.

Puffing a strand of hair from her mouth, she called out a second time.

Yo, it's that big round thing. Sitting next to all those shiny metal things on sticks, she mumbled.

He winced, wounded.

Yeah? Well, don't be so smart.

He reached over and put his hand on the torque converter, glancing over at her first to double check that was the right thing.

She forced a smile.

It was too late when he realized it was actually a two-handed task, his shoulders snapping from the weight. He glanced in her direction to see if she'd caught it.

She had.

Her dad's voice brought her back to the quads.

You gonna stand there all day or are we going camping?

Chapter 2

There is nothing in the whole world like my daddy's cheesey-eggs, Kaileigh reported out loud, rubbing her belly for emphasis.

Ray stood at the dish-washing station he'd invented the summer before; the bubbles splashed as the still-hot skillet hit the water, sizzling and popping while her mom refilled coffee mugs.

The teen pointed at her own mug.

Don't forget about me!

Hit me, Mamma, one more time... Dani sang off-key.

Her daughter held up one finger and mouthed the word, NO, shaking her head with closed eyes and a scrunched up nose.

What? Dani laughed. Can't a mom sing?

Not that!

*

The Ross family camping vacation went down in the books as the highlight of their entire life thus far; between Ray's surprise of the quads and her mom remembering to pack everything including a couple of cans of campfire spaghetti sauce, to all the jokes and rounds of Scrabble, Kaileigh knew she would never forget the past week.

On that last night of their trip, the three pitched in to cook dinner together. Campfire spaghetti.

With supper eaten and dishes dried and nestled securely back into their proper totes, the Ross family retired to their camper table for a rousing game of Monopoly.

Mamma always asked the same set of questions before every game they played.

Are we gonna use the ones for ones or for thousands? And do we have to go around once before we buy anything?

Dad always answered the same way.

We’ll use them for thousands, and yeah. Go around once.

She smiled to herself; the comfort of familiarity with family was by far the best way to spend her night. She was also waiting for her mom to ask if they could take out personal loans from the bank.

She did.

And her dad pretended to think about it before answering that yeah, they could do that. Like he always did.

Chapter 3

The Ross family, loaded down with all their camping gear, pulled out from their rented spot in front of the lake after some of the happiest ten days they had ever spent together. No responsibilities, no stress. Nothing to fix, tote, or worry about. It had been the trip of a lifetime and they all agreed this would become an event they repeated once a year.

Ray looked in the rear view mirror at his daughter.

All she saw was his blue eyes peeping back at her as she listened to his every word.

Let's keep the tents in good condition so it's not such an ordeal next year, he teased. Or at least, let's keep them in a better place than I found them in this time around!

Wincing, Kaileigh found herself pointing a finger at her dad. Okay, that was not entirely my fault, ya know! You told me to pack em in and I did. How did I know you meant near the basement door and not at the back of the house? You must be specific with me, Dad, she teased right back. And who was it that misplaced the brackets, anyhow … Mom?

Whoah! How did I get dragged into this? I only did what I was told to do. She slipped her hand in between the seat and door, fishing a candy bar of bribery to her daughter.

Oh, I totally take Mom’s side on this one, Pops. Totally, she chirped as she tapped thanks to the master briber in the front passenger seat.

Ray steered the truck, camper and 4-wheelers down the three-mile trail and out the main gates of the Rocky Mountain Wonderland Campground, glancing in the rear-view mirror for one last glance at what he was leaving behind. He let out a long breath.

Sure wish we weren't heading back already. I sure could have stayed another week.

Dani peeled the sun visor down to shield the sunlight from her side of the window and pulled her seat belt into place, agreeing with her husband. Me, too. I wasn't so sure how I'd do for so long out here, to be honest. But now that it's over, I wish it wasn't; I sure did take a few mental notes on stuff to bring-and not to bring-next year, though. For instance, maybe I didn't really need all that much string after all.

Before Ray could even open his mouth, Dani raised one hand and grinned. I intended on hiking and finding tons of flowers to make bouquets out of. I would have needed a lot of string to hold all those flowers together, wouldn't I?

Three balls of the stuff, though?

She opened her mouth to say something smart, but only laughed. Yeah, like I said … mental notes for next year.

Thirty minutes later, Kaileigh fished through her bag to find the MP3 player her parents had given her a few weeks before to show their appreciation for how she'd helped them with the firewood hauling and post-hole digging. Not oblivious of the fact that mountain life could be tough, especially when they asked her to do as much as they did, an occasional spoiling of their daughter was something they both enjoyed when they manage fitting it in. Kaileigh's parents still would have gotten the gift for her, though, even if firewood chopping hadn't been involved.

While the adults talked between themselves, the teenager in the back of the truck slid down into her seat, lying on her back to enjoy her music. The tires rolling and vibrating over the mountainous roads lulled Kaileigh to sleep halfway into the fifth song.

Hearing her daughter’s familiar light snore, Dani pulled her cell phone out and pulled up the camera function, switched it to the proper mode for snapping a photo in the cab of the truck. Snapping the shot, she turned the phone toward her husband. Isn't she the most perfect kid in the world?

Ray grinned. He had always been so proud of his daughter. She could chop wood with him, rebuild an engine and change brakes with the best of them–and still cleaned up mighty well for Sunday morning. Yes, indeed, his daughter was perfect in his eyes.

Think I should email a copy of it to her when we stop for lunch?

Laughing at how wife and daughter enjoyed their electronic games, such as texting one another when they were in the same vehicle, he just shook his head. Yeah, she'd like that. She might get a shot of you when you least expect it, but she would probably do that anyhow, he added. I seem to remember a few pictures floating around of a certain daddy who was sleeping.

Ok, in my own defense, we had to do it!

"Why can't you two just let me sleep in peace? Do you always have to decorate me and take pictures of it?

She grinned, looked out the window, and remembered the last time she and her daughter had decorated him in his sleep. Ray had relaxed himself into a nap in the living room, so she and Kaileigh lined up small stuffed animals on his chest and even placed a toothbrush across his cheek so lightly that he hadn't felt it. They'd taken the photo, removed the evidence, and nobody was any the wiser until the photos came back from the developer.

The couple rode in silence for a while, just enjoying the beautiful scenery the Colorado Rockies had to offer during the autumn months. The leaves on aspen trees turned into the most glorious golden tones, and against their white bark trunks, it was one of Dani's favorite parts of living in the Rockies.