the turtle’s side. She felt fiercely protective of the turtle she rescued. “I’ve been amazed at how resilient sea turtles can be. I’m not giving up on her.”
“She’s certainly a big girl,” Brett said, drawing near with Little Lovie in his arms.
“Let’s see how big she is.” Cara pulled a measuring tape out of her backpack and made quick work of measurements. She called out the numbers to Flo who scribbled them down in her notebook. Little Lovie scrambled out of Brett’s arms to hover closer, half curious, half repelled by the condition of the turtle.
Toy tucked her fingertips into her back pockets. The early evening’s chill seemed to go straight through her wet clothes.
“From tip to tip of the shell, I’ve got forty inches,” Cara called out. “I’m guessing she’s well over 200 pounds.”
Flo slapped the sand from her hands. “Well, that’s that. I guess I’d better call it in to DuBose at the Department of Natural Resources to come get her.”
“I could call the Aquarium,” Toy piped up.
Cara checked her watch. “It’s after six o’clock. DuBose won’t be in her office.”
“No, but there’s the DNR hotline number,” Flo replied. “Someone will come out.”
“Tomorrow, most likely,” said Brett.
“DNR doesn’t do rehab,” Cara said, zipping up her backpack. “What will they do with a live turtle?”
Flo shrugged. “Do you have any better ideas?”
“I could call the Aquarium.” Toy said again, a little louder.
The two women turned their heads toward her in swift unison.
“The Aquarium?” asked Flo with doubt. “What will they do? They don’t take in sick sea turtles.”
“Well, actually, yes they—we do,” Toy replied. “At least, the Aquarium took two in before. A few years back. They didn’t do the rehabilitation, but they held the turtle until it could be moved to a vet. I don’t know…it’s just a thought,” she added hesitatingly.
“Even so,” Cara replied. “No one will be at the Aquarium at this hour either. Why do the emergencies always happen after business hours? It’s like some unspoken law.”
“But we can still call the Aquarium,” Toy persisted. “We always have someone on call.”
“Really?” Cara asked, interested. “Then, I suppose that is a possibility to consider.”
“The DNR still has to be notified,” Flo said with finality. “Anything to do with turtles is their jurisdiction.”
“Sure, but then they’re stuck with trying to find a place to rehabilitate it,” Toy argued back.
Cara shook her head. “Flo, don’t get worked up. We’ll call DuBose.”
While Cara and Flo argued the point between them, Toy limped off, her heel digging half moons into the sand. She went to Little Lovie’s lopsided sand castle, noticing the bits of shells and sea whip that Lovie had decorated it with while she stuffed the buckets and spades into the canvas bag.
“You okay?”
Toy turned her head surprised to see Brett standing by her side. His broad shoulders blocked her view of the women at the shoreline.
“It’s just a scratch from a sea shell,” she said and returned to stuffing her bag with toys.
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
She tossed a sandy spade into the bag and rested her hands on her thighs, then she looked up again. He was standing with his hands on his hips and a calm and a patient expression on his face. It was so typical of him. Surrounded by volatile women, Brett was always a steadying force for them all. She’d come to look up to him as the big brother she’d always wanted and he’d steered her straight through some pretty rocky waters over the years.
“Do you really think the Aquarium will take the turtle in?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Honestly, Brett, I don’t know. I’ve heard talk of taking turtles in this season, but nothing’s been decided. It’s certainly not up to me.” She hesitated then said with feeling, “But at least it’s a possibility.”
“And a good one. Do you know who to call?”
A smile twitched her lips as she nodded.
“So, what are you waiting for? Make that call. You sure don’t need our permission. And it sounds to me like you’ve got the best idea going.”
Toy pulled her cell phone from the canvas bag, dreading the task she’d set for herself. After all her bluster, she couldn’t back out now. Brett crossed his arms and waited while she dialed the number of her supervisor at the Aquarium. She told herself it was the cold, not nervousness, that made her fingers stiff but the pounding in her heart was proof that it took nerves for her, a low-level staff member at the Aquarium, to be calling the Director of Animal Husbandry. She shivered as the wind gusted.
Jason answered the phone after two rings. The phone connection from the beach wasn’t good and she had to repeat sentences, but she managed to quickly sum up the situation. After a few minutes conversation she closed her cell phone and looked up at Brett, eyes wide with triumph.
“Jason said to bring her in!”
“Well, hey! Good work, kiddo.”
Toy felt a surge of satisfaction at the congratulations Cara and Flo gave her when she delivered the good news.
“The only problem is,” Toy added, “the Aquarium is locked tight until morning.”
“What are we supposed to do with the turtle till then?” Flo asked.
“When I interned at the sea turtle hospital at Topsail,” Toy replied, “Jean Beasley told me about the first sick turtle they found. She was a big loggerhead, like this one. They found her floating, too. It was late in the day and they didn’t have anywhere to take her, so they carried the turtle to Jean’s garage on the island, washed her off, wrapped her in warm wet towels and watched her through the night. The next morning they drove her to a veterinary hospital. That same night the turtle was released back to Jean’s garage.” She smiled. “And that was the beginning of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle hospital.”
“You thinking of starting a hospital, now?” Flo chided.
Toy smirked and shook her head. “Maybe someday. But right now I’m thinking we need to stop talking and get this turtle off the beach. The sun is going down and Little Lovie is cold, I’m cold, and that means the turtle is cold, too.”
As if to punctuate her statement, the turtle made an effort to take a labored breath. It was feeble yet enough to prompt the group to action.
“Well, if they could do it, so can we,” said Cara. She bent over to grab hold of the turtle’s shell. “Okay, everyone, grab a side.”
