{"id":1101,"date":"2019-02-12T13:44:21","date_gmt":"2019-02-12T18:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1101"},"modified":"2020-03-15T11:38:27","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T15:38:27","slug":"to-dance-with-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/to-dance-with-dolphins\/","title":{"rendered":"To Dance with Dolphins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To Dance with Dolphins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Bonnie Leon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-two-year-old Claire Murray has suffered from a mysterious disease for years. Her social circle has shrunk to a small support group for people with chronic illness and disability. But what if life could<\/em> be about more than doctors, pain, and medications?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire and three others\u2014old-grouch Tom, hippy-holdout Willow, and moody Taylor\u2014hatch plans for a cross-country trip to swim with the dolphins in Florida.Only a day into the trip, they unexpectedly need help. And who happens to be hitchhiking along the highway but a young, good-looking loner named Sean Sullivan? However, the last thing he wants is to be harnessed to a bunch of ailing travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the journey proves difficult, following God\u2019s plan might be even harder. Will they find the courage to follow their dreams and dare to live again?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Claire Murray headed for the barn, a burst of cold\nair lifting her long blonde hair and tossing it into her face. Pulling it back\ninto a ponytail, she glanced at a darkening sky, her cane propped against her\nleg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully a powerful spring storm\nwould soon rumble through the rolling countryside of Southern Oregon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She opened the door and stepped\ninside. The smell of hay and horse swept out to meet her like a wave of\ncomfort. Drawing the door closed, she hitched it up a notch to make sure it\nfell into place and couldn\u2019t swing open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the peak of the rafters, a\nshadow of an owl moved. A sparrow darted to a place beneath the eaves where a\nnest was tucked out of sight. Soon there would be chirping fledglings\ncourageously making their first flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire breathed in the familiar.\nDid she have the courage to venture out from the place that had been her refuge\nfor the last twenty-two years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A soft nicker came from the\nnearest stall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cinnamon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire made her way to the horse,\ngrabbing a handful of grain from a bucket as she passed. \u201cHere you go, girl.\u201d\nShe slipped her hand through the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big red horse snuffled the\ngrain out of her palm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow are you this morning? Ready\nfor a run, I\u2019ll bet.\u201d If only she could be the one riding her. \u201cWe had some\ngood times, didn\u2019t we?\u201d She stroked the horse\u2019s heavy neck, the sound of\npounding hoof beats resonating in her mind. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss you.\u201d Setting\nher cane against the wall, Claire opened the gate and stepped into the stall.\nShe stood directly in front of the big horse and placed her hands on both sides\nof the animal\u2019s face, drawing in the animal\u2019s steadiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like fresh rain, it quieted her\nnerves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She ran a hand down the white\nblaze on the bridge of the horse\u2019s nose, then pressed her brow against\nCinnamon\u2019s forehead. \u201cI\u2019m sorry I haven\u2019t been out to see you. It\u2019s been a bad\nweek.\u201d She patted Cinnamon\u2019s neck and then combed out her mane with her\nfingers. \u201cI\u2019m going to be gone for a while. But I\u2019ll be back. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The horse nudged her as if trying\nto let Claire know she understood and that it was all right for her to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire looked into the horse\u2019s\ndark brown eyes. \u201cI hope one day we can go riding again. Maybe things will be\nbetter when I get back.\u201d She could almost feel the wind in her face and the\nmovement of Cinnamon under her as they galloped across the rolling hills of her\nparents\u2019 ranch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sound of a car engine cut\ninto Claire\u2019s reverie, and a shiver of apprehension coursed through her. Maybe\nshe should stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The barn door grated as someone\nopened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footsteps crunched on the barn\nfloor and the gate creaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looked around and saw her\nmother leaning on it. Claire gave the horse another pat. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss\nher.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll miss you too.\u201d Her mom\u2019s\ngaze went to the horse then back to Claire. \u201cIt\u2019s time to go. Unless you\u2019ve\nchanged your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire swallowed past the lump in\nher throat. \u201cNo. My things are ready.\u201d She ran a hand down Cinnamon\u2019s face and\nacross the velvet soft nose, then pressed a kiss to her white blaze. \u201cI guess I\nhave to go now. See you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sunlight heated the interior of her mother\u2019s\nSuburban, but Claire was cold. Maybe her parents were right. Maybe it was\nfoolish of her to take off across the country with a band of disabled friends.\nShe breathed deeply, hoping to calm her nerves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s going to be a real adventure<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But doubts pummeled her. So many\nthings could go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swimming with dolphins?Where had that idea come from? Willow.\nIt had been Willow.Of course it had\nbeen her. She was the dreamer in the group. Although the ideals of the \u201960s had\npassed, she\u2019d refused to put aside the lifestyle and dreams of her generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe we\u2019re all just dreamers. <\/em>Claire clenched and unclenched her\nhands. This was a chance of a lifetime. If her illness got worse, it might be\nher only opportunity to do anything special \u2026 ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire\u2019s mother glanced at her,\nknuckles whitening as she tightened her steely grip on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should she listen to her parents?\nThey were right\u2014stress always worsened her symptoms. So did fatigue. Would\nhours on the road drain what little energy she had? She could end up in the\nhospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the trip could<\/em> make her stronger. And wasn\u2019t it time she faced life on her\nown? Twenty-two and still living at home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother and father had spent the last several weeks trying to convince\nher to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A month ago, her father had paced\nthe gray carpet in the family\u2019s front room. \u201cIt\u2019s too risky.\u201d A week ago, he\u2019d\nnearly walked off the roughness of the patio stones. \u201cYou\u2019re being foolish.\u201d\nAnd yesterday, he\u2019d kicked up hay dust in the barn. \u201cWhat will you do if you\nget sick?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mom remained stoically\nsilent. But the fear in her eyes and tight set of her lips revealed her\nanxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her older sister, Autumn, had\nunderstood. \u201cIt\u2019s a great idea. Don\u2019t give in to Mom and Dad. Do what you want.\nThis is your life. Not theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Claire packed, she\u2019d tried\nto shut out the negative voices. But each item she added to her suitcase was\naccompanied by a reason she should stay home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother shook her head. \u201cWhy\nmust you do something so drastic? Why not begin with something easier? Closer\nto home. Maybe a trip to the coast.\u201d Tears welled up. \u201cI\u2019ve already lost one\ndaughter.\u201d She sucked in a breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t lose Melissa. She\njust moved away.\u201d And Claire had to admit she\u2019d been glad to see her go.\nMelissa\u2019s bipolar highs and lows were hard to take and painful to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard a word from her\nsince she left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s never been good at\ncommunicating. And I\u2019m not Melissa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know that. But you\u2019re not\nwell. And you barely know these people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not true. I\u2019ve been\nmeeting with them for months. I probably know them better than anyone else,\nexcept for you and Dad and Autumn. A support group shares things with each\nother that they don\u2019t tell anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother didn\u2019t respond. She\ncompressed her lips and stared straight ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd while we\u2019ve planned out this\ntrip I\u2019ve gotten to know them even better.\u201d Claire folded her arms over her\nchest. \u201cI can\u2019t let them down. It wouldn\u2019t be right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother\u2019s chin quivered. \u201cI\nfeel like I\u2019m losing you. Maybe you won\u2019t come back either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hawk circled high above a gully\nthat fell between two hillsides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She loved it here. This was home.\nShe would return. \u201cMaybe you should go out to Grand Junction and see Melissa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know she\u2019d hate that. She\u2019d\nsay I\u2019m interfering in her life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A desolate silence grew inside\nthe car. Her mother slowed as they approached town. Finally she said, \u201cI just\nnever imagined you\u2019d take off like this. Your doctor is here. What if you need\nmedical help?\u201d She pressed fingertips to trembling lips. \u201cEvery single one of\nyou is handicapped. How will you manage?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWillow used to be a nurse.\nShe\u2019ll know what to do. And we\u2019re not handicapped. We have challenges, but the\npoint of the trip is to do this on our own. We need to. Every one of us is in a\nrut. Maybe the trip will help us find a better life. Even Colleen, our group\ncounselor, believes in us. She thinks we can do it.\u201d Claire\u2019s own words helped\nbolster her confidence. \u201cIf I have a flare-up, there are other doctors, other\nhospitals.\u201d Even though she said the words with assurance, the idea of trusting\nanyone other than Dr. Reynolds made her insides quake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about Tom? What if he\nsuddenly became ill, or Willow had a flare-up of her fibromyalgia or her back\ngave out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Taylor was a mental pinball\nmachine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t reasonable.\u201d Her\nmother swiped at a runaway tear. \u201cWe won\u2019t even know where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire hated to see her mother\nanguish over this trip, but it was too important. \u201cMom, I\u2019m not moving across\nthe galaxy. I have a cell phone and my tablet. I\u2019ll keep you up to date on\nFacebook. I\u2019ll post lots of photos so you and Dad can see what I\u2019m up to. And\nyou can send me mail if you want. We\u2019ll have postal pickups along the way. I\u2019ll\nlet you know in advance where to send things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother put on her stoic face\nand stared at the road. \u201cWhat if something happens when you\u2019re out in the\nmiddle of nowhere? You\u2019ll be on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll handle things like anyone\nelse. We\u2019ll call for help.\u201d She offered what she hoped was a heartening smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not funny. I\u2019ve watched you\nwhen your dysautonomia flares up. You faint without warning and can\u2019t keep\nanything down. Every muscle aches, and your heart\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom. I know how I feel. You\ndon\u2019t have to remind me.\u201d Claire turned so she faced her mother. \u201cPlease be\nhappy for me. The last nine years have been about being sick. I feel like I\u2019m\ndrowning in my illness. This is a chance to make my life about something else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perfectly groomed lawns flew by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou talk about faith, Mom. This\nwill be a chance to trust God with me. I know it\u2019s been hard for you all these\nyears.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do trust him. But trusting\ndoesn\u2019t mean being foolish. He doesn\u2019t want us to be careless with the life\nhe\u2019s given us.\u201d She tugged a Kleenex tissue from the box on the console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if this is all about living\nout my faith?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother nodded and gently blew\ninto the tissue. \u201cOkay. But don\u2019t tempt God by doing something imprudent and\nthen expecting him to rescue you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be careful. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n