Free Shallow Breath by Sara Foster

dolphin cruising past in the pool below her, swimming on its side so that one eye peers up, assessing her.
    The music starts, and she takes a few deep, shaky breaths, before she hears her name and runs out into the arena.
    The dolphins are veterans. They know most of the routine before the signals, and are waiting in their next position long before she is, ready to go. Desi is doing well until she has to climb out with two other girls on the thin bar over the pool, ready to ride on the dolphins’ backs for the finale. She fumbles, trying to link arms with the girl next to her, who hisses, ‘
Quickly!
’ And then she stands on the wrong part of Frodo, who jolts to shift her, and she has to grab the rail, almost overbalancing.But once he has dislodged the discomfort, Frodo waits patiently until he can feel her weight. He remains very still, much more so than the others, as though sensing her inexperience and giving her a little longer to get into position. And then they are off, with fixed smiles and free arms flung wide, all Desi’s muscles tensed and one arm tightly linked with the girl next to her. The dolphins race around the pool in choppy lunges, until they meet the bar again. Desi grabs for it as instructed, holds on tight, and her feet are left swinging underneath her as the dolphins bolt away and the applause begins.
    Desi is still in costume when they find her afterwards. While she beams with happiness, her mother and Marie gush about how wonderful it was. Rebecca hugs her and laughs, relieved, while Jackson high-fives her and gives her a gap-toothed grin. Her father glares at her swimsuit, and then stands at the edge of the group, staring off towards the exit.
    There are two other shows that day, and both go well. Afterwards, the team invite her down to the beach to celebrate. One of the men has a slab of beer on his shoulder, and it doesn’t take long before someone has to go back for another, and another. As the sun goes down, the jokes and discussions begin. They tell Desi that her career in entertainment will be one of the shortest-lived ever. They tell her about the rumours that the park will be closing soon. She is dismayed, having only just got this gig.
Please don’t take it from me
, she prays.
    Eventually, the others slowly pack up and move on, urging her to leave with them. But Desi declines and stays there, gazing out across the water. Her father has agreed to take her home, but she doubts he is ready to leave the pub yet. Besides, she needs time alone to think. The euphoria swiftly followed by dejection has left her mind aching as her thoughts swirl. There is an alarming empty space where her future plans should be.
    She decides to watch the sunset. Then she’ll go across to the pub and find her dad.
    As the fiery colours of the sky begin to shift and coalesce, a small figure comes into view some distance away, walking slowly by the water, looking out to sea. Desi doesn’t recognise him, and, while he gets closer, she stays tense and still, aware she is alone with him in the semi-dark. As he goes by, he glances at her and smiles politely, then turns away. She relaxes, thinking that is it, but then he looks across again, as though checking something, and begins to walk over.
    Desi starts to get up.
    ‘Were you in the show this afternoon?’ he asks, his accent elongating the vowels of the final word.
    He has reached her quickly. He is not particularly tall, but seems strong and wiry, with long dark hair and an equally shaggy beard – most definitely the hippy type her father cannot stand.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘I thought so.’ He sits down next to her without waiting for an invitation, takes a cigarette from his shirt pocket, lights it and begins to puff away, his eyes narrowing with each inhale.
    ‘Do you know that the dolphin’s main form of communication is sound?’ he asks. His eyes are as black as the deepest night, intent on the water in front of them.
    ‘Yes, I do.’
    ‘And do you know