Copyright Jean L Hayes
Did you know a woman of average height/weight would have to walk four miles to burn off the calories contained in one mince pie? I’m setting off now…
So go easy on the christmas goodies Friday Fictioneers .
Have a great time, and see y’all after Christmas.
The bottle-nosed dolphin eyed them quizzically from the poolside.
“He was just being friendly, Jen; a game, that’s all. Please don’t take this further.”
Jen examined her bruised thighs, whilst Dr Adams applied antiseptic to the bite on her neck.
“He’s dangerous…I thought he’d kill me,” she snapped, still quivering with shock from her ordeal beneath the water. “He shouldn’t be allowed to interact with the public.”
The dolphin edged along the poolside to affectionately nuzzle the leg of the distraught young keeper.
“It’s just women…” Adams faltered.
“Face it, doctor”, said Jen, glancing at the keeper, “your son needs help… now.
castelsarrasin 
shocking and creeepy. it does sound like he needs help. and Adams is in a lot of denial. enjoyed this story 🙂
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Thanks kz! 🙂
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Ooh, I like how you bait and switch this one, Sandra. I got a bit confused about the characters towards the end, because I had the keeper down as female (for no reason), so it was a switch to pin “son” and “keeper” together, but that’s entirely my fault and otherwise I enjoyed it. The keeper needs some training…
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I had a struggle thinking of the right job title for the son. Yes, I think the boy needs taking in hand. 😦
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This was kind of a mysterious story. I have watched captive dolphins masturbating in tanks, so I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on here… but I liked the idea of it anyway!
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Thanks Linda! 🙂
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Dolphins got hands? 🙂
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I’ve never felt so close to dolphins!
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🙂
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Great twist I was definitely thrown 🙂
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Thanks Helen 🙂
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I’m reading weird son and harmless dolphin in the water?
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Correct! 🙂
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OMG, the son! Great story!!!
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Thanks Jan. 🙂
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Insert red herring comment here. Or “something fishy…” or “you did that on porpoise, didn’t you”.. etc… (Sorry, Jen took “bait and switch” darling — what else does that leave???) Well done, anyway — you certainly sucked me in until the very end.
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I think you’ve just about exhausted all the possibilities there Helena, so I’ll just say ‘thank you’. 🙂
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Clever to make the dolphin come across as all innocent, Sandra. I didn’t believe it for a minute. You completely sucked me in, too.
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Thanks Karen 🙂
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Bait and switch is an apt description of this — these characters and this story deserves a longer take, in my humble opinion. Wonderful.
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Thank you!
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You always turn me round in circles Sandra. How I’d love to go for one of hose 4 mile walks and hear how you go from point A to B… I got pretty confused here, but the chilling end, came through loud and clear. Well done.
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Glad you persevered with it, thank you.
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He sure needs some help, great story Sandra.
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Thank you Indira.
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Dear Sandra,
Wow! You had me going for a bit, Sandra. It made me sad to think the dolphin was dangerous. Now the son, that I understand. Big smiles. Well done.
Shalom and Happy Christmas,
Rochelle
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Happy Christmas to you too Rochelle, and thanks for dropping by.
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It took me a few reads to get it, and when I did – great story! Terrific twist to it. Strange people reside in our heads.
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Thanks for persevering Patrick! 🙂
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Great story Sandra, but I am dying to know, was it the dolphin or the son that injured her? 🙂
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As Paul surmised above, weird son, harmless dolphin.
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Great story! I was completely fooled.
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Thanks Perry, and for reading.
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Not sure I understand this one! Is the keeper the son, or the dolphin?
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The keeper Liz. Sorry it didn’t work for you.
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Gee, for a minute there I thought you were talking about Art. 🙂 He never hurts anyone physically. He just likes to publicly humiliate and embarass them.
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very clever ending. nicely done.
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Great ending.
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Wow! Now that boy needs help! Great story Sandra, scary but great!
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Tricky, tricky. You had me going with this one. Well done!
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That’s a different one…
And I also think that he needs help!
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Woah! Didn’t see that one coming!
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Had to reread for any clues leading to the surprise ending. Found what I needed to see you did a great job laying down footprints for pointing the finger at the real culprit. Bravo!
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Quite the drama in the pool, Sandra! Oh, to even think there’s an evil dolphin. Adam needs to be admitted! Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoyed your walk.
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I’m quite dense. I had to read this a few times and read some of the comments before I ‘got it’, but it was a good switch and I’m very pleased you did as I didn’t want the dolphin to get into trouble! ‘Bad’ animals are created by humans! Happy Christmas! 🙂
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I love your writing and this is why.
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