The Aquatic Exhibition

Today was my last day at Wonder Under The Sea. I've spent thirty-five years dedicating my life to the aquarium, and I've loved every moment of it. When you've been at the ticket booth as long as I have, you get to know the regulars. Although, usually, by regulars I mean the families who come monthly.

This gentleman was different.

"Back again?" I smiled at the younger man.

"Yes," is all he said to me. The man is probably a quarter my age. Being old doesn't mean I can't recognize his beauty. He's tall, broad, and gorgeous. If I were twenty years younger, this grandma would be getting riled up at the sight of him. It made no sense that he kept coming to the aquarium alone. A guy like him should have a pretty girl or boy on his arm.

The patron left with a nod and headed toward the seahorse exhibit. It seemed to be his favorite place. It was fitting that a beautiful man was stuck in observation of some of the ocean's most gorgeous creatures. Yet, I could tell from his silence and those big brown eyes that the stranger was sad.

An aquarium is no place to be so glum. It was my last day working here, and I felt like doing some good before I parted. Impulsively, I walked to the gift shop.

Dane, the man behind the gift shop, smiled at me. Dane was visually impaired. He walked with a cane and always wore sunglasses. Dane got to know the workers by the sounds of their footsteps. "Hey, Irma."

"Hi, Dane. What do you have for seahorses?" I asked Brian, doodling around with a plush squid.

Dane kindly led me to the corner of the room. There was a basket filled with orange seahorses. "I think this will go quite nicely. Hey Dane, how'd the date go last week? Did you find your Mr. Right?"

"More like Mr. Left Right After The Appetizers," Dane threw his hands up. "It is what it is."

"Don't worry," I assured Brian with a comforting hand on the shoulder. "The right guy will come around."

I chatted with Brian for a while before remembering the sad, pretty boy. I don't know why I wanted to do this for him, but he seemed like he could use a friend.

"Hello," I walked up to the stranger.

The man had his back to me. He didn't turn to face me. Aqua waves reflected on the floor around him as I watched his silent observation of the lively tank.

Before I could get his attention, a group of young women walked in. As they made their way between us, one girl looked the man up and down. She let out a whistle. I could see the man's shoulders visibly tense up.

"I bet you get that all the time," I took my place beside the man. I didn't look at him. We spoke with our eyes tuned to the seahorses before us.

"Too often," the stranger sighed.

"Well, don't worry about them," I waved in the direction the girls had slipped off to. "I couldn't help but notice you've been coming here for days. I thought maybe you could use a friend."

I offered the stranger the seahorse. He took it from my hand and smiled. His shoulders loosened, and he cleared his throat. "That's kind. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Not that it's my place, but I noticed you're a big fan of this exhibit. Today's my last day working here. I wanted to leave on a good note; I thought I'd make your day."

"Well, you did," the man's sad eyes broke with a flash of joy. "I'm Brian. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Brian. I'm Irma."

We shook hands. Somehow, I knew from that short embrace that Brian and I would be good friends. My hunch was correct.

Brian told me his grandmother had passed away a few months back and that he'd love to adopt me as his new Nana. I was in no place to deny a friend, so we met up for coffee a few days later.

"Can I ask what it is about the seahorses?" I took a sip of a chai latte that Brian had so graciously bought for me. "What draws you to them?"

"It's stupid," Brian laughed. It wasn't a playful laugh; more nervous than anything.

"Kid, I've been alive for sixty-eight years. Nothing you say could be as stupid as some of the shit I've seen."

"Oh, my new Nana has a potty mouth. I live for it. Honestly, I like spending time with the seahorses because I feel like they get me. Like I can relate to them. So, I'm a model. It's all I've ever wanted to do, but I don't think I quite understood the depths of my dreams. My career makes me feel like I'm in a constant exhibition, and now that I'm to the point where I'm getting noticed on the streets, I feel like I'm trapped. Everywhere I go, people are staring at me or making comments about my looks. Truth be told, I don't feel like a person anymore. I feel more like those seahorses…"

"Always on show, judged based on your looks, and people constantly tapping on the glass," I looked at Brian empathetically. "That's got to be hard."

"Tell me about it. It makes my dating life even more difficult. Half the guys I date can't handle my job. It emasculates them somehow. The other half doesn't see me as a person, more like a piece of meat. I feel like those damn seahorses know me more than any man I've ever dated, and I just started seeing them!" Brian said.

"Let me tell you something, kid," I nodded, "someday. You're going to find someone who sees the value in you beyond surface level. You'll find the right guy… wait a second. I have an idea."

"You do?" Brian's face twisted in confusion.

"Yeah. I hate to make this coffee talk short, but I've got to get to the aquarium before it closes," I slammed my chai and turned away.

"I thought you stopped working there?" Brian called out.

"I did," I turned around and waved Brian to follow me. "Come on. You'll see when we get there."

I knew Brian and Dane would work out. Dane had trouble dating because nobody was willing to look past his disability. In contrast, Brian was tired of being looked at all together. Something in my heart told me they would make the perfect pair.

A year later, the entire aquarium was decked out in red and white roses. I may have retired from my post, but that didn't stop me from decorating the exhibits for a wedding!

The END.

Dear Readers,
I hope you enjoyed this story. I wanted to dig into the darker themes of the aquarium challenge while also keeping the story light and loving. I wanted to focus on the loneliness, entrapment, and exhibition caged animals may go through while also keeping things on the fun side. There's a strange juxtaposition of light and dark in places like aquariums and zoos. It all depends on which side of the glass you're on. Thank you for reading.