Bay life

She had adopted one of these animals as a pet before. This was her second attempt. They were always at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, becoming available especially when the huge tanks needed restoration or a big cleaning job that could take weeks, if not months. Well-funded individuals or private parties who ‘adopted’ sea animals and had proven themselves well-equipped to provide a temporary home, were often called upon to help during these times. During the slow winter months, it was extra nice to have the one-on-one, human-animal connection and companionship when the aquarium was in disarray and suffered its lowest ebb of visitors.

    The facility itself is an amazing maze of sea worlds, punctuated with interactive prompts and educational forays into the underwater canyon depths of Monterey Bay, as well as through its kelp forests, tidal pools, and shorelines. Beautifully crafted and carefully created exhibits based on research portray every ecosystem from the minutiae of seahorses and the hypnotic floating of jellyfish to the playful somersaults of sea otters and contemplative swaying of a 30-foot kelp forest.

    Meko was a regular at the aquarium. It was her second home. She enjoyed studying the various levels of interest and energy of the aquarium visitors. Meko could tell the ‘cruisers’ from the ‘studiers’ from the ‘lingerers’. The visitors that cruised through the hallways seemed to either have specific destinations they wanted to visit, or they were there just to enjoy the presence of other people. One would eventually find them out on the massive outdoor deck that wraps around the back of the facility and that is built on pilons directly over the water. Then there were those visitors who needed to stop and read everything, often oblivious that their physical presence was not transparent to those who were actually trying to see what was inside the exhibit. Finally, the lingerers, Meko’s favorite, ambled quietly along, absorbing at their own pace and deeply interested in observing the interior worlds on display. She realized she was more drawn towards visitors at each end of the age spectrum – the young packages of excited energy that bounced around in the hallways like pinballs, and the older, greying population who didn’t mind taking time to enjoy every ‘window of opportunity’ into another world of life and movement and water.

    Monterey Bay was now well into the winter season, in that quiet space of time between the restless holiday visitors and the coming of the grey whales in mid-February. With priorities, logistics, and funding planned well in advance, now was the time for projects and repairs, for restoration and cleaning. Meko sensed the change of focus and increased activity among the staff. Certain hallways, wings, and exhibits were predestined to be turned upside down. Some sea animals were merely transferred to other tanks, some put in temporary holding tanks…but then there were those few who were transported to their ‘adoptive’ owner until such time that they could return to the aquarium. Meko knew who she wanted, and who she was going to be able to keep for at least four months. She had watched him at the aquarium many times. She had even heard someone call him by name. Lionel. She remembered the first time their eyes locked with mutual curiosity, and then the subsequent visits when she realized that he knew that she knew there was an understanding of each other’s individuality.

    Meko felt a sense of excitement on the morning of the Big Move, despite the curtain of low-lying Pacific fog that hugged the Bay’s shoreline. The tide was low, revealing all the micro-world wonders of tidal pools, and leaving the resident sea lions ‘beached’ on the wooden platforms between the pilons, chatty and long-winded in their barks and grunts like old neighbors sharing a bench. As the morning and move progressed, the fog gave way to the sunlight of midday. While Meko cleaned and prepared her home, she surreptitiously studied her new companion, stealing glances at his attempts to also clean and prepare his home. She enjoyed making a place her own, arranging things just so, making everything functional and cozy. So, she was glad to see that her adoptive pet also seemed to share her desire to change one’s environment to fit one’s needs.

    The home itself was rather spacious. Not so much in actual square footage, but in sparseness of material items. Wooden floors that glowed warm with sunlight from the large floor-to-ceiling multi-paned windows supported two large saltwater aquariums and all the necessary additional equipment needed to monitor and maintain salinity, pH, temperature, organic material – basically everything. The place was minimally decorated, but not sterile. There were a variety of well-placed healthy plants and a wood-burning stone fireplace that was open on either side towards the living room and the kitchen. The bedroom was towards the back of the house, where one could step outside through French doors onto a deck that gave one a view of the bay. A climbing mass of bougainvillea in riotous magenta and deep orange hung over part of the deck railing that was exposed to the most sunlight. The other half of the deck enjoyed the shifting shadows of the Monterey cypress that whispered sea breezes.

    They were both rather nocturnal creatures. It was during the early evenings through midnight that she could study him the best. At times, Lionel moved around his place with such energy – sometimes for a specific task, but other times perhaps just for the joy and exercise of moving in space. And then there were those times when he just sat there, motionless, awake and looking at whatever it was that held his attention or made him numb with boredom. As for Meko, she could empathize with becoming bored or anxious, as he seemed to be on the day of the move. But this arrangement was working out well so far. Sometimes she enjoyed working on puzzles and rearranging things while he moved around listlessly or gave up and kept her company during her puzzle pursuits. Then, of course, there were the mealtimes. Goodness, but Lionel was a messy eater! But she had to truthfully concede that she was too and was happy to see they both shared a love for crabmeat and other shellfish.

    A couple of weeks passed, and Meko could feel that they were becoming more at ease with each other, returning gazes, and interested in what the other was doing. And then one evening, came the moment of first touch. They were each relaxing and in close proximity to each other when Lionel slowly moved towards her. She responded in kind and carefully reached out towards him. The tank lid was removed. There was trepidation at first – but the hesitation surrendered to curiosity and the need to feel the other. At the waterline they met, ever so gently. Meko could feel his velvety skin and the musculature underneath the skin. She gingerly touched Lionel while he hovered and Meko allowed herself to be inspected. What is friendship and connection after all, if one doesn’t allow oneself a little vulnerability and window of trust? She could feel his energy and whole being in just that touch. They parted, each with a new perspective and appreciation of the other. This show of trust and interest became a regular occurrence over the weeks and months.

    As spring gave way to early summer, Meko and Lionel experienced the last week of their ‘adoptive’ term, and the whole touch thing got a bit more real. Meko was arranging a few things when she noticed that the lids were not secured on both the tanks. A professional had come in earlier that day to help with cleaning the tanks and for whatever reason, had not replaced the weights on the lids. Lionel seemed to be napping, so Meko diverted her attention to the other saltwater tank that held a variety of reef fish, lobster and a couple of prawns. After her afternoon nap, she realized she felt a bit hungry and needed to stretch her legs and arms. So Meko decided to get up and made her way over to check out the inmates of the tank. As she moved the lid and carefully lowered her arm into the warm water, the fish swirled in sudden panic. It wasn’t easy, leaning over and into a large tank full of unpredictable occupants. A sudden shriek from Lionel split the air and interrupted Meko’s concentration.

    Lionel had been drifting in and out of a pleasant sun-drenched afternoon doze when a strange sound kept nagging him until he finally opened his eyes. What to his wondering eyes should appear, but Meko reaching into the reef tank! When Meko saw him leap up and come towards her in three bounds, with exclamations she would never understand, she knew the game was up. How embarrassing to be caught! She turned red with shame and anxiety. Lionel was also anxious…..at suddenly having to lift a full-grown octopus with bare hands from her intended buffet, walk across the wet floor where she had tentacled herself across the living room, and gently put her back in her rightful tank. Holding onto her was a feat in itself – a wet mass of intelligence, at once slippery and squishy, but equally muscley and velvety – not to mention the eight arms he could not avoid and the sharp beak which he did. Lying fully in his hands made Meko feel so helpless…and yet supported somehow. She welcomed the waters of her own tank and deeply chagrined, immediately went into hiding in her self-made home. Lionel exhaled a big sigh of relief, noticed the sucker-hickeys on his arms that Meko gave him as a temporary reminder of the adventure, and firmly secured the lids on both tanks with weights and a certain sense of finality. The staff from the aquarium were coming tomorrow to begin transferring Meko back to her old familiar tank, now repaired, in the cephalopod hallway next to the huge kelp forest exhibit. Lionel appreciated Meko’s presence, but he wondered if maybe next time he should chose a slightly less intelligent creature to keep at home.