The Midnight Crew

The truck arrived to the Aquarium with an eleven year old Arctic cetacean that was being transferred to a bigger habitat than the last one he was in. Twenty-three animal care monitors rushed to help unload the delicate and beautiful white Beluga onto the soft and stretched Nylon pad carrier that would gingerly lower him into the pool. After lowering the two- thousand and ninety pound young male into the iced pool, the staff members unhooked the transport stretcher and released Bubbles. Christine smoothed her hands onto his slippery wet face and softly repeated the words with a gentle whisper. “You’re ok now Bubbles… you’re OK…”

The intelligent creature swam around the pool with wise and tactic caution. The staff clapped and celebrated his safe arrival. John, the senior director of mammals glanced at Christine with weary eyes and shivered thinking of how cold she must be. She was on the edge of the pool with her feet still immersed inside of the iced and calm water with Bubbles. “Chris, Are you sure you want to start the night shift today? It’s been a long trip. The others are able to monitor his levels as well. You can start the new shift tomorrow before we open the gate.” Christine looked up at him and nodded with a warm smirk, “No, it's fine. It’s been a rough night for him as well. I will stay and monitor him tonight and tomorrow when he meets the new pod.” Before Christine removed her feet from the water, she caressed Bubbles in a familiar manner that calmed him. John’s arm and neck hairs prickled through his skin, he could feel the passion and connection between Christine and the Beluga. “Listen, Chris, there’s a break room with a red couch in case you need to nap, The night shift crew are all friendly, you will fit right in. Jaclyn is the night manager, you can call her if you need anything. See you all in the mornin.”

John hopped in his Black Suv, waved, and drove off into the dark fogged night. Jaclyn walked over to Christine and introduced herself with a light hug that felt like a feather pressing onto her chest because of how petite she was. Her warm welcome glittered through her dark eyes and helped Christine feel safe and less afraid. “Welcome to the night shift, Christine. Come, I’ll show you around. There are about 200 of us employees in total during the night shift. You’ll slowly get to meet everyone over time. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask me, I will gladly answer any questions that you may have.”

“Thank you that’s really kind of you. Well, my first question is, Where is the break room with the red couch? I think I will try and nap before I take the next set of vitals on Bubbles.” “Oh yes! It’s down this long walkway. After the end of this walkway, we will turn right and enter the Penguin habitat. The couch is in a room hidden behind the art-painted walls. There are a few break rooms in the entire aquarium, but this specific break room with the red couch is the one that is right in between the penguin habitat and the Beluga habitat.”

“The aquarium looks so beautiful on this walkway with the lights off.”

“Yes it is, that’s why I chose the night shift, and it’s a different world. So Christine, tell me about yourself, what made you move from another state and switch to the night shift?”

“Moving wasn’t a problem for me, I don’t have a family. I was raised in the system. So I’am used to moving around. I have worked for aquariums for twelve years and I love it. My first year working at my first aquarium, was the same year that Bubbles was born. We have been inseparable ever since. I follow him wherever he goes.”

“That is quite wonderful. Well, I’m glad that you have each other in this new change.”

“Wow, the goat fish are all lined up at the bottom of the habitat to sleep! I’ve never seen them do that!”

“Yes! It’s so cute! They do this each and every night.”

“I love it.”

Christine and Jaclyn made a right at the end of the walkway and entered the penguin habitat. Jaclyn opened the camouflaged door and Christine followed. Inside the break room, in the far left corner, there was a long marbled counter with a new expresso machine sitting on top of it. Christine at once was taken by surprise by the beige and plain wall that held a random painting of a black dog with a blue tie hugging a smiling frog with human teeth. Towards the middle of the room, there was a small vintage TV and a deck of cards on top of a rickety table next to a couch. A big red couch. It was old, ugly, and detrimentally worn out. She knew that, but at that exact moment, her brain somehow managed to change the couch into a comfortable new bed and wings that would fly her straight to heaven. With thirty- two hours of no sleep, she was unable to tell if that weird painting of the dog and the frog was real or just another hallucination.

Christine sat on the couch and drifted away. Jaclyn shut off the lights and left the breakroom to let Christine rest. After an hour passed by, Christine awoke to a loud tin can rolling down the hall. She got up and opened the door. A rapid clack clack sound slapped against the hard tile. It was a penguin. A small African Penguin with dull feathers and bald spots. She gaped at the penguin wobbling off and searched around for someone. Someone that was supposed to be in charge of the penguin habitat. Where was that, someone? She wondered. “Hey! You! Come back here little Mr! She said in a low stern tone. The penguin continued to wobble off rather quickly. “Greeeeaaaaaat.” She said to herself as she tried to grab her phone to call Jaclyn but a sudden loud groan escaped from behind her in a corner. She turned around in a quickened motion and spotted a tall and lanky old man with a large black birthmark on his bald head. He was sprawled out on the ground with one leg in the air still, a piece of fish squished under his boot. And the other leg missing a boot. He tried to get up but fell back down. Christine leaned over to him put his arm around her neck and pulled him up from the floor. “Oh my gosh, sir are you alright?”

“Eh, I’m alright, I just slipped off of one of them capelin fish, that darn penguin is recalcitrant I tell ya. He won’t eat. He just throws the food back at me when he’s angry or even tries to bite. It’s one of those nights.”

“Oh no, let’s go get him. I will help you.”

“Hiccup is a feisty one.”

“Hiccup is his name?”

“Yes, just like real Hiccups, he’s a real pain in my you know what… I have been working with him for years, some days he’s happy and great and others he’s not. I’m the only one that wants to deal with him, none of the other employees do, he’s a difficult penguin but I love the Lil guy. He’s got some personality on him. Anyway, are you new here?

“Yes, I transferred from another aquarium at the same time as the Beluga whale. We came from the same place. His name is Bubbles.”

“Bubbles?”

“Yes, he gets his name from blowing intricate bubbles. He is the only Beluga that makes these types of bubbles. He is special. He is inside the pool for now. Tomorrow they will open the gate and he will enter his new pod. As for tonight, I am making sure his vitals are ok. Let’s get Hiccup and take him back to his habitat.”

Christine went back to check on Bubbles and couldn’t help but wonder how sad that penguin must be to not be eating. She felt his sadness pour out from out of his black speck of eyes. She felt a pain in her heart for all of the animals there that probably had a family that they missed or left behind. She didn’t know what it felt like to belong to a family, to have a home. She only felt at home with Bubbles. He was her only family.

The early morning shifters began to clock. Christine realized the time and clocked out and left the aquarium and went to a nearby hotel. She knew that she needed to find a real place soon. Not a hotel. She would have to find the time, but that was the problem. Time. She had no time. All the time she had, she spent on Bubbles and making sure he was ok. She ate some dinner and fell asleep alone in the small hotel.

Christine’s alarm went off and she jumped up. She had overslept. Not a good look for your second day of night shift Christine. She told herself as she rolled herself off of the stiff mattress and ran to shower. Christine arrived to work and clocked in. At the Beluga Habitat, John and the staff prepared Bubbles to meet the other belugas in the pod. John pressed the button and the gate opened. As Bubbles swam in, the other Beluga whales chirped and whistled. They were serene and calm with him. The ebullience of the Belugas was a delightful view for everyone to watch.

At midnight, Christine walked into the breakroom to get a snack. On the big red ugly couch, sat the old man that she helped the night before. “Hey there, how are you feeling after that nasty fall yesterday?” she smirked. He glanced back at her puzzled by her friendly unwanted demeanor. “Fine.” He said in a cold tone. Christine sat next to him and said, “I didn’t get your name yesterday.”

“Phil.”

“Nice to meet you Phil, so do you work the night shift only?”

“I work both shifts. Overtime”

“Why?”

“What’s up with all the questions?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

After she said sorry, Phil realized that she was just being nice and that he was being rude. He felt bad after and decided to respond in a more respectful and polite manner. After all, she was the first person to try and talk to him in a while. She reminded him a lot of his daughter. A painful thought he quickly shifted.

“I work overtime, because I don’t want to be home.” Phil replied.

“Oh.”

“It is too painful to be home. My wife and daughter died in a car accident several years ago. I have been working overtime ever since.”

“I am so sorry Phil. If it helps, I myself don’t have a family, I’ve never had one. I also work overtime, to numb the loneliness.”

“Why don’t you have one?” Phil turned his gaze at her. The wrinkles on the outside of his eyes softened as he dropped his tensed eyebrows. He handed her his un opened water bottle. Christine received the water with a graceful smile and said, “Because I grew up in the foster care system. I have always had an empty feeling inside. They never found my parents. I was dropped off at the police station with no information. Bubbles is my family here.” Phil began to feel her pain. He struggled to get up from the couch as he held his hip and let out a sigh. “Well kid, it’ll be alright. Let’s get back to work.” They both helped each other up and walked back to their habitats.

A week later, John called Christine to come in an hour earlier than her usual scheduled time. She got up, got dressed, and headed to the aquarium as fast as she could. She knew something was wrong. His voice sounded different. She thought. As soon as she arrived at the aquarium, John gave Christine a concerned look and said, “He hasn’t been eating much during the day shift. Jaclyn mentioned that she thinks Bubble's behavior changes when you aren’t around.” A tightness in Christine’s chest and heart overcame her. A worry that she would fail Bubbles. Christine pressed and wiped her eyes before the tears filled and released into a waterfall of guilt. She tied her long blonde hair up and said, “I will keep an eye on him okay, tell Jaclyn I will cover the day shift and take breaks at night.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be good for your health, Chris.”

“It’s ok, there’s that red couch in the break room, and I can sleep there at night when I get tired.”

“Ok. Chris, if you change your—“

“I won’t, it's ok, I got it.”

It was midnight and she walked to the break room for her snack like she always did at this time. She ate a banana and fell asleep on the couch. She woke up to Phil’s voice shouting, “Hiccup! not again Buddy!” She got off the couch and walked outside the door. The penguin once again wobbled down the long walkway. Tap. Tap. Tap, his webbed feet sounded as he ran off. But this time, there was some blood on the ground. Phil couldn’t walk as fast because of his hip so he just looked at Christine and pointed toward the penguin. “He’s having another one of his episodes, He pecked at himself again and really did some damage this time.” Christine went after the penguin, far down the walkway. She stood there and froze when she saw Hiccup paralyzed as he stared at Bubbles. He seemed fascinated by him. Bubbles swam around and stared back as he approached the glass tank. He was also fascinated by Hiccup. Phil limped down the walkway and into the habitat. Phil and Christine glanced at each other flabbergasted. The two marvelous creatures in front of them were both fascinated by each other.

After twenty minutes of them observing one another, Christine and Phil took Hiccup back to his habitat. They both walked to the break room, washed their hands, and sat on the couch. Christine laughed, rubbed her eyes, and said, “Phil did you see them.” Phil smiled with his eyes for the first time in front of her and said, “I absolutely did.”

After that moment, Phil and Christine formed The Midnight Club. Every midnight, they would meet and walk Hiccup to go see Bubbles. Each time the two creatures were together, they displayed an overwhelming happiness that Phil and Christine witnessed. Bubbles chirped and clicked more and more each time he saw Hiccup. He began to show the Penguin his famous bubble tricks, a trick he stopped doing in public. The penguin would return the gestures by bestowing his ecstatic display, he would stand with his feet apart and slowly raise his head and point his beak upwards, as if they were telling each other tales and myths. Phil and Christine would always joke about what types of stories the penguin and the Beluga would interchange.

The Midnight Club turned into hard laughs that put warm healthy pressure on Christine’s heart and stronger moving bones for Phil. His hip and joints didn’t ache anymore. And Christine hadn’t had anxiety since. Three months passed and Bubbles had gained a healthy weight. His vitals remained normal at all hours. Hiccup stopped pulling tricks on Phil to make him fall so that he could escape. He stopped spitting out his food at all of the employees and his feathers became vibrant with no more bald spots. He even stopped biting himself and others.

On Thanksgiving Day, Phil and Christine both were scheduled for overtime. Christine bought food, drinks, and dessert and placed them in the refrigerator in the break room. Right before midnight. She grabbed an old table and two chairs from the storage room and set them up in front of the Beluga Habitat. She microwaved the food and placed everything on the table. She phoned Phil to meet her at their spot with Hiccup.” Twenty minutes later, Phil walked down the walkway with Hiccup and stopped midway in awe. His eyes opened wide and filled with tears. Hiccup wobbled to Bubbles, and Bubbles chirped his loud melody of sounds. “This is beyond genuine and kind, kid. Thank you.” Christine shrugged her shoulders and smiled, “It’s nothing, Phil. Sit, before it gets cold.” He pulled out the chair, sat down, and took in all of the aromas from the delicious food that was in front of him. He felt warm and whole for the first time in years. He turned his head and looked at hiccup and Bubbles as they danced to their own song and said,

“So what do you think these two are babbling about now?”

“Hm. You mean besides the story of the water dragons that they both encountered and had to slay with swords trying to rescue the frozen princess Narwhal?”

“Yes, besides that.”

“I would say they are talking about how grateful they are to have a real family now.”

“What do you think?”

“I would say they went from having no family to now having us. Family isn’t always where you are but who you are with.”

“Phil, you’ve been like a father to me, you guys are my family now. You, Hiccup and Bubbles, and I won’t ever leave you guys.”

“Ditto Kid.”

“Phil, when did John say he was renovating the break room?”

“Next week.”

“And the painting of the dog and the frog, will he keep that in the new breakroom?”

“What painting?”