Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just a week to get out. I am sure you have seen several mentions of J48. I want to talk about this little calf because it never got a chance to experience a full life since it died at just one month old. It appeared to be healthy when it was first spotted swimming alongside Slick in December 2011. It went missing without any warning in January 2012. Something may have been wrong with it and rendered it unable to survive for very long. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-one.

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Chapter 20: Discussing Orcas

A middle-aged man walked down the sidewalk thirteen minutes later. He snapped his fingers and sang nonsense. He moved his body from side to side. He spotted the Kenworth Café on his right. He ceased both actions as he entered. He approached the cash register. A cashier walked up to him, a big smile showing on her face.

"Good afternoon, sir," the cashier greeted in much sweetness. "What can I get you today?"

"I'd like black coffee, young ma'am," the man responded with a chuckle.

She gave him a nod. "It is coming right up."

The cashier went to the coffeemaker. She grabbed a mug from beside it and picked up the kettle. She poured coffee into the mug until it was nearly full. She put the kettle back in the coffeemaker. She returned to the man in which she set the mug in front of him. She typed in the price.

"That will be one dollar and fifty cents, sir," she announced in much warmness.

"Okay," he answered and smiled. He reached into his pocket, grabbing his wallet. He opened it and got out two one-dollar bills. He gave it to her before closing his wallet and putting it back in his pocket. She typed in the amount and rung it up. She got his change. "Always can use change, can't we?"

"That is right, sir," the cashier said as she handed him his change. "Fifty cents is your change. Thank you. Have a nice day."

"The same goes for you, young ma'am," the man responded as he grabbed his coffee. "Thanks for the coffee."

The man headed toward the back. He stopped at the table across from Dwight, Jesse, and Randolph. Dwight had his IPhone in his hand in which he had been looking at pictures of J48. The man sipped his coffee and nodded in approval. He laid it down before letting out a contented sigh. Jesse and Randolph looked toward him. Dwight followed suit and furrowed his brow.

"That man reminds me a lot of my dad," Jesse said in much awe. He picked up his coffee to take a long sip. He put it down and cleared his throat.

"You got that right, Jess," Dwight agreed, turning back to his friends. "It is likely he has several kids."

"He probably has grandkids too," Randolph added.

"If he does have grandkids, he may see them all the time or little," Jesse commented as he ran his finger along the top of his mug. "It depends on how he treated his own kids."

"Right," Randolph said, picking up his coffee and sipping a tiny bit of it. He put it down and cupped his chin in his hand. "I can't forget Jesse telling me about the talk he had with Glen after he shocked Nadine by riding Willy at the Rubbing Rocks."

"It was pretty funny. I thought Dad was talking about my riding Willy. When I learned he was talking about sex, I was really confused. He mentioned me kissing Nadine. I told him I didn't do that. I wondered who said that. He said he'd give me three guesses. I guessed Elvis on the first one," Jesse explained.

"You did kiss Nadine after you two went free-diving with Willy, Luna, and Littlespot," Randolph pointed out and patted the young man's shoulder.

"We couldn't resist," Jesse said, crossing his arms. "It led to us having a long-lasting relationship. It went on hiatus during our junior year of high school. It resumed during our sophomore year of college. It grew even stronger once we moved into Grandpa George's cabin after his death. We are now parents to an energetic four-year-old girl."

"That little girl has features from both of you," Dwight said, chuckling lightly. "I remember when I saw her running toward me at two years old. She ran me over like a lawnmower."

"If only she could've been running at you with her plastic lawnmower," Jesse mumbled with a snicker.

"I heard that, Jesse," Dwight yelled in mock annoyance. He pointed his finger at him in the shape of a gun. "If you say something under your breath again, I will—"

"You will do what, shoot me with your finger?" Jesse taunted and smirked.

"Something like that," Dwight responded and laid his hand on the table. "Anyway, it won't be long before Nancy starts kindergarten."

"It will be hard to let her go, but at least we have given her a head start," Jesse said with much pride.

"She knows so much about the Southern Resident orcas already. She will likely surprise her classmates with her knowledge of their designated numbers, names, and features," Randolph said, a small smile crossing his lips. "In fact, I see her teaching a future sibling about them."

"She is eager to become a big sister," Jesse admitted happily. "Nadine and I have been discussing having another child. We are thinking of adding on the cabin. We don't want to move into a bigger one, though we can afford it."

"It is up to you with what you want to do, Jesse," Randolph murmured in gentleness. "No one should tell you what you should and shouldn't do."

Jesse nodded in agreement. He and Nadine often became annoyed at people giving their opinions about how they should raise Nancy. They always told them what they did with her was up to them and no one else. He and Randolph observed Dwight looking down at his IPhone. They heard him make a funny noise.

"My IPhone decided to turn itself off," Dwight joked and turned on his IPhone. He swiped the screen, bringing up a picture of Slick and J48 surfacing together with Alki coming up behind them. "I remember when you sent me this picture, Jesse. J48 was just a few days old."

"I was so excited that I had to send you that picture and several others I took of that little calf," Jesse said, smiling as he remembered that day. "Nadine, Randolph, Elvis, and I were hopeful this little one would make it like Ripple and Jade did. Their designated numbers are K44 and L118 respectively."

Randolph sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, it disappeared just a month after being born."

"It is very frustrating," Jesse mumbled, frowning quite a bit. "The Southern Resident are in desperate need of new calves. Unfortunately, they are dying faster than the newborns can replace them."

"Despite the birth of four calves last year, eight Southern Residents died," Randolph commented. "Two have already died this year."

"The number is three if you include Polaris's deceased male calf that was discovered washed up on a beach," Dwight pointed out truthfully.

Jesse became thoughtful. "It wouldn't surprise me if Polaris carried her son for a few days after he died."

"It is not uncommon for whales, dolphins, and porpoises to carry their dead offspring for a time before letting them go," Randolph said, swallowing hard.

"There is no doubt they are mourning the deaths of their offspring. They are also likely trying to keep them away from predators that would love to eat them," Dwight murmured, biting his lip.

"We don't need just calves to replenish this unique population. We need a number of them to be female. That means potential mothers," Randolph commented and suppressed a yawn. "Nessa could be one of them."

Dwight turned off his IPhone. He set it on the table very lightly. "She won't reach sexual maturity until she is at least ten years old. It seems like a long time, but it will be here before we know it."

Jesse and Randolph voiced their agreement. They recalled talking about how the years seemed to fly by a week before their vacation. They felt it wouldn't be long before Nancy had her first child.

"Nessa will be a great mother to her offspring. Willy, Nikki, Max, and Catspaw will be there to help her," Jesse said, warmth echoing from his voice.

"It is astounding how orcas are so family-oriented. They help each other raise calves. They share food with each other during lean times. Not many animal species do this stuff," Dwight responded honestly.

"The chinook salmon runs are actually better this year than they have been in previous years. Maybe the orcas will be able to fatten up enough for breeding and birthing offspring," Jesse whispered hopefully.

"Since Nikki and Luna had new babies, they won't be breeding for another two years," Randolph mumbled in a little disappointment.

"That is unless Nessa and Kyle die before they are a year old," Jesse said, holding up a finger.

"Of course," Dwight said, nodding slowly. "The mortality rate for orca calves is about forty-three percent."

"Slick is forty-one years old. She should be in menopause now," Randolph said and ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth.

"It is possible Slick could have one more calf. Several female orcas have given birth in their forties," Jesse commented, cupping his chin in his hand.

"It was once thought that Granny was Ruffles's mother. She was believed to have been forty years old when she had him. She was assumed to be sixty-five when his age was estimated to be twenty-five in 1976. This would make her over one hundred years old. Once it was proven she wasn't his mother, her age estimate is now believed to be a lot lower," Randolph explained.

"This is why you shouldn't make assumptions in regards to any species," Jesse added while moving his head from side to side. This stretched his neck. "You just might be proven wrong one day." He chuckled to himself. "There is no doubt in my mind Granny adopted Ruffles as her own son."

"Some females who could give birth in the next year or so are Rhapsody, Oreo, Tahlequah, Tsuchi, Alki, Princess Angeline, and Shachi. All seven females are part of J-Pod," Dwight answered in a hopeful voice.

"It'd be great if Oreo had another calf. She hasn't had one since giving birth to Cookie in 2003. Either she is having trouble conceiving or has miscarried several times," Randolph suggested and frowned. "It is sad when a reproductive female is unable to carry a calf to term."

"This is especially true when she is in the prime of her reproductive years," Dwight added, his body tensing somewhat.

"It sucks, but it is what it is," Jesse said with a shrug. "No amount of frustration will change the situation. All we can do is hope the female orca will birth at least one healthy offspring."

"A female orca can have up to six calves during twenty-five years of reproduction," Randolph said matter-of-factly. "A Northern Resident female orca named Kelsey had nine calves before passing away this year. Her designated number was A24. She was a member of A4-Pod." He raised his eyebrows and rubbed his nose. "The reason why she had so many is because several calves died very young."

"That is a lot of babies," Jesse yelled in much amazement.

Dwight ran his finger along the rim of his mug. He tapped the side of it three times before putting his hand on it.

"Once we get proof that Lilli is Isabella, we will have another potential mother for the Southern Residents. Isabella was nine when she disappeared. If she is Lilli, then she is ten years old. She should be entering sexual maturity very soon," Jesse commented, looking very hopeful.

Dwight looked at his watch and bit his lip. "Let's pray that Brenda shows up in the next thirty minutes."

"I am confident she will show up during that time," Randolph replied, propping his head up with his elbow.

"I hope she doesn't get mad when we tell her we believe her boss did something illegal," Jesse muttered in a little fear. "It is likely she believes he learned his lesson from before."

Randolph let out a small yawn. "You, Dwight, and I know that is unlikely."

"Yep," Jesse said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Let's not get angry at her if she assumes that we are lying, all right?" Dwight suggested.

"That is a good idea," Randolph murmured with a soft sigh.

Jesse nodded in agreement. "Sure, Dwight. Getting angry won't help us get to the bottom of this."

Dwight, Jesse, and Randolph watched a young man walk past them. They turned back to each other. They proceeded to talk about Lilli and Isabella being one in the same once more.