A rather short chapter this time I'm afraid. Still, it should have enough fluff to satisfy you. Caroline's outfit is posted on my polyvore page. Directions to that are posted on my profile, but just in case all you have to do is go to the site and type in my pen name. You can see all the outfits that way. Enjoy!
Caroline woke up the next morning with a kiss to her forehead followed by one to her mouth. She opened her eyes and smiled at Klaus. "Good morning sweetheart," he said. Caroline kissed him again and replied in kind, "Good morning. What's on the agenda for today?" Pulling her slightly so she would sit up, he replied, "How about a visit to the aquarium?" Caroline pondered this for a moment and replied, "Do they have sea otters? They're my favorite." Klaus laughed slightly and nodded. Caroline hopped up and exclaimed, "Perfect! Just let me get dressed. Then we can grab a quick bite and –" As Klaus burst out laughing, she groaned, "It's an expression and you know it. I don't drink from humans!"
Klaus finally managed to stop laughing and replied, "I know, I know. It's just the way you said it…" He trailed off at Caroline's glare. Beating a hasty retreat toward the bedroom door, he said, "I'll just heat you up a fresh bag then?" He closed the door behind him just as Caroline playfully threw a pillow at it. After he left, Caroline put on a simple white dress and paired it with some light green and blue jewelry to add a pop of color. Putting on her new sky-blue pumps, she followed Klaus out the bedroom and downstairs. After a quick breakfast, they left for the aquarium. Caroline was enjoying the light breeze from the convertible when Klaus put the top up. Caroline looked at him confused, "What's wrong?"
Klaus gestured vaguely to the sky, "Just as well we're going to the aquarium today. It's going to start raining within minutes at this rate." Caroline looked up at the steadily gathering grey clouds and Klaus continued, "You've never experienced a southern storm before, but trust me. You'll want to be inside when it hits. It'll pour, but it should die out by the end of the day." Caroline shrugged and, as they pulled into the aquarium parking lot, read aloud, "The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. Catchy title." Klaus chuckled and opened the door for her before ushering her towards the entrance with another wary glance towards the heavens.
"So," he asked, "Would you prefer a tour, or to wander around on your own?" Caroline thought for a minute, "Could we do a tour first? We can always go around on our own later, but I don't want to miss anything." Klaus nodded and gestured towards one of the uniformed employees. Within minutes, they were off. The tour guide shared some information about the aquarium, such as they fact they it boasted a grand total of around 15,000 sea creatures. Caroline spent a full five minutes watching the sea otters play before they were able to continue, with Klaus promising that they would come back to see them before they left. As they passed through the white alligator exhibit, the tour guide remarked, "If you believe in superstitions, white alligators are supposed to be a sign of good luck…" Her tone made it clear she didn't agree with that statement. Klaus and Caroline shared a secret smile. After all, vampires fit in that same category of superstitions. They passed through a smallish room in which aquarium-goers could touch live sharks. The couple did once and left quickly. The sharks had a rather sand papery skin. The tour guide left them at the entrance to a tunnel saying, "This is the Caribbean Reef tunnel. It's about thirty feet long and will end back at the front of the building. Enjoy the rest of your day!"
Caroline and Klaus laughed slightly at her overly cheerful demeanor and walked slowly through the tunnel hand in hand. Once in a while, one of them would remark on an interesting fish or sea creature that they saw. Just before they left the tunnel, Caroline saw a sea turtle swimming slowly close to the sand. "You know," she said to Klaus, "I've heard people say that sea turtles are good luck too…" Klaus smiled and replied, "Good news for us. We've had two good luck symbols in one day." Caroline laughed and they continued through the rest of the tunnel. Once they exited, they walked back through a few exhibits including the sea horses gallery, to watch the jewel-bright animals, and, of course, the sea otters. As they passed the gift shop on their way out, Klaus asked Caroline to wait a moment for him. She agreed and he came out of the shop five minutes later with a sea otter stuffed animal which he presented to her. She giggled and kissed him on the cheek before following him out to the car.
When they arrived home, she set the stuffed animal on the chair next to their bed and proclaimed him 'Vapor'. Klaus rolled his eyes good-naturedly and suggested they go downstairs to watch the rest of the storm from the screened-in porch. Caroline readily agreed and they spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling and watching the storm. After it died down, they returned to the kitchen where Klaus again prepared dinner, a very rare steak and garlic-mashed potatoes this time, with a mix of blood and wine to drink. After cleaning up, they retired to their room where they spent some quality time with each other before going to sleep.
Tomorrow is the zoo. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought!