A note about this story: As some readers already know, when I published a sequel in 2015 to my 2012 story Beyond DNA, it was just a small part of what I had originally intended to do. What is known today as Operation: Fluffy Pink Sugar was intended to be just the first chapter of a multiple-chapter story full of family, drama, suspense, and adventure. But after a few months of working on the story in 2013, I experienced difficulties, largely in envisioning how things in the middle of the story would go. I made the difficult decision to stop writing and to instead publish just the leadoff chapter as a sequel, which I didn't do for another two years because I wanted to finish editing Beyond DNA first. The rest of the material I kept on three Word documents in a folder for the abandoned project, which I occasionally looked at for nostalgia but never shared.
Until now.
While I will not complete this story no matter how much I may be asked, I've finally decided that what I was able to write is still worth being read by others and being part of my Grand Old Canon.
The three chapters that follow are generally as I had written them in 2013. No new material has been written since. I did, however, make decisions on a few word choices that I had marked as undecided at the time of writing and make a few superficial, incidental edits.
The first two chapters can be considered complete. Be aware, however, that the third chapter abruptly ends during a conversation. But I will provide a few brief details about the story's intended direction at the bottom of chapter 3.
And now, please enjoy First Swim.
April 7, 2023
The five penguins were standing together on the concrete iceberg when Alice and a group of eight visitors walked up to the habitat. The six visitors who were children each held a small box of fish that their chaperones had purchased from Alice for two bucks apiece.
Private's face lit up. "The first 'feed the penguins' group of the day is here! And they're adorable kids!"
"Take your places," Skipper said. He waited a moment for the others to get into position and then called the first part of the routine. "Let's begin with a figure eight belly slide. I'll lead. Ready ... set ... go!"
On Skipper's command, the four adult penguins dropped to their bellies and followed his lead as they executed a figure eight on top of the iceberg. Kowalski and Rico then stood up and together lifted Private by his flippers before tossing him into the air. Private somersaulted three times before gracefully entering the water. Kowalski and Rico did the same move with Skipper next.
As her father and uncles entertained the children, MaryRose stood close to the fish bowl that covered the entrance to the HQ. Skipper had long ago made her head of the Fish Collection Task Force, which gave her the duties of guarding the bowl during performances and leading the others in the collection of the thrown fish when the performances were over.
After telling the children that they could begin throwing their fish, Alice began to tell them a little bit about the penguins. When she finished, she asked if there were any questions.
"I have a question," a girl said. "What kind of fish are we feeding the penguins?"
"I don't know," Alice replied. "It's whatever the local fishmonger had a sale on last week."
A boy jumped up and down with a raised hand. "Ooh! Ooh! How high do penguins fly?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Really, kid?" She sighed. "Penguins don't fly. Aren't they teaching you anything in school? This is what I'm getting for my taxes?"
"Huh?"
"Any other questions?"
Another girl pointed at MaryRose. "Yes, ma'am. Why isn't that one playing in the water like its friends?"
Alice turned around and looked at MaryRose for a moment and then turned back to the school group. "You know what? That's actually a good question. I've never seen her go into the water even though her waterproof feathers grew in a while ago. I think she might just be slow or something." Suddenly, Alice felt water splash her from behind. "Whoa!" She jumped up and the children laughed.
Skipper splashed her again when she turned to face the habitat. "My daughter is not slow!"
Alice pointed. "You!"
Skipper tried to splash her a third time, but Kowalski stopped him. "You've made your point, Skipper. You don't want her to have the vet medicate you." He then led Skipper to the other side of the habitat.
Alice turned back to the children. "One final fact about penguins, children: penguins are not supposed to do that."
"Maybe not," one boy said as he played back the video he had recorded on his phone, "but it's totally hilarious when they do."
Alice snatched the phone from the boy's hands. "Give me that!" She began to tap randomly on the screen until a deletion confirmation came up. "Someone once put a picture of me with an otter on my face on the Internet. For six weeks, I couldn't go anywhere without someone pointing at me and saying, 'Hey, look! There's that woman who had the otter on her face! Hey, lady! Where's your friend?' I'm not going to let anything like that happen to me again." She tossed the kid his phone back, and she and the school group moved on to the next exhibit.
Rico and Private climbed back onto the iceberg, but Kowalski and Skipper kept swimming on the surface together. "You know, Skipper," Kowalski said, "I think Alice did have a point."
"What!" Skipper stopped swimming and splashed Kowalski in the face.
Kowalski blew the water out of his nostrils. "Not about her being slow! But don't you think it's time that MaryRose learned how to swim?"
"Oh." He sighed. "Well, of course it's time. For her anyway. I'm just not sure about me."
Kowalski nodded. "Yeah, I know you still have flashbacks about when MaryRose accidentally fell into the water. But she didn't have her waterproof feathers then. She's had them for fourteen weeks now."
"I know." He looked over at MaryRose leading Rico and Private as they all picked up fish and then turned back to Kowalski. "She likes her little 'assignment,' but I know deep in her heart she'd rather be with us. And deep in mine, I'd rather she be with us too. I've probably made her life more dangerous by not letting her get into the water, if I really think about it." He sighed. "I think I'm going to be paranoid about her safety no matter what I do."
Kowalski put a flipper on Skipper's shoulder. "When MaryRose first gets into the water, Rico, Private, and I will all be there, you know. Marlene too. She'll be safe, Skipper. If even the slightest thing goes wrong, we will be able to respond from all directions—right, left, front, back, even underneath."
Skipper smiled. "Thanks, Kowalski. That will definitely make things a lot easier. But there's one thing I'd like to do with MaryRose first."
— § —
After instructing her to relax her flippers, Skipper raised MaryRose's right flipper up a little. "OK, MaryRose," he said, "bring your left flipper up to the same height."
MaryRose raised her left flipper and held it in position. "Like this?"
"Exactly." Skipper began to move her right flipper up and down gently. "The way penguins swim is a lot like how flying birds fly. This is how a flipper moves when you are swimming normally. Can you copy these movements with your other flipper?"
MaryRose began to flap her left flipper the way her father was showing her with her right. Her movements lagged behind his briefly as she got a feel for the mechanics of swimming, but she was soon in sync.
"That's it. You're getting it."
"You're doing great, sweetheart!" Marlene said.
Private smiled. "Adorable!"
After a few minutes, Skipper let go of MaryRose's right flipper and told her to keep flapping like he had shown her. He then moved behind her and brought her feet closer together. "You don't want to have your feet too far apart; you want to be streamlined. The positions of your feet and tail also aid in steering. For instance"—he put his flippers on her and began to guide her—"if you want to turn right, do this." He began to guide her through another motion. "And moving yourself like this will help you move upward."
MaryRose giggled. "Daddy! That tickles!"
Skipper laughed. "Sorry. That's only because of the way I'm holding you. It won't be like that when you do it on your own." He showed her a few more movements and then got in front of her so she could see his feet and tail. He outstretched his flippers and began to flap. "All right, MaryRose, let's do the same movements again, only this time without my flippers guiding you. Just watch what I'm doing and try to copy it." He stopped flapping for a second and turned to Kowalski. "Kowalski, if she makes a mistake, help her through the motion."
Kowalski nodded. "Will do."
Skipper turned around and began to flap again. "Slow left turn," he said as he began the necessary movements.
The other penguins and Marlene watched as MaryRose copied her father's flipper and body movements. "She was perfect, Skipper," Kowalski said.
Skipper nodded. "And now a quick U-turn to the right."
Kowalski had to move MaryRose's right foot slightly, but she executed the rest of the U-turn exactly like Skipper. She remembered Kowalski's correction when Skipper had her do the motion again.
"Good job, MaryRose!" Marlene said.
"Yup," Rico agreed.
Skipper led MaryRose through a dozen more swimming motions, which she skillfully copied. After the last one, Skipper stood up and helped her off the floor. "Excellent work, MaryRose. A few more days of practicing here inside the HQ and you'll be ready to try swimming for real."
It was the only way Skipper would feel comfortable about MaryRose swimming: if she knew how to swim before she even got in the water.
MaryRose smiled and hugged her father. "Thanks, Daddy. I can't wait to swim with you."
Skipper hugged her back and then kissed her on the head. Five months ago he was regurgitating her food, and now she was on the verge of a milestone so major that it marked the end of the parent-chick relationship in some of the wild penguin species.
MaryRose was growing up. Where did the time go?