March 6, 7 & 8, 2003
Written by Audrey's Mother, Anne-Marie Mestre
On
Thursday, March 6, at 3:05 pm we landed in Cancun to attend to the baptism of
the dolphin "Audrey". When we got out of the plane, Pipin was already
waiting for us with a young lady that works in Dolphin Discovery, her name is
Erandeni. She gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers as a welcome gift. Pipin
told us that a young couple approached him to ask him for an autograph and when
they saw that he had signed for him at -162 mts, and for Audrey at -170 mts,
they started crying. We like the fact that Pipin still associates Audrey
with his life. We finally go to the building were we are going to stay.
We are in a very comfortable apartment. From the balcony we have a beautiful ocean view, and going down the stairs we have direct access to the beach. We enjoy the peace of the view and of the only noise there is, very nice, from the ocean waves.
The baptism is programmed for the next day, friday at 4:00 pm. Before going to bed, we go to the balcony to say good night to our dear daughter.
The
day of the event, March 7, we arrived at the dolphinarium located in Puerto
Aventuras. The owner, Eduardo, waits for us, and he introduces us to his wife
and his daughters. Immediately we feel a rush of simpathy among us. We see
people we have met before during other events as records. We are thrilled of
seeing them again. Everybody asks me about my dad, it seems that Audrey used to
talk a lot about him.
The
dolphins trainers talk to us about little "Audrey". They are
fascinated with her, they say she is a dolphin as no other. "Audrey"
is precocious, when baby dolphins have milk from their mothers until they are 6
to 8 months old, "Audrey" wanted to eat fish since she was 2 months
old. She is very independent, very curious y and she likes approaching humans.
The trainer takes her in his arms and raises her above the water and she stays
calm. It seems to me they are talking about my Audrey.
The
ceremony is about to start. They ask us to step into a place that has the roof
made of straws and we sit there. In the entrance there is a poster of Audrey,
made especially for this ocassion. She is here, watching us with a beautiful
smile. Erandeni, the young
lady that is accompanying us since yesterday, introduces us to the press and
thanks us for being there, after that she presents Eduardo.
He
speaks beautifully about Audrey, and his words moves us. He speaks about how
Audrey seduced everybody with her humility, how she made them see what they were
doing under a different light, how she had the idea of bringing abused children
from France to give them some kind of therapy with the dolphins and how he used
to watch her compete with the dolphins, to see who would hold their breath
longer, and some times she would win. We have tears in our eyes, but my husband
Jean Pierre and I hold each others hands for strength. I don't want to cry, she
wouldn't have liked that.
Eduardo asks Pipin to say some words. It is very difficult for him. He thanks everybody for inviting us over, his words are very soft, we can hardly hear them, he seems to be about to cry. His words are brief, but very emotional, I feel very sad watching him like that, so big and strong and so vulnerable at the same time.
The
organizers of the event invite us to go to the "maternity" tank, which
is a big tank filled with sea water, where "Audrey" is with her mom
and another mother and baby dolphin who was born 3 weeks after “Audrey”.
We
approach the tank as Pipin puts on his bathing suit. "Audrey" is here,
she came to see what was going on, she heard us arrive. Her mom comes for her to
feed her. The trainer thought it was funny to see the curiosity of
"Audrey". We started taking picturs. We asked the name of Audrey's mom
and to our surprise her name was Venus, which coincidentally is the name of the
street where we live in Mexico. It's another coincidence that makes us think
that we are in the presence of our Audrey.
Pipin
gets into the water and the magic starts immediately. "Audrey" comes
close to him and let him touch her. The other baby dolphin doesn't leave her
mom's side, but "Audrey" does, her mom is with the trainer, but she is
with Pipin. It seems as if she was playing hide & seek with Pipin.
Every time Pipin turns she does too. But when Pipin is given the food container
then she comes directly to him to ask him for food. He pets her. We think at
that moment about those loved ones that are not with us right now but that think
about us constantly. 
Eduardo
asks us if we want to get in the water as well. Jean-Pierre says no (although he
really wants it) but he wants to keep taking pictures, I don't even think about
it, I say yes and change clothes. I get into the water and swim to where Pipin
is. Venus comes see me. Pipin tells me I can touch her and that is what I do. I
remember everything Audrey used to tell us about dolphins, that their skin is
soft, hard but fragile so I pet her with care not to harm her with my rings and
bracelets. I have the 
impression
of listening Audrey saying "very softly" and I follow her
advice.
Pipin
calls me to get close to "Audrey". I can touch her, caress her and I
do it thinking about all who loved and still love our daughter even after her
departure. Venus comes looking for me, as if she wanted to take me away and
leave Pipin and "Audrey" alone, as I used to do when I visited them in
their home in Miami.
Time
goes by fast, we have been in the water with the dolphins for half hour. The
trainers call us, we
have to get out of the water, but before we leave we are going to say goodbye.
We stand on a step they have there, side by side. The trainers showed us how to
make a cup with our hands where the dolphins could put their heads to give us
kisses in our cheeks. That's what we do and the dolphins give us kind
kisses... Pipin is with Venus and I'm with the other mom. We wave goodbye with
our hands and they wave their fins. They jump happily and walk with their tail.
It's an unforgettable experience.
The
press asks us what we feel. I tell them we always joked that our grandkids were
going to be little dolphins... The trainers are sure that she is here with us.
They ask us how she was when she was a kid and Jean-Pierre and I tell them
"just as the little dolphin", very independent, very willing, she
wanted to be in contact ith people. They are not surprised, that is the way they
imagined it.
At 7:30 pm
we leave. It's time to go back to the apartment. Erandeni comes with us to
Cancun. 
That night I dreamt of my Audrey. As with the dolphins, I made a cup with my hands and she came to give me kiss. I felt the heat of her body, the sweetness of her skin, she had an incredible smile, I saw her in peace, happy.
The
next day, March 8, we went back home. At 1:00 pm the car from Dolphin Discovery
was waiting for us. We left for the airport. Our plane departs on time.
We
arrived home at 6:30 pm. Everything went well. I think about the days to come,
we are going to talk a lot about the little "Audrey". We turn
another page...