“Wave,” Noel shouted.
Sasha had already noticed it and gripped Noel’s hand tighter at the wave’s approach. “Right. Just before it reaches you, I want you to jump. Are you ready?”
Noel jumped too soon, but Sasha helped him to stay above the wave, and he shrieked with joy. Such a simple pleasure.
“Do you know how to blow bubbles?” she asked.
“No.”
“Let me show you. First, we watch to see if a wave is coming. Right. No waves.” Sasha made sure her grip was firm on Noel’s hand and stuck her head in the water. She blew enormous bubbles and lifted her head. “Would you like to try? You take a big breath.” Sasha exaggerated her breath, checked for waves, and repeated the bubbles.
“We learned in the pond near our home,”her dragon said.“It’s harder in the sea.”
“Let him try.”Sasha smiled at Noel. “Big breath. Check for waves. Bubbles.”
Sasha observed Noel and grinned when he managed several bubbles. “Great job, Noel. Wait until we tell Max. Do you want to try once more before we get out to warm in the sun?”
“Yes.”
The second time he managed two bubbles before a wave came, and Sasha lifted him above the surface. He looked startled, and Sasha braced for tears, but he giggled.
“You’re very good at that. We’ll practice more tomorrow. Do you know how to build sandcastles?”
He frowned. “No bucket. Forgot.”
Sasha led Noel from the water, and they headed toward their possessions. Sasha’s skin prickled, and it wasn’t from the breeze blowing over the sand.“It feels as if someone is watching us,”she said to her dragon.“Can you see anyone staring?”
“No. Wait. Let me shift on your body and study our rearview.”Sasha’s dragon tattoo migrated to a better position.“I can’t see anyone staring. I’ll stay alert. You and Noel carry on.”
Sasha dried off Noel and pulled on his T-shirt since he’d had enough sun on his pale skin. “Are you hungry? I brought cookies and a bottle of water for each of us.”
“The sun is reflecting off something in the trees over there,”her dragon said.“As if someone is using an instrument to see.”
“It might be nothing,”Sasha said.
“Perhaps,”her dragon replied.“My senses say someone is watching us. I wish we could investigate, but we can’t leave Noel.”
“Noel, would you like to make a dragon on the sand?” Sasha asked.
Noel cocked his head. “Don’t know how.”
“Lucky for you, I’m good at making dragons.” Sasha stood and dusted off her backside. She wandered a few steps and plucked a piece of driftwood from the sand. Using the stick, she drew the shape of a dragon. “Now, you can help me. We need to scoop up handfuls of sand and fill in the lines. It’s like coloring a picture, but we’re using sand instead of your crayons or pencils.”
By the time they’d spent an hour playing in the sand, Noel was lagging, and Sasha decided it was time to leave.
“Wanna stay,” Noel said.
“Not today,” Sasha said firmly. “I’m turning pink from the sun. Tomorrow morning you have to go to kindergarten, but we can visit the beach in the afternoon.”
“Promise?”
“Yes,” Sasha said. “We will come tomorrow. What would you like for dinner?”
“Fish fingers,” Noel said.
“What are fish fingers?”her dragon asked.“Do fish have hands? Are they different here?”
“No.”But Sasha wasn’t sure.“We should ask Justine, The Smart Computer.”
