He didn’t even breathe.
She stopped, then slowly walked back.
“Hank?” She reached out a hand.
He tackled her at the knees.
She went down like a potato sack. “That’s not fair!” He pinned her to him and grinned down at her. “I know.”
“Let me up.”
“Okay.” He got up and offered her his hand. She put her hand in his.
He gripped it hard and laughed. “I can’t believe you actually fell for that one.” And before she could do anything but gasp, he slid his arm under her knees and picked her up. “You’re not running again, sweetheart.”
“Put me down!”
“No.”
“You cheated!”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not. But it worked.”
He walked toward the water as she tried to squirm free. She called him names and laughed at the same time. She made threats and promised he’d be sorry if he threw her in the water again.
Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long look. She leaned close to his mouth and whispered, “Kiss me.”
He did. A smack on the lips. “Good one, Smitty. I’d have tried that too in your place.” Laughing, he swung back.
“Hank!” she hollered. “Don’t you dare!”
And he threw her into the next wave.
* * *
Muddy bentover the lensof the camera and adjusted the tripod. “Everyone get ready!”
He watched them through the lens, then straightened and rubbed a mark off the mahogany camera case. He bent back and looked through the lens, sighting the rock near a lush hibiscus bush that had the clear sky and vast Pacific Ocean as a background.
Lydia and Theodore were elbowing each other. Annabelle was running in circles around Margaret, who was bent over. Hank was staring at her backside.
Muddy opened the instructions and read them again, then affixed the plates. He put the focus cloth in place. “I’m ready!”
Lydia pulled Rebuttal into the group, and they all shuffled around for a few minutes. Margaret stopped to retie Hank’s white tie and to adjust her ball gown. Theodore wore the baseball cap backward, and he held the bat, ball, and glove. Lydia wore all her shell necklaces and the combs Hank had made her. Annabelle sat in Margaret’s lap, her fingers stuck in her mouth.
Margaret sat on a rock, Annabelle in her lap and Lydia and Rebuttal on her left. Theodore was on her right. Hank stood behind her, one hand resting possessively on her shoulder and the finger of his other hand pulling at the collar of the dress shirt.
Muddy smiled. “One... Two... Ready?” They all nodded.
“Three!”
And Muddy took his first photograph—a family portrait.
* * *
