“You’re hovering.” Anne took her hand and pulled her back towards the umbrella. “They’re not babies anymore. You’re allowed to step away.”
She stood rooted, feet buried beneath the sand, and watched another wall of churning white water crash into her girls. They went tumbling backward, then popped up laughing and charged forward again. Pete passed Hayden his bodyboard, and Mia grabbed Harper’s hand.
“They won’t drown,” Anne said wryly. “I promise.”
Oakley looked at the lifeguard for a moment, glanced back at her girls, and finally allowed Anne to drag her up the beach.
They had grabbed a good spot that morning, a clean bay of white sand sheltered by black lava rock. There was no one sitting right on top of them and – most importantly – they had a clear view of the kids.
“Have you even eaten today?” Anne asked as they settled onto an oversized beach towel in the shade of the umbrella.
“Not yet.” Oakley shifted slightly so that she was looking straight at her girls.
“You shouldn’t skip meals like that.”
“It’s called intermittent fasting.”
“Just because it’s trendy to starve yourself doesn’t mean that youshould.”
“Word,” Laurie agreed, peering at them over her book. She pushed a lunchbox towards Oakley. “I made egg musubis.”
“She put this spicy mayo between the egg and the rice,” Anne said. “You’ve gotta try it. It’s soono.”
“Okay, okay.”
Oakley picked up a seaweed-wrapped musubi and took a bite. The creamy sauce complimented the sweet-tart sushi rice perfectly, and her stomach rumbled with appreciation.
“Ono.” She signeddeliciouswith her free hand. “Thanks.”
Laurie nodded and went back to her book.
“Claire!” Anne waved her daughter over. “Come eat!”
The fourteen year old was decked out in a long-sleeve swimsuit and thick white sunscreen. A mask and snorkel hung around her neck, and a pair of fins dangled from one hand. She dropped into the shade, dripping saltwater and grinning.
“Thanks!” She grabbed a musubi. “I’m starved.”
“How was it?” asked Anne.
“Fun! Not a whole lot to see, but it’s good just to be in the water.”
“Did you see any fish?”
“I saw a parrotfish, I think. It was chewing on the coral. I could hear it munching.”
“Very cool.”
Claire took a huge bite of the musubi and watched her cousins playing in the not-so-pacific ocean. Her gray eyes went wide when Pete went tumbling heels over head in a massive wave. Then she laughed when he stood and shook his sandy blonde hair out like a dog.
She shoved the rest of the mutsubi into her mouth, washed it down with a swig of water, and stood.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Oakley asked.
“To swim with the kids.”
“You have to wait ten minutes after eating.”
“That’s not a real thing.” Claire turned and sprinted into the waves.
