“Tents first,” Kim says, when it seems the girls will immediately run helter-skelter down to the sand. “Then the beach.”
They pull the tents from the car—a large old-fashioned canvas one, and a smaller modern dome tent. Kim directs as they erect the tents a short distance apart on their site.
Danika sucks her lip. They haven’t discussed who will sleep where, but she’d assumed that she and Cami would share a tent. That Cami—the camping newbie—would want the security of her mother for her first nights under the stars.
But Bella is loudly proclaiming that she and Cami will share the smaller tent, as she drags her camping mattress and sleeping bag across.
Cami hesitates, and Danika goes to her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want,” she says quietly. “You can sleep with me if you prefer.”
“But Cami and I will talk all night,” Bella says to Kim. “I don’t want to share with you—you’ll make me turn off the torch.”
“You won’t talk all night,” Kim says to Bella. “You’ll be asleep early as you always are when we go camping. And you need to ask Cami and Danika what they want to do.”
Bella pouts, but nods. She turns to Danika and Cami.
“You probably heard that debate,” Kim says wryly. “It’s up to you.”
Danika looks at Cami, who appears torn. She looks from Bella to Danika and back again. “I want to share with Bella,” she says finally.
“Is that okay with you?” Kim asks. “We can move the tents closer, face the doors to each other. We’ve had no trouble here.”
“It’s okay with me,” Danika says. “But, Cami, if you or Bella want the toilet in the night, you wake me or Kim to go with you. You keep a torch with you in the tent, and the flaps zipped shut. And try to keep the noise down—there are other people here, too.”
Kim nods in agreement, and then goes back to the car, returning with a rope of tinkling bells. “We can tie this to thezip of the tent. That way, if anyone tries to sneak in or out”—she glares pointedly at Bella—“we’ll hear.” She turns to Danika and mouths, “Is that okay?”
She nods. “Cami, help me move the small tent.”
Once done, with promises not to go in the water, the girls take off to the beach to look for treasures.
Kim takes out some folding camp chairs and a long table from the boot and arranges the chairs near the tents. “Are you okay with that sleeping arrangement? If you’re not, we can move the small tent again, and you can share with Cami.” Kim doesn’t look at Danika as she says it, but her tone is carefully offhand.
Danika moves to help Kim erect the table. “It’s fine with me,” she says. “I thought Cami might want the reassurance of sharing with me, but she seems happy.”
“That may change in the middle of the night,” Kim says wryly. “First time camping can be scary for adults, let alone kids. Bella’s never slept in a tent without an adult. We could have the two of them bursting in on top of us in the middle of the night because a seagull squawked outside their tent.”
Danika laughed. “Or me bursting in on them for a similar reason. Or I’ll snuggle up to you for protection.”
She wishes she could take the words back as soon as they’re out of her mouth. Taken in the context of the conversation, they are innocuous. Taken in the context of their growing closeness, their almost kiss, the knots and strands and tangles drawing them closer together, they sound almost like an invitation. Or a promise.
Kim’s hands still for a moment on the table legs. “That would be okay if you need to do that.”
She looks at Danika for a moment, and Danika is caught in the warmth of Kim’s brown eyes. Golden almost.
They are silent as they carry sleeping bags and sheets, mats, and pillows into the tents. Four torches, one for each of them.
Once done, Kim locks the car. “Beach?” she asks.
Together, they take the narrow path through the dunes to the surf beach. The tide is out, and the wet sand glistens silver in the afternoon sun. There’s only a light breeze, enough for Danika’s hair to tickle her cheek, enough for the wisps escaping from Kim’s plait to blow around her face. They leave their sandals by the dunes and walk barefoot across the sand toward the girls. They’re playing some sort of game, which involves scooping trenches with their hands and seeing whose trench gets the most water on every incoming wave.
Cami sees her and comes running to throw wet and sandy hands around Danika’s waist. “This is awesome! I can’t wait for tonight!”
“Don’t wish today away,” Danika says. “Maybe we’ll have a paddle later, if the water is calm enough.”
“It’s a good time now.” Kim comes to stand next to them. “We brought the bodyboards, and we don’t need to go any more than waist deep to catch the small waves.”
Danika sucks her lower lip. She’s never swum on any Australian beach without the surf lifesavers present. The red-and-yellow flags are reassurance for any nervous swimmer.Always swim between the flagsis an Australian mantra.
“It’s okay,” Kim says. “If we stay in the shallows, we’ll be okay. Chr—” She swallows and restarts. “I’ve done this with Bella before.”
