The sun had long since passed overhead, leaving them in the shade. But the temperature, tipping into the nineties, made sweat bead on Maggie’s skin. The beach, usually abandoned by sunbathers this time of day, teemed with people claiming spots for tonight’s display.
They chatted as they shucked, and when the timer buzzed, Maggie transferred the eggs to a bowl of cold water and set it in the fridge. When she returned to the balcony, Zoey was gone.
“She got a little bored and decided she’d rather go play,” Erin said.
“She’s been playing with those finger puppets Mia loaned her. That was awfully sweet of her.”
“She doesn’t share with just anyone.” Erin tossed her short blonde hair from her face and gave Maggie a sheepish look. “So... I may have mentioned Mia’s swimming lessons at a ladies’ luncheon this week.”
Maggie turned a questioning look on Erin.
“It seems a couple of them were wondering if you might have time to work with their kids the rest of the summer.”
“Erin.”
“Don’t hit me. I know you’re here for rest and relaxation, so no pressure, truly. I only mentioned it in passing. Ella has a daughterwho’s six and can’t swim yet, despite her best efforts, and Kyra has a teenage son who’s going out for the swim team this year... and one thing led to another.”
Would it be so awful to have something besides the mystery man to occupy her mind? Because yes, the sighting was still haunting her. When she was at the beach or the grocery store or a restaurant, she searched the crowd for that familiar face. Couldn’t seem to help herself.
She hadn’t mentioned it to Josh. He’d suffered the same disappointment and she was reluctant to pull him into it again. He hadn’t brought it up, so maybe he’d been able to move on with no real answers.
“I’ll tell them you’re not available,” Erin said. “No big deal.”
Maggie shook her thoughts away. “I don’t know how it would even work. There’s no pool here. And what would I do with Zoey?”
“I’m happy to watch Zoey anytime. The Johnsons have a pool—they’re the ones with the teenage son. And you could use my pool to teach Ella’s daughter. She’s in the same class as Mia at church, and now that Mia’s putting her face in water, you could probably teach them together.” Erin threw her hands up, palms out. “Not that I’m pushing you on this. It’s totally your call.”
Maggie gave her a dubious look.
“There’s money involved. Just saying. But that’s it. No pressure from me.”
Maggie tossed the shucked corncob into the pile and began removing silk from another. “I’llthinkabout it.”
“That’s great. I’ll let them know.”
Maggie hadn’t anticipated doing any kind of work this summer. But teaching swimming was a joy. Truth be told, she enjoyed coaching the swim team more than teaching expository writing to a class of restless students.
“You seem a little better today.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve seemed a little sad and withdrawn the past week or so. I’ve been worried about you. Is your mom giving you grief?”
“No more than usual.” And here she’d thought she’d done such a great job of hiding her feelings. “I’ve been struggling a bit. These waves of grief—you’d think I’d be over it by now.”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain. I still grieve him too. It can hit at the oddest times. One day back in February I saw butter pecan ice cream at the grocery store and it hit me so hard, remembering the way I teased him for liking such an old-man flavor. I barely made it out of the store before falling apart. I felt so stupid.”
“You should’ve called.” She’d had a million such moments, it seemed. “He sure did love his ice cream.”
“Remember when he bought that three-gallon tub from Scoops?”
Maggie chuckled. “It took up half our freezer in that little apartment.” Sometimes it seemed like yesterday. Other times it seemed he’d been gone a decade.
Erin grabbed her hand. “Don’t ever feel you have to hide your grief from me, okay? I feel it too.”
The warmth in her friend’s eyes soothed Maggie’s soul. “Thanks, Erin. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.”
Erin squeezed her hand. “Sister. We’ll always be sisters.”
