I laugh. “Two, actually. We rescued them from a ditch in our neighborhood. There were no other ducks around, so we wrapped them in his hoodie and snuck them into the house, then kept them in our bathtub.”
Bea giggles.
“We couldn’t tell them apart, so I took one of my doll’s tutus and wrapped it around one duckling. Of course, it would never stay on, but that didn’t stop me from trying. I would’ve had itwearing cowboy boots if his or her webbed feet had been the right shape.”
In stitches, Asher wags a finger at Bea. “Don’t you dare get any ideas, young lady.”
Too late for that, I think, when her eyes go wide.
“Did your parents ever find out?” Asher asks.
“Oh, for sure. I hid one in my shirt at dinnertime so I could feed it, but it escaped and hopped onto the table.”
“That’s silly.” Bea snorts.
“Totally,” I agree.
“Did you have any other pets?” she asks.
“Mm-hmm. I had a pet rabbit named Peter.”
Her eyes go wide. “Dad?—”
“Don’t—” He cuts her off with a gentle smile, knowing exactly what she’s about to ask.
She frowns for a second, then says, “What happened to Peter?”
“He died,” I reply, my shoulders drooping. “Many years ago.”
Bea squints into the sky. “I bet he’s with my mom now.”
“You think?”
She nods.
“I like that idea,” I tell her. “I bet Peter really likes her too.”
Asher gives my thigh a squeeze. “Hey, Dolly. Can I talk to you for a sec?”
She brushes the sand from my feet and looks up at him, but then quickly begins burying my feet all over again.
“Do you remember when Dr. Parsons used to live next door during the summers?”
She nods, then turns her nose up in disgust. “Uh-huh. He always gave me that really yucky candy.”
He laughs. “It was gross, wasn’t it? Anyway. Do you remember why Claire has been living with us?”
“Because the tree fell on the roof?”
“That’s right. And Claire needed a place to stay this summer so she could be the camp doctor.”
“Why didn’t she live with Grandma and Grandpa?”
Asher and I stare at one another, dumbfounded. Whether that option was on the table back in May, I couldn’t say.
“That’s a great question,” Asher replies. “And one I don’t know the answer to. But what I’m trying to tell you is that the summer is almost over and Claire will be going back to her apartment in the city.”
She packs the mound of sand on top of my feet with her chubby little hands. “Why?”
