Page 18 of The Summer We Mended
“Look!”Nora called, crouching near a tide pool.“There’s a crab under that rock.”
Blaze skidded to a halt and dropped to his knees beside her.“Move it gently.Don’t squish him!”
They huddled close, whispering observations like little scientists.Lily came closer and peered down.A small, sand-colored crab scuttled sideways, disappearing beneath another rock.
“Fast little guy,” she murmured.
“He was hiding from us,” Nora said with a grin.“But we still found him.”
“Turtles now?”Blaze asked.
“Let’s walk toward the jetty,” Lily suggested.“Sometimes they sun themselves there.”
“Sun themselves?You mean they tan?”Nora giggled.
“Yup,” Lily answered with a laugh.
The two kids giggled as they ran ahead, taking in as much as they could.It was nice to see that wide-eyed wonder again; it had been a while, and their laughter was doing good to crack the ice around her heart.They made their way along the shore, the children darting like sandpipers, picking up shells and seaweed, shouting discoveries.
“Grandma, look!Is this a whale bone?”Blaze asked excitedly.
“That’s a piece of driftwood, sweetheart.”
“It looks like a spine!Are you sure?”Nora asked as she went to inspect the driftwood with her brother.
“Cool!Can we keep it?”Blaze asked.“I can tell people that it’s a whale bone.The kids in my class will never know the difference.”
Lily laughed and shook her head.“Yes, you can keep it.”
Their joy was relentless, infectious.Lily found herself laughing more than once, though the sound surprised her every time it escaped her throat.Her legs ached and her chest felt heavy, but she kept walking, watching their bright shapes dart along the sand.She even felt a slight bit of guilt for laughing and being happy with her grandchildren.She wished that David were here to experience all of this.
Near the jetty, they found a collection of smooth stones, round and flat.
“Skipping contest!”Blaze shouted, picking one up.
“I’ll lose,” Nora said.“But I want to try.”
Blaze’s stone hit the water with a plunk and sank.
“You have to throw it sideways,” Lily coached, demonstrating the flick of her wrist.
They practiced, laughing when their rocks sank too soon.Lily managed two skips and earned applause from both kids.
They stayed until the wind turned sharp and the sun slipped lower.Lily knew she would pay for this excursion with sore knees and aching muscles later.But as Blaze tucked a broken shell into his bag and Nora found another patch of seaweed that she insisted looked like spaghetti, she grew certain she had been right about needing this.
Not just for them.For herself.For the pieces of her that had been collecting dust, just like the studio.
“Can we come back tomorrow?”Nora asked, her cheeks flushed from the wind.
“If it doesn’t rain,” Lily said.
Blaze grinned.“Then I’ll ask the weather guy to make it sunny.”
Lily wrapped an arm around each of them as they headed back up the path.
Tomorrow could wait.But today?Today was good enough.
ChapterSix
