them, their movement stirring up the leaves and twigs in the ground. Anne could hear the call of birds as they swooped through the trees. A bright yellow Golden Warbler sat up on a branch watching them before it took to wing and landed high on a pine bough further up the path.
They decided to forgo walking all the way up to Cemetery Road and took a right onto the dirt path that looped back to the beach at its northern most edge. Not surprisingly, they did not encounter anyone else on their trip or on the beach. With it being a Tuesday morning, there were less people around who would be willing to paddle the three miles to the beach. In addition most visitors preferred the beach on the other side of the island in Cowlitz Bay where the ferry docked.
"Are you ready to test if the water is warm enough in the shallows for swimming, Anne?" Ben gave her a look that dared her to try it out. The waters of President Channel could still get cold this time of year and test the mettle of even the most ardent kayaker. Even the shallows were not immune to the cold temperatures of the waters further out. But Anne grew up on Orcas and swam on this beach many times in the past. She was willing to give it a try.
"I’m willing if you are."
Ben’s answer was to remove his tee shirt and water shoes. Not to be beaten, she quickly pulled off her tee shirt and shorts and together they ran into the water. The cold just about knocked Anne down, but it was a cold that her body could adjust to quickly, and not a cold that would zap her strength or cause her muscles to cramp. They played for a few minutes in the water before she called it quits and walked back onto the beach. They had stored towels inside their kayaks before taking off, and Anne pulled hers out and spread it on the sand. Ben came out of the water less than a minute behind her and followed suit. Then they dropped down and let the warm sun dry their swimming suits.
"I haven’t done that in a long time," Anne said idly as her skin began to soak up the sun’s rays. "It’s been two years since I was last here."
"You haven’t been to a beach in two years? The last I heard it, there are beaches out east, too." Anne smiled at the teasing tone of Ben’s voice. "Why, two years since you were home?" Anne looked over at Ben, squinting to keep the sun out of her eyes. He was on his back with his eyes closed. She took a moment to admire his profile.
"I used to come back every summer for a week or two. Two years ago I was here for Carla’s wedding. You remember my friend Carla, don’t you?" Her eyes wandered lower on his body following the line of his chest, covered in solid muscles and brown hair, and across his stomach. The red suit could not hide the line of his groin or the strong muscles of his legs. Preventing a groan, she closed her eyes again and turned her head to face upward again.
"I remember Carla. She was the little blonde, right? If I remember right, she liked to cook. She was always trying out some recipe on us."
"That’s her. She owns a catering company in Seattle now. It’s called Anton’s Catering." Anne thought she might as well give Carla’s business a plug in case Ben, or his family, ever needed a caterer. You never knew.
"So why didn’t you come back last summer if you’ve been coming back every year?"
"It just didn’t work out with my schedule. I wanted to try to fit it in, but time got away from me. Before I knew it, another year had passed."
"Where along the East Coast do you live? You did not tell me yesterday."
"Boston." Anne told him this while trying to use her best imitation of a Boston accent. He laughed at her attempt and tried it himself. He did a better accent than she did. For the next half hour, they talked intermittently between companionable stretches of silence. Eventually, Ben sat up and looked around. A group of kayakers were coming ashore further north of them and dropping off their gear. Ben looked at his watch and told her the time. It was later than she