items.
“Glad you made it,” Ann said, with only a slight edge. Both girls were already sandwiching me in a hug.
“You know me. Always a little late. But if I said I’d be here, I’d be here.” We exchanged a look, and I knew she understood exactly what I meant. She gave me a little nod of approval that felt like some kind of badge of honor.
“Auntie Clem! I thought we were taking off the doors!”
I stroked my hand down Camille’s ponytail. “I thought you girls might want to help me.”
“Yes!” they squealed, leaping up and down.
Ann pursed her lips. “You know how to take the doors off?”
I shrugged. “Nana did it all the time. I’m sure it’s no big deal.”
Which turned out to be quite wrong. Twenty minutes later though, with the help of the two girls (but mostly Tommy), we had the doors off, the top down, and were backing out of the driveway.
“Seat belts!” Ann shouted, as Tommy threw a hand over her shoulder.
“Already got ’em!” I called, waving my free hand. In a quieter voice I muttered, “You do have your seat belts on, right, girls?”
“Yes, Auntie Clem.” I could practically hear their eye rolls in their voices as they answered together.
Whenever they answered in unison like that, even sharing the same tone of voice, I had to shove down memories of the one time an ex talked me into watching The Shining. Nope. I needed to put that mental image right out of my mind now. There was a reason that I didn’t watch horror. Visuals stuck with me too much.
Unlike the scary twins in the movie, Sophie and Camille were bright and bubbly, chattering and giggling. They also had totally distinct styles, aside from their striped canvas bags monogrammed with their initials. Those were a hallmark of their mom, but otherwise, their personalities bloomed.
Sophie had her hair in braids and wore turquoise sunglasses that were too big for her face. Today, she paired her black athletic shorts with a tank top. Camille wore a flowy white cover-up dress that looked similar to mine and white sunglasses that tipped up in a cat-eye. Her hair was pulled into another high ponytail, without a ribbon this time. I smiled, seeing the same smattering of freckles across their noses and cheeks that Ann and I shared.
We could have walked the eight or so blocks to the beach access, but the jeep ride had been part of the promise. That and ice cream afterward. Only a few other cars were in the parking area as I pulled into a sand-covered spot of asphalt.
“Got all your stuff?” I asked, slinging my oversized beach bag over my shoulder.
They nodded, and for a moment, I could almost picture them as teenagers. Whoa. It wasn’t so far off, a thought that made me want to grab them both and squeeze them tight.
Instead, I called, “Last one in the ocean’s a rotten egg!” and took off running for the wooden crosswalk.
Giggles and the slap of flip-flops sounded behind me, and both girls managed to pass me by the time we hit the hot sand. I ran my way right out of my flip-flops, dropping my bag and towel in a heap and tossing my cover-up, not really caring if it blew away. I could always buy a new one.
That’s what I loved about the beach. Things felt so easy. Lose your cover-up? Just buy a new one. Step on your sunglasses? Whatever.
The twins barely beat me into the ocean, probably only because they didn’t take off what they wore over their suits. As I ran straight into the waves, I screamed right along with the girls.
It was ridiculously freezing. Much colder than when I’d waded in just with my feet, the day I had my first run-in with Alec. I’d planned to run right back out, but lost my footing in a shallow hole, falling face-first into a wave. Underwater, the sound dulled as though I’d put myself right into a bell jar. I opened my eyes, feeling the sting of salt, only able to see light illuminating the glistening grains of sand as it whipped around in the dark water.
Popping my head above the surface, I gulped in the warm air and started for shore. “It’s freezing!”
“Stay, Auntie Clem,” Sophie pleaded, bobbing over a wave.
“Yeah. Don’t be a baby,” Camille said, hands on her hips.
My teeth chattered. “I can’t feel my fingers or toes, girls. Are my lips blue? I am a baby.