“It’s a secret surprise!” Jesse ran over and grabbed Amanda’s hand, tugging her back toward the sheet. “Not yet, Mommy.”
“We’ll see you in five minutes.” Maeve waved and gave Amanda a thumbs-up.
Amanda cross-stepped, backing away slowly. “I’ll wait up there. Come and get me when you’re ready.”
“No peeking,” Hailey said sternly.
“No problem.” Amanda made it to the sheet and sat down. Laughter came out of nowhere. Me time. When was the last time she really had me time? Thank you, Maeve. A hundred thank-yous. She put her hands on her legs and closed her eyes, determined to sit there with her mind empty of any thoughts until the kids came to get her.
The weight of her body shifted, her center of gravity lowering as the stress release allowed her to really relax. She did find herself peeking a couple of times, curious what they were up to. But it felt good to be free of any responsibility, even for a short time.
Oh yeah. I could definitely get used to this.
“We’re ready, Mommy.” Jesse ran up to her. “Come on. You have to see.”
She scrambled to her feet and jogged alongside him to where Hailey and Maeve stood.
“Sorry we took so long,” Maeve said with a wink.
“Well, the best projects take time. No problem.”
“Ready?” Hailey looked at Maeve and then they both stepped aside.
A castle rose from the sand. A series of tall slim buildings, all different heights and bridges connecting them. It was an entire city. Indeed, they had been busy.
“How did you do that so fast?” Maybe she’d been up there longer than she realized.
“Maeve taught us how to make drip castles.” Hailey stuck her foot out with her toe pointed and arms wide. “It’s so amazing.”
“It sure is.”
“We dug a long trench from the water to a pond in the middle of our city,” Hailey explained.
“The waves filled it up instead of destroying it,” Amanda said. “I bet I can guess who was in charge of digging it.” Jesse was a master at it. Fast and deep. Just his style.
Jesse jumped in the air. “Me!”
“Look how tall your castle is. It must be five stories high. Like an apartment building.”
“Princesses don’t live in apartments, Mom.”
“Of course not. What was I thinking?”
“Look,” Hailey said to her. “Come on, Jesse. Let’s show her how we did it. Just like Maeve taught us.” They both knelt and took a scoop of watery sand in their hands and began releasing it just a little at a time. Drip by drip, the sand piled upon itself.
“That’s really pretty impressive.” Amanda looked over at Maeve. “Very cool.”
“Best part is you can leave all those buckets and boxes behind and still be able to make a castle. Right, Hailey? It’s called keeping it simple.”
“Yes ma’am.” Hailey ran around to the backside of the castle, where there was a drip-sand fence. “Know what’s back here?”
“Horses?”
“No! A doghouse for Denali.”
“Of course. You have thought of everything.”
“Maeve helped.”
“Thanks, but you two really did all the work. I just supervised.”
Amanda turned to Maeve. “Thank you. For this. They are having a blast. And for the time. Oh my gosh, this is better than a day at a spa. And thank you for being a friend. I’m sorry I kind of dumped on you. Forgive me?”
“Don’t be silly. You did no such thing. I’m so delighted. This has been the best day I’ve had in a very long time.”
Hailey stepped between them. “Does that mean we can play tomorrow too?”
“I’m always available to supervise and give a little castle-building advice.”
“And shells,” Hailey added. “You know everything about shells.”
“So it would seem.” Maeve pushed her hat back on her head. “Don’t you love the beach after a couple good rainy days?” She inhaled deeply. “You can really smell the salt in the air once the pollution gets blown to bits.”
“What’s pollution?” Hailey’s nose wrinkled.
“Bad stuff in the air, like smoke and car exhaust.” Amanda hadn’t noticed until Maeve had mentioned it, though. “Yes, you’re right. We also appreciate how much easier it was to get over that dune today. Sometimes that deep sand is a real killer.”
“Especially on the walk back,” Maeve said. “Am I right?”
“You are.” Hailey inched closer to Maeve.
The tide was coming in. The water lapped at their legs above their ankles now. “When I was a little girl,” Maeve said, “it was such a long walk to the beach. The dunes were taller back then, and our