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They all seem to notice me at the same time. The happy commotion grinds to a halt.
“Oh! Helloooo,” the woman says cautiously. She sneaks a peek at her husband, shooting him a quick, subtle smile as she raises her brows.
I think it’s supposed to be one of those secret husband-to-wife transmissions, but I catch the look. For some reason, she’s happy to see me here.
What has she heard about me?
How much does she know?
“You must be Hazel Thorpe,” she adds when she looks back at me. “Glad to finally meet you. I’m Corinne.”
So, she knows too much.
She and Brett both know too much.
He has that hidden amusement look in his eye like Jack gets when he’s trying to hide a laugh.
They must know about my Craigslist ad. I’m probably a big joke to them.
“I’m just here to grab my work bag,” I promise in a big rush. I can feel the blush tinting my cheeks already. “We mixed them up. Last night.” Also, I’m not as desperate as that ad made me sound. I just wanted to cheer up my mom.
The girls are both looking at me, wide-eyed.
The younger one then marches right up to me. She looks about eight or nine. Her black hair is pulled into two twin braids that poke out above her ears and swing with each step she takes.
She wraps her arms around my waist. “Aloha. That’s how people say ‘hi’ sometimes here. But it means more than that because Hawaii is the best place in the world.”
Her arms are surprisingly strong for how thin and wiry they appear. She smells of salty ocean water, and her damp swimsuit feels cool against my skin.
As she squeezes me, she rests her head on my side. “You’re Uncle Jack’s friend. We saw you by the turtle water.”
“Ophelia, honey, give her some space,” Corinne says. She smiles tentatively at me. “So, we heard you two had a nice meal together.”
Brett removes his trucker hat and sunglasses and tosses them on a table. “You got a fax machine, huh? Those things are ancient.”
How the heck does he know I have a fax machine?
“Don’t give her a hard time, hon.” Corinne relaxes into a soft laugh as she swats at her husband and returns to unpacking from their beach trip.
Given all the sand they've managed to track in, they must have been on an early morning outing to the shore. As it sloughs off her mesh tote bag, it looks like snow.
Brett has a little more weight on him than Jack. When he smiles, his cheeks bunch up.
“You’re really giving him a run for his money, Hazel,” he says. “We love it that you’re keeping him on his toes.”
Corinne nods with approval and then smiles my way again. “We really do. We loved your Craigslist ad, too. Brilliant. Brave. Honest.”
“Oh… I don’t know about all that.” I’d confess to my tipsy state of mind if not for the kids around.
“I think all this tropical sunshine got to me,” I say instead of going into details about the rum and how much was mixed into every fruity-flavored sip.
“Well, it was awesome,” Corinne says.
“Totally awesome,” Brett seconds.
He crosses the room briskly, and the next thing I know, he’s offering me his hand.
Unsure what to do, I shake his palm. But as we shake, he pulls me in for an unexpected hug. He’s as damp from swimming as his daughter was. “Stay for breakfast. We brought a boatload of donuts and pastries from the buffet.”
