Page 25 of Beach Vibes
Beth’s tote had been just as filled, but her offerings were more pedestrian—things like sunscreen and hats rather than toys.
Linnie smiled at her. “I have a friend, too. Her name is Cinnamon and she’s new at preschool so I sat next to her. It’s hard to be new, ’specially if no one will talk to you. I wouldn’t like that, so I said we could be friends.” She paused. “Her name is very hard to spell. The teacher wrote it on the board and I couldn’t remember all the letters. My name is easy, like Mommy’s.”
She quietly mouthed something. “Your name is easy, too. I think those names are the best. When we get home I’ll ask Teddy to write your name down so I can learn it. We practice our letters when we get home from preschool.”
Beth glanced at Jana. “Okay, I’m confused. I thought Teddy was your brother.”
“He is. He gets Linnie on the days I’m in class. It’s a big help.”
“He works from home?” Beth grinned. “Let me guess. He has one of those fancy high-tech jobs he can do from anywhere.”
“Not even close. He has a studio out back. He’s an acupuncturist and a massage therapist.”
Beth laughed. “That’s a very Malibu career path.”
Several more surfers paddled out beyond the breakwater. A few of them rode back in. Somewhere down the beach, someone started playing a Beach Boys song over a speaker.
Beth pointed to a surfer heading in to catch a wave. “That’s Kai.” She smiled at Linnie. “He works for me in my sandwich shop.”
Linnie sprang to her feet and watched him easily make his way to shore. She clapped and bounced in place.
“Yay, Kai!”
Kai spotted them and waved. He grabbed a towel before walking over and sticking his board in the sand next to them.
“Hey.”
Beth smiled at him. “You looked great, Kai.”
He gave her a happy smile. “Thanks. It’s a good morning. The best waves were a couple of hours ago, but no one wants to come out to watch at six or seven in the morning.”
“This is my friend Jana,” Beth said. “And her daughter, Linnie.”
Kai nodded at Jana, then crouched in front of Linnie. “Hi, there. Do you like the ocean?”
“It’s very beautiful but big and I’m supposed to be careful because I’m small and I don’t want a wave to take me away. Mommy says there aren’t mermaids around here because mermaids need rocks to sit on to comb their hair and we don’t have the big rocks. She says one day we’ll go to Northern California where there are lots of rocks on the shore, so maybe we’ll see a mermaid.”
Her voice turned doubtful. “Only it’s not very warm there and if I were a mermaid I’d want to be in warm water, so I don’t know.”
“Want to hear about the time I saw a mermaid?” Kai asked, his tone serious.
Linnie’s eyes widened. “You did?”
He nodded, then stood and held out his hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you down to the water so I can point to where I was.” He looked at Jana. “We’ll stay in sight. I mean, if it’s okay with you.”
Jana nodded. “My daughter loves a good mermaid story, so have at it.” When they were out of earshot, she added, “You never mentioned Kai was so good with kids.”
Beth stared after him. “I didn’t know.” She smiled at her friend. “Don’t worry. Later I’ll grill him on the mermaid details and share all when I next see you.”
Jana laughed. “Good, because wondering could keep me up nights.”
She got comfortable on the blanket, all the while keeping Linnie in sight. This was nice, she thought. Usually she was running and doing. If she wasn’t working, she was heading to class or home to see Linnie. There was always homework to be done, or laundry or one of a thousand things. Taking a few minutes to just relax was practically unheard-of in her life. Later that afternoon, she would return to her frantic pace, but for right now, she was going to savor the moment and breathe.
“What’s new with you?” she asked casually, not expecting an answer. Only Beth grimaced and her shoulders got tight.
Uh-oh. “Something happened?”
“Not really.” Beth looked at her, then back at the surfers. “My brother told me he’s dating someone.”
