Tides

The milk came in a beautiful Holly Hobby cup that Sam realised matched the plate he could see now that Holly’s scone was a collection of small crumbs. He looked at Andy and wondered at the things he had had to give away to be there with them at work, the life he had here, and lost.

--

When Sam and Holly came back from the bedroom she had her swim cossie on and a huge hat, her skin glistening with the sun lotion.

Andy held out a bucket and spade to the little girl and she smiled as she took it, and then he passed two towels over to Sam.

Holly looked up at her dad and said quietly, “Where’s Andy’s towel?”

--

The street sloped gently down and then up to run out at the dunes masking the beach they could hear beyond, a small path cut between the houses at the top of the cul-de-sac and they ran down onto the sand and out towards the water as the sand burned at their bare feet.

They threw down their towels and things and went straight in, the two men diving through a wave and then coming back as Holly stood jumping up and down in the foam as the wave receded.

Small groups of mums and kids were dotted in a ragged line along edge of the water, little ones shrieking as the waves chased them up the beach, bigger kids just about ready for school tumbling about further out.

Sam flopped down on the sand and faced the next wave with his legs straight out in front of him as it broke, the roiling mass surging up the slope so that foam leapt from his legs and surged past. Holly stood close at his side and roared her delight, stamping her feet so that water and sand sprayed across her dad as he tilted his chin up and closed his eyes.

The wave pulled back fast and a long line of sandy water raced in at Sam’s back so that he had to throw his arms out to hold his balance and keep from being sucked away, tiny shells tinkled shrilly as they were tossed back with the receding water and Holly chased them, cupping her hands down to the sand and shrieking as they pushed between her fingers and escaped.

Andy moved past on the other side of Holly and sat down on the sand mimicking Sam, legs thrust out to the sea, a little further down the slope.

The next wave stood high and then broke with a boom and began to run at them, Holly came running back to Sam with frantic tiny steps and threw herself upon him, he grimaced as she pawed at him with her sandy hands and left long red stripes down his chest. She wrapped one arm around his neck and stood high on his thigh, and turned back to watch the sea. The wave seemed much bigger this time and the water shot up Sam’s chest, reaching for his eyes and his mouth clamped shut as he was knocked back. Holly leapt away and tried to escape up the beach, heavy sand flying everywhere as she collapsed on all fours and the foam surged in underneath her and a long train of seaweed wound its way around her legs, its dark greens garish against the pinks of her cossie.

The wave paused and then began its run back to the sea and Holly came tumbling with it, arms and legs cartwheeling everywhere, roaring her anger and surprise, and her dad grabbed her as she tumbled past, pulling her in and cupping some water to splash across her eyes shut tight.

The surge got the better of Andy, that much further down the slope, throwing him sideways and then lifting him up so that he hung for a moment, windmilling his arms vainly before he crashed back down and disappeared. Sam watched flashes of arms and legs in the chaos, and looking down he saw Holly watching intently too.

The wave gave one last hiss as it pulled away and left Andy face down, sand streaming in lines down his back. He lifted his head and spat out a mouthful, blinked more of it away.

Holly stood up on her dad’s legs and balanced herself with a hand on his shoulder, regarding Andy all the time. And then she threw her head back and laughed and laughed, laughed so hard she pushed her dad’s head forward so that his matching laughter was choked for a moment before he lifted his chin again.

“You right there Robinson Crusoe?”

Andy staggered upright and threw his arms wide, laughing all the time. He came back towards them with his legs splayed and sand coursing down them, and then threw himself down alongside Sam.

He looked up at Holly, her eyes closed with the water and the sun and the laughter. He had never had a sister, never spent any time with cousins who weren’t rough and tumble boys. And then Jessica came along.

He would pack spades and buckets and hats and set them out on the beach a good way back above the tide line. She would sit between his legs and fill the bucket carefully with sand. It would be too dry and the castle would tilt and collapse, so they would venture a little further down the beach. The castle would stand a moment longer, and then collapse. And finally they would go down to the wet sand where the biggest waves still reached and she would intently fill the bucket again, and the castle would be perfect. The first time she stood and admired her handiwork, back to the sea, and the wave came surging past and the castle was swamped and gone he had stood, waiting for the tears, not knowing what he would do that could make them stop. She had looked up to him, thrown her head back and shrieked her delight, threw the bucket at the receding water as if to admonish it and rushed headlong towards the next wave in a storm of flailing arms and legs. She would throw herself against the water as it came and push and push, until she came tumbling back at last and he would reef her up out of the foam and down onto her feet ready for the next. She would be so tired he would have to carry her back to the shade where her mum sat watching.

The next wave announced itself with a roaring boom, Andy looked up at Holly, standing with her hands on her hips in front of them and thought maybe she admit defeat and run away for good this time.

She turned and looked at Andy, and then over to her dad and started to come back towards them. Andy buried his hands on either side and next thing Holly was standing with a hand on his shoulder, the other reaching out to find her dad, digging her hands into the flesh and setting herself as the water came. It poured over them and her hand gripped even tighter. The wave ripped back and they swayed and rolled and then it was gone. Holly raised her head to the sky and whooped a long call of victory, her dad joining in, and Andy at last as her voice wavered and fell.

Huge shards of light filled the faces of the waves as the day grew and the sun filled the cloudless sky. The sea became as languid as the day and the tide began to recede so that water would gently pool around their feet and then sneak away.