Moonglass

picnic table every night, listening to the crickets and the ocean. It was easy and seemingly peaceful, and we both left it at that.
    From our back patio, though, I could just see the sagging roof of the beach cottage on the sand below. Every night we sat out there, I almost asked him to tell me about it, but something stopped me. Aside from the night we’d arrived, he avoided talking about the cottages so much that it seemed obvious. And I knew from experience that if he didn’t want to talk about something, we didn’t.
    Still, each night when I flipped off the living room light, I stood for a minute in our warm living room, staring out the giant window at the dark silhouette of the abandoned cottage, waiting. For something.

CHAPTER 6
    On Saturday morning I lay in bed long after I was awake, because I could. The sun shone brightly through my shades and lit up the room, golden and warm. My dad had the day off, and I listened as he made his coffee and shuffled around before settling down somewhere. When I got up, he was sitting on the couch, cup of coffee in hand, watching the water.
    “Mornin’.” He nodded at the window. “Check that out.” I looked out just in time to catch three silvery dolphin fins surface and then dip below again.
    Smiling, I stretched my arms above my head. “Yeah, they’ve been out here every morning this week.” I shook off a yawn and sat sideways in the armchair, hanging my legs over the arm so I could face the ocean. It had become a favorite spot of mine. On the sand, families were already starting to stream down, lugging ice chests and umbrellas. A pair of little girls, still in their sundresses, ran circles around each other as their parents unfurled a bright red beach blanket and then smoothed the lumps of sand beneath it. Out in the water, beyond the lifeguard buoy, an outrigger canoe glided over the morning glass, its paddlers perfectly in sync. After the week’s endless workouts, I couldn’t think of anything better than being out there on the beach all day, doing absolutely nothing.
    “You wanna go out on Andy’s boat today? We’re taking it out paddy-hopping, looking for sea bass. You wouldn’t have to dive. You could just stay on the boat if you wanted, or you could come with us.” My dad was grinning like he always did when he got together with Andy. I weighed the idea. “C’mon. He hasn’t seen you in almost a year, since he was up last Christmas.”
    Andy was my surrogate uncle, Dad’s best friend since elementary school. Together the two of them were ridiculous and perfect, and the closest thing to a family I had, besides my grandma. Andy had never left this area like my dad did, but had always made the trek up north to see us on holidays and vacations. I loved him dearly, but it wasn’t what I had in mind.
    “I don’t know.” I rubbed my eyes. “I was kinda looking forward to just hanging out here for the day.” My dad shook his head. “You’d like it out there in the big blue. You’re gonna be sitting on the beach later today, and all of a sudden have a feeling that you’re missing out on something.” He set his coffee cup on the table and looked at his watch. “You have an hour to change your mind. I’m gonna get my gear packed up.” He messed my hair as he walked by.
    I swatted at his hand, and he did it again, trying to get a smile. “I’ll think about it,” I conceded. We both knew I wouldn’t change my mind, but I didn’t have the heart to just flat-out say no. Now that we were down here, Andy would probably become a regular fixture anyway.
    “Fifty-eight minutes!” my dad yelled from the kitchen.
    I turned my attention back to the beach and to the guard who was just opening his tower. The lifeguard truck waited while he undid the padlocks on the windows. Once he had it open, he jumped onto the sand and pulled a set of fins and a red buoy from the back of the truck. A hand reached out from the passenger window and gave him a radio. He climbed the ladder again, and the truck slowly trundled south to open up the next tower. I couldn’t see who was inside, but I buzzed with the possibility that it could be Tyler, and I was perfectly happy to stay on the beach, with my dad far out on the ocean in a boat with his friend. Heh heh heh.
    I bided my time in my chair until I saw him heave his scuba bag into the back of the bus. Dressed in trunks, a T-shirt, and flip-flops, my dad looked younger than he was. Anyone who saw him with Andy