Page 111 of Resilience on Canvas

Robert

Breathinginthescentof the salty sea, Robert watched the waves crest and crash on the shoreline. Behind him, May, Thomas, and Peter were burying Henry in the sand while Clara sat on a beach chair nearby, reading a book. After a while, once Robert was tired of staring at the ocean, he turned to rejoin his family. When Clara looked up from her novel, Robert caught her eye. Smiling, he threw her a wink, and she smiled back. Wind whipped through her hair, and she tried to tuck some behind her ear out of habit, even though the breeze sent it fluttering only seconds later. Eventually, Clara’s eyes went back to the page she’d been reading.

Robert tromped over to where the children were burying Henry. They’d been throwing sand on him for over ten minutes by now. Most of his swim shirt had been covered, as had his trunks.

Robert knelt beside him. “Almost finished, huh?” he said.

“Yep,” Thomas said cheerily as he scooped up some sand with his bare hands.

Robert frowned. It was probably taking the children so long because no one had bought them buckets or shovels yet. Becausehehadn’t bought them buckets or shovels yet. When Robert had seen some other children burying their folks earlier that morning,they’d been scooping up sand with little tin shovels. One of the children had collected a bunch in a metal bucket, too. But beach toys would have to wait a few weeks. Robert had only barely managed to save up enough for him and Henry’s swimsuits. Thomas’s, Peter’s, Clara’s, and May’s swimsuits had been purchased by Henry’s parents.

Robert stayed put a little longer, watching the children throw bits of sand on top of Henry, and the familiar sting of failure nipped him in the stomach. He winced.

Henry’s fingers found his for the briefest moment, and his soft touch soothed some of the pain.

“Are y’all havin’ fun trappin’ me?” Henry said to the kids before letting go.

“Yeah!” Peter and Thomas both exclaimed.

“Are you really trapped?” May wondered as she threw some sand on Henry’s shoulder.

“Gettin’ there,” Henry confirmed. “Would you say that this is a nice outing so far?”

All three kids replied in unison. “Yep!”

Henry caught Robert’s eye as though he needed Robert to know he was making a point.

“Ain’t Robert the best brother in the whole entireworldfor takin’ y’all out somewhere fun every week?”

Robert had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yeah!” May said, her smile so big it was making her eyes smaller.

Thomas said, “But yer better ’cause yer lettin’ us bury you.”

“I’m more fun than Henry,” Robert scoffed.

“No,” Peter said in a very matter-of-fact manner. “Uncle Henry’s more fun.”

Robert’s heart pitter-pattered from excitement at hearing Peter call Henry “Uncle Henry,” though he couldn’t fight the way hispreviously fake irritation was slowly transforming into very real upset. Dammit, he was plenty fun. He could prove it.

“I’mat leastas fun as Uncle Henry is,” Robert said. He shoved Thomas out of the way and lay beside Henry in the sand. “Now you can bury me too.”

“Ugh,both of you?We haven’t even finished buryin’ Uncle Henry yet!” Thomas complained, throwing up his hands. “It’ll take forever!”

Robert shot him a look. “I’m givin’ the lot of you ten minutes to put enough sand on top of both of us so that neither of us can’t escape. If you can’t manage it, I’m tossin’ you in the water.”

Peter’s eyes went wide with horror. “But we can’t swim!”

“Do you think I care?” Robert said, trying his best to keep himself from smiling. “Fewer mouths to feed on Sundays, that would be a blessing. Besides”—Robert pointed back and forth between Thomas and Peter—“there’s two of you. I have no need for a spare.”

Nearby, Clara started chuckling. Robert looked over to see her trying to hide her mouth behind one of her hands. Robert and Henry started laughing, too, though the children continued to look horrified for a couple of seconds before eventually sinking their hands back into the sand. Soon, Robert’s bare chest was being pelted with it. He turned his face toward Henry.

Grinning, he said, “Uncle Henry. How about that?”

Henry’s cheeks reddened. “Yeah, I wasn’t even sure I heard Peter right before you repeated it,” Henry replied. He lifted his chin toward the kids, who were still tossing sand on both of them. “I never thought I’d have this. Nieces and nephews.”

“Well, now yer stuck with us. Whether you like it or not.”

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