Page 46 of SEAL'S Baby Surprise
I’d kind of thought we’d given her plenty of quality time at the Farmer’s Market Fair and Carnival, but more attention of adifferent sort probably won’t hurt. “I’ll see what we’ve got that can be packed for lunch,” I say. “It might be peanut butter and jelly.”
“I don’t mind PB&J,” she says, even though I’ve noticed she isn’t all that fond of it. I rummage through the food locker and discover that I have some tins of potted meat and a can of spam.
We’d brought home fresh bread, a bag of purple plums, some cheese, and several small jars of jelly. I pack it all carefully in the flotation cooler, along with a can of dog food and some kibble, and water for all of us.
By the time Julia is up, I have us packed and the two inflatable boards blown up. I strap everything on a fat-wheeled little cart that I will leave with the lifeguard on duty.
It’s not likely that anyone would walk away with it, but it would be inconvenient if we didn’t have it for the trip back up the hill with all our gear.
Julia is a little disappointed not to go play with her friends, but the prospect of paddleboarding all day more than makes up for missing time with Betty and Bobby.
As soon as we are out on the water, Lee seems to relax. She lets Julia show her the right way to sit on an inflatable board and shift the paddle from one side to the other to keep from going in circles.
I know that Lee already knows this — it was one of the things we’d been practicing. But apparently it amuses her to let Julia be the teacher.
We paddle around the end of a small promontory to a secluded beach where l’d liked to spend mornings when I’d come to theoceanfront alone. The water is shallow all along the edge. I have the idea that while Julia and Lee entertain each other, I might be able to get a little work done.
I’d been neglecting my accounts lately, and I know that if I don’t take care of some things, I will soon be so far behind, I’ll never catch up.
While most of my financial wizardry is at a stage where it could take care of itself for as long as three months at a time without intervention, I have some accounts where some financial shuffling needs to take place.
Just as I had hoped, we beach the boards above tide level so they won’t drift away. Lee becomes the perfect age mate/companion for Julia, a chameleon behavior that I marvel at because I can’t do it, and the two of them set about building not only a sandcastle, but an entire village.
I am able to get my work done while sitting under a beach umbrella, keeping one eye on them. Ark digs himself a hole in the sand where he will remain cool without being actually wet.
Consequently, we are all extremely pleased with ourselves when we settle down to have our lunch in the shade of the umbrella.
It is after lunch that things begin to fall apart.
To start with, Julia has been used to taking a short nap in the afternoon, but both she and Lee are too excited for such a sedentary activity. Consequently, they talk me into all three of us paddling out away from shore.
I let Lee take point, with Julia in between us. In my imagination, we are a family party.I could get used to this, I think.Lee is an absolute natural as a parent.
As I watch, Lee is laughing back over her shoulder at something Julia has just said. Julia gets excited and starts waving her paddle around in the air.
Her paddleboard is the chunky kind intended for kids. It is super hard to turn them over, and even then, the kid should be tethered to the board with an ankle strap. Julia leans way to the left on her board. It tips, dumping my daughter into the ocean. And that is when I realize she is not wearing her ankle tether!
Before I can shuck my own tether and jump in, Ark launches himself off the front of my board, ducks into the light waves, and emerges with Julia’s flotation device clenched in his teeth.
My mind goes straight to guilt-tripping all the adults involved, but I keep it together enough to pull my daughter onto my board. “Lee!” I bellow. “Lee, get back here!”
Then I realize, she has already turned about and is struggling to paddle back to us. Unfortunately, in her unskilled panic, she has set her board to spinning instead of heading back. I’d heard the expression, “heart leaped into my throat,” but I’d never felt it.
At that moment, it seems to me that every motion in my chest stops. I have Julia safe, but I don’t dare leave her on my rigid board to go after Lee. I feel as if my heart is in my throat, and I am being ripped in two!
Fortunately, Ark is under no such constraint. With Julia in my care, he immediately swims out to Lee. “Lay down on the board and let him tow you!” I yell.
Lee looks toward me, panic on her face. Then she sees Ark coming to her, and she follows my shouted direction. All the air whooshes out of my lungs as she lies flat on the board, holding onto Ark’s flotation harness.
“What about the other board?” Lee asks, as soon as Ark has her near me.
“Forget it,” I say, holding Julia close to me. “I can get another. Let’s get the two of you to shore.”
In a few minutes, we are all on dry land. Lee quickly and competently pulls the boards up out of the water.
“I’m okay, Daddy, I’m okay,” Julia says over and over. “Don’t squeeze so tight.”
I let out a gasp that is somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “Sorry Judy-Rudy. I thought for a minute I’d lost both of you.”
