The world stops and as the sun blazes through the Palm Tree with the Oyster Eyes, Coconut Bra and Grass Skirt as I whip the buds from my ears and pick her up.
"What are you doing up sick girl?" I ask.
"Apparently being picked up by you," she answers laying her head on my shoulder.
It makes me laugh. I'm trying to teach the girls sarcasm which is beyond their capacity to comprehend because they're all "literalists" so this constitutes a major step forward.
"I'm hungry," she coos.
"I'll fix the Cinnamon Rolls," I say putting her down.
"No, I don't want any," she says. "It'll make me sicker."
All the girls in our house are sick.
"What do you want then?"
"Fruity Pebbles."
"Of course, that'll make you feel better."
I fix her a bowl and she sits across the table above my computer screen.
"I don't want you to go to Bar Church today," she slurps.
"Yeah," I sigh, "well I have to."
"Oh," she sighs in her little girl way and my heart breaks a little.
"Can we go to the Dunes today?" she asks.
"Yeah if you're up to it."
Sand dunes break the chilly ocean breeze and the sand, sun and solitude are warm and toasty for working on our tans.
"Can we get in the water?"
"Not a chance in Hell," I answer.
The water's cold.
"Okay," she says munching a mouth full of Fruity Peebles. "I'm just going to sit here with you."
And she is.
A Sunday morning hasn't been this nice in quite some time.
