he_noticed_her_smiling_then blueberries it was true he did. he thought she was pretty, and as they all laughed and the roar of the breaking waves swallowed the sound of their sudden happiness, frAnk grabbed amarilla's hand and gently yanked her to her feet. cowie latched on to the other one and they skipped into the surf. mrs. nereid fell on her back giggling. they took sticks and scrawled secret messages in the wet sand only to have them disappear moments later. they dug holes and let them fill up with water. they built sandcastles and watched as the fast moving tide knocked down the walls. they chased amarilla and made her lay down so they could completely bury her with warm, soft sand so only her face stuck out. she fought and protested to no avail. then it was cowies's turn and they packed her so tight she couldn't move. mrs. nereid had to finally tackle frAnk to get him down. amarilla found seaweed and made him look like some odd idea of a sea creature. "it's the creature from the black lagoon, momma!" cowie yelled, as frAnk growled and busted out of his cozy, impromtu costume, sand flying in all directions. he took amarilla's hand and ran down to the tideline, splashing the cool water to get the sand off her arms and legs. he could see a hint of sunburn appearing. she did the same to him. he noticed her smiling then. and she did not try to stop it. 020218 ... unhinged playing with cowie reminded her of her little neighbors she babysat. three little girls, devious, cute, and loving. she always felt better when she played with children. she felt the pinkness forming on her cheeks. 'could we sit in the shade for awhile guys? the sun never agrees with me.' 'what do you mean the sun doesn't agree with you?' asked cowie. 'see how her cheeks are getting pink. she is getting a sunburn.' frAnk explained. 'does it hurt?' 'not yet, but it will hurt a lot later if i don't get out of the sun now.' amarilla smiled at cowie and ruffled her hair. they walked up the path to the backyard and sat down in the shade of the house. 'i am going to go inside and check if the children cleaned up dinner.' mrs. nereid walked inside. cowie grabbed amarilla's hand and laid her head on amarilla's chest. 'i like you. you are fun to play with. i hope you stay for awhile.' frAnk and amarilla glanced at each other over cowie's head and it reminded amarilla of home, or the good parts anyway. 020218 ... silentbob suddenly silentbob appeared and he was selling hotdogs. 020219 ... the eye as the silly, if somewhat uneven, film unspooled on the screen in front of them. when the jokes were good. 020220 ... lilac_air that reminded me of the nude beach here at Sandy Hook and on this nude beach is Man whom sells hot Dogs in the nude. He makes me smile and *giggle* 020220 ... indie.chickadee he had stared at her seconds before, and she felt an feeling that she never could have described in words. when he looked at her again, she was still smiling a little from the aftershock. he turned away and disappeared into the gap between the two buildings. 020508 ... pipedream and she stood there, thinking whether to turn around or stay there, watching his shoulders curve down into his back as he disappeared into the alley. she wanted to leave; wanted to be the indifferent one, the one who shrugs and saunters off- water off a duck's back. she wanted to walk away like he was doing right now, but her swirling thoughts and a tiny litte voice saying 'i WANT to stay' kept amarilla where she was. look back at me. look back at me. she willed frAnk to turn around, stared at the rapidly receding figure as if everything in her life hinged on this one moment. turn around. turn around. turn around, dammit! anger surged into her finally, freeing her feet and her mind. she stooped to pick up her bag, lying in a heap at her feet where she had let the strap go; it was full of library books she had just issued for a good long read. amarilla breathed a wistful sigh as she heaved up the bag, her shiny hair falling over her shoulder. she tucked it back as she straightened up, and as if her gaze was being pulled, looked up at frAnk standing there, distant enough to be far, but close enough for her to see his face- his face, that was turned towards her, looking as if he was satiating an eons-long thirst. she stared back, a smile tugging at her lips and an indefinable sad wistful longing in her heart. she gripped the strap of her bulging bag, and with one final look at frAnk's immobile form- his face, the way his neck curved, how his pants sat loosely on his hips, the neat, capable hands at his sides- amarilla walked away. 030322 ... delial this blathe touches a part of my soul in a way i can't even express. 040513 ... pipers :) 040513 ... oldephebe yeah that's pd she has a way of doing that... :) 040513 ... pipers i think delial meant the entire thing...but you're a sweetie anyway :) 040513 ... Doar and fRank took his stutter step towards the park entrance, he quickly glanced back to see if she was still watching him leave, but she had given in to her anger and walked away. The rendevous point they had planned on was forgotten. He would wander then, afraid to tell her how much he missed her when she was away from his fingers, afraid to express his desire for her, her hair tumbling from her face as she laughed. His life, he could see, would be empty without her to lean close and breath on his neck. 040803 ... Doar hmmm. . 080930 what's it to you? who go blather from