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“It’s okay, and yes, I was an army officer,
until a year and a half ago.  I did a ten-year stint, considered making a
career of it, but decided to get out in order to start my own security
company.”

“Is that the kind of work you did in the
service?”

He gave a non-committal smile.

“You can’t talk about it?” she said, watching
him speculatively. 

He nodded in response.  “I can only say that my
particular skill set, learned in the service, serves me well in my current line
of work.”

“How’s the particular ‘skill-set’ working for
ya, as far as finding our grandparents?”  She chuckled at his mock-offended
expression.  “What made you decide to leave the service?  Ten years in is a
long time.”

He was lost in thought for a moment, and then
flashed a smile.  “I missed my granddad,” he said, as if the realization had
just come to him.  “I was stationed overseas, forever traveling, and rarely got
to see my family.  Granddad is getting older…”  Suddenly, his eyes widened, as if
another light bulb went on in his brain.  “Wow.  I guess I hadn’t realized how
big a part he and my family played in my decision to leave.  It’s ironic, since
now that I can see them anytime I choose to, I don’t … choose to.”

He brought them to a stop and glanced around the
beach.  Finally, his tortured eyes lit on her face.  “I feel awful,” he
admitted.  “I’ve been working so hard building my company, I’ve put my family
on the back burner.  Heck, I haven’t visited my own parents in a couple months,
and they live blocks away from me.”  He gave a self-deprecating laugh.  “I’m a
terrible son and grandson.”

Amanda watched his sorrowful face.  “Hey, Brady,
look at me.  I’m guilty too.  I suspect most people are guilty of neglecting
family members, or at least taking for granted they’ll always be there.”

“But they won’t,” he said crisply.  “I learned
that when my grandmother passed away while I was stationed overseas.”  He was
silent for a long moment, struggling for composure.  “She died suddenly,
unexpectedly.  And I would give anything for one last visit with her.  I …
adored her.”

Amanda remained silent, to give him a moment,
but then she took his hand and gave it a squeeze.  “I think we’ve learned the
lesson our grandparents were trying to teach us,” she said.  “We’ll do better,
Brady.  We really will.”

He eyed her skeptically.  “Sure, until we get
caught up in our jobs again.”

“We’ll be more aware.  We will.  Hey, I’ll call
you, to remind you to visit your granddad and you can do the same for me.”

He nodded and took her hand again.  They resumed
their stroll along the beach.

***

  “Ike, we can’t even see the kids from here,”
Liz pointed out.  “The beach is below street level.”

“I know.  I should have thought of that, but
they’ll be back soon.”

“They’ve been down there awhile,” she said
nervously.

“They’re fine,” he assured her, and brightened. 
“Hey, do you think there’s a little chemistry happening between them?”

“I have no idea,” she said, and then frowned. 
“Well, if it is, wouldn’t it be a little soon for that?”  She chortled. 
“Amanda is a good girl.  She has morals.”

“Oh, I know she does,” Ike was quick to assure
her.  “But kids do things differently these days.”

“They’d better not be
doing
anything,”
Liz mumbled.  “In my day, we didn’t even kiss on the first date.”

Ike laughed.  “Well, I can assure you that Brady
is a gentleman.”

“And Amanda is a lady,” Liz said crisply.

Ike checked his watch.  “It’s lunch time and I’m
hungry.  Why don’t we leave the kids and let nature take its course.  You and I
can go and get that lunch I promised you.”

“I am hungry,” she said.  “You’re sure we
shouldn’t keep an eye on them…?”

“They’ll be fine.”

“Okay then.”

Ike started the car and they drove out from
behind the candy store and pulled onto the main roadway. 

“Hey, pull over for a second,” Liz said.  “Let’s
see if we can spot them from the boardwalk.”

“We’ll have to be careful that they don’t spot
us,” Ike warned.

“Even if they do, they couldn’t catch us,” she
said confidently.

He pulled into a space perpendicular to the
boardwalk and parked.  They left the car and walked to the short rock wall
along the boardwalk.  “Do you see them?” Ike asked.

Liz’s eyes did a pass over the long stretch of
beach below.  She spotted the couple quite aways off, strolling hand-in-hand
near the breaking waves.

“Lord, I hope a sneaker wave doesn’t catch
them,” she muttered worriedly.  “And Ike, do you see?  They’re holding hands. 
They’ve only just met.  They really shouldn’t be holding hands.”

“Honey, they’re holding hands.  It’s not as if
they’re…”

“Ike!” 

He chuckled.  “Honey, take it easy.  Give them
some credit.  They were both raised right.”

Suddenly, it registered with her…  He had called
her
honey
.  The term of endearment gave her pause.  She hadn’t been
called ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’ or any other term of endearment for so many
years.  The word warmed her, and for the life of her, she couldn’t help but
wonder why.  She wasn’t some young, impressionable girl who swooned when a man
sweet-talked her.  She was seventy-five, for Pete’s sakes.

Ike sensed the shift in her mood.  “Liz,
everything is fine.  The kids will be fine.”  He searched her face, and then
spread his hands expansively.  “We’re going to be fine.” 

“Oh, I know,” she said, forcing a smile, as she
turned to watch the kids again.  She gave a sudden gasp.  “
Ike, they’re
kissing!
”

***

Brady had brought Amanda to a stop on the
beach.  He glanced up at the boardwalk and his eyes narrowed.  “They’re up
there, watching us,” he said, smiling ruefully.  And then, to her utter
surprise, he pulled her against him, laced his hands through her hair, and
kissed her soundly on the mouth.

Taken by surprise, she gasped, but soon she
found herself responding to the kiss.  His lips were strong, but soft,
searching but decisive.  Lord help her, she was drowning in sensation—adrift in
that delicious kiss.

Brady seemed slightly disoriented when he pulled
back, as if he’d forgotten their grandparents were standing on the boardwalk
above, watching their every move.  He stared into Amanda’s face for a moment,
and then surprised her yet again when he claimed her lips in a second kiss.   

When he pulled back, Amanda watched him in
stunned surprise.  “Why did you kiss me?” she asked, and cleared her throat. 
Her voice sounded squeaky to her own ears.

He grinned.  “They’re up there watching us.”

“Yes, okay, they’re watching us.  Why the kiss?”

“If they think we’ve hit it off, maybe they’ll
head back to the retirement home,” he explained.

“One kiss would have sufficed for that purpose,”
she said drolly.  “Why the second kiss?”

He gave a shrug.  “Because I really enjoyed the
first one.”  He cocked his head in thought and then took a step toward her.    

Her eyes widened in confused surprise and she
took a step back.  How was she supposed to respond to that declaration?  The
truth was, she’d enjoyed the kissing too.  But why was he coming even closer? 
She gave a shake of her head, to clear the cobwebs.  “Okay, so you know, my
grandmother is very old school.  You mark my words, she wasn’t happy to see us
locking lips.”

“I’m confused,” he said, grinning.  “I thought
this was a setup.”

“Well, yes, but if you practically ravish me on
the beach, she’ll be down here clocking you over your head with her handbag.”

“Well, come closer then.  We can save some time
here.”

She gave him a perplexed glance.

“When she takes a swing at me, you grab her.”

She pinned him with a look, biting back her
laughter.  She could see by the twinkling in his eyes that he was teasing her. 
“Okey dokey,” she said, chuckling, as she glanced up at their grandparents
again.

            She
noted her grandmother was leaning forward, staring out and across the beach. 
It was clear by her stiff posture, she had seen them kissing and that she
hadn’t liked it one bit.

Amanda turned to confirm to Brady that the older
couple had been witness to the kiss, when he abruptly wrapped an arm around her
waist and pulled her closer.  He pressed his lips to her ear. 

“What are you doing?” she gasped.

“Whispering sweet nothings in your ear,” he
replied, laughing delightedly.  “Look up at the grandparents,” he urged.  “It’s
a good thing your grandma doesn’t have a gun.”

“You’re right about that,” she confirmed and
squinted to see the older couple’s faces.  “Hey!  You’re grandfather is smiling
like the cat that swallowed the canary.” 

Brady laughed delightedly.

She gave him a searching look.  “He’d better not
be thinking about making a move on my grandma!”  She gulped.  “He wouldn’t… 
Would he?”

Brady flashed a high voltage smile.  “Who do you
think taught me my moves?”

Her eyes widened and she spun on her heel. 
“Grandma!  Wait!” she cried.  She plowed through the thick sand.

Brady hurried after her and brought her to a
stop.  “Stop, Amanda!  They’ll bolt.  I was only kidding about my granddad. 
He’s a good man with sound values.  And we have to do this right.  If they take
off, we’ll never catch that darned Olds.”

She paused for a brief moment, her mind racing. 
He suddenly seemed earnest and sincere.  “Okay, what should we do?”

“Let’s start walking back.  Maybe if we can cut
across the sand to a stairway this side of the car, we’ll be able to cut them
off at the pass.”

They had no sooner started walking than the old
couple began hurrying toward the car.  “Brady, look!  They’re practically
running.”

“They’re definitely on to us,” he said wearily. 
“This needs to end here and now.”

He stopped and pulled his phone from his
pocket.  A gust of wind suddenly struck them, blasting them with flying sand. 
“Ah, shoot!  My phone!”  He gave a frustrated growl, but began texting his
granddad.

“What did you say?” Amanda asked.

“I asked them to meet us on the boardwalk.  I
told them this nonsense needs to stop here and now, and that you and I are
sorry if we’ve neglected them.”

“Okay, maybe that’ll do the trick.”

“I hope…”  He abruptly shook his head.  “They’re
driving away,” he muttered.  “What exactly do they want from us?” he wondered
aloud.

“I don’t know,” Amanda said with a sigh.  “But
we’d better get back to town.  Maybe they’re heading back to the retirement
home.”

“Do you think?”

She shrugged.  “It’s possible.  Maybe your
apology did the trick.”  She made a worried face.  “I should apologize too.” 
She promptly texted her grandmother, apologizing for neglecting her and
promising to make amends.  “Okay, done.  I think we’ve probably gotten through
to them.” 

Brady nodded and took her hand.  “Let’s walk
back to my car.”

Amanda gave him a curious glance, and then
dropped her eyes to their entwined hands.  Brady had taken her hand as if was
the most natural thing in the world to do.

Curious.

“Oh, this seafood is divine,” Liz said,
seemingly savoring the delicious Dungeness crab.

“I’ve always been partial to Dungeness crab,”
Ike said.  “My wife always favored King crab though.”

Liz watched his face.  The mention of his wife
had set a pensive, faraway look in his eyes.  “You loved her very much, didn’t
you?”

He nodded.  “She was my best friend,” he said,
smiling.  “I lost her eight years ago.”  He shook his head.  “Sometimes I find
myself expecting to see her coming around a corner.”  He gave a
self-deprecating laugh.  “Imagine.  She’s been gone so many years and I still
get a feeling of surprise when I realize she’s really gone.”

“You had a good marriage?”

He nodded.  “We did.  As I told you, I worked
too hard, but we’re from the generation where it was expected.  She was always
a trooper.  I still miss her.”

“I know you do,” she said, smiling softly.  She
was quiet for a moment, but roused herself.  “Ike, have you ever seen the movie
The Notebook
?”

He nodded.  “I did.”

“Can you imagine a couple loving one another so
deeply that they pass away
together
—after having almost willed it to
happen?”

He smiled sadly.  “I guess it’s … possible.”  He
reached across the table and took her hand.  He gave it a gentle squeeze and
his voice deepened with sympathy when he asked, “Did your husband die in your
arms, Liz?”