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“Oh! You had me at food!” She gestured at Mari’s house, asking her friend. “Can we use your table?”
Mari’s stomach growled and she nodded. “I forgot to eat earlier.”
Buck put his hand on Mari’s back and steered her toward the steps. “Working?”
Mari paused a couple of steps up and turned back to look at him. “Rei and I went to check out the dam.”
Buck’s gaze dropped to her feet.
Around the house, she wore her slippers, but she was wearing sneakers now.
“You walked up to the dam?”
Mari gave him a shrug. “There’s a concrete and stone walkway up there. Reiko and I have been up there… hundreds of times over the years. We know what we’re doing.”
He nodded and she continued up the steps into the house.
MARI
While they were eating, a knock sounded at her door and Mari got up from the table, taking one more bite from the squid luau, watching Heath grimace as she hustled across the room to open the door.
Just outside she saw an old friend shaking rain off of her umbrella.
“Anuhea?”
The athletic blonde looked up at her and smiled. “Mari! Hey! I’m sorry to stop in like this, but I’m looking for Tiny and his family. Have you seen them?”
Mari opened the wooden door and held it. “Come on inside for a minute.”
She turned her head to look at Heath. “Could you please get me a towel from the bathroom please?”
Heath got up from his chair and moved out of her sight toward the bathroom, she when looked back at Anuhea, she saw her old friend taking off her shoes on the landing just outside the door.
Mari frowned at her shoes, tipping her head to one side to try and see what she was looking at.
Anuhea stood up, with the shoes in one hand.
Mari heard her friend laugh.
“What’s that look for, Mari?”
Mari dragged her attention from the shoes hanging from Anuhea’s fingers. “Those aren’t regular sneakers, are they?”
Anuhea lifted the shoes up higher, almost to her chin. “They’re Vibrams. Five-toe shoes.”
“What?”
Mari turned her head and saw Riptide get up out of his chair.
“You’ve got Vibrams?”
Mari took a step back and out of the way and saw Anuhea grin from ear to ear.
“Of course I do.” Anuhea stepped to the side so Mari could close the door. “They’re really good when I go down to the tidepools.”
Riptide put his hands out and Anuhea put her shoes in his hands. “I’ve heard about them but I wasn’t going to order them without seeing them first.”
Mari saw Anuhea raise a brow at Riptide’s words.
