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two Bratz babies, coloring books, and sand shovels and buckets into the car.
"I had a really nice time last night," she said as Jeremy leaned into the window.
"Me too."
Impulsively she gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Eliza and Jeremy sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I ... ," Madison began to chant.
"Shush!" Eliza said, putting a hand on the girl's mouth. But she gave Jeremy a warm smile.
"I'll see you later," she said with a lopsided grin.
"Later." He bowed a little at the waist and walked back toward the garden.
Eliza hustled the kids to their usual spot on Main Beach near the lifeguard section. They didn't have proper bathrooms at Two Mile Hollow, and that had ended up being a bit of a problem the other day. The kids were running wild, and Eliza was so bummed to be on solo babysitting duty today.
But just a few paces ahead was Mara. Good old Mara. She was wearing awfully big sunglasses and nursing a Gatorade, but she was there. Lord be praised.
"About time you guys got here," Mara said, taking Cody out of his stroller and giving him a little tickle.
"What happened to you! You looked like you were at death's door this morning," Eliza said.
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"I was, I was. But Ryan made me this great hangover remedy--Worcestershire sauce and egg yolk."
Eliza made a face. "Ew."
"I know, but it worked. I don't have a headache anymore, but I'm still so dehydrated," Mara said, taking another gulp. "How'd you get here so fast?"
"Ryan drove me."
"Of course," Eliza wanted to say, but held her tongue. Mara was so weird about the whole Ryan situation, and Eliza didn't want to make her feel self-conscious about it.
Mara took the baby to the shore, and Eliza and the others followed.
"C'mon Cody, just a few more steps. It won't hurt, c'mon, I got you."
Cody followed Mara tentatively, but screamed and ran away as a wave rolled in.
"It's no use. The kid is never going to learn to swim," Mara sighed. "Cody! Come on! Look, it's fun!" she said, splashing the water.
"I saw Jeremy this morning--he was so cute! He helped me put all the kids in the car. And we were looking all scruffy..." Eliza said dreamily. Since when do I say things like 'scruffy'? she wondered dreamily. "He was wearing the cutest overalls. Did you see?"
"Enough! I'm already about to vomit," Mara joked. She was in a lot better mood after seeing Ryan that morning--they'd acted
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like everything was normal, which made it feel pretty, well, normal. She could even forgive Eliza's indiscretions last night. No one was perfect, and Mara was sure Eliza didn't really mean half the things she said. Look at how she glowed whenever she said Jeremy's name.
"You're so mean!" Eliza pouted. "I finally find a guy I really like and I can't even tell you about all the cute things he did!"
"What about Charlie?" Mara asked.
"Oh, I don't know." Eliza shrugged, "Jeremy is just so perfect, and, I don't k
