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“Oh no, you won’t find me eating kelp,” Skyla proclaimed. Kiel agreed. He wasn’t a big seafood eater but did enjoy it on occasion. Vacationing at the beach for the summer would probably change that.
To annoy his sister, he pushed the leveler and watched as his window went down. He leaned out the window slightly and grinned at Skyla.
“Put that up.”
“No,” he told her.
“Ewe, gross! Mom, Kiel crapped his pants” Skyla blurted loudly.
Everyone in the car laughed. Except for Kiel. He jabbed his sister with his elbow and scowled at her.
“Kids, stop,” Leona said. “We’ll be at the house soon.”
“Too bad the kelp will still be there,” Kiel said, pushing the issue with his sister a bit more.
“Why? It’s like . . .” Skyla paused and looked at her phone. Kiel rolled his eyes. His sister barely put her phone down and likely already knew the time. “Three. Won’t the beach be cleaned?”
“High tide,” their father said.
“Oh.” Skyla looked confused and immediately went back to her phone. If Kiel had to guess, she googled “high tide” instead of asking anyone what it meant.
Emmett pulled into the driveway of the house the Colliers would call home until the end of summer. The neighborhood bustled with activity. Kids rode their bikes, people walked, and there seemed to be some sort of party happening in the yard next to them. A little girl, dressed in a bright pink tutu and matching sparkly top, adjusted her tiara before loudly telling the Colliers they were invited to her party. When only Ciara offered a thanks, the party host who stood on the imaginary line dividing the two properties, placed her hand on her hip and started tapping her foot, clearly waiting for the rest of them to respond. One by one, each of them thanked her and then declined.
“Who are you?” she barked out with so much sass the attitude reminded Kiel of when Skyla was an eight-year-old.
“We’re the Colliers,” Leona said as she came around the car to see the child. “And who are you?”
“I don’t give my name to strangers.”
The siblings laughed while Leona acted indifferently. “And yet, you asked us who we are and invited us to your party.”
The little girl crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. “I’m allowed. I live here. You don’t.”
“Oh, God.” A screen door slammed. “Ginny, mind your manners.” A woman came down the porch steps and pulled her daughter away. “I am so sorry. She thinks she’s the neighborhood watch or something.”
“Not a terrible trait to have,” Emmett said as he extended his hand. “We’re the Colliers. I’m Emmett, this is my wife, Leona, and our children, Kiel, Skyla, and Ciara. We’re here for the summer.”
“Welcome to Seaport. I’m Pamela and well . . .” She sighed as she looked at her daughter. “You’ve met Ginny.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Leona said. “And we’re looking forward to spending our summer here.”
“It’s beautiful here during the summer.” Pamela sighed again. “Well, all year, really. We’re happy to have you. If you plan to do any tours and whatnot, Blue Lobster Adventures have you covered. There’s a trolley that runs from the beach here to the pier. It’s usually every half hour. The beach opens at nine, which really only means that’s when the lifeguards are on duty. Pearl’s Clam Shack, which is across the street, has the best seafood in town. Of course, there’s Ocean Side Drive, which has the best views of the Atlantic. You can take the trolley there. Right now, the Kyte Guy has set up his stand. He rents out these massive kites. They’re gorgeous and are a lot of fun.” Pamela paused in thought. “Oh, and you can rent mopeds and buggies down on the pier. So much to do here. Crap, I’ve rambled and given you information you didn’t even ask for. Sorry.”
Emmett pointed to his temple. “I’ve stored it all up here and we’ll be sure to knock on your door if I’ve forgotten anything.”
Pamela smiled and rested her hand on Ginny’s shoulder.
Kiel liked the idea of renting a moped. He had always wanted one, especially when he was away at school. He had a car, but once you had a coveted parking spot, you never wanted to leave it. A moped, an e-bike, or one of those motorized Razors would’ve been nice. A lot of his classmates had those, and they made getting around a breeze. Except pedestrians didn’t like them all that much.
Emmett excused himself from the conversation and motioned for Kiel to help him with the luggage. The men made three trips into the house while the women continued to chat with Pamela. By the time Leona made it into the house, she seemed exhausted and sat down on the couch with an overly exasperated sigh.
“You just came in from chatting,” he pointed out. “It’s not like you ran a marathon.”
Leona glared at her son. “Bite me,” she told him. “That woman can chat. Did you know, four houses down, a scandalous affair took place?”
“How on earth would I know that, Mother?”
She shrugged. “Well, your sisters and I know. Pamela said it was the mayor of Seaport and a tourist he met early last summer. Apparently, his wife was out of town, and he partied a bit too much.”
