I picked up a bucket that was halfway full of sand, chucked it at my sister, stood up, and ran all the way back to where mommy and daddy were seated under the umbrella. I practically tossed myself face-first onto the towel.
Mommy and daddy didn’t say anything upon my arrival. Mommy remained trapped in her book, and daddy was laying on his stomach, his beach towel a few feet away from the umbrella so that it would be out in the sun. He had headphone in both ears and may even have been asleep. I peeked up from the towel to look back down at the beach. Elaine hadn’t followed me back, and was still talking with that other family, probably still telling them how much of a baby she thought that I was.