Day Twenty-two

(For more information on my 'April Challenge' see HERE)

(In contrast to yesterday's post!!)

(111)THE PROMISE OF ICE-CREAM

Toby at the beach: the sun stings his shoulders, the back of his neck. Mam says he should put his shirt on but he doesn’t. Green-scuttle crabs dance at the bottom of his bucket – no, he can’t take them home, and only the promise of ice-cream to lure him away.

(112)JUST BEING

Lying there. The sun on his face, his eyes closed and it feels good. Not just the weekend off and it’s still only Saturday but Kat, the weather girl, said it will be the same tomorrow as it is today. Just lying there, not doing anything, not thinking, just being.

(113)SEEING MAM AND DAD DIFFERENT

I’d never seen our mam like that before. Hardly no clothes on, and she was sitting still, not fussing over things needing done, the sun making her skin nettle-rash-pink. Dad the same, and laughing, and playing with us in the sand. And mam sent me into the sea to pee.

(114)OUR DAD THE FLIRT

Auntie Nan was with us. She’s younger than our mam. And our dad kept making jokes. About her figure and the tuppence worth of cloth that was her swimsuit, only she didn’t swim. And our dad kept looking at Auntie Nan, strange like – didn’t feel right without our mam there.

(115)BLESSED

Her name was Cee. Short for Celia, though I was sworn to secrecy on that. And she chose me. Out of them all. She said did I mind. And I said I didn’t, and she lay on her front, unclipped her bikini top, and I stroked sun-cream onto her back.