Chapters (17)
“All of it.” She dropped her arm. She looked at her hand lying on the blanket. “He was protesting.” It was impossible to go on. “Against all this. Against the sun.” She was a fool. She had no words. She felt drained.
“Good heavens, Bess,” said Mrs. Halstrom.
“Protesting against the sun, eh?” Elizabeth looked up. His voice was no longer angry. She didn’t understand anything. “Well by God he didn’t succeed very well.” He pointed. “It’s still there, I notice.”
“What a conversation,” said Mrs. Halstrom. She began to comb her hair.
“Though if it comes to that, I confess I agree with him. It’s hot as blazes.”
He laughed lightly, at ease, showing his boyish smile with the two handsome hollows like elongated dimples.
“Why don’t you take a little dip, if you’re hot?” said Mrs. Halstrom. “It’s a good time of day.” She pulled the comb slowly through her dark sunshiny hair.
“Your hair is so lovely,” Elizabeth said.
“Why, thank you, Bess.” She stopped combing. “What a dear thing to say. Yours is too.”
A line of low waves fell gray and green and white along the far edge of the sandbar. Low slow water fringed with white slid lazily forward, stopped in different places, and silkily slipped back. A little girl in a brilliant yellow bathing suit stood looking down at her feet.
“Oh, Daddy,” said Elizabeth suddenly, leaning back on the warm blanket and stretching out her arms along her sides, “do you know I can’t even remember what brand of bread it was? Isn’t that awful?”
“The tide’s coming in,” said Mrs. Halstrom, shaking out her hair. “You’ll feel much better, after a dip.”
“Silvercup,” said Dr. Halstrom decisively.