Finally, she saw William’s boat appear around the last turn of the marsh before his dock. She smiled and waved, and he gave her the same look he did when she showed up at school to pick him up - like she was embarrassing the heck out of him.

The three businessmen stepped out of the boat, thanked William and said hello to Dixie before walking down the path. “Hey, Mom,” he said, leaning in and kissing her cheek. “Been waiting long?”

“Nah, not too bad. Thankful I sprayed myself for mosquitos before I came, though.”

“Yeah, you know how marsh life is. And the no-see-ums are terrible today.”

Many tourists were unprepared for the little annoying and painful flying insects, but locals knew them all too well. They were also known as biting midges, and they would swarm a person without them even realizing it. So tiny that they were almost impossible to see, the person would be left with numerous painful bites. When William was a kid, he called them “flying pirahna”, and that description seemed to fit quite well.

“Ready for something to eat? I’m starving!”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been going full-force all day. Had a fishing charter early this morning, but Janine made me breakfast to-go. My stomach is empty now. Where should we eat?”

Dixie smiled. “Well, I actually made us lunch. I thought maybe we could take a little boat trip?”

William stared at her. “Mom, I’ve been in that boat all day.”

“I haven’t.” Mother guilt was always effective. Truthfully, she wanted this conversation to be as private as possible, but she also wanted to finally take a ride on her son’s boat.

He sighed and hung his head. “Fine. But what did you make?”

“Chicken salad sandwiches on croissants.”

“With pecans or without?”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “With, of course. What kind of woman do you take me for?”

William laughed. “Good. Just wanted to make sure you weren’t cutting corners.”

“Never!”

He helped her onto the boat as she held onto his hand for dear life. She wasn’t as spry as she used to be, and having Parkinson’s had only slowed her down more. Thankfully, the medications and physical therapy helped her preserve what she had, and she tried to exercise at least three days a week since it was supposed to be the most effective treatment for the disease.

Once they got settled, William eased the boat out into the marsh, picking a pretty area with a view of open water. Dixie loved where she lived. There was so much beauty surrounding her from the grasses of the marsh to the waves of the ocean to the historical buildings lining the streets of town. She could never imagine living anywhere else.

Dixie dug the food out of her large bag and handed William his food. They sat for a few moments, each of them taking a bite of their croissant and looking out at the water. It was getting hotter outside with each passing day, and Dixie didn’t relish the humidity that was coming once the summer months arrived. Most days, she tried to stay inside in the air conditioning when summer rolled around. Plus, there were a lot more tourists milling about, so when she wasn’t at work, she wanted to be in her cool home.