"Lacy, are you ready?”

“Almost mama, I’m going to get my pail and shovel now.”

This is what we do, every Saturday morning. We eat a gourmet breakfast made by yours truly, and then we head down to the beach for the rest of the day. Lacy loves to sit were the water crawls up and licks her little feet. She says that’s where the sand is the best. And I, well I sit and watch her from the comfort of my chair reading a magazine or some book I found lying around.

Lacy waddled by in her red and white polka dotted swim suit. Her inner tube wrapped around her waist and her hair up in a ponytail spilling over like a waterfall.

I looked over at the wall and noticed the gash in it, the gash that I made when moving the recliner chair into the house. We moved just 3 months ago. I ran away from my problem, my husband. We just recently split up and poor naïve Lacy doesn’t understand what has happened. She believes that “daddy” is on a business trip for a while. He is a great dad, just not a good companion. He was always yelling at me for spending too much money or not getting things done. So finally one night I said I’m done and walked out the door with Lacy tagging along.

“Okay mama, I’m ready!” she gave me a cutesy four year old smile.

“Okay then, to the beach!” luckily for us, the beach is not more then five minutes walking distance from our house.

I grabbed the magazine lying on the coffee table and opened the door to a grand day.

The sand was hot as I stepped upon it in bare feet. But the breeze was cooling and the sun was shinning. All components needed for a fun day.

“Over there mama its perfect!” Lacy snatched a beach chair and started to run over to the spot she had chosen, dragging the chair behind her of course.

I picked up the other, bigger, beach chair and the bag with beach supplies. I giggled at the look of Lacy and followed her trail.

“See I told you! It’s perfect!” the spot was nearly perfect. No seagulls attacking or people around. The sand was even and Lacy looked so very happy.

“All right then, let’s settle in!” I put down the chair and unfolded it doing the same with the smaller one. Lacy shook off her shoes and ran to the waters edge taking her pail and shovel with her.

I sighed, in a good way, and sat in the chair with my sunglasses pulled over my face. I lifted up the magazine and flipped it to the first page with some star complaining about how they don’t have that figure everyone wants. Lacy was at the water, content, shoveling in wet soggy sand into her pail. Crouched over she looked like one of those paintings. Again I went back to my magazine.

A few minutes later Lacy came rushing back with her pail screaming “Mama! Mama!” I put down the magazine and watched her golden hair fly in the breeze.

She came up to my chair, her bright green eyes so big with excitement and she tilted the pail slightly so I could see in.

“Look,” I saw a scrawny tan sand crab fighting the pail to escape. “It’s a little fish.” She exclaimed.

I chuckled. “No honey, that’s a sand crab! It’s a mini crab. Not a fish!” she nodded still her eyes big.

“Will you keep Mert here until later when- when” a sad look crossed her face, “I have to let him go back home?”


“Yes, now go have fun!” I kissed her forehead and watched the poor creature jump around digging into the plastic. I watched the thing thinking how it was so much like my daughter. How she is trapped in such an awful life of lies. Suddenly an impulse came over me. I tilted the bucket over and scooted the innocent animal out. It quickly dug a hole, escaping the trap.

The day was going by and I was caught by the story on nutrition. I reached into the beach bag and found the cold watch at the bottom. It read 12:34, time for lunch. I got out the two brown bags with PB and J in it with a drink. All that was needed now was Lacy.

“Lacy?” I looked over at the spot where she was. “Lacy!” she wasn’t there. “Lacy?!” I scanned the area. The bags that were on my lap spilled on the ground as I shot up and ran to the coast line stepping on one of the sandwiches as I fled.
“LACY!?” I screamed her name. Panic filled my body. I started to run down the left half. Still Lacy was no where to be found. People were scarce and the waves crashed over the foot prints that could have been made.
No, that can’t happen! I thought. The deep dark ocean lay before me teasing me with the thought that came to my mind. She wouldn’t dare touch that water! And the tide, not nearly time for it to sweep her up. I thought to myself.
My eyes went blurry with fear and tears. “LAAAACY!” I called one more time.
No answer back.
There was no way I was leaving this beach without a fight. I was going home with Lacy.