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mock-offended
expression.  “What made you decide to leave the service?  Ten years in is a
long time.”
    He was lost in thought for a moment, and then
flashed a smile.  “I missed my granddad,” he said, as if the realization had
just come to him.  “I was stationed overseas, forever traveling, and rarely got
to see my family.  Granddad is getting older…”  Suddenly, his eyes widened, as if
another light bulb went on in his brain.  “Wow.  I guess I hadn’t realized how
big a part he and my family played in my decision to leave.  It’s ironic, since
now that I can see them anytime I choose to, I don’t … choose to.”
    He brought them to a stop and glanced around the
beach.  Finally, his tortured eyes lit on her face.  “I feel awful,” he
admitted.  “I’ve been working so hard building my company, I’ve put my family
on the back burner.  Heck, I haven’t visited my own parents in a couple months,
and they live blocks away from me.”  He gave a self-deprecating laugh.  “I’m a
terrible son and grandson.”
    Amanda watched his sorrowful face.  “Hey, Brady,
look at me.  I’m guilty too.  I suspect most people are guilty of neglecting
family members, or at least taking for granted they’ll always be there.”
    “But they won’t,” he said crisply.  “I learned
that when my grandmother passed away while I was stationed overseas.”  He was
silent for a long moment, struggling for composure.  “She died suddenly,
unexpectedly.  And I would give anything for one last visit with her.  I …
adored her.”
    Amanda remained silent, to give him a moment,
but then she took his hand and gave it a squeeze.  “I think we’ve learned the
lesson our grandparents were trying to teach us,” she said.  “We’ll do better,
Brady.  We really will.”
    He eyed her skeptically.  “Sure, until we get
caught up in our jobs again.”
    “We’ll be more aware.  We will.  Hey, I’ll call
you, to remind you to visit your granddad and you can do the same for me.”
    He nodded and took her hand again.  They resumed
their stroll along the beach.
     
    ***
     
      “Ike, we can’t even see the kids from here,”
Liz pointed out.  “The beach is below street level.”
    “I know.  I should have thought of that, but
they’ll be back soon.”
    “They’ve been down there awhile,” she said
nervously.
    “They’re fine,” he assured her, and brightened. 
“Hey, do you think there’s a little chemistry happening between them?”
    “I have no idea,” she said, and then frowned. 
“Well, if it is, wouldn’t it be a little soon for that?”  She chortled. 
“Amanda is a good girl.  She has morals.”
    “Oh, I know she does,” Ike was quick to assure
her.  “But kids do things differently these days.”
    “They’d better not be doing anything,”
Liz mumbled.  “In my day, we didn’t even kiss on the first date.”
    Ike laughed.  “Well, I can assure you that Brady
is a gentleman.”
    “And Amanda is a lady,” Liz said crisply.
    Ike checked his watch.  “It’s lunch time and I’m
hungry.  Why don’t we leave the kids and let nature take its course.  You and I
can go and get that lunch I promised you.”
    “I am hungry,” she said.  “You’re sure we
shouldn’t keep an eye on them…?”
    “They’ll be fine.”
    “Okay then.”
    Ike started the car and they drove out from
behind the candy store and pulled onto the main roadway. 
    “Hey, pull over for a second,” Liz said.  “Let’s
see if we can spot them from the boardwalk.”
    “We’ll have to be careful that they don’t spot
us,” Ike warned.
    “Even if they do, they couldn’t catch us,” she
said confidently.
    He pulled into a space perpendicular to the
boardwalk and parked.  They left the car and walked to the short rock wall
along the boardwalk.  “Do you see them?” Ike asked.
    Liz’s eyes did a pass over the long stretch of
beach below.  She spotted the couple quite aways