Summer Love

Chapter 13

Miranda shut the door a little too forcefully and when Sadie jumped on her hip, Miranda sighed and put her down on the ground.

"Where are we going?" Sadie asked in confusion and Miranda leaned down to help her out of her sandals. When she took her own off and led Sadie down the path to the sand, she shrugged and put her sunglasses on her head.

"Are you hungry?" Miranda asked, already knowing the answer. "Breakfast then."

Miranda trudged along the sand while Sadie ran a little ahead of her, stopping every couple of second to pick up a seashell or pat a dog out for a walk. Miranda pretended to act interested when Sadie called her to look at the shells every few minutes, but her mind was elsewhere. She was dreading going home again, she didn't want to have the argument with her Husband.

After 10 minutes walking across the sand, Miranda spotted the path that led in to the town and she called Sadie over to put her sandals back on. When they were back up on the footpath, Miranda spotted a few cafe's and picked one that over-looked the water. Sadie followed her inside and took her seat across from her Momma on a table out on the balcony. Sadie was too short for her chair, so the waitress bought her a cushion to sit on and elevate her.

"What do you want to eat Babe?" Miranda asked as she scoured the menu and Sadie leaned over to look at the pictures, before she decided on the waffles and Miranda ordered herself some eggs and toast. She wasn't in the mood to eat anything, but she didn't want Sadie to ask any questions, she was too young to be involved in this argument.

When the food came, Sadie ate her waffles while Miranda picked at her eggs, not really eating, just moving them around the plate with her fork. She was glad that Sadie wasn't feeling chatty, she was looking through the colouring book a waitress had left on the table for her and eating bites of her waffle in intervals.

"Momma?" Sadie spoke up after 15 minutes of silence and Miranda looked at her and raised her eyebrows, indicating that she could ask her question. "What are we doing today?"

Miranda sighed and shrugged. She really didn't have a plan, she just wanted to stay away from that house for as long as humanly possible. Miranda opened her mouth to ask Sadie what she wanted to do, but she knew all of Sadie's plans would involve Blake, so she had to distract her for a little longer.

"How about we go and do some shopping?" She suggested, the only thing she could think of that wouldn't require a trip back to the house to grab bathing suits and Sadie looked a little disappointed, but she knew her Mother was in a bad mood and she didn't want to push it.

Miranda paid the bill, left a nice tip for the waitress and look Sadie's hand in hers as they exited the cafe. When they were outside, they were hit with a gush of hot air and Miranda sighed. It was hot and she didn't know how long Sadie would be able to tolerate being dragged around in the heat. Before Sadie had a chance to complain, Miranda tightened her grip on her hand and led Sadie across the road and in to one of the stores on the main street.

As Miranda browsed through the racks of bathing suits and cover-ups, Sadie's step was dragging and when Miranda let go of her hand to hold a dress up against her body, she felt Sadie's hands tugging at the hem of her dress, a sign that she was getting cranky already.

"How about we get you some sandals?" Miranda suggested as she put the dress back on the rack and Sadie looked up confused.

"But I already have a pair." Sadie said in confusion and Miranda sighed, she didn't really need a new pair, but if it kept Sadie distracted, she didn't mind buying them.

"Well, today's your lucky day!" She said with fake enthusiasm and Sadie smiled, following her Momma down to the back of the store where the children's clothes were.