The Tides Have Changed

Linda smiled gently at her granddaughter, who was playing in the sand. The water rushed around the toddler's feet, the waves coming and going. "Grammy," the child said, "can you come in the water with me?"

"No, Elisa," Linda said, "but I will sit here in my chair and watch you."

"All you do now is sit in your chair," Elisa said, her lips turning downward. "I want you to come play with me."

A look of pain crossed Linda's face as she rubbed her knee absentmindedly. "Oh, sweetheart. Grammy's knees can't get down in the sand with you. Why don't you bring your bucket and shovel and we'll play over here? You can build me a pretty sandcastle."

The toddler forgot her sorrows and hurried over to her grandmother's chair with her bucket and shovel. "I'm gonna build you the prettiest sandcastle ever," she said triumphantly. Her dark curls, flecked with sand, tumbled over her shoulders and into her face before she brushed them away with the back of her sandy wrist. Linda reached over and pulled the hair back, running her hand over Elisa's head.

"I'm sure it will be the loveliest sandcastle I've ever seen," she said quietly.

Elisa packed her bucket full of damp sand and put it upside down, pulling the bucket away to reveal a decently nice tower. It was a little crumbly on the edges and had a few cracks - like her, Linda thought, old dust with crumbled edges and a couple of cracks - but for a toddler, it wasn't bad.

"Grammy, where are Mommy and Daddy?" Elisa asked after a few moments, patting her sandcastle gently and decorating it with the shells that were within her reach.

"Mommy and Daddy went on a walk," Linda said, looking in the direction they had gone. Mark and Taylor had tried to insist that they didn't need a break, that they didn't want Linda and Taylor's sister to have to watch Elisa and her newborn brother, but Linda and Kenzie had won the battle. She'd made Mark help her get a chair and an umbrella, had Taylor show Kenzie where the diapers were, and sent the two of them off for some much needed alone time.

"Why did Mommy and Daddy go on a walk?" Elisa asked.

"Because walks on the beach are nice, and it's a nice sunny, breezy day," Linda said.

"I like sunny days and walks on the beach," Elisa commented.

Walks on the beach were wonderful. She remembered the times she'd spent walking on the beach with Charles, wonderful moments full of sunsets and kisses under the stars.

"Where is my baby brother?" Elisa asked. She looked up from the sandcastle, her forehead wrinkled with worry. "Where is Mikey?"

"Michael is with Aunt Kenzie," Linda said. She looked back towards the house they'd rented - the only lime green one, which stood out in the line of rental houses - and spotted Mackenzie on the porch, a bundle of blankets in her arms. She touched Elisa's arm before pointing. "Look, they're on the porch."

"Oh, there my baby brother is. Hi Aunt Kenzie!" Elisa yelled, waving her arms ferociously, flinging wet sand everywhere. A huge chunk of it hit Linda in the face.

Linda brushed it off, laughing at the horrified look on Elisa's face. "I'm so sorry, Grammy," Elisa said, shuffling closer and climbing onto Linda's lap, wiping at Linda's face with her sandy hands. "I didn't mean to hit you."

"It's okay," Linda said, grabbing Elisa's hands before she could rub any more sand off into her clothes. "It's just a little sand, sweetie."

"I love you, Grammy," Elisa said, throwing her chubby arms around Linda's neck. The sand coating her arms rubbed off, slipping into the wrinkles of skin and rolling into Linda's shirt.

Sand everywhere. Sand and sun and "I love you's". Kisses. Dancing with Charles in the moonlight.

"I love you too, Elisa."

"Can we stay here forever?" Elisa asked. "I like it here."

"No, sweetheart, we have to go home," Linda said. The thought of leaving was harder than ever before.

"When?"

The question was simple, but it brought tears to Linda's eyes. "Tomorrow, after we leave Grandpa's ashes in the ocean."

It had been his request. He wanted to stay here, on their favorite island, with all of their memories.

Sand and sun and "I love you's." Watching Taylor and Mackenzie play as children. Watching Mark propose to Taylor. Watching Elisa play in the ocean for the first time.

"Why did Grandpa have to leave?" Elisa asked quietly, shifting on Linda's lap. "Mommy says he's not coming back."

"He didn't want to leave, sweetheart," Linda said. Elisa's cold fingers wiped away the tear that had started rolling down Linda's cheek. "He wanted to stay here with you."

"And you," Elisa said, nodding her head wisely. "Grandpa wouldn't want to leave you."

"No, he wouldn't," Linda whispered through the lump in her throat.

"Can we go inside now?" Elisa asked. "I want to see Mikey now. And watch Veggie Tales. Can I watch Veggie Tales?"

God bless a toddler's attention span.

"Yes, you can watch Veggie Tales," Linda said as Elisa climbed off her lap. "Get your shovel and bucket, and we'll leave my chair and umbrella for Daddy to get when he comes back from his walk with Mommy."

Elisa's little sandy hand clutched Linda's as they walked through the sand towards the house. "I love you, Grammy," Elisa said again.

"And I love you, sweetheart."