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leather
bomber jacket that I thought looked especially hot on him, and we each put on
our gloves.
    “Alex
and I are going to take a walk,” I called from the foyer.   “Just to enjoy the ocean.   We’ll be back shortly.”
    “If
you see any trash, please pick it up,” Alexa said.   She was in the living room, sprawled out
on one of the sofas with an iPad in her hands.   “If you need a bag or something, I can
find you one.”
    “Are
you fucking kidding me?” Daniella said from the other end of the sofa.   “They’re going for a walk.   They want some time alone together—and
who can blame them amidst this chaos?   Their walk isn’t about cleaning up the world, Alexa.   It’s about having a moment to
themselves.   God, you’re selfish.”
    “Selfish?   I’m trying to save the planet, you piece
of shit.”
    “Here’s
a better idea.   Start saving
yourself and get laid.   All of us
will be grateful for it.   It will
relax you.”
    “Girls,”
Blackwell said from the kitchen.   “That’s it.”
    “Sorry,”
Daniella said.  
    “What’s
gotten into you, anyway?”
    “Her
boyfriend dumped her,” Alexa said.   “Turns out Mark wasn’t an idiot after all.   He got out while he could.”
    “Fuck
you, Alexa.   I told you not to say
anything.”
    “Time
to go,” I said to Alex, whose hand already was on the doorknob.    “We’ll see you later,” I said to
them.   And then, just as Blackwell came
into the living room and looked down at Daniella with concern, we got out, shut
the door behind us, reached for each other’s hand, and took the path down to
the beach.
    “Poor
Barbara,” I said.
    “They’re
a handful.”
    “Maybe
we should rethink having children.   Those two make we want to adopt a kind-hearted thirty year old who already
is devoted to us and accomplished in his or her field.”
    That
brought out his dimples.   “You
know,” he said, “that’s not such a bad idea.”
    “Oh,
please,” I said.   “We’re so having
children.”
    “A
brood of them.”
    “Don’t
slip,” I said.   “It’s icy
here.”   We cut through a few trees,
and finally, there was the ocean before us, with the sun shining low upon
it.   “Look at it,” I said.   “Isn’t it beautiful?   And smell the air.   We need to come here more often.   I love it here.   Look how many shells there are on the
beach.   Did you ever come here
during the winter?”
    We
started walking down the beach, the sand of which was so hard and flat, it was surprisingly
easy to walk upon.
    “Once,
I think.   But I was really
young.   I barely remember it.   Mostly, we came during the
summers.”   He turned to me as if a
thought just occurred to him.   “Where are Lisa and Tank?”
    I
shrugged.   “I don’t know.   I saw Tank come in with Barbara, but then
he disappeared.   Earlier, I had a
talk with Lisa about their relationship, and then I left her alone in her
bedroom to think about what she wants to do if it things don’t work out between
them.   At some point, Tank’s got to
make a move.   Lisa has tried in her
own way, but despite writing about zombies, she’s the romantic type.   She wants to be swept off her feet.   She’s given him three months to do so,
and I can tell you that she’s not going to wait for him forever.   In fact, she told me if he doesn’t make
some sort of effort soon, she’s out.”
    “That’s
a shame.   I like them together.”
    “Everyone
does.   It’s frustrating.”
    He
stopped walking just as the wind kicked up my hair and lifted the bottom of my
coat.   When he pulled me toward him
and held my face in his hands, it was cold and raw when he kissed me on the
lips.   I kissed him back, grateful
that we could have a moment to ourselves.   “You’re so beautiful,” he said.   “And I’m so happy.   I want you
to know how happy I am.   I don’t
think I say it often enough.”
    “You
say it to me every morning, and every night