Paul looked down at her then and noticed the shape of her head under the swim cap and the thinness in her arms.
“Would you let me rent you a shaded cabana?” he asked. “Someplace quieter.”
Behind him, Miranda found her voice.
I shook my head. “That is not necessary.”
“It’s not charity,” he said. “It is the least I can do to make up for what happened.”
Behind him, Miranda found her voice.
“Paul, do not be ridiculous. You’re making this worse.”
He turned to her.
“Go sit with Evan,” he said.
A few seconds later, Evan appeared at her side holding a melting blue snow cone.
He still hadn’t raised his voice, nor did he seem threatening in any way. Purely logical and composed.
Miranda took a step back.
Then another.
She sat down on the nearest pool chair.
A few seconds later, Evan appeared at her side holding a melting blue snow cone.
He looked from his mother to me, then to Daisy, then back to his mother.
Miranda pressed her lips together.
“Mom,” he said, “Ms. Harper is allowed to swim.”
Nobody said anything.
Miranda pressed her lips together.
I crouched in front of Daisy and tucked a damp strand of swim-cap fabric back from her forehead.
“Do you want to go home,” I asked quietly, “or do you want to stay if we move somewhere calm?”
She sniffed and wiped her face.
Paul returned a few minutes later with a key band and a park employee.
“Stay,” she whispered. “But not near them.”
“Done.”
Paul returned a few minutes later with a key band and a park employee, who explained that one cabana at the far end had just opened up.
He shook his head.
“It’s the least I can do,” he said.
