The sun-drenched beach between the mole and the pier was crowded with people. Moms in swimsuits lay prone, tanning, while their children dug in the sand and whined for something more entertaining to do. Boyfriends and girlfriends on beach towels came as close to coupling as they dared. Middle-aged people who’d outgrown their middle-sized bathing suits bulged in beach chairs. Sunburned young men in baggy shorts lobbed volleyballs over the heads of the sun-bathers.
In the midst of it all, Viktor Sentik stood at his easel, painting a line of boats that bobbed at anchor. Next to him, seated in a folding chair beneath an artist’s umbrella, Eve Jones captured the brash bluish green of the pier buildings and their reflection in the waves.
Hand in hand, a boy in a black tank top and shorts and a
