Nevermore
Ted sat cross-legged on the rough, sand-covered beach towel as he watched Madelyn and Harris run toward him, dripping wet, sand covering their little feet. With the sun still high and bright in the western sky, he reached for a bottle of SPF 50 to reapply lotion to their pale skin.
“Aw, Dad, again?” Madelyn whined.
Ted laughed at his daughter. “Again and again and again.” He ruffled her hair as she sat beside him. He squeezed sunblock onto her outstretched hand, and she rubbed it on her legs while Ted worked on her back and arms.
“Close your eyes, sweetie.”
She turned her scrunched-up face toward him, and he rubbed lotion onto her face and neck, then gave her arm a light squeeze.
“All done, toots.” He smiled, and the six-year-old affected a dramatic “oh-I-am-so-put-upon” si
