"Rossi?" JJ questioned. In the sea of Spanish-speakers and other vacationers, it wasn't hard to miss David Rossi, reclined on a beach chair feet from the ocean. He looked decidedly less casual than JJ had ever seen him, in khaki shorts, a tee shirt, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses with sunscreen smeared on his nose. "I didn't know you were going to be here," she said, taking a chair beside him.
"'Course, I'm here. Where else would I go when we have vacation time?" he asked good-naturedly. "Good to see you. Didn't expect to."
"No, I didn't expect to be here," JJ nodded. "But by some miracle, Will got time off, and so did I. So, we're out here with Henry, trying to relax," she said ruefully.
"Not working out too well, I take it…" Rossi mused, setting his book aside.
'Well, Henry decided he doesn't like the ocean after he took off running into it at top speed when Will's and my backs were turned. Scared ten years off of us. And he hates the sand, because he saw a giant spider. I think it was a crab, but he's four, and there's no convincing him otherwise. So, he's inside with Will, watching Powerpuff Girls and Scooby Doo in Spanish."
"Ah, money well-spent," Rossi sighed.
"I know. Clearly," JJ laughed.
"Nice to be with your family, though," he said.
"It is. Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?" JJ asked, sensing the not-quite-concealed loneliness in Rossi's tone. "We'd love to have you…and you could listen to Will request a table for "cuatro" instead of "tres" JJ joked.
"Sounds too good to refuse," Rossi nodded.
So, that evening, he put on his good polo shirt and made his way down to the resort restaurant JJ had indicated. Rossi saw the three of them seated at a table, and walked over, a smile on his face.
"Dave!" Henry cheered. "You know what? I saw a big scary spider!"
"You did, huh?" Rossi asked, intrigued at Henry's retelling of the event. "And then what happened?"
"And then I screamed and ran away, and Daddy took me back inside," Henry said. "Maybe you could find it and get it with your gun…"
"Henry!" JJ admonished, while Will and Dave laughed and tried to make it look like they weren't.
"What?" Henry wondered, taking a big bite of his taco. "It would work, probably."
"Yes, but not right now. We don't talk about giant spiders and weapons at the table."
"Just at the beach and in the room?" Henry wondered.
"Right. Now, what did you do today that was nice?" she asked.
"Ummm…watched TV! And didn't go in the big ocean! And didn't go down to see the scary brown animal in the yard."
Will snickered while Dave echoed under his breath, "…scary brown animal…"
"Like a bunny and a rat all mixed up together. It hopped kind of like a kangaroo," Henry explained seriously. "And it scared me very bad."
"Okay, thank you for that description," JJ laughed.
"Next time, you should plan on Disney World," Dave suggested, with a wink.
The End.
