"Well, the kids seem to be getting along better now," Devon observed to Ellie as he nudged his beach chair over closer to hers under the broad umbrella and sat down.

Lisa was curled up on a beach towel on the other side of Ellie's chair, her regular breathing signaling that she was asleep. The excitement of the wedding and reception of the previous day had finally caught up with the little girl.

Devon handed Ellie the bottle of iced tea she had requested, and she took it while plucking the straw from between two of his fingers. She unscrewed the bottle top and put it in the pocket of her cotton cover-up before popping the straw into the cool beverage and taking a long, slow sip.

"Ahhh," she moaned after she had swallowed the tea. "That's awesome. Thanks, hon."

Devon closed the book he had just opened, using his finger to hold his place, and reached his free hand across the gap between their chairs to caress Ellie's forearm. He smiled and gave her a fond look over the rim of the half-glasses he used for reading and she returned an identical smile. For this kind of deeply affectionate communication between the pair, words were unnecessary. After a short pause in his conversation, Devon picked it up again.

"Yeah, hon, I think I prefer it when Marianne and Eddie aren't talking to each other, especially in the car."

"And most especially stuck on the freeway," Ellie continued the thought while rolling her eyes. "But I must say, CJ and Gaby are a breath of fresh air. I don't think I've ever met a pair of children as mature as they are at that age."

"Almost makes up for John," Devon observed, directing a wry look at his wife. "At least his little hangover has kept him a lot more subdued than usual. I wonder how long that will last?"

It didn't last long. John and Eddie were sitting in the sand some distance from the adults under their own umbrella having a private conversation. They were concentrating so hard on the subject of their discussion they didn't hear Marianne and Gaby and CJ returning from the water, and the two cousins jumped a bit when CJ got close enough to be able to shake his wet hair over them, covering them with a light salt water spray.

"Hey!" Eddie exclaimed, anger clear in his tone.

Marianne moved to stand a bit in front of CJ as Eddie began to raise himself up from his beach towel, his fists clenched.

"He didn't mean anything by it, Ed. Calm down." she said serenely while toweling the ends of her hair dry.

Marianne paused suddenly in her hair drying and peered down at the sand near the two seated boys. The surface had been smoothed out and there appeared to be some marks scratched into the area, a picture of some sort.

"What's that?" the girl asked, curious.

John, who suddenly seemed nervous, flushed a bit and swiped his hand through the marks, obliterating them.

"Nothing," the blond boy said in a tone of voice so full of guilt that his listeners could only conclude that, whatever it had been, it was something.

Marianne towered over her younger brother and said simply, "Tell us or I'll tell mom."

The glare that this elicited from the boy was intense, but his sister's cool composure outmatched it, and Eddie relented after only a few heartbeats.

"Okay, but you all have to swear on the thing you hold most sacred that you won't tell."

The other four children nodded solemnly. After they had settled to the sand, they each extended a hand into the center of the group, first Eddie, then John, Marianne, CJ, and finally Gaby.

Eddie went first, and then the rest in order of the hands.

"I swear on my new baseball mitt."

"Classic copy of Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon that dad found for me."

"The high heels I got for my birthday."

"They're not high heels, Marianne," Eddie interjected, "they're hardly off the ground."

Marianne's head snapped around and it was her turn to glare and abandon her usual cool demeanor. "All right, then, my new heels. Is that okay?"

"Good," Eddie said, pleased to be recognized as the de facto leader of the group for a change. "CJ, your turn."

CJ hesitated for a moment. If he were going to swear on the thing he held most sacred, then that would have to be Gaby, and he glanced at her quickly with apologies in his eyes, hoping that she would understand when instead he said, "My telescope." A look of relief washed over his face when he felt the merest squeeze of Gaby's hand on his and turned towards her again to see the reassurance in her eyes.

"And Gaby?" prompted Eddie, now impatient to get the little ceremony over with.

"My photo album," she declared with finality, punctuating her statement with a sharp nod of her head.

As they all dropped hands, CJ raised his eyebrows in an unasked question. What pictures did the photo album hold and would he get a chance to see it? Gaby's expression was inscrutable, and she quickly looked past him to Eddie, who had risen up to his knees so he could address his rapt audience.

"I was at my friend's place, Billy Coogan," he began, his voice in a barely audible whisper. "Well, his dad has these magazines, you know, hidden in the closet."

Eddie paused for dramatic effect and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"What kind of magazines?" Gaby asked in all innocence.

She was a bit dumbfounded when both Eddie and John snorted loudly, then felt tears prick at her eyes when even CJ smiled at her confusion. Marianne, however, was quick to put a comforting arm around the girl's shoulder and say to the laughing boys, her voice full of scorn, "These wouldn't be dirty magazines by any chance, would they?"

Eddie and John, after a few more guffaws, got themselves under control again. Eddie was the one who answered.

"Well, some people don't think sex is dirty, you know," he said, self-righteously.

Marianne countered with, "Yeah, like you know anything about it."

John and Eddie exchanged a look before simultaneously replying, "We do now."

"That's what the picture in the sand was," John continued helpfully. "You see, what happens is..."

Devon glanced up from his book to see the group of children sitting on the sand, heads close together, having a very serious discussion about something. He regarded them for only a moment before putting his book down and getting up out of his chair. Ellie roused from her nap at the movement, but he gestured for her to stay put, then moved towards the knot of cousins plus one.

As Devon approached, they continued talking quietly. Eddie was gesturing to something in the sand in the center of the group, and his voice raised a bit as he argued his point.

"I tell you, that's what the picture was. You can believe me or not. I don't care," he said a little heatedly.

"Oh, gosh!" exclaimed Marianne, looking a little pale.

CJ, on the other hand, was flushed a bright red. John had returned to the slight green cast that his face had shown on the previous day just before his stomach had rejected the vodka.

Gaby was strangely silent, her eyes as big as saucers.

Devon finally got close enough to see what they were all so intent on. The puzzled look on his face only lasted for a moment to be replaced by the dawning of recognition followed by a smirk of amusement.

Too late, Eddie realized his father was standing over them, and he hurriedly brushed the sand drawing away with a jerky motion of his hand.

"Dad –" he began, but Devon cut him off by hunkering down beside the children and placing a soft hand on his son's arm.

"Looks like you kids need an anatomy lesson. Some of the details weren't quite right there, Eddie. Might not be such a scary proposition for you all after you find out the facts," he said, his usual good humor and gentle nature evident.

Gaby let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in and began to laugh with relief. "Thank goodness," she finally managed to blurt out, which caused everyone to laugh along with her.

Devon stood up and addressed the group. "Come on, I think it's time to get back home and have some supper and maybe an early night. And Eddie."

"Yes, dad?"

"I think you'd better leave the artwork to CJ from now on."