The narrow beach is an album quilt of blankets, so Winry and Gracia spread theirs on the grassy knoll above the boardwalk, between the roots of a white ash, and take turns accompanying Elicia into the water. Winry shows her adopted niece how to float on its warm surface, her own toes twitching in the chilly, spring-fed zone beneath. Spelled by Gracia, she defiantly reads a bodice-ripper recommended by a client, watches the ash's pale leaves flutter against a periwinkle sky, or fends off potential mashers with feigned slumber.
On holiday, a snore's as good as a wrench.