~~~ Part 3 ~~~

It was late afternoon, nearing evening, and they were on Maundays Beach, lying on beach chairs, mostly shaded by a large beach umbrella. Elizabeth was wearing a navy blue halter top paired with a bikini bottom. Her hair was pulled back and large sunglasses adorned her face. Henry was wearing black swim trunks and a T-shirt with a picture of Diogenes that said "Get out of my sun". He has also wearing sunglasses, and they were both wearing copious sunscreen, having made a pact to not let each other go out during the day without sun protection.

The wide expanse of raked powdery sand curved around to either side of them, dotted with evenly-spaced chairs and umbrellas like their own. The beach was fringed with several tall coconut palms, many with their trunks bent and leaning, and short sea grape trees, with their broad orbiculate leaves offering shade. The buildings of their hotel were behind them, and the brilliantly blue ocean was ahead of them, a clear lighter blue near the shore, giving way to darker shades as the depth increased in the distance. A row of small puffy clouds in a variety of shades of whites and light grays dotted the sky near the horizon over St. Martin, and a few larger clouds broke up the hazy blue sky overhead.

A sailboat and and a few small fishing boats were moored in the bay, and a windsurf glided in the light but steady breeze. A row of colorful plastic kayaks lined a small section of the beach, where a young man was hauling an orange kayak out of the water. There were less than a handful of other people on the beach, mostly other couples. One family with two young children were playing in shallow water on the calmer side of the beach, their shrieks of delight one of the few sounds other than the ocean. A waitress arrived with their frozen drinks.

As soon as Henry had turned his attention back to the ocean, Elizabeth reached over for his piña colada. "Babe, you've got your own drink," Henry protested feebly, nudging her in the side with his elbow when she took a large sip. It was just for show though; he didn't mind sharing and had entirely expected the invasion. He knew better than to get between Elizabeth and ice cream or any other frozen concoction or food of any sort really.

"You can try my strawberry daiquiri," Elizabeth offered generously, continuing to suck on Henry's drink, "but only," she paused for dramatic effect, "if I get a kiss."

"Gladly," Henry responded, sitting up to take a small sip, and then rolling over to face Elizabeth, their cool lips meeting. He sucked on her bottom lip tasting the mixture of sugary fruits.

They switched back to their drinks, and Henry removed his sunglasses. "Anguilla is only 35 square miles in area, and has 33 beaches," he read aloud from his guidebook.

"Well, we're not going to every beach on this trip," Elizabeth remarked.

"No, definitely not. Although we've been to two already," he pointed out. "Let's see... Rendezvous Bay, where the French invaded in 1796, is one of the top-rated beaches, and it's just the other side of Cove Bay, so we could even walk or take the horses there. There are several restaurants and a bar with live music."

"Well-played. You had me at 'horses'."

"There are limestone cliffs along the north shore, including some rocks to jump from and a photogenic arch formation not far from here."

"We could see the coast from one of the daysails. Maybe a sunset cruise," Elizabeth suggested.

Henry nodded in agreement. It would be a fast way to see much of the island, and sunset would be less sun than midday. He continued to read, "Barnes Bay and Meads Bay are close by and are both good for snorkeling. Barnes Bay is one of the less busy beaches, and Meads is one of the most popular ones with lots of restaurants."

"Maybe we can snorkel tomorrow so we get familiar with our masks and fins before scuba diving."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Henry agreed.

"I really think you are going to like diving once you've tried it."

"We could go kiteboarding. There's a place that rents kiteboards, paddleboards, and kayaks," Henry said, head back in the book.

"Paddleboarding or kayaking is more my speed than kiteboarding," Elizabeth replied, "but you could probably talk me into it." She reached for Henry's hand. "Henry, you know you don't have to go diving, right? I know I've made a big deal about it, but I don't mind going alone."

"I said I'd do it," he replied a bit more sharply than intended. Elizabeth tried to cut him off, but he didn't let her, "And I will." He knew Elizabeth was just concerned that he was agreeing to things he didn't want to do solely for her sake or because he felt he couldn't say no, and that it was a thoughtful comment. But it also came across a bit as her doubting him, even after he had tried numerous times before to reassure her.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to do this because I pressured you into saying you would. I just want to make sure you remember that you're allowed to change your mind. This isn't like ... fixing a washing machine; it's supposed to be fun. If you think you'll be miserable, I'd rather you don't do it."

Henry looked directly at Elizabeth. "It's true that I don't like going back on my word. But I also do want to give it a try. I wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise. Elizabeth, in all the adventures and challenges I've embarked on with you, I've never regretted any of them. It seems unlikely this will be any different."

Elizabeth could see that he was sincere, and certainly they had led each other on many great adventures before, so she nodded her acceptance and let the subject drop. "Any other beaches?" she asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Shoal Bay is often considered the best beach on Anguilla. It's all the way on the other side of the island, which is maybe 30-40 minutes away."

"So like four blocks in D.C. traffic," Elizabeth joked.

"Yeah, but D.C. has wider roads and fewer potholes," Henry chuckled. "Shoal Bay is also known for its snorkeling."

"Why don't we do that tomorrow, then? We can drive around and see more of the island. Is there anything else near there?"

"The Heritage Collection Museum... Yup, they're open tomorrow," Henry confirmed.

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Then we have a few mornings diving, ..."

"And I'll go with you to churches, ..."

"And that should still leave plenty of time for horseback riding, reading and taking naps, ..."

"Scrabble, food, maybe a massage, ..."

"Relaxing and enjoying each other's company."

"Absolutely!" They smiled at each other. "Speaking of which, if we're done with the beach briefing, we could cool off and enjoy each other's company," she suggested, eyeing the water.

Only seconds later Henry had scooped her out of the chair and was racing towards the ocean. She let out a squeal and wound her hands around his neck to hold on. "Into the fish toilet!" he exclaimed goofily as they reached the water. Once he was waist-deep in the water, he deposited her with a splash.

Pulling herself to her feet, Elizabeth reached down and pushed a wave of water in the direction of the still mostly-dry Henry. "You're going down!"

"Really?" Henry taunted, posturing, "Because you look a lot wetter than I do."

"Oh, you do not want to get into a water fight with me!"

"Or maybe I do," Henry countered, lunging towards Elizabeth, and dragging her down with him. "Oh, I definitely wanted to get into a water fight with you," Henry smirked, trying to get up as Elizabeth clung to him.

He snaked a hand between them. "Hey that's my nipple!" Elizabeth protested, dropping her voice to a near whisper even though there was no one else around.

"Ten minutes in the water, and then continue this back in the room?" Henry suggested.

"Deal! But you're still going down!"

"Oh I'll do that and more," Henry whispered suggestively in Elizabeth's ear, sending a shiver down her spine despite the heat.