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weakly against him, but forced herself to
pull herself together.  Time was of the essence.  They needed to track down
their grandparents.
    “I’m … all right.  Thank you,” she said, forcing
a smile.  “We’ll find them.”
    He nodded.  “We’ll find them.”
    *** 
     
    “Ike, Brady saw us!” Liz cried, as they sped
away from the ice cream parlor.
    “I didn’t expect him to come out,” he admitted,
but flashed a grin.  “Did you see the look on his face?”
    “I did,” she said, chuckling.  “Are we going to
the beach now?”
    “Yep.  The pier is only a couple miles up the
road.”
    “It’s been so long since I’ve been to the
ocean,” Liz said, and smiled almost self-consciously.  “We live so close to it,
yet I rarely give it a glance.”
    Ike nodded.  “It’s been awhile for me too, but I
do try to come when the center offers a day trip.”  His eyes sparkled.  “I’m
afraid I have a sweet tooth.  I can’t get enough of the taffy from one of the
candy stores along the boardwalk.”
    “I used to bring Amanda to the boardwalk when
she was a little girl.”  She grinned.  “She and I are partial to fudge, and we
always picked up a half pound to enjoy over the course of the day.”  She giggled. 
“My daughter, her mother, used to scold me for getting her ‘sugared up,’ as she
called it.”  She smiled wistfully.  “I miss those days, when Amanda was a
little girl, and we’d spend hours together, talking and giggling.  We were so
close…”
    Ike reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. 
“She loves you, Liz.  She’s just caught up in all the trappings of life.  She’s
bought the goods, so to speak.  Her definition of success is society’s
definition—heck my own definition, back in the day.  But we’ll get through to
her and Brady.  You’ll see.”  He was quiet for a moment.  “It’s all about
priorities.  People have to work, of course.  But when five o’clock rolls
‘round, it’s time to go home—time to live real life.” 
    “I was never much good at compartmentalizing
either,” Liz admitted.  “I worked as many hours as I could at my job, took all
the overtime offered, but then, I had to…”  She let her words trail off.  She
didn’t feel much like talking about the whys of her decisions back when she was
a young, single woman with two children to support.
    “Hey, go ahead and text Amanda,” Ike said,
drawing her out of her thoughts.  We’ll be parked and hiding by the time they
leave the ice cream parlor.”
     “They’re going to be furious with us, you
know.”  Regardless, she texted, “See you at Banner Beach, near the pier.”
    “I don’t care if they’re furious,” he said
crisply, glancing her way.  “Those two kids need a wakeup call, and we’re
giving it to them.”  He gave a devious chuckle, and Liz joined him.
    “They know we were trying to set them up, you
know,” she said.  “They said as much in their texts.”
    “I know, but it’s more than that,” he said. 
“It’s time they stopped to smell the roses.”
    “Well, in fairness to Amanda, she did stop to
smell a rose or two at the park,” Liz pointed out.
    Ike chuckled.  “That’s true, but Brady didn’t
give them any notice whatsoever.”
    “Maybe he doesn’t like flowers.”
    “Maybe.  But he was out of doors, beneath a
bright blue sky, with a beautiful girl…”  He gave a disgusted snort.  “I
guarantee you, he was thinking about work the whole time.”
    Liz settled into the seat and stared ahead at
the passing scenery.  The ocean was on her right.  The waves were fierce, since
it was a windy day.  “Just look at that ocean,” she remarked.  “It’s so
beautiful.”  
    “The pier’s about a mile ahead,” Ike told her. 
“We’re going to park in a lot behind that candy shop that sells that stellar
taffy I was telling you about.  We’ll have a clear view of the pier, but they
won’t be able to see