The Inheritance (9)

Mike and his family climbed out of the car into the summer air.  He shut the door and stood looking around the parking lot.  A glance at his wristwatch confirmed their late arrival at the park; the plan was to meet up in the park around ten.  Not motivated to meet up with his sisters and their families at a place he had avoided for years he had found one reason after another to delay their departure from home, figuring if they arrived about noon they could join in lunch, visit for a bit, let the kids swim or ski and take their leave before it got too awkward.

“Ready for this?”  Debbie slipped her free arm through Mike’s, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“As ready as I will ever be.”

Together they made their way to the back of the car, opened the trunk and pulled out their cooler and bags to be taken down to the beach. 

“Here, Matt take these.”  Mike said handing the cloth bags to his son.  Matt settled his backpack on his back before reaching out to take the bags from his father.  The firm set of his chin let Mike know he was too keen on being a part of the day’s activities.

“Anything else you need a pack mule for?”  He asked meeting his dad’s eyes with a flat look.

“Hey, enough.  Let’s make the best of this.  It’s a nice day and your uncle will have his boat for water skiing.”

“Whatever.”  Matt turned away and headed for the steps leading down the hill.

Mike watched his son’s back for a moment before sighing and turning back to the cooler on the ground.

“Can I help carry something?”  His daughter asked smiling up at him.

“Looks like you have your hands full.”  He said taking in the book and water bottle in her hands while he tousled her hair.  “Thanks for your offer to help.  I think your mom and I have the rest of it.”  He shut the trunk lid, pushed the key fob to lock the car doors and bent down to grab one end of the cool while his wife grabbed the other.

“Let’s go have fun.”  He said making a grimace at his wife.  She crinkled up her nose in a mocking manner, her eyes tinkling with humor at his not so unobvious reluctance to the day’s outing.  He snorted at his wife’s face making and shook his head.

“Alright, I will follow my own advice and make the best of things.”

The three of them followed after Matt.  Above them another cloud floated in front of the sun sending a shadow across the parking lot, dimming the surroundings and creating a momentary coolness in the air.  Mike shivered un-expectantly.  He lifted his shoulders a bit and lowered them feeling a slight apprehension of something just outside his awareness, something perhaps hidden within the trees to either side of the stairs leading down the hill or just below the surface of the water glimpsed through the trees, something unseen he was moving toward.

To Be Continued…