Snowbirds at the Beach

I walked into my parent’s house, expecting to see suitcases lying around, but the place looked neat as ever. My mother was sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of tea. She stood as I came in.

“Hi, honey,” she said and gave me a hug. “Want a cup of tea or something to eat?”

“No, thanks, I’m fine. How was Florida? Did you have fun?” We sat next to each other on the couch.

“Oh, it was nice,” Mom said, “But what a long drive! We took two days to get home, so that was better. I’m not sure how much longer we can drive down there. We love getting away for the winter, but it takes a lot out of us.”

“Did you see all your snowbird friends? Was the usual gang all there?” I asked.

“Patrice came down with her son. Her husband passed away last year. I felt so awful for her. Her son just drove her down and then flew home so she could have her car there. But everyone else was there.”

I knew that my parents stayed in a condo during the winter in Fort Myers. Almost all of the other tenants were elderly couples from the Midwest, and there was a group of regulars that met every year and had become close friends. My parents looked forward to reconnecting with them every January.

“Did you go to the beach?”

“We drove over to the beach a few times, and parked so we could see the water.”

“You didn’t get in the water this year?”

“No, but we did walk down to the water one afternoon. One of our friends took a picture of us. Here,” Mom said, pulling some pictures out of her purse, “Here it is.”

I looked at the picture. My parents were fully dressed with their shoes on, standing at the edge of the gulf. I looked at Mom. “You two are the only people on earth that go to the beach but don’t sunbathe or get into the water. Hey, what is Dad pointing at?” I asked.

“Oh, there was quite a to do about that. We just happened to be there when it happened.”

“When what happened?”

“Well, someone yelled ‘Shark’ and all the people in the water were starting to run up to the beach. My friend took that picture right before all the commotion started. See, your father had spotted a black fin and he was pointing it out to me.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“Oh, no, thank goodness. The beach people closed the beach down, though. Just to be safe.”

“Well, I have to say that your way of enjoying the beach is certainly safe. I’m glad you guys are alright.”

“Oh, yes. We were right as rain. Then we went out to a nice seafood dinner with our group. It was a lovely evening. Your father had the shark.”

We both started laughing and I hugged her again. “I’m so happy you’re back home,” I said.

Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #312

#FFFC