"Here we are," said Mallory, running up to me, pulling Margo along. "Oh, thank goodness." Mary Anne and I counted the Pikes about five times before we were satisfied that they were all safe and sound. "I want to see the shark!" cried Nicky, jumping up and down. So did I. "Okay," I said. "Let's walk down the beach, away from this crowd." Mary Anne and the other kids followed us. When we had a little space, we held our hands to our eyes, blocking the glare of the sun, and stared out to sea. "I think I see something!" exclaimed Byron. "Where?" we all asked. He pointed. "See? Sort of over to the left?" I could make out a faraway shape, but it looked like a seagull bobbing on the waves. Later, Adam swore he could see five fins circling around, but nobody else saw them. At last we gave up. We walked back to the lifeguard stand. The crowd was dispersing. Scott and Bruce were back on duty. I saw a good opportunity to ask Scott a question. "Hi," I said to him, leaning against the base of the stand and squinting up. "Hi, love." Love! Scott had called me love! Of course, he meant his love. When I recovered, I managed to say, "So were there really sharks?" "It looked that way. Sometimes it's hard to tell, but it's better to be safe than sorry." "I'll say." Scott wiped his brow. "It's going to be a hot one." "So you want a soda or something?" I asked eagerly. "You" --