Bethany Beach, Delaware, July 19, 2017

★★★ The ocean was pale and it was breaking where the soft sand gave way to coarse bits of shell. An incongruous band of cool, delicate purple separated the glaring blue of the sky and the glaring blue of the sea. The white crowns of ospreys shone as they slowed to a near-hover, tracking the fish. Dolphins dolphined once again. Both children allowed themselves to be knocked down by the waves, and came home with swimsuits full of sand. The afternoon sun bounced off the sidewalk and made the more western eye sting. A big, heavy charcoal-gray dog loped along through the street and into the yards with no more energy than she needed to stay away from the people converging on her and begging her to let herself be caught. The five-year-old rode his rented bike back from the shop in the somewhat greater shade of the street closest to the ocean. After dinner, he took it out to ride in the street, and the adult helping him roll it out caught a light blow to the head, with the weight and unexpectedness of being struck by a bird dropping. A pattering sound came from the leaves of the sycamore and the roofs of the cars—fat, widely spaced raindrops were falling in the clear low sun. A woman walking dogs and a skateboarder were equally surprised by the ambush on their plans for the last daylight. The boy paused briefly, then went ahead with his bike riding. It was impossible to take the shower as real, even as it dampened the shirt and dappled the pavement. Eventually, but not quickly, it went away and the evening once again became what it had looked like all along.