NO STOP IT you yell as I pretend to throw the spider at you. I crouch down in the sand and pretend to cup it with my hands.
DONT YOU DARE! IT’S PROBABLY POISONOUS!
DEFINITELY poisonous, I say, look at it’s red butt. Just like a Black Widow.
I grab your arm as you’re tying your shoes and pull you toward the little sand hole where the spider is trying to crawl out. You pull against me. We’re in a tug-o’-war and your arm is the rope.
NO STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW! I SAID STOP IT!
I let go and collapse in the sand laughing. I lie there for a moment with my hands behind my head, eyes shut to the brightness of the sun, feeling the heat on my face, watching as the light illuminates the floaters darting around my eye.
When I sit up, you’ve finished tying your shoes and are now brushing the sand off your denim jacket.
You could’ve killed me just then, you say, smacking at your left sleeve.
I laugh. Next time, I tell you, as we put the ocean to our backs and trek back to the car.