Summer Novella

She lets her feet sink a little into the warmth of sand. The beach seems to stretch forever before her. The recently bought bikini top digging in a little, tied neatly at the nape of her neck. It is her first ever halter neck, an attempt to banish the insecurities of her twenties. She is a 'thirties' girl now. Time to allow her own skin be seen by the rest of the world. The bottom half remains unseen....thighs winter pale. Some things must remain for herself.

She sits with her book, children playing in the surf. She is proud of their summer born confidence as they leap across waves. Three children have left the stomach less flat then her twenty-something self. She gazes longingly at the 'foxlet' strutting the length of the bay.

Where do they order legs that start at the neck? She wants the catalogue.

She averts her gaze and stretches contented with her lot. The smallest makes sand castles beside her. She feels the sun warm her skin, sweat beading......................

The girl sits now in the cool breeze, margarita in hand, stretched on her own private deck. She curses the bikini and new found confidence. Skin sears, post baby belly stings from the sun. The mirror reveals the raw burnt skin beneath a sensible T-shirt. She is a thirties woman now cursing that new found confidence.

xx