We sat out on the deck of the beach bar. I had a beer. The others had drinks of more than one ingredient. Mixers, spirits, fruit - that sort of thing.
I kept it simple.
I don't always.
The clouds hung low but the breeze didn't chill. It was mild. The deck heater helped.
And a little further up the beach, the seals seemed happy. They frolicked. One slid from one pool to the other, slipping into the water with barely a noise. The other posed, flexing on the high wall, aware of us watching. He looked awkward when he changed position, uncomfortable out of water. After he posed he dropped into the water with a belly flop and a tremendous splash.
We laughed, for a moment, before he shot like a bullet into the other pool, as graceful as his friend.
Between their escapades we talked in relaxed tones. The banter ranged, but nothing deep. The shallow questions, tame and easy. No urgency, nothing pressing, no weight of the unspoken suspended in the air. No deeper than the seal pools, and just as contained. No need for the wild, just to unwind. We sipped our drinks and decided it would be a quiet one.
It isn't always.
They quieted down, their evening play complete. We finished our drinks and wandered out into the still night.
