Sam had made it to the shoreline and stood another twenty feet down the beach.
"Hey, buddy," William said. "You’re supposed to stay where Mom and Sasha are."
"That part’s boring," Sam replied. "Too many rocks in the sand."
"Maybe, but you still need to ask or bring someone with you. You’re not a strong
swimmer yet."
"I can swim," Sam retorted.
"I know. But you’re still learning."
Sam gave him a blank stare.
"Want me to go in with you?"
"Sure," Sam said, then dashed into the lake. William followed.
They waded out until the water reached Sam’s waist. The boy hesitated, watching
older kids swim out toward the buoys.
"I don’t think we’ll be doing that," William said.
"We should get an Xbox or a PlayStation," Sam declared.
"We have the Wii U."
"All my friends have Xboxes or PlayStations."
William knelt in the water until it touched his chin. He didn’t remember his
friends ever caring about game consoles. He had played Sonic at home, then gone to
David’s to play Super Nintendo. It had been enough.
"We can talk about that later," he said. "Let’s just enjoy the water."
They splashed each other until Sam got bored. When they started heading back, Emily
and Sasha joined them. It surprised William that Sasha convinced her mother to get
in the lake.
The whole family ended up in the lake, the kids laughing and splashing water.
"We still going to the fireworks tonight?" Emily asked.