andhiswife | (Reply)

"Whoops," Greta says when the shell tumbles onto the sand. It's probably fine -- a shell ought to be perfectly at home on a beach -- but knowing that it's a musical instrument makes her cringe a little at the thought of it being on the ground. With Saoirse and Sam both occupied, she leaves off removing her own shoes in favor of picking up the shell and brushing off the clumped sand that's stuck to it.

Jordan abandons the soccer ball and trots back over to them, eyes wide. "What's that?" she asks, pointing to the shell.

"This is a very special shell that belongs to Saoirse," Greta explains, angling it so Jordan can see the little holes that have been drilled into it. "She can make music with it." It's not all that she can make, and for that reason, Greta doesn't presume to offer any demonstrations on Saoirse's behalf. The fairy lights are harmless, but that doesn't mean Saoirse will want to show them off. Before she even arranged this playdate, she'd assured the girl that she wouldn't tell Sam and Jordan about her magic unless she wanted her to, and she has no intention of breaking that promise. "Maybe she could show you later," she says, leaving it up to Saoirse to disagree -- or not. If Saoirse decides she'd rather stick it back in her bag and go back to kicking the ball around, she suspects Jordan would forget about it before too long.