Chapter 74: A day at the beach

School was finally over for the boys and Diana had just finished her exams. They were finally going on their long awaited beach day.

The shores of the Costa del Sol were moderately occupied by families that wanted to get a head start on the beach in the summer before it became too crowded to have fun.

Selen kept her eyes firmly on Diana . The young girl was wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat and a light, long-sleeved shirt, her skin thoroughly slathered in sunscreen.

So far, Diana was keeping her promise. She sat under the massive blue beach umbrella, helping Sarah build an elaborate sandcastle, while David and Daniel desperately tried to dig a moat around it before the tide came in.

Clancy was right in the middle of the chaos, his trousers rolled up to his knees, completely soaked in saltwater. He was laughing loudly, his face flushed from the heat, looking less like a high-powered businessman and more like an overgrown kid.

Selen sat on her beach towel a few paces back, a pair of dark sunglasses hiding her intense gaze. She pulled out her phone to check the time. A fresh text from Newton was waiting for her. "How is the beach? Weather holding up?" he had asked.

She began to type a reply. "It is beautiful. Diana is doing well, staying in the shade. The boys are- " she did not get to finish her text when she was distracted by a call from Daniel. "Mummy! Look!" Daniel’s shout interrupted her.

She looked up to see Daniel pointing proudly at a massive crab Clancy had somehow managed to trap inside a plastic bucket. The kids were crowding around it, squealing with a mixture of delight and terror.

Selen smiled, hitting send on her half-finished text, and tucked the phone back into her bag. She had promised herself she would be present today. Because unlike the kids, she had no days off. So their holiday would consist of her still going to work.

As the afternoon rolled on, Clancy walked over to Selen’s umbrella, shaking water from his hair like a dog. He dropped down onto the sand beside her, completely unbothered by the grains sticking to his damp skin.

"They are having a blast," Clancy said, stating the obvious and wiping sweat from his forehead. He looked over at the kids, his expression softening. "Diana has not complained once about being tired." He said with worry in his tone.

"She is stubborn," Selen replied, keeping her tone neutral. "She knows that if she complains, we pack up and leave immediately. But I am keeping a close eye on her." Selen said. Clancy looked at her side profile, his smile fading into something more serious.

"Thank you for coming, Selen. I know you did not have to." he said. Selen kept her sunglasses on, staring out at the point where the sea met the sky. "I did it for them, Clancy. They deserved this after everything they have been through." She responded.

Before Clancy could respond, David came running over, kicking up sand. "Mummy, Clancy! Sarah says the ice cream truck is down the boardwalk! Can we go? Please?" He asked with a heavy breath from all the running.

Clancy immediately stood up, slapping the sand off his legs. "Come on, kiddo. We will get every flavour they have and give it a try." He said, making David scream, "yay!" In celebration. "Remember, Diana can only have one scoop each!" Selen yelled at their retreating backs.

She was slowly being introduced back to her regular kids diet and they could not risk anything that would ruin her body’s quick recovery.

By the time the sun began to dip, the entire group was exhausted. Clancy and Sarah packed up the heavy umbrellas and coolers, loading them into the back of the large SUV Clancy had rented for the trip.

The kids piled into the back rows, David and Daniel already nodding off against each other’s shoulders, while Diana held onto a small seashell she had found, her eyes heavy.

Sarah sat in the middle of the back row, keeping an eye on the sleeping boys, while Clancy and Selen sat in the middle row with Diana in between them. The driver steered the vehicle out of the beach parking lot and onto the highway that was supposed to lead them back toward the city.

They had only been driving for about ten minutes when the traffic came to a grinding halt. A long line of red brake lights stretched out as far as the eye could see. Clancy tapped his fingers impatiently against his thighs. ℴℴ𝘮

"What’s going on?" Selen asked, leaning forward to look through the windshield. "Looks like the roads have been blocked," Clancy muttered, furrowing his eyebrows in frustration.

He rolled down his window as they approached a temporary barrier. A police officer in a vest was waving cars down and pointing them away from the highway. The driver stopped the car next to the officer and spoke to him in, asking for clarification.

Selen watched Clancy’s face harden as the officer replied, gesturing aggressively toward the road ahead. After a brief exchange, they thanked him and rolled the window back up, steering the SUV down the narrow detour road.

"What did he say?" Selen asked. She immediately thought of Diana . They needed a clear route back in case of an emergency.

"There is a massive rockslide about two kilometers up," Clancy explained, his voice tight.

"The heavy rains from last week loosened the cliffs. They have closed the entire highway section for the night. They are saying it won’t be cleared until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest." the driver added. "Tomorrow afternoon?!" Selen’s voice rose slightly.

She looked back at the kids. Diana was already asleep. "Clancy, we can not just sit in traffic all night. Diana needs a proper bed, and we still need to be around a hospital at all times" Selen said with anxiousness laced in her voice.

Clancy’s tone instantly shifted into a calm, reassuring one. He reached out, almost touching her hand before pulling back. "I am not going to let you guys sleep in a car." he said with a certain tone.