She’d brought three, and none of them seemed right. She had to stand on the bed to see all of her in the mirror over the bureau. Finally she chose the one that covered her the most, and pulled a big T-shirt over it. Down at the beach there was a pile of small boats along the side of low dunes. “Have you kayaked before?” Richard asked. Clare shook her head. “Then I suppose we should take a little time to get you used to it before we head out netting.” Richard hoisted a small boat up and carried it down to the water. It was the smallest and ugliest boat in the group. It was a dull orange, and looked as if it been battered by rocks. “This is my baby,” said Richard, and he gave it a tap with his foot. The words jolted Clare. “This is my baby,” Vera had said, the first time she introduced Tertio to Clare. The other boat Richard carried down, to Clare’s relief, was a larger, newer one. It was bright red. When he set it on the sand next to his boat, his boat looked even smaller and rougher.
