A Picnic on the Beach

"What better way to spend a hot day like today than having a picnic on the beach?" Mona asked her seven year old twins, Darren and Warren.

"Yeah! We can go swimming?" Darren loved the water and headed for it, immediately.

Warren, not as bold as his brother, hesitated, but soon both were jumping around in the water.

"Look, Mom! We are like fish!" hollered one twin.

"Yes, just like big fish!" added the other.

Meanwhile, Mona was wrestling with the huge, colorful umbrella she was trying to set up for their picnic lunch. Doug, a kindly man walking past with his small dog, stopped to help her.

"How can I thank you?" she asked him.

"I am just happy to be of assistance to you. It is very warm."

He sat down on a lawn chair in the shade of the umbrella.

"These boys must be a handful for you. They are so full of energy!"

"You don't know the half of it," she replied, with a smile.

"Five minutes," she hollered to the boys. "Don't go into deep water."

"You have to watch them every minute, I bet."

Just then, a siren sounded in the distance. A police car pulled up beside her car. Another sped past with its siren screaming.

"I'll talk to the police officer. Go and get your boys, right now!"

Mona decided that was a good idea.

"It's not five minutes yet, Mom!" protested Darren.

"We were having fun, not fighting!" added Warren.

Mona watched the police cruiser pull away, while Doug waited.

"It's lunch time!" said Mona. "Go over to the tap, wash your hands and comb your hair."

"All of the swimming areas are closed, as there has been a shark alert sounded at the next beach," the man said to her, quietly.

"Would you like to join us for our picnic lunch?" Mona asked the man, as the boys returned.

"I would be delighted; so would my little buddy, Bandit. Would you boys like to play with him after lunch? He will have to stay on his leash, though."

Little did Mona realize that he was a private investigator hired by her husband, who would soon be seeking full custody of her sons.