Marriage is Murder

Jim turned and saw Khaat " wow ..um I mean nice Khaat" he said and coughed slightly as he smiled at them he'd managed to find some swim trunks and had stuck them in his pocket to wear at the beach. " Brian better be on your guard at the beach every beach Jockey will be after her looking as good as that " he said happy to see her looking good again in the colorful yet reveling swim suit she now wore. He was just glad they had taken to the idea of the beach. Bringing himself back to the hear and now he smiled " well I think if we're ready , we should leave " he said and looked at Brian waiting for his word so they would leave.

"Thank you," Khaat said. "I think this was one Brian picked."

"It was," he tried to suppress a smile.

"I can see why," Michael smiled. "You will definitely be noticed. Let's go." Brian led Khaat to Michael and he locked his arm around hers, while Brian locked his arm around her other arm. He took Enzo's harness from her with his free hand, and when they were all joined, Michael apparated them off.

The next Khaat knew, she was hearing water. Waves. Hearing seagulls, smelling sea air, feeling the sun on her skin and a sea breeze through her hair.

"This way," Michael said. He led them to a private, quiet stretch of sand only a short distance away, down stone path.

"This is incredible, Michael," Brian said, impressed. "Are you sure she won't mind?"

"She won't mind," Michael said. "I will go give her a few moments of flattery, and she'll be delighted."

"That's all it takes?" Brian laughed.

"It should take more?" he questioned.

"I didn't know you were that magnetic," Brian grinned.

"You don't need to know everything, Young One," he said. He took the beach towels and the large beach blanket and laid them on the sand and put the hamper on one corner of the blanket. "Jim, there are two large beach umbrellas just on the back side of the garden shed. We might want them. I presume you saw the shed when we were up the path? Could you get them?"

Brian led Khaat to one of the large towels and joined her on the towel beside her and got out the sunscreen and simply offered to help her with it and began gently massaging it into her skin, careful not to aggravate where she was sore and hurting.

Jim felt the warmth as they apperated to the beach he took a moment to take in the scene of the sandy beach and blue ocean in front of him . He walked with them and nodded as Michael suggested the beach umbrellas , quickly he found the hut and walked back down with them placing them behind the beach towels to give shade when needed from the warm sun. He stood looking around his eyes following a couple as they walked past down by the shoreline. He slowly sat down on the warm sand and took a deep breath in knowing Khaat would soon relax here. " good Idea don't want to burn" he said and accioed some sun screen for himself.

"Now that you're all settled, I'm going to go greet our hostess properly," Michael said. "I won't be long. If something happens, which it won't, just yell." He went up the garden path to the beach cottage and knocked at her back door. She was delighted to see him, and invited him inside and closed the door.

"How long do you suppose he'll be?" Brian asked.

"I don't know," Khaat shrugged. "Depends probably on how glad she is to see him, I suppose. But he won't shirk his responsibilties. He won't get that distracted." She really wanted to take her sunglasses off, but when she moved to do it, Brian laid his hand on hers.

"I wouldnt do that," he said. "The sun is incredibly bright. Most of us have put sunglasses on too just because it is so bright. Lets not risk more trouble."

"I...just wanted to see if I can actually see the water," she said. "Daddy made the lenses too dark."

"Alright," he said. "Close your eyes and then give me your glasses." She obeyed and he lightened the lenses and handed them back to her. "Try now." She put them back on and opened her eyes.

"I...sort of see two areas of color...one is darker than the other. Its sort of a blueish gray. The other is...I don't know how to describe it...a dirty tan? "

"Well, aside from how the lenses affect that color, you're correct. Good for you," he said.

Jim smiled as he watched Michael leave to head back to the house , he glanced down at Khaat as she said she wanted to see the sea. " he right even I'm wearing some " he said and chuckled but watched as Brian lightened them slightly for her and again when she said she could make out the ocean just. He looked at her and then at Brian " that's a good sign , isn't it" he asked him. He glanced back at the House where Michael had gone and shook his head " she must be very pleased to see him if hes not come back yet"

"Its a very good sign," Brian said. "It won't be long until she gets her sight back. Then Enzo's duties will be a bit reduced. He can just be a guard dog and a companion for awhile. You know, though, we will need to keep up his seeing eye dog training. We don't want him to become lax on that. I'm thinking perhaps Kate would just run him through some drills to keep him current in that."

"I'm sure she would," Khaat said. "I wouldn't worry about Michael. She probably offered him a firewhiskey or something. If he hasn't seen her for awhile, then they might have some things to talk about."

It was about another 30 minutes before he came back down the path with a woman near Kate's age, with a nice figure, silver hair with a bit of brunette still flecked through it. She was wearing a pretty, conservative, one piece suit, with beach cover up that looked like an oversized man's shirt, and she was barefoot. Her skin had a healthy tan to it already and she had a brimmed straw hat, with a pair of sunglasses slid into the hatband. She was following Michael down the path to the beach.

"Alette," he said, introducing her, "my family--Robert's daughter, Khaat, his son in law, Brian, and my old school friend, Jim. Everyone, my good friend, Alette."

"Welcome," Alette smiled. "What a lovely surprise. Feel free to come here and use the beach any time you like."

"Thank you, Alette," Brian said, getting up to shake hands with her.

Jim smiled and nodded to Brian " well if you want I could help on that " he said then stood up to greet the woman who followed Michael down to them . He smiled and shook her hand gently as he looked at Michael. " Sorry to say he never mentions you though he never mentions any woman he has met, I think hes keeping the beautiful ones to himself " he said and chuckled as he looked toward Michael but he quickly sat down seeing the look on Michael's face. He still smirked but then lay back on the sand to look at the sea.

"Well, thank you, but thats only fair," Alette said, "I never mention him either. What little we had was many years ago, but we were mature enough to be able to stay friends all these years later. So--this is Robert's daughter. I havent' seen you since you were, oh, maybe one or two? What a beauty you've become. You get that from your mother's side, you know. She was stunning."

"Still is," Michael said.

"Figures she'd keep those good looks," Alette laughed. She laid her hand gently on Khaat's shoulder. "It is wonderful to see the woman you've become. Michael says the blindness is temporary?"

"Yes," Khaat said, touching Alette's hand. They shook hands briefly. "i'm sorry, but I don't remember you. When did we meet?"

"There's a story behind that," Alette laughed, sitting down on the other side of Khaat from Brian.

Jim smiled but staid laid on the warm sand listening to the water lap at the shore. "bet its an interesting story too" he said and turned to look at Alette squinting slightly through his glasses at her. He sat up and stroked Enzo gently he pored out some water in a shallow bowl just in case he was thirst with the heat. " Any one want a cold drink?" he asked looking at every one. He took a soda out for himself and looked at the others wondering if they wanted one. he opened and drank his drink feeling the cool liquid wash down his throat.

"No thanks," Khaat said.

"None for me, thanks," Brian replied.

"In a bit, I think," Michael said. "I might swim first. You tell your story, Alette."

"Go," she waved at Michael. He took off his shirt and his flipflops and went down into the surf.

"The last I saw you," Alette told Khaat, "Remus and Michael came here in the middle of an ice storm. It was the worst storm of the year and the middle fo the night. They had you, wrapped in layers of blankets and Remus was carrying you and a diaper bag. It was after 2 in the morning in the dead of winter."

"Where were my parents?" she asked, frowning.

"Your parents were on some sort of special assignment that Dumbledore gave them. They wanted you well hidden. I never knew where they were or what the assignment was. It was the first place they thought of that was out of England where they knew no one would look for you. You three stayed with us for, oh, maybe a week and a half. You surely had both those boys already wrapped right around your tiny finger," she laughed. "If you so much as pouted, they were right there. I don't know how you didn't come out incredibly spoiled."