Maru quickly went to and from the pension. She didn’t know how many times she had stepped on it. She had already told Yumi, but she had left three young children at the beach. She had specifically told them not to go into the water, so they probably didn’t, but you never know.
After coming back, Maru felt relieved. Jiyu, Yumi, and Hana were not in the water but were building sandcastles on the sand. Maru took the tent out of the trunk. Since they would be playing at the beach until sunset, the tent was essential. They needed a sunshade. As she approached the children with the tent, they stood up when they saw her.
“Wow, a tent!”
Hana cheered as she saw the tent Maru was holding. For some reason, it felt like building her own secret base, so she wanted to set up the tent quickly. Jiyu and Yumi also gathered around Hana, looking at the tent Maru had brought.
“Kids, want to play a game of setting up the tent?”
Maru could have set up the tent alone, but she decided to do it with the kids. It would be more fun to set it up together rather than doing it alone. The kids, thinking the same as Maru, huddled together and started setting up the tent. Since it was a tent that could be set up in a simple way, it didn’t take long. They just had to stick the poles into the sand and unfold the tent.
And since there was a pension anyway, they didn’t need to put too much effort into setting up the tent. They weren’t going to sleep in it. Once the sun set, they planned to pack up and leave. They were going to have a meat party back at the pension.
“Jiyu, press here, here!”
“Eek!”
“Oops! I pressed the wrong spot!”
After some trial and error, they successfully set up the tent. Jiyu was the first to go inside. There was nothing inside the tent, but the spacious area provided a cozy atmosphere.
“I’m the first!”
Saying that, she plopped down on the tent. Although they had come in to escape the sunlight, it seemed like the tent would be filled with hot air in an hour or two. Maru, seeing that the tent was set up, went to the car for a bit. She also stopped by the mart. She planned to fill an icebox with ice and cool beverages.
With everything set up, Maru borrowed a parasol and stuck it in front of the tent, watching the kids play. Jiyu, Yumi, and Hana were busy playing among themselves. Maru smiled happily seeing this. Hana really fit in playing with kids her age. It was fine for her to hang out with office workers in the building, but playing with peers was better, wasn’t it?
“Maru! Can we go into the water?”
Hana, drenched in sweat, came up to where Maru was sitting. Maru nodded and said,
“Yeah, you can go in. Just don’t go too deep, okay?”
Of course, there were lifeguards, and there were fences in the water to prevent them from going too deep. If they went beyond that, the lifeguards would stop them. Hearing Maru’s words, Hana immediately grabbed a beach ball and ran off to the other kids.
They had brought swimsuits, but it didn’t seem like the kids would change into them. They had extra clothes prepared, so it didn’t matter if they got wet.
—
The kids came back to the tent, soaked like wet mice. It was clear how tired they were from playing. Well, they had been playing at the beach until sunset, so it was understandable. Fortunately, Maru had conserved her energy, so she wasn’t tired. And even if she were, she couldn’t show weakness in front of the kids.
“Shall we go back to the pension?”
“Yeah!”
“Okay!”
Maru handed towels to the kids and said,
“Change your clothes inside the tent~ I’ll make sure no one comes in.”
However, Hana hesitated and didn’t go into the tent. She was so hesitant that Jiyu, who was inside, told her to come in quickly.
“Hana, you have to come in! You can’t get in the car dripping wet.”
“Ma… Maru, can I not go in?”
“Hey! Don’t say weird things and get in!”
Maru pushed Hana into the tent. Soon after, the kids, now changed, popped out of the tent. Jiyu laughed cheerfully and said,
“Hana, you’re always so shy, even during gym class!”
Yumi also nodded at Jiyu’s words.
“Yeah, why is Hana so shy?”
It was better if the kids didn’t know. The moment they saw Hana’s true self, they might scream as if they’d seen some unknown creature.
Anyway, after confirming the tent was empty, Maru got up.
Maru skillfully dismantled the tent. Since it was an easy-to-assemble tent, taking it apart was just as simple. Isn’t dismantling just the reverse of assembly? Maru recalled that formula and easily took the tent down. There were no drinks floating in the cooler either. The kids and Maru had finished them long ago. After dumping the water on the sand, Maru packed up the cooler separately.
With Maru carrying the tent and the kids holding various small items, they made their way back to the parking lot.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yes! I want to come back again!”
“Then we’ll just come back next time!”
Since these kids had more play days ahead, they could always come back if they wanted. Maru had more days to live than to die, and these kids? They’d live much longer than Maru. As the kids, still damp, started getting into the car, Hana joined them.
“What do you guys want to eat?”
Feeling their stomachs growl, the kids each mentioned what they wanted to eat. They hadn’t eaten anything since the afternoon. The only thing they’d had was breakfast. At least they’d drunk plenty of beverages to fill their stomachs with water. Otherwise, they might have been too hungry to even swim.
“Meat!”
“Me too, meat!”
The kids wanted meat. Maru grinned at their requests.
“There’s gonna be tons of meat at the pension! I bought so much that you can eat until you’re stuffed!”
Maru knew the amount of meat she’d taken out of the trunk earlier was substantial. The company had prepared some, and they’d given her way more than necessary, saying it was better to have leftovers than to run out.
“Yay!”
As they chatted with the cheering kids, they soon arrived at the pension. The garden sparkled with beautiful lights, making it look more like a pool villa than a pension.
The streetlights lining the path welcomed the kids, creating an almost dreamy atmosphere. Maru entered the room by typing in the code. She set the bags down and said,
“Kids, let’s wash up and eat~”
The kids, soaked in seawater, reeked of salt. Since there was no place to wash up along the way, they’d just wiped themselves with towels. That’s probably why they felt so sticky. As Maru spoke, the kids rushed into the bathroom. After pushing a hesitant Hana into the bathroom, Maru started preparing the barbecue.
She’d already spoken to the owner, so the barbecue setup was ready in the middle of the garden. This was why working for a company was nice—they took care of things that were hard to do individually, making vacations more enjoyable. Maru began taking out the meat she’d stored in the fridge earlier.
One by one, she placed the meat next to the grill set up in the center of the garden, along with various seasonings and vegetables that went well with the meat. Since it was just the kids and herself, there wasn’t too much to prepare.
With only four people in total, a single table was enough to hold all the vegetables, wraps, sauces, and drinks. Traveling in a small group was just as nice as going with a big one—less to prepare.
Even now, traveling with the kids, the luggage was noticeably lighter. Aside from clothes, there wasn’t much to call luggage.
Before the kids came out, Maru started placing the meat on the barbecue grill, where the charcoal was already smoking.
