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Rose felt the heat spread from her face to her toes. She felt some unspoken communication pass between them, but she was unsure of the message. Before she could unriddle the code, the car came to a stop.
Adonis reached for the door handle, eager to get out of the car.
Stavros took his hand. “You know the rules.” His voice was firm but kind.
Adonis sighed and flopped back on the leather seat with a groan.
Stavros exited the car first.
From her seat, Rose could see his eyes darting around checking for anything suspicious or threatening. He exchanged a head nod with Mr. P.
“We’re clear,” Stavros said.
Rose and the children exited the car, and they all entered the hotel.
The rooms were sumptuous, and the bags had been unpacked.
Lickety-split, Adonis was in his swim suit. “Can we go now?” He tugged on Rose’s hand.
She laughed. “I need to change too, Adonis. And we need sunscreen.”
He flopped on the bed and kicked his feet. “I don’t want to put on sunscreen. I want to go to the beach now!”
Rose drew in a breath for patience. Depending on how she handled the situation would either eliminate or escalate Adonis’s behavior. He was tired, possibly hungry, and had already enjoyed a full day of activity.
She sat next to him. “Adonis, we would all like to go to the beach. Can you be a big boy and put on your sunscreen so when I’m changed we can go? Or I can help you, but then you’ll have to wait longer while I get ready. I’ll also order a snack to be delivered to our chairs.” She couldn’t do much about the tired yet, but she could alleviate the hunger factor.
He frowned.
“I’m a big girl. I can put on my sunscreen,” Nefeli said, getting the bottle out of the beach bag.
A look of determination crossed Adonis’s Greek god features. “I’m big enough too!” He grabbed for the bottle.
Rose needed to head off the fight over the sunscreen. “Good.” She pulled a second bottle out of the bag. “Here’s one for each of you.” She put the second bottle in Adonis’s hand. “Use the sprays on the deck, and when you’re done, I’ll be ready.”
The kids raced for the door. Once they were on the deck, without a fight over who got to open the door, Rose slipped into the bathroom and changed, grateful for the two minutes of peace.
Blessedly they managed to get onto the beach without any further threat of an Adonis tantrum, and Rose applied sunscreen while placing their order for food.
“Can we get in the water now?” Adonis kicked at the sand.
“Let’s find a few shells or pebbles for our sand castle first.” Rose knew the sunscreen needed a few more minutes to soak in before the kids hit the water or all their application would be for naught.
Storm clouds of defiance gathered on Adonis’s face. “I want to go in the water now!”
Rose steeled herself for a battle of wills. She took the tactic of sympathy and reason. She knelt down on the sand in front of him. “I know. The water is blue and cool and inviting. I want to swim in the sea too. But if we go inright now, then all of your sunscreen will come off, and we’ll have to wait twenty minutes longer to reapply and let the protection soak in. Do you want to wait another twenty minutes?”
She studied his face, watching to see if he’d be reasonable or if his fatigue and emotion would overcome him and they’d have to sit through a time-out.
Adonis looked longingly at the water and then at Rose.
Nefeli ran up with a smooth gray pebble. “I think this would look pretty on the castle.” She held it out to Adonis.
He took it and ran a finger across the surface. “I want to find my own rock.” He handed it to Rose, who breathed a sigh of relief and silently thanked Nefeli for her brilliant timing.
She set the pebble on the table under the beach umbrella nestled between the chairs. “Let’s go.”
Hand in hand, they combed the beach for a few minutes, collecting rocks and shells among the pink sand. With their treasures returned to the chairs, Rose gave the go-ahead to play in the water.