getting ready

[ It wasn't Marianne's idea to come. The nurses at the clinic had nudged her to get some sunshine after seeing her overwork herself lately. They'd gently nudged her, and then more firmly sent her along after she'd fallen asleep in one of the break rooms during a shift. Too embarrassed to protest, Marianne had shuffled along to the beach. That's where Ethlyn will find her, standing in the sand clad in a modest sundress, squinting her eyes like someone who hasn't seen daylight in some time. ]

Oh, yes. Of course.

[ Marianne reaches out to take a bundle of beach blankets and a parasol from her. ]