"Shit, man, I didn't know..." I say, frowning, though I don't know if it's worth feeling guilty for bringing it up. Not when he's so matter of fact about it.

Flo wanders over, her eyes wide and fixed on something resting in her palms. "Look," she breathes, leaning forward so I can see the little sand dollar she's found, a kind of greenish brown instead of the bleached white you see in souvenir stores, and probably still alive.

"That's really cool, kiddo. Why don't you show Mathias," I say to her, grinning crookedly as she walks across the towel with her sandy feet to show him what she's got.