I woke Gabrielle with a whisper: "Want to meet Karen?" She flipped down the covers to show me that she'd woken earlier than I and had already dressed herself in a hot pink track suit over her turquoise bathing suit. We left her Daddy a Post-it note on the pillow saying where we were going and that we had the cell phone with us. Out in the hallway, Gabrielle expertly slapped the down button for the elevator. She had her pail and shovel in one hand, her beach towel in the other. When we reached the ground floor of the hotel, we saw Karen standing facing the ocean, stretching her arms overhead. On the umbrella-shaded table, a half-full cup of coffee sent up a tendril of steam and her Waterman Phileas held her place in her journal. I set down my Diet Coke and book and joined her in a relaxing stretch as we watched Gabi pick out some prime beach real estate for the morning's sand castle. Later we'd all go for a walk when our sleepyhead husbands joined us and by the afternoon we'd all be in the mood for a swim. The next day was supposed to rain, so we'd planned a trip to the aquarium.