She was nearly alone on the beach, shortly before 7am, a sole surfer strolled away from the small waves. It would be hot soon, best to get in a jog now.
As she neared the pier, she noticed a red mound of cloth. She strained her eyes to look, it didn’t blend well with the driftwood and sand. She ran past, making note to veer a little closer on her way back.
She glanced at her Apple Watch, she wanted to hit her fitness goal for the day. If she got home by 7:30, she would have time to take a quick shower before the boys got up.
Once they were off to soccer practice, she could start preparing for book club. Eight ladies would be at her house by noon to review “Darkness and Light,” a book about a woman’s mission to feed a village of starving children in Namibia. Lala, the au pair, would help clean up and manage the caterer.
She better turn around now if she wanted to finish the last few chapters. She remembered to take the higher ground to get closer to the red mound. Maybe it was something that washed up on the shore from Japan or Hawaii or someplace exotic. She pictured a flowery kimono.
The dry sand slowed her down, well this was good, she’d get her heart rate up. Sweat trickled down her back, the temperature already starting to rise. As she got closer, the mound came into focus.
At first she saw a big, hairy toe. Patches of dirt covered a large foot poking out from beneath a red blanket.
She crept closer, curiosity getting the better of her. She saw that the blanket covered everything up to a head of curly, dark hair, matted and filled with sand. She stood for a minute, trying to see or at least sense if this man was breathing.
She looked down at her phone, 7:15.
She stepped back and made a wide arc to the other side, where she could see the man’s face which was half planted in the sand. It was sun and wind burnt, lips parched. Hard to tell how old he was, lives like this aged hard.
She could shake him to see if he was okay. Or she could call someone, she was a woman alone, after all. Maybe he was just sleeping something off.
Her phone started to ring through her headset. It was the caterer; she couldn’t afford for them to mess up the order or she’d never hear the end of it.
She slowly backed away to take the call.
“Yes, spinach quiche, what do you mean you don’t have any left?”
Her phone read 7:20. If she sprinted back now, she’d still have time.
“Fine, the three cheeses, but I expect a discount.”
She took a last glance back at the red mound before jogging away. She was sure someone else would come by and help him if he needed it.