TUSH

The kids wanted something to drink.

We had the hatch lifted on the Odyssey, and there was half a case of water pushed up against the back of the second-row seats. Taeko slipped off her sandals and climbed onto the bed of the minivan.

She stretched over two bicycles and reached for the bottles. I watched her jeans bend and flex, and I marked every fold in the fabric.

As she backed out, she poked her left foot toward the pavement, searching for its sandal. She then looked down and noticed it was overturned in a small puddle.

“Ahhh! My sandal! Why weren't you watching?”

“Um, I was busy looking at your butt.”

“You don't need to look at my butt. You should have been looking at my sandals!”

“Hello,” I said, extending my hand in greeting. “I am a man. Perhaps you've never met one of us before...”