Snapshot by Angie Stanton Page A

incredible.” As the boat moved, Mama Loon hopped in the water, with the chicks following right behind. She wailed a couple more times, and then motored her way through the water to the narrow exit. The chicks swam after her in hot pursuit, which Marti found adorable and laughed.
    Adam picked up his camera and scanned through his pictures. “These are so much better than the ones I got the other morning. She’s so close you can count the spots on her back.”
    “I’ve got a perfect profile shot of her with the babies looking straight at the camera,” Marti said, thinking this could be a perfect birthday gift for Grandma.  
    Adam took a few more pictures of the bog, the tall reeds that blew in the wind, and some water lilies that floated on the surface.  
    “We should probably head back soon.” Marti relaxed at the front of the boat watching Adam, so intent on his subjects.
    “Probably.” He turned off his camera, and returned it to the dry bag. He slid the bag forward to Marti. She placed her camera next to his, rolled the bag up tight and clipped it to the canoe.
    As she was about to turn forward, she noticed Adam’s sandal in the bottom of the boat.
    “You wanna toss me that?” Adam said as he paddled them toward the channel.
    “What, this?” Marti picked up his sandal and examined it. She offered up an innocent look and batted her eyes.  
    Adam narrowed his eyes. “Just toss it to me, will you? Please,” he added.
    “Nice touch with the please. Just for that, I will.” Marti flung the sandal underhand high in the air. It sailed to the edge of the bog where it caught in the brush.
    Marti laughed, but then covered her mouth to hide her grin. “Oops.”
    Adam shook his head, but amusement sparkled in his eyes. “You had to do that, didn’t you?”
    “My bad.” She shrugged and bit back her laughter. Paybacks were a bitch!
    He shook his head and paddled toward the sandal. “You could give me a hand here.” He eyed her paddle lying idle in the boat.
    Marti turned in her seat and helped paddle them to the edge of the bog. She bit back the fit of giggles on the tip of her tongue. The water plants were especially dense near the edge, and the thick green algae floated on top like a layer of sludge. Adam extended his arm, but couldn’t quite reach the sandal suspended in the low brush. The boat drifted back out into deeper water.
    They paddled as close in as they could get. This time Adam used his paddle to try to knock the sandal loose, but the boat floated out of reach before he could get to it.
    “Just leave it. Let’s go back,” Marti said.
    “I’m not gonna just leave it. This is the only pair of sandals I brought. It’s mine, and I’m gonna get it back.”  
    He sounded like a spoiled ten-year-old, which ruined the relaxed mood. “You mean to say that a super-rich rock star like yourself only has one pair of sandals?” She doubted it. He probably had closets full of designer guy duds.
    “First off, I never said I was rich, and yes, I only have one pair of sandals.”
    “You’re not rich?” she asked, not believing it for a second.
    “Look who’s asking nosy questions now! I didn’t say I wasn’t rich either. In fact, I have no idea.” He struggled to reposition the boat.
    Marti spun around to face the back again. They were going to be here a while since Mister Tightwad wouldn’t leave behind a stupid sandal. “How can you have no idea?”  
    “I don’t. First off, my parents have me on an allowance. My mom says too much financial freedom at an early age is unhealthy. However, that doesn’t include band stuff, like guitars. Those are top of the line. But my camera stuff, I have to save up for. I do get awesome stuff at Christmas though.” He pulled on the brush to hold the boat in place. He still couldn’t get to the sandal this way, however, and he’d need to let go to reach for it.
    She leaned back and watched the growing cloud cover roll in. “How do you know your