It was a girls' day out at the beach, to celebrate Deirdre's retirement. After three and a half decades and countless small wars with three armies in two countries, General Lohan had finally decided to hang up her sword. Well, except for emergencies, or when she was bored. But that was good enough for Ciara. Her mother was the only parent she had left, and she meant to keep Deirdre out of harm's way, by hook or by crook.
Deirdre resisted at first, of course. That morning, when Ciara went to see Deirdre in her rooms over the Red Wolf Tavern, her mother just stuck out her tongue and rolled over in bed.
"It's a cute idea, but nobody's going to care. All of my old friends are dead," Deirdre said.
"So maybe you can make some new ones. Anyway, I'll be there, and so will Yuyupi. And Niamh is bringing the drinks, courtesy of her cousin Megan," Ciara said.
"That one? The Mother of All only knows what she's brought back with her this time!" Deirdre said.
But there was note of curiosity in Deirdre's tone, and Ciara grinned to herself.
"It's just beer. In glass bottles, if you'll believe it. She said she brought extra just for you," Ciara said.
Deirdre huffed and grumbled, but she rolled out of bed and dragged her fingers through her hair. Ciara's grin grew broader as she threw her mother a clean shirt.
"It's about time you had some real fun, instead of moping around in Killian's tavern all the time," Ciara said.
"The beach, huh?" Deirdre said, and she made a face "I don't even have anything to wear!"
Ciara held up a small bundle of blue cloth, and laughed.
"We've got you covered," she said.
The trip to the beach was actually quite pleasant. Deirdre cheered up considerably after Yuyupi joined them. Since she'd started dating the little blonde rabbit she'd become considerably more agreeable and the two of them seemed to be inseparable. Ciara and Niamh walked slightly behind the two of them, and Ciara grinned to see the way her mother and Yuyupi flirted and enjoyed each other.
Since it was still morning, they had the beach mostly to themselves and Ciara and Niamh busied themselves with setting up chairs and staking out a prime section of sand right next to the water while Yuyupi shooed Deirdre into a nearby changing tent. Niamh gave Ciara a sly grin and nodded toward the tent.
"Did you give Yuyupi the new swimsuit Megan brought back?" Niamh said.
"Of course! It wouldn't be any fun otherwise, would it?" Ciara said.
Just then, there was a commotion from the changing tent and Yuyupi emerged, walking backward while she pulled Deirdre out by the arm. Deirdre dug in her heels, but Yuyupi had her on the sand and was able to pull her into view. Both Niamh and Ciara could keep from giggling when the saw her. Deirdre was dressed in no more than a few yards of blue cloth and, most remarkably, she was blushing bright red.
"I'm not going out there! What if people see me?" Deirdre said.
"Of course they'll see you, darling. That's the whole point!" Yuyupi said.
"You planned this with them, didn't you? All three of you are in on this, aren't you?" Deirdre said.
"So what if we are?" Yuyupi said "You look amazing!"
Deirdre huffed again and she grabbed one of the bottles of beer from the cooler and bit the top off. She took a long drink and eyed her new outfit in a nearby mirror.
