I drove slowly through the park until, in a grassy enclosure not far from Brockton Point, we found the seclusion we wanted. In midweek, at that time of day, we had the place almost to ourselves. I put down a ground-sheet, opened the car blanket on it, and we lay down. The mild sea breeze rustled soothingly in my ears and brought with it the faint splashing of the tide against the jumbled boulders of the shore. A deep sea ship hooted at the Lion's Gate bridge and, like an echo, the answering call gave it clearance to pass. For a moment more I lay still but the bustle of life around me was too strong to allow relaxation and I sat up to look out over the harbor. I turned to Pat as she lay quietly beside me. The wind had settled her dress closely to her parted legs. I followed the clean lines upward, and when I got to her eyes I saw that she had been watching me. They sparkled with amusement.
"Like what you see, huh?" she teased me.
"Love it, darling," I replied and leaned over for a kiss.
She broke it off before I was through and as I backed away I saw the slight frown that deepened the lines above her nose.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing much, I hope. A slight pain in my stomach." She used the word in the ordinary sense.
"Whereabouts?"
"Low down above the pubis. It's gone now."
I laid my hand on the lower part of her belly and palpated it softly. There was no rigidity, no unusual mass.
"Does that hurt?" I probed deeper.