The green dimpled water of Elliot Bay sways gently. A duck bursts forward. It’s feet drag along the surface for a man’s length and its wings beat against either side of it’s narrow wake, until it gains a foot in altitude. A yacht comes rumblng out of the public dock and erases the duck’s path. That’s when the boy knocks his little sister over, the dogs start fighting, and the traffic on Elliot Avenue becomes audible again. The water near the pier has a thin oily sheen.