“Five…four… three… two….
One,” we say in unison, watching as the sun disappears into the ocean. Ben is
smiling at me. I love when he smiles. He has the kind of smile that is impossible
not to reciprocate. He’s well aware of this fact.
I stand, extending my hands towards him. He
takes them and I pull him onto his feet. Some people linger on the beach, while
others head towards the parking lot. I pull Ben towards the shore. The water
laps at our exposed toes. I curl mine into the wet sand.
A gust of wind whips past us
suddenly, tossing my hair about in chaos and obscuring my vision. I wrap my
arms around Ben’s waist and stand on tip toe to kiss him. His hands slip around
my waist and pull me close.
I hear a camera snap in the near
distance. Ben and I pull away and look in the direction of the flash. A woman
with unruly blond curls and fireball red lipstick is smiling at us guiltily. There
is a camera in her hands.
“I hope you don’t mind. I’ve
been trying to take some shots for my photography portfolio and my default idea
was to take some sunset shots – then I saw you two kissing. I’d really like to
take a few more shots of you if you don’t mind.”
Ben and I look at each other
briefly. I find the entire situation to be quite humorous. He seems to feel
mutually.
“I don’t see why not,” I say
finally.
“Oh, wonderful! I’m Felicity by
the way.” she says with a wide grin.
Three Asian children are building
a sandcastle nearby. There is no adult in sight. Felicity holds up a finger to
us.
“Don’t move. I’ll be right back,”
she says before shuffling over towards the unsupervised children. She returns a
few minutes later, all three children in tow. She points to the shortest of the
three.
“This is Akari.”
She points to the boy wearing
water shoes and a sunhat.
“This is Aoki.”
She points to the third child. I
cannot distinguish whether it is a boy or a girl.
“This is Chie.”
Ben waves at them. Aoki is
avoiding making eye contact. Chie’s expression is leading me to believe that he
or she has sand someplace sand should not be.
“I’m their nanny. I’ve asked them
to help me with my project. I was thinking my new theme could be multiracial
family portraits.”
“So just so I’m clear – you want
us to pretend they’re our children?” I ask. Felicity shrugs.
“Unless, you’d rather not.”
“No, no. I think that’s
brilliant,” I reassure her. A smile creeps back across her face. She gestures
for the kids to arrange themselves beside us. Akari stands on my left, Aoki on
my right. I hold out my hands towards each of them. Akari accepts, slipping her
hand in mine. Aoki on the other hand seems less than willing to hold hands with
someone he’s only just met. I can’t say I blame him.
Ben and Chie are running along
the shore a few feet away. I’m overwhelmed with feelings of nostalgia at the
sight. Chie is laughing wildly. From the sound of it I choose to assume she’s a
girl. Ben catches up to her, grabbing her playfully and hoisting her up on his
shoulders. Chie places her hands over Ben’s eyes. I see him peeking through the
gaps between her fingers as he walks towards us.
“This is great,” Felicity
gushes, snapping a picture.
A small group of onlookers has
begun to form around us. Felicity turns, scanning the crowd for another member
to add to our family. She points to a teenage boy with rust colored hair.
“Wanna help me with my
photography project?” she asks.
“Sure,” he replies.
“What’s your name?”
“Patrick.”
“Meet
your new family Patrick,” she says, gesturing towards us.
He seems a bit hesitant at
first, but seems to warm up to the idea after a couple of shots. Felicity takes
a shot of Ben and Chie, one of Aoki, Akari and I, one of Aoki, Ben and Patrick.
As we grow more comfortable with
each other the pictures seem less forced, and more authentic. It becomes
felicity taking pictures of our genuine interactions with each other. She snaps
several of us building a sandcastle and burring Aoki in the sand. Then a few of
us in a brief sand fight.
“Alright, I think I’ve got
everything I need,” Felicity says. Chie groans in disappointment and stomps her
foot. Patrick kneels to give Akari a high five. Aoki approaches me for a hug. As
we embrace I notice Ben pinching Chie’s nose. She erupts in a fit of laughter.
“Let’s get you kiddos home,”
Felicity says loud enough for all three to hear. They wave goodbye before they
go to gather their sand toys. Ben and Patrick exchange a handshake.
“I really appreciate you guys
helping me out with this. Maybe we should exchange emails so once I’ve finished
editing I can send the pictures to you,” she offers.
It
is then that I notice that the crowd of bystanders has dispersed. She hands me
a pen and a piece of paper. I scribble my contact info on it. She hands me a business
card.
“That’s
my cell, feel free to call whenever,” she says.
“Thank
you,” Ben replies, smiling at Felicity and placing his hand on my shoulder. She
waves goodbye, and after helping her trio of children finish packing their
things- they leave.
