family outing

           “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.