Elisabetta pulled her hair back into a ponytail a second before her feet landed on the warm sand. Even though it wasn’t the beach next to her family’s home, it still felt like a home coming to her. How many times had she and Tally snuck out at night to swim? Roman’s first swim, that crab latching onto her beach bag, and now, she was able to share those adventures with her son.
As usual, the young mother was dressed in neon pink, except now it came in the form of a skimpy string bikini. She shook out the kinks in her body from the trip, and then turned back to the car to unstrap Bentley. “Come on, big man. You can come with me while daddy gets everything else.”
Vincent had been stuck carrying--well, everything. Sans Bentley. Sunscreen, a blanket to sit on, an umbrella, a small cooler packed with food, and of course, Bentley's diaper bag. The young man didn't think they would need everything they'd brought--at least he hoped not. "Hey Lissy, wait up," he called, struggling to keep up with his armload of stuff.
"Daddy," Bentley agreed, beaming up at his-
mother. Where were they? He'd never been here before! It was exciting! Where there shiny things? --he'd spotted one. The infant pointed at the water, gleaming in the sun. "Mine!"
“You didn’t have to carry it all at once!” She clicked her tongue. Elisabetta bounced Bentley up to get a better hold on him, grateful when her longest tentacle acted as a mini seat for him. “Hmm?” Her bi-colored eyes followed the infant’s finger to the crisp ocean waves ahead. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face when she turned back to him. “That’s right, sweetie. It’s all yours; but just for today.” She bumped his nose with hers. “The ocean isn’t something you can own. That’s what makes it so nice.”
Then, almost as if she forgot, Lissy looked up to see how Vincent was handling it. “Honey? Do you need help?”
"If I'd left it in the car, someone would have stolen it," Vincent explained. Greed logic, someone was always after his stuff. Always. "Does this look like a good spot?" he asked, pointing to a log they could use for seating. "It's shaded, so Bentley won't get sunburnt--" he paused and looked up. "What? No, I'm fine, Lissy." No need to make her do any work he could do. She needed rest.
"Mine," Bentley didn't seem to comprehend what his mother was saying. It was his! His! Just for today? What kind of rule was that? He frowned slightly and tapped his mother with a tentacle. "Mine!" he told her again, pointing in case she'd forgotten. It was pretty. It shone in the sun like the plastic jewels his father had given him.
Elisabetta rolled her eyes. Greed logic was like hoarder logic in her mind, and she suspected that one day, Vincent would be showing Bentley’s kids his stamp collection or something equally as obsessive. “Alright, if your sure.” She moved to sit down on the log, and while holding Bentley in one arm, snatched up the sunscreen in the other. She wasn’t sure if he would burn or not, thanks to his skin but she didn’t like taking chances.
“Hang on a sec, Bentley. I promise we’ll go out in the water soon.” She squirted sunblock on his leg, and started rubbing. “Patience is a virtue you obviously don’t have.”
Vincent started setting up. He put the umbrella into position and put it up so the sun's harmful rays weren't hitting his fiancee and precious sun. He placed the cooler where it would be the most shaded, so the ice wouldn't melt as quickly. That done, he sat down next to Lissy and, careful not to interfere with her putting sunblock on Bentley, put an arm around her waist.
Bentley stuck his tongue out at his mother, before giggling. That tickled! What was she doing? He paused, and watched her with wide green eyes. "Oooh..." he said, poking at his leg. "Whassat?"
Elisabetta snuggled into her fiancée’s embrace; bringing one leg underneath her while she dug the other into the warm sand. Normally there was no place she’d rather be than curled up next to her two favorite men, but she couldn’t ignore the call of the ocean for much longer.
“Stuff.” She finished his legs and tail quickly, moving on to his little arms. “It keeps the sun from hurting you. That way you can play all day, and still be happy. Vincent, would you mind putting this up?” She held out the sunblock. “We’re ready to go.”
"Suff," Bentley repeated, beaming. Whatever this stuff was, it was nice. It let him play all day without getting hurt? it was definitely a friend. He reached for the bottle of sunblock. "Mine!" he said, but allowed his father to take it. Daddy would take care of it until he got back from seeing the water. "Mine now?" he asked, pointing at the ocean.
Vincent stood, grinning at his fiancee. "He might be the opposite of patience," he teased, putting the sunblock back into its proper pocket in Bentley's diaper bag. "Don't go too far out into the water, alright?"
[Unfinished]
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