Love is in the air

Chapter 1

Paradiso

They were enjoying their first hot summer day laying out by the bay when something caught her attention in the sparkling pink sand. Malilea picked up a starfish and waved it at her mother. "Look mummy, I found this!" With glee she stood up and danced around waving the starfish around. She had never seen a starfish before and was excited. Her mother got up and gently grabbed her hand to carefully pull it from her little fingers.

"Malilea, no. You can't pick up just anything up from the ground. Here give it to me, and I will put it somewhere safe." Jre'elle was trying to teach her daughter not to pick up just anything from the ground, but secretly she was very happy that her daughter found this little treasure and along with her daughter wanted to keep it safe. Instantly Malilea started crying and throwing a fit because her mother took it from her.

Lovingly the mother picked up her daughter and starting tickling her until she had no choice but to giggle and squeal."Noooo- mummmy let me go." She couldn't hide her smile as she tried to squirm away from her mother so she could grab the starfish from where her mother set it down. "Can I have it back?" She pouted her lips and crossed her arms glaring at her mother no longer enjoying the game she was playing. "Pleeeeeeeeease!"

Jre'elle laughed and mocked her daughter by putting out her lips and crossing her arms glaring back at her winking. "Wah-wah, boo-who." Jokingly poking fun at her daughter she sat back down and picked up the starfish admiring it. "You can have it later after dinner. Please enjoy the sun while we're here. Maybe you'll find something else, but if it is moving or looks sharp please don't pick it up sweetie." Her daughter hmphed at her and stomped away grumpily.

"You never let me have anything fun. I grrr you!" Malilea was dramatic as always when she didn't get her way and went to go keep playing on the beach.

"If you keep treating me like that you wont get to have it back later. Remember what I told you before we came here, but also remember how much I love you!" Taking her sunglasses off she took a sip of her pina-colada and laid back down comfortably with her daughter in plain view. It had been a long trip getting here, and she needed to relax and enjoy the view.

A few minutes went by and her daughter found something else on the ground that thrilled her. "Yipeeeeeee!" She picked it up and examined it. It was a sand dollar and she recognized it. "Look mummy.." Breaking through her mothers thoughts Jre'elle awaited paitently for her daughter to bring over her second new found treasure.

"What would you identify it as?" Always wanting to teach her 3 year old daughter new things she trailed off a list of words, "A seashell, a starfish, a bone, seaweed..." She chuckled and in a sing songy voice she said.." Oh I know! It is a tarzan the monkey man.. swinging from a rubberband?" Getting up from her lounge chair she ran up and picked her daughter up before she could run away from her.

"I think it is a sandy dollar. See! Look!" She stuck it in her mothers face as she kneeled down to look and smiled. "It looks kind of like those things at home, but it is different. Can I keep it? Please please please!" Her eyes lit up with excitment awaiting her mothers answer. Holding her daughters hand in hers while holding in her arms she kissed her on the forehead.

"Of course you can keep it, but since they are so easy to break I should hold on to it with the star fish. Can you handle that little munchkin?" She put her hand out and waited gazing at her daughters bright blue eyes. She was so grateful that they had finally away on a jungle escapade, and wondered what her husband was doing at the island bungalow. He should have been with them but was distracted with his work from home.

Reluctantly she gave her mother the sand dollar and tried pushing her off her so she could get down. "Can we go swimming now? Does Duddy have my floaties and tube?" Setting her down gentlely her mother took her by the hand and started walking towards the water slowly. The clear blue ocean waves felt like paradise and she wished that Jare was there to join them already.

It felt like she barely knew him anymore he was always so busy working, and it wasn't fair for him to be working on their family vacation. It was something that they had argued about planning the trip that he wasn't going to be able to take more than two days off from the week long vacation. It was only the first day they had gotten there and she wished nothing more than that he was there right next them.

From time to time she fantasized helping him rob a bank or suing a big corporation for a settlement that would last them a lifetime so he could focus on the family and work less. Jre'elle knew this was unrealisitic, but she just wished there was a way that he could enjoy family vacations with them. Her trail of thought was broken as her daughter excitedly pulled on her arm and tried running to the sea.

Chapter 2

Priceless treasures

"Look mommy!" Malilea pointed to the ground in front of them, "It's a seashell." The little toddler pulled away from her mother and ran to pick it up from the sandy shore. The tide has gone down revealing it in the sand and she didn't want it to be washed away. There were little shells and rocks everywhere, but this one was different. She scooped it up in her little hands and ran back to her mother.

"Do not run off from me like that close to the water. There could be stingrays!" She put her hand out to look at what he daughter was giving her. There was a scallop that was still inside of it. Unlike the other shells that she had eyed on the ground it was hole and still contained both shells. "This is a scallop! You can eat the flesh that is inside of it. Do you want to try some for dinner tonight?" She tickled her daughter and acted like she was going to feed her the shell. "Open up. Aaaaahh!"

Malilea made a disgusted expression and blew rasberries at her mother before responding, "Noooo - Ewwww. Can I keep it as a pet? I can put it in a bowl of water with some sand as a jungle pet!" The little girl innocently wanted to take the shell home with her and didn't understand that it was already past its lifespan.

"Not this one silly. I mean a scallop from the restaurants. They fix them up like they do shrimp and make them into a delicious meal. You would love it!" She picked up her daughter and walked further in the water staring nostalgically through the the mostly clear blue water beneath her feet. There was little pink clouds of sand from the movement of her feet and she was scaring away tiny little fishes.

"Look at the fish they are running away! They're scared. If I stood still they would eat me alive and you would have to run.." Jokingly she laughed at her story pointing to the little fish harmlessly swimming away. Her daughter looked up at her worried with her bright blue eyes and giggled naughtily at her mothers silly joke. Without any warning the little girl squirmed an arm free and squeezed her mothers side making her jump.

"Ahh!" She put her down gently in the water and held her hand, "You goofball. Let's go explore. Do you want to put your life jacket on and go swim out and look at those caves?" Pointing left far off in the distance Malileas' innocent gaze followed her mothers finger and she cheered with excitement.

"Yesssss Mummy let's go!" She pulled her mothers hand and started running back towards their stuff on the shore to get her life jacket. Picking her back up in her arms she agelessly ran back towards there stuff when out of the corner of her eye something bright caught her eye. Looking up with all of her focus she stopped and stared. Finally.

Chapter 3

Tree bird of a feather

Finally joining his daughter and wife at the beach he embraced both of them greatfuly. "There's my girls! Anything interesting happen before I came to crash the party?" Laughing he let them go and held onto Je'relle's shoulder giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Not really duddy, but look what I found!" Enthusiastic about her findings she picked up her star fish and her scallop and waved them back and forth for him to see. "It's a jungle pet and a star fish, here" She reached out and handed them to her father with a smile and he took them gentley from her hands.

"Oh great treasures you found! What are we doing next?" He looked to his wife for an answer and she pointed back behind them towards the caves. Together they put their daughter in her life jacket so they could go on their adventure. Leaning towards his wife while they were clipping the life jacket together he caught her off guard and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm glad we finally did this sweetie." He said quietly.

The little girl scrunched her nose and giggled at her parents while they got her ready to go adventure the caves together as a family. The sun was beating down on them and there was a slight breeze blowing through the young girls and the mothers long hair. Grabbing her parents hands the young girl energectically starting walking towards the water in the direction of their destination.

Walking in the water with their daughter the couple picked her up one arm each and swung her back and forth gently, "Woooo," J'arelle said, "aren't you excited? What do you think that we will find?"

"Weeeeeee-" Enjoying herself the little girl ignored her mothers question, "Higher higher, lift higher and trow me!" Wanting to get tossed in the water the darling little girl giggled and kicked her legs. The father gave her to the mother and she plugged her daughters nose and pretended to toss her in the water while holding her as she went under.

Laughing the father picked her back up with the mother and they trudged on through the water both holding her around the waste. Gasp. J'erelle pointed in surprise and put her arm across her family to signal them to stop. The family stopped in their steps as they saw someone or something emerging from the water toward the caves. "Mumm.. What is dat?" Unafraid the curious little girl looked back and forth at her parents and back towards the cave.

Squinting her eyes towards the distant cave the mother chuckling loudly at herself as snorkler that was coming back up from underneath the water. "Honey, that is a snorkler. They dive and explore underneath the surface and take pictures or samples of the underwater sea life. Do you want to snorkle someday?" She kissed her daughter on the head and they kept walking.

"Yes! Can we go now? Please please please! I want to see." Eeager to explore the water the little girl squirmed with excitement and was happy. "Are there live star fishes that I can pet?" Preciously Malilea was filled with questions and her eyes glimmered with joy and hope that she could try diving under the water too. "Can I put mine back so it can be with its friends?"

"Not today little one," the father replied, "Maybe next time after we watch some videos and write on some paper. You have to study and learn, and do it safely or you can get hurt." Studiously he pretending like he was reading a book and it made his daughter smile.

"Okay, next time? Pwomise?" They little girl nodded her head and didn't try to argue and as they went further in the water the parents held her daughter up while she kicked her legs and they continued teaching her how to doggy paddle through the still clear blue water. Waves gently crashed along the cave walls and the snorkler was joined by a few more and they waved at the approaching family.

Chapter 4

Sandy Sunsets

After the family explored the cave they headed back towards the beach and the sun was starting to go down. The wind was blowing and the waves were pushing them ever so gently as they made their way back. Satisified with their finidngs the little girl was holding onto a pretty albalone shell that she found in the cave that her mother handed to her as they walked back onto the shore.

They took the lifejacket off their daughter and wrapped up in their towels. Malilea was pretending to dramatically shiver and held onto her mothers leg so she would hold her and J'erelle picked her up and wrapped her up in her towel. "Do you want to watch the sunset?" With an excited grin on her face her daughter nodded her head yes and stopped shivering.

Gathering his daughters and wifes things the husband chimed in "Let's go get sunset dinner by the hotel I am starving. They have a great view! What do you say girls?" In usison the mother and daughter nodded their heads and together a happy family finally all able to spend time together walked with their stuff hand in hand and went to go grab dinner with eachother.