The Family Man

It was the last weekend in June and Ashley and I had decided to take the kids to the beach to celebrate the end of school. I was sitting with our things on the beach watching Ashley playing with the twins in the water. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched. There were good waves today and the twins had him throwing them into the waves as they crested.
“Having fun are they?” Ella asked as she joined me with Anna and Tara.
“Yes, it looks like they are.” I said. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Ashley mentioned that you were doing this to Jake last week. I thought it would be fun to join you. We haven’t been to the beach in ages.” She set up a blanket and laid out some toys for the girls.
“So where is Jake then?”
“He and Andy are negotiating getting the beach chairs over the dunes.” She laughed.
“Andy’s here?”
“Yup, the whole band is.” She smiled. “Juliet should be here in a minute with Wayne.”
Just as she finished speaking Juliet showed up with Wayne in a carrier. “Hi.” She greeted us as she set Wayne down in a shady spot under our umbrella.
“Aren’t you worried about him crying or needing something?” I asked.
“Nope, he was up most of last night and this morning. Plus, I just fed him. He should be out for a couple of hours.”
“Aunt Juliet!” Samantha squealed as she ran out of the water. She gave her a tight hug, getting her a little wet.
Juliet just smiled at her. “Hey, how are you Samantha?”
“Great! Daddy was throwing us into the water! It was so much fun!”
“I could see that.” Juliet replied.
“Where’s my hug?” Ella asked indignantly, a joking smile on her face.
“Right here.” Samantha said, give her a hug as well.
“Where are our hugs?” Andy asked as he, Jake, Jinxx and CC came up to us. Evidently they solved their problem, because they were all carrying a chair on their back as well as another in their hand in some cases. I also noticed some coolers, which I assumed, were filled with food and drinks.
“Here!” Samantha said. Jack joined her this time and they both bombarded the guys with a group hug. I noticed Jake and CC wobble, but they both managed to keep their footing thankfully.
“So what do you think Belle?” Ashley asked as he sat down next to me, giving me a kiss.
“A very nice surprise. It feels like forever since we’ve all be together.” I snuggled into him.
“Mommy, can we build a sand castle by the water?” Jack asked.
“Of course you can. I think Ella brought some sand castle building toys.” I looked at her and she nodded. “Why don’t you take Anna and Uncle Jake? I’ve heard that he’s a master castle builder.”
“Okay!” He grabbed Samantha’s hand and the three children pulled Jake down to the water’s edge. Lucky for them he managed to grab the tools before they grabbed him.
“So what are your plans for the twins for the summer?” Juliet asked.
“Well, I used to stay home with them, but I have a lot of work to get done over the next month. So I signed them up for a day camp. It’s got lots of different programs so I put Samantha in the arts program and Jack in their science one.” I explained.
“And they’re okay with this?” CC asked. “I thought they were attached at the hip.”
“Usually they are, but they seem fine with it. Excited even, I think they both realize that they have some very different interests.” I went over to the cooler and pulled out a bottle of water for myself.
“That seems very perceptive for five year olds.” Jinxx commented.
“That would be our children.” Ashley said proudly. “Pretty soon they’re going to be smarter than us.”
“Well I would hope that day is a long way off.” I said, rejoining him on my towel. “Would you cover my back in sun screen?” I asked him, handing him the bottle.
“Sure.” He rubbed it into my back and I laid down on my front.
“What are Anna and Tara doing for the summer?” I asked Ella.
“I’ll be staying home with them. I don’t have any new jobs coming up. Anything I have to do for the next little while I can accomplish from home.” She smiled, watching the kids playing together.
“Juliet?” I looked over at her.
“I took nine months leave when Wayne was born. So I’ve got until January before anything will come up.” She replied.
“I thought you could only get six months.” Ella said.
“Usually, but I wanted to be sure I had as much time as I might need with him. So I talked it over with my manager until he gave me nine months.” She shrugged.
“Looks like they’ve finished their castle.” Andy said.
“Come see!” The twins were shouting.
“Well, we better go see what they built.” Ashley said, standing up. He gave me his hand and I stood up, following him over.
It was quite large for a sand castle. It had four tall walls, four towers, one at each corner, as well as what could only be called a citadel in the centre. There was even a drawbridge with a moat.
“Well done. Who lives in this magnificent castle?” Andy asked.
“Yeah, is it filled with princes and princesses?” Jinxx asked.
Samantha scowled at that. “Nope. This is your castle.”
He gave her a confused look.
Ashley laughed. “You mean it’s for Black Veil Brides, right?”
“Yes!” Jack said. “It’s all gothic and everything!”
Juliet, Ella and I shared a smile.
“Who wants some lunch?” I asked, turning to head back to our things.
“Me!” All three children yelled. They raced up the beach ahead of all of us.

Notes

Here you go! My summer is now free, so a lot more writing should happen. Please comment.