Can You Hear the Ocean?

PART 6: Can You Hear the Ocean?

The summer heat beat down on Mia's back as she sat outside on the porch of Leila's parent's house. A light breeze and the shade of the awning kept them cool from the harsh sun. In the distance, Mia could hear the cry of gulls and chirping of cicadas. She shut her eyes briefly, admiring the sounds of summer. To think it had been over a year since she had returned to Maine...

Mia reached down to retrieve the glass of lemonade on the table in front of her. She took a few sips, savoring the feeling of the cold liquid trickling down her throat before she sat back against the couch and threw her arm around Leila's shoulder. 

Beside Mia, Leila chatted eagerly with Gavin about how life was with a new baby. Seated across from her and Mia was Shannon, who was rocking her infant under the shade. Leila's parents, meanwhile, were gawking over their grandson, shoving various toys in front of his face that he seemed to be mainly uninterested by.

Mia briefly glanced at Leila. Leila's long hair was thrown back in a ponytail, and tiny beads of sweat clung to her neck. She wore a light blue sundress embroidered with daisies and sparkling sapphire earrings. Mia had complimented her on the new dress this morning as they were getting ready for their weekly dinner at Leila's parents' house. She was tempted to lean up and kiss Leila's cheek while staring at her, but it felt strange to do so in the presence of Leila's family.

"And then Benjamin cried for three hours straight it felt like," she heard Gavin relaying to Leila.

"Your fault for having a kid," Leila teased.

"What? You don't want any?" Gavin asked. "Mia wants kids, right Mia?"

Mia suddenly glanced at him in surprise. "Uh, I don't think we've had that discussion," she answered.

"Shut up, Gavin! We haven't even been dating a year," Leila complained.

Mia chuckled slightly beside her.

"How's your job going, Mia?" Gavin asked. "I'm tired of baby talk."

"Oh, sure, I get a recent promotion but you choose to ignore it," Leila argued with him.

Gavin rolled his eyes. "Lei, it's all you've talked about the past month." Mia once again laughed. During the early months of her relationship, she'd felt guilty for making Leila miss out on such a great employment opportunity, even though Leila had reassured her that she'd rather be with in Maine. When Leila had gotten a promotion earlier in the summer, Mia had been overjoyed, glad to see she was still managing to find ways to advance her career at her current company.

"Besides," Gavin continued, "I wanted to see if Mia has any advice on how to deal with kids."

"Well, I'm not working with infants," Mia retorted. Shortly into the new year, an art teacher position had opened up at a local elementary school. Mia had been hesitant about going for the role at first, never having thought of working with kids before. Thankfully, she'd been enjoying the experience thus far. The children possessed unimaginable creativity and had the brightest smiles. Mia wanted to lift them up as best they could, knowing too well the struggles of being a young artist. Of course, there were always a few troublemakers who ruined her day, but many of the kids were well-behaved. Besides, she'd take some bratty kids over upset adult customers at the coffee shop any day.

"Some girls drew Mia an art piece last week," Leila said. "It's on our fridge."

"Hey, shut up," Mia said, shoving Leila some as she attempted to hide her blush.

"You're going to run out of room on the walls eventually," Gavin said.

"There's plenty of space!" Leila argued. "Besides, once Mia sells all her pieces, we'll have room for more."