Bubbles
floating away
It was one of those perfect summer days that put the rest of the season to shame. With the sunshine warm against their skin and just the right amount of cool breeze drifting through their hair, it almost made the torrential downpours, sweltering heat, and evening thunderstorms so characteristic of the season worth it, just so they could appreciate a day like this.
Jenny watched from the front porch as the two loves of her life lay sprawled across the lawn, a part of her almost hesitant to call out to them in fear that she’d shatter the moment. James was stretched out on his side, his head propped up in his hand while he murmured excited words to the little girl playing in the grass.
Her name was July, and she was everything the two of them could’ve ever wished for and so much more.
Sometimes it was hard to believe just how much one little person could turn your whole world around and leave it twirling on its axis. That’s how it had felt when their daughter had come into their lives. Suddenly, it wasn’t about the two of them anymore. Nights that would’ve been spent out late going to shows and hitting up local bars were now spent cuddled up on the couch with a movie and two glasses of wine after they’d put July to bed. James and Jenny had even traded their apartment in the city for a cozy little house in the suburbs. It wasn’t exactly how Jenny had expected her life would turn out to be, but it just felt right, like this was the way things were meant to be from the start.
He must have heard her footfalls coming down the porch steps because in that instant, James turned to glance back at her, the most brilliant smile adorning his lips, and she was positive that this was as good as it gets.
“I thought you two might be thirsty, so I brought you some lemonade,” she said with a smile as she took a seat on the patchwork blanket beside them. “Ju-Ju, here’s your sippy cup.”
“Isn’t she the most adorable thing ever?” he remarked as they watched their daughter fumble with her cup, light wisps of baby-fine brown hair falling in her eyes.
“She really is,” Jenny replied, but it wasn’t long before her gaze wandered from the fourteen-month-old to James.
With his hectic shooting and tour schedule, she sometimes couldn’t help but feel like he was slipping through her fingers. It took seeing that glimmer of adoration in his hazel eyes to remind her that what they had was forever, to convince her that he wasn’t going anywhere.
The months on the road hadn’t changed him much: he’d cut his hair a little shorter and was sporting a bit of sexy stubble, but he still had that infectious smile and those olive-flecked eyes that took her breath away. His skin held onto that summery sunkissed glow, a gray tank top revealing the defined muscles along his arms and shoulders.
One of those strong arms wove across her back as he pulled her in close, his voice sweet and low in her ear. “I love you, Jenny.”
She couldn’t help but smile as she relished the warmth of his breath against her skin. “You know I love you too, but you do know that you’re teasing me in that muscle shirt, right?”
“I try, I try,” he replied as he pretended to ease the flimsy cotton strap down his shoulder, eventually breaking down into a fit of laughter.
July had returned to crawling along the edge of the blanket. Her tiny hands grabbing at fistfuls of grass, no doubt getting stains all over her pretty pink sundress.
“Hey baby girl,” James called as he perked up, catching the toddler’s attention. “Check this out!”
He reached for the little bottle of bubble mix at his side. It was an impulse buy from a shopping trip they’d gone on a few days before, and he’d brushed it off as something neat for July, when really, it just brought out the kid in him.
With the softest blow, dozens of tiny bubbles filled the air. July sat there in awe, green eyes gazing up at the shimmering spheres as they floated just out of her reach.
“Wanna try?” James asked as he leaned over, encouraging his daughter to mimic the motion. “Just go like this,” he explained before pursing his lips and releasing a gentle gush of breath.
Though she tried her best, July’s sputtering breaths only produced a couple of quick-to-burst bubbles. Nevertheless, James lovingly stroked the little girl’s hair to the side and secured it in place with a tiny pink bow.
“There, there, it’s all gonna be okay,” he murmured, and Jenny truly believed him.
Jenny watched from the front porch as the two loves of her life lay sprawled across the lawn, a part of her almost hesitant to call out to them in fear that she’d shatter the moment. James was stretched out on his side, his head propped up in his hand while he murmured excited words to the little girl playing in the grass.
Her name was July, and she was everything the two of them could’ve ever wished for and so much more.
Sometimes it was hard to believe just how much one little person could turn your whole world around and leave it twirling on its axis. That’s how it had felt when their daughter had come into their lives. Suddenly, it wasn’t about the two of them anymore. Nights that would’ve been spent out late going to shows and hitting up local bars were now spent cuddled up on the couch with a movie and two glasses of wine after they’d put July to bed. James and Jenny had even traded their apartment in the city for a cozy little house in the suburbs. It wasn’t exactly how Jenny had expected her life would turn out to be, but it just felt right, like this was the way things were meant to be from the start.
He must have heard her footfalls coming down the porch steps because in that instant, James turned to glance back at her, the most brilliant smile adorning his lips, and she was positive that this was as good as it gets.
“I thought you two might be thirsty, so I brought you some lemonade,” she said with a smile as she took a seat on the patchwork blanket beside them. “Ju-Ju, here’s your sippy cup.”
“Isn’t she the most adorable thing ever?” he remarked as they watched their daughter fumble with her cup, light wisps of baby-fine brown hair falling in her eyes.
“She really is,” Jenny replied, but it wasn’t long before her gaze wandered from the fourteen-month-old to James.
With his hectic shooting and tour schedule, she sometimes couldn’t help but feel like he was slipping through her fingers. It took seeing that glimmer of adoration in his hazel eyes to remind her that what they had was forever, to convince her that he wasn’t going anywhere.
The months on the road hadn’t changed him much: he’d cut his hair a little shorter and was sporting a bit of sexy stubble, but he still had that infectious smile and those olive-flecked eyes that took her breath away. His skin held onto that summery sunkissed glow, a gray tank top revealing the defined muscles along his arms and shoulders.
One of those strong arms wove across her back as he pulled her in close, his voice sweet and low in her ear. “I love you, Jenny.”
She couldn’t help but smile as she relished the warmth of his breath against her skin. “You know I love you too, but you do know that you’re teasing me in that muscle shirt, right?”
“I try, I try,” he replied as he pretended to ease the flimsy cotton strap down his shoulder, eventually breaking down into a fit of laughter.
July had returned to crawling along the edge of the blanket. Her tiny hands grabbing at fistfuls of grass, no doubt getting stains all over her pretty pink sundress.
“Hey baby girl,” James called as he perked up, catching the toddler’s attention. “Check this out!”
He reached for the little bottle of bubble mix at his side. It was an impulse buy from a shopping trip they’d gone on a few days before, and he’d brushed it off as something neat for July, when really, it just brought out the kid in him.
With the softest blow, dozens of tiny bubbles filled the air. July sat there in awe, green eyes gazing up at the shimmering spheres as they floated just out of her reach.
“Wanna try?” James asked as he leaned over, encouraging his daughter to mimic the motion. “Just go like this,” he explained before pursing his lips and releasing a gentle gush of breath.
Though she tried her best, July’s sputtering breaths only produced a couple of quick-to-burst bubbles. Nevertheless, James lovingly stroked the little girl’s hair to the side and secured it in place with a tiny pink bow.
“There, there, it’s all gonna be okay,” he murmured, and Jenny truly believed him.