It was getting dark by the beach, yet the crowd was getting larger and larger. Roxanne’s anxiousness flared as she recalled the incident the night before.
Even though a day had passed, she was still worried when she saw the large crowd. She hurriedly rounded up the kids and left the beach. Coincidently, it was dinner time. Lucian took them straight to a nearby restaurant.
The kids’ pockets were full of sea shells. They emptied their pockets and set all the shells on the table before launching into a debate over who owned the best looking shell.
Roxanne’s eyes softened and laced with amusement as she watched the kids hard selling the shells in their possession.
After a moment, a waiter came to their table with their food. Seeing that, the kids unwillingly kept all their shells.
Both kids and adults were starved after spending the entire afternoon at the beach, so they were silent as they dug into their meals.
After dinner, Roxanne and Lucian took the kids to a craft workshop. The workshop had a variety of tools and materials to provide their customers with the opportunity to explore their creativity and skills.
Roxanne and the kids sat in a row as they started working on their pieces. Meanwhile, Lucian sat on the side, waiting for them to finish. He would occasionally help the kids with the polishing or sanding but left the rest to the kids.
Estella stared intently at the first shell she picked up with a frown as though she was waiting for an idea to pop up in her mind. She wanted to gift the shell to Roxanne but didn’t know what she should make.
After contemplating it for a long while, Estella carefully tugged on Lucian’s sleeve and yanked him to her station. Lucian cast the little girl a confused look.
“Daddy.” Estella shot him a pleading look. “I want to give this to Ms. Jarvis as a present, but I don’t know what to make.”
Lucian’s brow arched at the request. I never thought she would want to give Roxanne a present, but doing handicrafts wasn’t my forte.
Creases formed on his forehead when he couldn’t come up with an idea. “I’m sure she’ll like anything you make.” His answer was no help to Estella.
She gave Lucian a disappointing look and returned to her seat with her brows furrowed. Roxanne went up to Estella looking all concerned when she saw Estella scrunching her brows. “What’s wrong, Essie? Do you need help? I can help you.”
Estella stared at Roxanne for a few seconds before she reached for her shell and showed it to Roxanne. “What should I do with this, Ms. Jarvis?” she asked, feigning as though it wasn’t a present for her.
Roxanne looked at the shell in Estella’s hand and was troubled when she couldn’t come up with an immediate answer to her question.
After mulling over it briefly, she suggested, “You can make it into a keychain. It’s simple. All you have to do is punch a hole at the end.”
Estella’s eyes brightened at the suggestion. She obediently nodded her head. “Thank you, Ms. Jarvis.”
Roxanne smiled and returned to her station to finish her craft.
Lucian was surprised when he saw Roxanne had a shell on her desk too. He didn’t notice when she picked it up from the beach. He watched as she reached for two thin wires and carefully glued the shell onto them. Despite her busy hands, she would occasionally slide her gaze to the side to check on Estella.
An overwhelming mix of emotions stirred within Lucian when he saw what she was making. These two are oblivious to each other’s identities, but they think alike. He turned his gaze to Archie and Benny.
After studying them for a while, he had no clue what the boys were making. He watched as they swiped across the tablet the workshop provided for one moment, then carefully polished their shells the next.
Lucian observed them for a little longer but still had no idea what they were making, so he retracted his gaze from them.
