Carol looks as good as the first day they met and stole his heart. Watching Sarah, his pride and joy, skipping as they draw near the beach, he feels contented and wishes this moment could last forever.

With the hiss of the small waves gently rolling up the shore, they descend a series of steps and feel the soft, warm sand through their flip-flops. Gulls cry from along the beach and the long sidewalk, fighting each other for scraps of food left behind by tourists.

The long strand of beach, stretching to the limits of vision, is normally filled with travelers and beach-goers. However, on this sunny day, there are only a few out enjoying the day, with a small beach volleyball game going on just past the stairs. Finding a place nearby, Kyle spreads the blanket he’s been carrying since they started out in the morning. He then sets to work putting together the newly purchased kite without breaking the plastic cross members or making himself look like a fool.

Minutes later, with Sarah holding the small plastic handle wrapped with twine, Kyle holds the lime green kite in the air and releases it. The kite flutters in the steady breeze, the edges ruffling as the wind sails past. Squinting in the direct sunlight, Sarah, holding onto the handle as the kite lifts into the air, squeals in delight as it climbs higher. Kyle shows her how to release the line a little at a time so the kite doesn’t plummet down. Soon the diamond-shaped object, with a long yellow tail whipping from side to side, is a small shape against the light blue sky.

As expected though, Sarah soon grows bored of just holding the string as the kite slowly moves in the changing breeze. Thinking that he should have purchased one of the trick kites, so he could have enjoyed it some, he begins the long process of winding the kite in. He wraps the string around the handle, drawing the kite in five short inches at a time. As the kite grows slowly larger, Kyle glances to Sarah, who has dumped the buckets and shovels from another bag Kyle had been carrying. Carol lies stretched on the blanket, shielding her eyes and watching the process with a knowledgeable smile, the reflection of Sarah’s activities showing in her large, dark sunglasses.

“Can we go to where the sand is wetter?” Sarah asks. “It’s easier to build sand castles.”

Carol looks to Kyle, who nods. “Go ahead, hon. I’ll wrap this up here and join you.”

Carol rises from the blanket and blows Kyle a kiss. With Sarah darting ahead, the two move closer to the incoming surf.

“Will you help me build the biggest castle ever? I bet we can…..” Sarah says, her voice trailing off as they get farther away.

Winding the kite in, Kyle thinks of just cutting the string and dealing with the ramifications later. There’s a chance that Sarah won’t even notice her kite missing. However, he continues with the tedium until he has the kite firmly in hand. With his hands sore from the constant winding, he removes the cross pieces. With the small number of people around, he isn’t worried about someone making off with their stuff, so he leaves everything and joins his wife and daughter.

Arriving at the place where the largest sand castle ever made was supposed to be underway, he sees that Sarah has managed to only dig a big trench, which has collapsed in places from the water lying in the bottom. Several buckets of wet sand have been upended seemingly at random. Sarah and Carol are busy trying to create castles out of the wet lumps, being only marginally successful.

“Oh good, you’re here, Dad. I need help making the castles. Mom’s not doing a very good job.”

“I think it’s beyond help,” Kyle mutters, grabbing a small plastic shovel as he kneels to help create the battlements.

Hours later, without having created the largest sand castle ever, but still making the attempt, Carol asks, “Shouldn’t we be going if we’re going to make our reservation?”

“Awww, Mom. Can’t we stay a little longer?”

“No, angel. Your mom’s right. We need to get going, but we’ll come out and work on it tomorrow,” Kyle says.

“But it’ll be gone by then. The waves will wreck it.”

“We’ll come out earlier and build a bigger one,” Kyle says, rising and brushing the sand from his hands against his jeans.

“Promise?” Sarah asks, looking up from a bucket of sand she just upended.

“Yeah, I promise,” Kyle replies.

They still have a couple of days left to their vacation before it’s back to the grind of Monday through Friday deadlines.