Beach Days:

Beach Days:
Running across the sand. The searing powder stretches out before me. Surely I am bleeding by now. I must reach the cool waves and quench this pain.
"Stop!" She yells. "Sunscreen!"
How can I stop? I can't go back, I'll lose my feet! I see the sea and feel this baking pain. From one foot to the other each sizzling in the sand. I imagine turning back on bloody nubs, my feet left behind like that broken bottle or that dead crab.
"Sunscreen!" She calls again.
I think I will die. The cool waves lapping, children laughing, my feet burning.
She's threatening now.
I know I'll lose my snow cone later. oh, how she tortures!

Owa! Its in my eyes! The stinging cream runny on my sweaty forehead. She slathers the coconut-y goo in my ears and down my neck. I love the smell of it. It smells like her and swimming lessons and picnics. It smells like heat and childhood.
"Aaand done."
Those magic words, the shot from the gate. Across the fiery, gravely beast and into the salty sea. Splashing, jumping, falling, waves knocking be to and fro. The cool water stings in every cut and shrivels my lips.
In the car going home I am a salty prune with sand in every crevice. Sitting on a towel, the radio humming me to sleep. She carries me and her voice is just a mummer.
Just another long summer day.

Ah, Love.

Love feels like every dream I've had, or every childhood ambition could easily happen. It makes me feel like I will be a famous supermodel, and own a Tea Shop and a health food store, and teach yoga and ESL, and be a dancer on Broadway and a missionary in Africa while Marco goes to the Olympics and is an International business man, and a Pro Skateboarder, and we both are Ambassadors to foreign countries on the weekends! Because Love makes everything seem possible. But at the same time, Love also feels like, "well, even if all those things don't happen, thats okay too cause we can just stay home and watch a movie and play board games!" Thats the best part! If it all happens, or if none of it happens, I'll still be just as happy as ever, because we will still be together and still have love.
Of all the places I can dream of going, the best of anyplace I can imagine is right where I am, as long we are together.
It isn't foolishness, or maybe it is, but its happiness and glee. Its memories, and secret treasures and sunsets and swim meets. Its tears in an Airport. A silly fight over Chinese food. A box of notes and ticket stubs. Its a train trip to Lucerne, Lausanne, and a car ride to Louisiana. Its the smell of Chlorine and the smell of espresso. Its Marco -heart- Rachel. Its Love. Ah, Love.