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“Mama, I’m hungry,” Juniper said, and I flipped around in the water.

“You wanna have lunch?”

“Yes, please. Jo Jo, you can sit next to me.” I met Jo’s eyes and we both smiled.

“I can? Well thank you. I would love to sit next to you.”

“And you can have some of my fries. But not all of them,” Juniper said as we dragged ourselves out of the water and toward our towels that had been warming in the sun.

Jo wrapped up Juniper before I could do it and Juniper giggled as Jo rubbed her arms and legs and head.

“Jo Jo, I love you,” Juniper said casually.

Jo froze as she sat on her knees. Her eyes filled with tears.

I watched as she wiped some water from Juniper’s cheek.

“I love you, Juniper.”

My daughter laughed and flung herself at Jo, who held her with her eyes closed and a few tears rolling down her cheek. My eyes weren’t dry either and I had to look away and wipe a few from my cheeks.

“Can we have lunch now?” Juniper said, turning around to look at me as if she hadn’t just changed our lives.

“Yes, we can have lunch, baby.”

Jo gathered herself and wiped her eyes as I went over.

“You okay?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. I am. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Kids love to surprise you.”

We stood there looking at each other and I pulled her into a hug, even though we were still cold and damp.

“I think we’re going to have to talk to Juniper about us sooner rather than later,” I said in her ear.

“I think so too. I don’t know why that scares me.”

I stroked my hand up and down her spine, enjoying the touch of her skin revealed by her two-piece suit.

“It’s going to be okay, Josephine.”

“Mmm, I will do anything you say when you use my name like that,” she said, snuggling closer to me.

“Stop trying to seduce me on a public beach,” I said, and she laughed.

“Never,” she said before Juniper yelled that she was hungry again.

We covered ourselves in our towels and walked up to the snack bar where Jo proceeded to pay for all of us.

I snagged a free picnic table and waited for Juniper and Jo to come back with the food. Juniper walked so slowly with the drinks, and I almost got up to help her, but she had to be independent.

“Good job, Juni,” I said, when she set our drinks down without dropping a single one.

We dug into our burgers and fries, sharing ketchup and trying not to talk with our mouths full.

Juniper managed to finish her burger but not her fries so Jo and I split them and made sure no food was left behind.