One Day At A Time - Revised Edition

Chapter Thirty

After dousing themselves in bug spray, they make their way through the nature center's main building, leading them to where the trails start.

Out of all the different trails to go down, Ava and Lilly agree on the trail named, "Shoreline Road," in the hopes that there's actually a beach at the end of the trail.

"I better see a breathtaking shoreline, or we get to make a complaint to them!" Ava jokes at the start of the trail; Lilly smiles warmly at her.

Barely a minute into the hike, their hands clasp together. (Ava is holding Lilly's hand in both contexts now! The context of not wanting to get lost and in the context of holding her hand in a romantic way.)

The trail is quite long, but its not a problem at all.
They're together, walking and talking and soaking up the warm sun.

A little while into the hike, Ava stops, her eyes landing on a cluster of purple violets.

She lets Lilly's hand go for a few moments and bends down, picking a couple flowers out of the dirt.
"I picked them for you!"

Lilly's heart turns into mush right then and there.
She's oh-so giddy, putting her hand back into Ava's as her other hand holds the flowers.

"You're so sweet, thank you."
Ava looks proud, more than happy that she made Lilly happy.
She'll do anything to make Lilly happy.

They walk hand-in-hand as they explore the winding path of the trail, taking their time.

Lilly takes a good amount of pictures of the scenic trail and of herself and Ava.

Ava continues to pick any pretty flowers she sees and hands them to Lilly, which brings a soft smile to Lilly's face every time.

In time, they reach the end of the trail and Ava can't help but exclaim,
"There's that beautiful shoreline! The sign wasn't messing with us!"

She runs toward the beach, pulling Lilly with her.

Ava and Lilly stand near the shore, watching the tide come in and out.

They're both tired from the long hike, but the beach view makes it worth it.

"It's incredible. This is incredible!"
Lilly squeezes her hand gently and takes it in.
"You're right. It really is incredible."

There isn't a beach close to where they live, so this is something new for both of them.

Lilly takes her eyes off the view in front of them and she spots a picnic table a few feet away from them.

She walks over to it, setting her backpack down. Her backpack that's now filled with flowers.

Ava barely sits down, because she's standing up eagerly two seconds later.
She starts to work on untying her shoes.

"What're you doing?"
"I'm gonna put my feet in the water. That's what I'm doing." She answers simply, pulling off her shoes and socks, and setting them on the table.

She sprints off towards the water, squealing when the tide comes in and covers her bare feet.
"It's cold! Oh my god, it's so cold!"

Almost instantly, she jumps out of the water, a lot happier with the way the warm sand feels in contrast.

Lilly gets started on pulling off her shoes and socks, but she gets distracted looking at Ava, who's motioning for her to join her in the sand.

Ava is smiling brightly and the sun is bouncing off her mousy brown hair. Her hands wringe and flick tremendously; overjoyed!