Greg found her sitting out on the shore in front of the temple with her toes in the sand.
"How's my favorite people?" he asked, sliding into her broad shadow. Seated, he came just up to her shoulder.
Rose welcomed him with a gentle hug, tucking him close against her side. "We're perfect now that you're here."
"Aw, shucks." Greg pressed an ear to her giant belly, his cheeks carrying a faint blush.
After a moment, quiet under the rolling crash of the waves, Rose began to hum. Greg listened carefully, feeling the baby kick under his hand when the song wound down on a bittersweet note.
"Steven likes it," Greg whispered.
Rose squeezed him tight. "You'll teach it to him someday, won't you?"
Greg found him sitting out on the shore in front of the temple with his toes in the sand.
"How's my favorite people?" he asked, blanketing him with his broad shadow.
Steven welcomed him with a squint and a pling of frustrated ukelele. "I'm trying to write this song but I can't quite work out how it ends."
"Well lay it on me, kiddo," Greg said, plopping down into the sand and leaning forward with his fists on his knees, attentive. "Let your old dad lend an ear."
With the ocean for accompaniment, Steven hummed his song. Like he said, at the last chord he stopped and backtracked, trying different things with the tip of his tongue poking farther and farther out from the corner of his mouth.
But he froze when he thought he saw his dad brushing tears out of his eyes. "What's the matter, Dad?"
Greg surprised him with a laugh. "Steven, that song's already been written." Before the boy's face could get any longer, he added, "Your mother used to sing it to you before you were born."
Steven's eyes were stars. "Really?!"
"Here, I'll teach you the lyrics." Fitting his large hands around Steven's little ukelele, Greg began to sing.
If I could
begin to be,
Half of what
you think of me,
I could do about anything,
I could even learn how to
love...
