The sea breeze was enveloping us as we watched the waves. He was holding me from behind, and I was between his legs on the picnic blanket. His chin was on my shoulder, his cheek pressed to mine. His papa and mom had gone for a walk down the beach, hand in hand. Natsuko was taking pictures with her professional camera of the waves. I'd found out that photography was a hobby of hers, and now I wasn't surprised that her marriage day photos of us were so beautiful.

In the morning, Tetsu's papa had packed up the car full of beach things. A picnic basket, a blanket, outdoor pillows, things of that nature. We'd had a small breakfast all together, and talked about what we wanted to do that day.

To my surprise, once we'd left the car, we didn't encounter many stairs. This had been my main worry. Then, the stairs we did encounter were no problem. As if they'd practiced it, Tetsu would stand me up from my chair, his papa would fold it and lift it, and then Tetsu would carry me on his back. It only took a few seconds, like none of this was strange at all. Some stairs were taller than others, but he was careful whether we were going up or down. I had complete trust in him. I knew he was athletic enough for this. I knew he would never drop me, either. Every time gave me such a feeling of being loved, that I was starting to hope we encountered stairs.

As we'd walked down the long central road, Tetsu was pushing me along. He insisted, even though his papa offered to do it. That made me feel so loved, too, the fact that they were mock fighting over it. We'd gone into little shops as promised. They were all the kind that were missing a wall, open to the outside. Everything was eye level to me, and I enjoyed seeing all the wares.

In one shop, I noticed some heart shaped jewel paperweights. I knew from Tetsu's apartment that this was just the sort of thing he likes. I held a pink one in my hands, wishing I could buy it for him. I knew from its weight that it had to be glass. He loved to collect special glass. It made my stomach flip flop awfully, knowing I'd spent all of my money on his gifts that I'd ordered the other day. All of a sudden, Natsuko was kneeling in front of me.

"What's that?" She'd asked. I explained that it was a paperweight, and that I wished I could buy it for Tetsu, but I had no money left, not even the eight hundred yen it cost. Silently, she took it from my hands. She put her finger over her lips, and went to the shopkeeper to pay for it. I blushed, embarrassed that she had to do that. She brought it back to me in a pretty paper bag with a blue ribbon on it. "Give it to him during dinner," she'd whispered to me. "Don't let him know, but we're all giving him presents. Now you have something to give him, too. I'm glad this happened." That gave me such a happy feeling again. "You know what?" She said, tapping her lip in thought, "let me keep that in my purse so he doesn't get suspicious." I nodded, smiling. It disappeared into her purse, and I was left with such a content feeling.

Afterwards, I'd watched him speed around the shops, looking at everything. It made me want to go shopping with him more often. He was so enthusiastic. In the end, he'd bought a pouch of different colors of sea glass. All I could think of was that these pieces of sea glass would perfectly fit in the bottle of sand and seashells that I'd bought for him. It made the content feeling I had increase, an impossibly wonderful feeling.

Now on the beach on the mainland, we were silently watching the waves and resting. In the picnic basket, he'd discovered that his mom had packed a bunch of foods that I can eat. Some of my Pedialytes just in case, some of the Kind bars she'd bought last night from Costco, and some unsalted potato chips she'd also found there. The potatoes were a little risky for me, but as long as I didn't eat too many then we thought they could be okay. There were other snacks for the rest of the family in there, too, but just the fact that she'd made sure to pack things I could eat, things that were just for me...it made that content feeling in me swell so much that I could burst. Tetsu and I shared a Kind bar together, and he liked it a lot. It was mostly nuts and a vanilla kind of cream. We'd both eaten one after that.

How beautiful it all was. Eating with him on the beach. Hearing the waves again, knowing this was one of his favorite places. He'd pointed all around us, telling stories. "When I was eight, Natsuko swam out too far right over there and my papa had to go get her. Ah, and over there, we lost our beach ball. It floated away. We watched it go. By the time any of us had noticed, it was too far out. I wonder where it is now?" He'd laughed. "Oh, and over there? When she was thirteen, Naoko lost her bikini top because of strong wave. She got pulled under, and when she got upright it was gone. My mom ran out into the waves in her full clothes and covered her in a beach towel. We went home after that. I don't think she ever wore a bikini again. Ah, and when I was ten, I found a crab over there." He pointed far away. "No one believed me, but I promise I did." He made snipping motions like a crab's claws with his fingers, and we giggled together.

"But, I think my favorite memory of all is the one we're making now. It's the best one," he said quietly to me, kissing my cheek. I closed my eyes, feeling his soft lips. I turned my head, and he kissed me on the lips.

We watched the waves for a while together. Now, I was thinking about what was to come. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. The aquarium. There was only one thing in my head when I thought about it.

His desperate plea to me when I was half asleep. His voice so close, and strained by his tears. Begging me, saying I had to pull through, because he wanted to take our future family to Enoshima Aquarium. To the jellyfish room. And now, here we were. We were about to go there, and I'd see what he meant for the first time. A place that his mom and sister had said was his favorite place in the world, where he'd asked to go all the time as a child. How much I wanted to see this place...it was indescribable in words. This precious place to him.

There was clinking behind me, and I was pulled out of my thoughts. His arm came back from behind me, and I realized the clinking had been him going through his pocket. Held above my lap was a small burlap drawstring bag. He opened it, and inside were his treasures from this morning.

Like a magical object, he brought out a red piece of smooth glass. Together, we looked up as he held it up towards the light in the vast, blue sky. It shined brilliantly, and suddenly I knew why he was so fascinated with glass. It was so most beautiful thing, like a flaming star, the light twinkling through it and bouncing off around it.

"That's my favorite piece so far," he said, adorably.

"It's the only one we've looked at," I giggled.

"I know," he laughed with me. He squeezed me tight with the arm around my middle. "Next one," he said, so full of joy. His hand went into the bag that was now on my lap. He brought out a small, dark green piece. He thrust it towards the sky, and we admired it together. This one sparkled unlike the other, and when put towards the light the color lightened.

"It looks like an emerald," I breathed, dazzled by it.

"It really does." He wiggled it between his fingers, then brought it back down. He put it back in the bag, and hunted around for another one. This time, he took out a very smooth white one. It almost looked like a stone.

"It looks like a rock. I've never seen sea glass like that," I admired. He rolled it around in his palm for a few moments as we studied it.

"I bet it's pretty old. It must have been tossed around a lot to look like this," he said, so knowledgeable. Suddenly, I wanted to know everything he knew about sea glass. I wanted to hear his voice talking about something he's passionate about. I was so excited I couldn't keep it in.

"Tell me more about sea glass," I said, smiling so much.

"You want to know?" He asked, pressing his cheek to mine again.

"Yes, very much."

He chuckled to himself a little bit. He put the white piece back in the bag, and looked around inside. He found what he was looking for with a small gasp.

"Orange!" He exclaimed. "I never thought I'd find orange in here."

"What's special about orange?" My heart was tumbling about with butterflies at him.

"Well, some say orange is the rarest kind. In general, there's not a lot of orange glass, right? When was the last time you saw something made of orange glass?"

I thought for a moment. "I can't say I ever have."

"Exactly. So, a piece like this is a rare find. Ohh...I'm so glad to have it. Other rare colors are pink and turquoise. I wonder if we have any like that in this bag? Let's find out."

What followed was a delightful lesson about a subject he loved so much. It sounded like he could talk for hours about it. I listened intently, grabbing every detail. When he told me that sea glass is also called mermaid glass, something clicked.

I could imagine a mermaid collecting things like this. When I thought about his apartment, and all of the glass and crystal he likes to collect... He was like a mermaid. Everyone was right to compare him to that creature. He was like one in every way, even in this.

As I listened to him talk so passionately, I sighed silently in happiness in his arms. I knew our time was short on the beach. We'd have to go pretty soon. But, just for this moment, it was perfect.