Before us...

Chapter Twenty Two

After they had eaten, Zar had begun to tire from running back and forth on the beach for his ball, so they gathered up their empty food packets, scooped up the blanket and towel to stuff back into the basket Lila had brought with her and moved over to the car. Milo tucked it in safely in the back seat as Lila reattached Zar to his lead to keep him close as they began to explore some of the small stalls that lay alongside the sea front of the town that they were in.

It was littered with quaint little stores that sold an array of tourist gifts and artefacts for visitors to take home. They explored a few before they noticed that they were pretty much all the same; filled to the brim with hard rock, shells and postcards with a large selection of small stationary that would serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Especially for a man with hands as large as Milo's who picked up a miniature pencil to examine only to shove it back roughly when it snapped like a twig between his fingers. He was only thankful that Lila saw the humour in the situation rather than the uncontrollable strength he seemed to have in the wide tips of his fingers.

It was however, in one of these stores where he came across a simplistically beautiful seashell bracelet that he believed would be perfect around Lila's fine wrist. The clasp was silver and small. It glistened prettily in the dim light of the store accentuating the nice tinge of plum that glowed on the white background of the small shells. It would suit her wonderfully, he thought to himself. And so, when she was busy examining the selection of plush toys at the back, he quickly purchased the bracelet, tucking the small paper bag safely into his jacket pocket.

Lila was examining a potential gift herself. It had occurred to her that bringing food from her own kitchen would not be as fair as Milo taking her out to a restaurant for dinner. Thus, she was hunting for the perfect gift. There were few options but she was beginning to worry as she scoured her limited options. That was until she found an adorable little plush puppy that was being sniffed at curiously by her own. It was decked out in a camouflage army suit with an officer's hat sewed to its head and a medal attached to its chest to match. It was perfect and she grabbed it happily. She made her way eagerly to the counter with Zar, the gift catching Milo of guard as he just finished stowing away his gift himself. He watched in amusement as she paid for her pup before handing it over to him with cute determination. He accepted the plush asking;

"For me? Why you shouldn't have." He stroked the toy as he spoke in a childlike manner allowing a sense of accomplishment to flow through her.

"It's the least I could do... aren't you going to name him?" Lila asked, crossing her arms with an air of amusement.

"Hmmmm.... What about... Abraham!" Milo dubbed the pup with the name eagerly and tucked him neatly into his empty jacket pocket where he fit comfortably.

"Abraham?" Lila question uncertainly, "Where did that come from?"

"It's the name of a character in this book I'm reading." A flash of content was reflected on his face. He glanced down to notice that Zar was shivering slightly from the draft of the open door. "Maybe we should head back, I think the cold is getting to him." He inclined his head towards Zar to get Lila's attention.

"I guess you're right. Would you-I don't know if you'd want to... but would you like to come back to my-my house to watch a movie or some-something?" Lila asked anxiously awaiting a response from the surprised man in front of her.

"I'd love that." He insisted and her head shot up with a brightness he had never seen before.

"Really?" Lila asked, causing Milo to warm at her obvious happiness. He nodded to confirm his seriousness.

And with that they left the store and walked back to the car. Lila closed the door behind Zar after he had climbed inside settling himself on the soft seat in comfort before climbing around to the passenger side herself. Milo had insisted on driving back himself. He seemed relieved to be back behind the wheel. Lila rolled her eyes as she watched him rub his hands against the wheel in a loving manner before he stuck the key into the ignition to begin the journey to her house.