Page 59 of Blame It on the Bikini
She loved that he was willing to let her take whatever time she needed because her creative juices were flowing, and she wanted to find the perfect angles to show different views of the trees.
After almost thirty minutes, she headed back to the car, and they drove deeper into the park, the road curving between granite boulders that rose like giant sculptures from the ground. They stopped next at Hidden Valley, and as she got out of the car to take in the scene, she was mesmerized by the beauty of the rock walls that cupped the valley, the way the sunlight struck the stone, turning it into a canvas of gold and amber.
As they moved down the Hidden Valley trail, they found themselves walking behind a young family—parents with a maybe-five-year-old boy who stopped every few feet to examine rocks, lizards, or anything else that caught his attention.
"Look, Daddy! This rock looks like a dinosaur!"
"It does, buddy. What kind of dinosaur do you think?" the father said.
The boy launched into an elaborate explanation involving a T. Rex and something called a "super-mega-saurus" while his parents listened with patient attention, asking follow-up questions that encouraged his imagination. She noticed something wistful cross Grayson's face as he watched their easy interaction, and as they continued past the group, she wondered what personal memories the moment had stirred.
"Sweet family," she commented. "And a very talkative kid."
"Yeah." He was quiet for a moment. "My parents would have probably hired someone with paleontology credentials to explain dinosaurs to me."
"That sounds... thorough. But kind of sad."
He shrugged. "Some parents are hands-on; some are not."
"Did you like dinosaurs?"
"What child doesn't like the magic of a dinosaur story?" he returned.
She smiled, catching a glimpse of the boy he'd once been.
"But I don't think we're going to find any dinosaur bones here."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. This place is pretty magical."
He smiled. "I guess we'll find out."
As they moved down the trail, her interest was drawn to an outcropping of rocks. She climbed onto one of the smaller boulders and knelt, her hair falling in her face as she adjusted the settings on her camera. Then she aimed the lens upward, framing the rocks above her against the sky. When she was done, she turned back to Grayson. "This is so stunningly beautiful."
"I agree," he said as he snapped a photo with his phone, which happened to be aimed at her.
"Did you just take my picture?" she asked in surprise.
"Maybe."
"With all this magnificence around us, that's the photo you wanted to take?"
He gazed back at her. "Absolutely."
A tingle ran down her spine. "You're crazy."
"I'm not. I want you to see what you look like when you're doing what you love."
"Well, thanks," she said. "But you should take photos of the scenery."
"I don't need to because I'll see yours, and they'll be better."
"I hope so. I don't know if I can do this place justice. Maybe I'm not that good."
"You are that good, and remember what you said before, as long as you love what you're doing, it's all good."
"You're right. Let's go back to the car and drive to the cactus garden."
As they headed back to their vehicle, they passed by the family once more, and the kid was still talking about dinosaurs. After sliding into the passenger seat, she checked the map and directed Grayson to the cactus garden, which was a ten-minute drive through canopies of trees that continued to make her feel like she'd been transported into another dimension.
