The summer heat beat down on Mia's back as she sat outside on the porch of Leila's parent's house. A light breeze and the shade of the awning kept them cool from the harsh sun. In the distance, Mia could hear the cry of gulls and chirping of cicadas. She shut her eyes briefly, admiring the sounds of summer. To think it had been over a year since she had returned to Maine...

Mia reached down to retrieve the glass of lemonade on the table in front of her. She took a few sips, savoring the feeling of the cold liquid trickling down her throat before she sat back against the couch and threw her arm around Leila's shoulder. 

Beside Mia, Leila chatted eagerly with Gavin about how life was with a new baby. Seated across from her and Mia was Shannon, who was rocking her infant under the shade. Leila's parents, meanwhile, were gawking over their grandson, shoving various toys in front of his face that he seemed to be mainly uninterested by.

Mia briefly glanced at Leila. Leila's long hair was thrown back in a ponytail, and tiny beads of sweat clung to her neck. She wore a light blue sundress embroidered with daisies and sparkling sapphire earrings. Mia had complimented her on the new dress this morning as they were getting ready for their weekly dinner at Leila's parents' house. She was tempted to lean up and kiss Leila's cheek while staring at her, but it felt strange to do so in the presence of Leila's family.

"And then Benjamin cried for three hours straight it felt like," she heard Gavin relaying to Leila.

"Your fault for having a kid," Leila teased.

"What? You don't want any?" Gavin asked. "Mia wants kids, right Mia?"

Mia suddenly glanced at him in surprise. "Uh, I don't think we've had that discussion," she answered.

"Shut up, Gavin! We haven't even been dating a year," Leila complained.

Mia chuckled slightly beside her.

"How's your job going, Mia?" Gavin asked. "I'm tired of baby talk."

"Oh, sure, I get a recent promotion but you choose to ignore it," Leila argued with him.

Gavin rolled his eyes. "Lei, it's all you've talked about the past month." Mia once again laughed. During the early months of her relationship, she'd felt guilty for making Leila miss out on such a great employment opportunity, even though Leila had reassured her that she'd rather be with in Maine. When Leila had gotten a promotion earlier in the summer, Mia had been overjoyed, glad to see she was still managing to find ways to advance her career at her current company.

"Besides," Gavin continued, "I wanted to see if Mia has any advice on how to deal with kids."

"Well, I'm not working with infants," Mia retorted. Shortly into the new year, an art teacher position had opened up at a local elementary school. Mia had been hesitant about going for the role at first, never having thought of working with kids before. Thankfully, she'd been enjoying the experience thus far. The children possessed unimaginable creativity and had the brightest smiles. Mia wanted to lift them up as best they could, knowing too well the struggles of being a young artist. Of course, there were always a few troublemakers who ruined her day, but many of the kids were well-behaved. Besides, she'd take some bratty kids over upset adult customers at the coffee shop any day.

"Some girls drew Mia an art piece last week," Leila said. "It's on our fridge."

"Hey, shut up," Mia said, shoving Leila some as she attempted to hide her blush.

"You're going to run out of room on the walls eventually," Gavin said.

"There's plenty of space!" Leila argued. "Besides, once Mia sells all her pieces, we'll have room for more."

Since Mia had moved her things into the master bedroom, they had converted their extra space into an art room for Mia. She spent many hours in there each week, drawing and painting to her heart's content. Leila had insisted they hang up Mia's artwork, though true to Gavin's word, they were running out of space on the walls at this rate. Leila had suggested again and again that Mia sell her pieces, though there was some barrier holding Mia back from doing so, as if she had convinced herself her art still wasn't good enough.

"You will sell some," Leila said, turning to Mia. "Even if my parents have to buy a piece. Or Gavin and Shannon for that matter. Do you need a painting for Benjamin's nursery?"

"No, please. We get enough gifts as it is," Gavin said.

"What's your nursery theme again? Mia can paint something for you," Leila suggested.

"Agh, enough!" Gavin exclaimed. "I'm sick of baby talk," he said, rising up from his seat on the couch to join his wife at the couch opposite of them.

"I appreciate you wanting to sell my pieces, but you don't have to heckle your brother," Mia told Leila.

"I know, I know," Leila said, "but your art is really good, and I want everyone to see it."

Mia leaned her head up and gently traced her lips against Leila's cheek. "Thank you." Mia watched Leila's cheeks turn red, though Mia was sure if she pointed it out, Leila would blame it on the sun.

"Alright, I'll go in and start dinner," Leila's father announced, finally diverting attention away from his grandson.

Leila stood and grasped Mia's hand. "Come with me," she said. "I have something to show you."

"What now?" Mia asked, standing up and following her inside. The air conditioning felt good on her warm skin. She followed Leila down the hall and up the steps into Leila's old bedroom, which was still painted in the grossest purple color Mia had ever seen.

"My mom found some more scrapbooks when cleaning out the garage the other day," Leila said, crouching under her bed to grab a few. She pulled out a blue scrapbook with a yellow stitched border. "This one's from fourth grade. It's mostly you and me."

Together, they began flipping through, laughing and smiling as memories came back to them. Mia's heart felt full as she flipped through the pictures of her and Leila together. Only a year earlier, these images would have made her heart ache as she longed for her mother, but sitting here with Leila, her girlfriend, Mia felt content.

"I'm happy you finally grew your hair out a little," Leila said, reaching up to feel Mia's hair. "Not that your old hairstyle was bad! You just look more grown-up now."

"Thank you," Mia said. Her eyes locked with Leila's, and slowly, the two leaned forward to share a kiss. Though they had kissed thousands of times at this point, Mia still couldn't get over the way her heart would pound and her stomach would flutter each time Leila's lips touched her own.

As they broke apart, Leila cupped her hand over Mia's. "Are you happy?" Leila asked her. It was a question she didn't ask too often, but each time she did, she asked it with grave seriousness.

"Yes," Mia answered honestly. "So happy. Especially after quitting that waitress job."

Leila giggled.

"But in all honesty," Mia said, interlacing her fingers with Leila, "I'm so happy we reconnected. I always knew it was a possibility seeing you here again after I moved back. I think deep down, I secretly wished for it. I don't think I realized we'd be dating a year later, but I'm happy regardless. You changed my life in so many ways."

"You're going to make me cry," Leila said, glancing away from her.

"Come on, at least look at me after saying all that," Mia said.

Leila sniffed slightly and turned to stare at Mia. "I'm happy too," she told Mia. "I mean, you've heard me share it all before, but I'm so happy to be in a relationship with you, to live with you, to share joint custody of Fuji—"

"We don't actually share joint custody of him—"

"Either way. I didn't realize how much my life would change running into you one year ago either, but here we are," Leila said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Mia replied, leaning forward to kiss her once more. They remained sitting like that for quite some time, Mia's head resting comfortably on Leila's shoulder as they flipped through more photographs.

Distantly, in their apartment nearby, as the air conditioner rattled and a tabby cat slept soundly on a couch cushion, two seashells sat next to each other on the fireplace mantle. Both were warm reminders of home – the pain, the memories, the laughter, but most of all, of each other.