His gaze followed the ripples spreading slowly across the water. “You know, Naomi,” he said suddenly.
Naomi turned to him. “Hm?”
“I’m glad you came camping with us today.”
Naomi was slightly surprised by such a sudden admission. But Josh seemed completely unaware of it.
“I’m going to tell Daddy that we need to go camping again next year.” A broad smile spread across his face. “What do you think?”
Naomi had not yet had the chance to answer when Grace's voice interrupted first.
“I want to!” The little girl immediately raised her hand high in the air as if she were casting a vote in an important meeting. “What about you, Eli?”
Eli, who was sitting on a rock, merely shrugged casually. “Sounds good to me.”
Grace looked satisfied with Eli's answer. “Camping with family is fun.” Her eyes then shifted to Naomi. “And you have to come again.”
Naomi looked at each of the faces now watching her expectantly.
Grace. Josh. Eli. Not one of them seemed hesitant to consider her part of their little group. As though her presence there was something completely natural.
A small smile finally appeared on Naomi's face. “Of course I'll come.”
“YEAAYY!”
“Oh.” Josh suddenly slapped his forehead. “Let's take pictures.”
“Pictures?” Naomi asked.
Josh nodded enthusiastically. “I brought a camera.”
Eli immediately looked at the bag Josh had been carrying around all morning. “So your bag really does have a camera in it?”
“Yes.” Josh nodded proudly. “And a drone. I'm making a video of today's trip.” He began pulling the camera out of the bag. “I've already got some footage, but we don't have any photos together yet.”
Grace immediately ran over. “I want to be in the front!”
“You always want to be in the front.”
A few minutes later, they began taking photos at various spots along the riverbank.
At first, Naomi tried to decline politely. She said that the three of them were enough.
But Grace immediately grabbed her hand. “No.”

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