Starring Bobby Cannavale, David Costabile, Becky Ann Baker, Catherine Combs, Chris Bannow, Tommy Bracco, Emmanuel Brown, Nicholas Bruder, Phil Hill, Cosmo Jarvis, Mark Junek, Henry Stram, Jamar Williams, Isadora Wolfe & Amos Wolff
“I’ve always liked this sandwich since I was a child, it’s amazing they still make it. And it tastes just the same” - Richard smiled, caressing Helena’s hair before starting eating.
Shrugging slightly Richard rubbed his arm, looking down at it.
“Well, I think that’s better for us to look for a shadow now… Or we’re going to cook under this sun. Come on, let’s go sit under that tree” - he said, getting up and offering Helena a hand to help her get up as well - “The only thing for certain I miss it was playing around with my brothers. But I don’t think you would like playing with me” - Richard joked - “Well, unless…” - he smirked - “Unless we play another kind of game” - he blinked amusedly.
“The power of nostalgia, I suppose they should call it.” Helena smiled fondly with a small chuckle, letting out a small breath. For a moment she simply took in everything. Everything that she could observe, see and feel. It’d been a while since she could stay in the now.
She hummed lightly as Richard caressed her hair, taking a careful bite out of the sandwich. It really was that good.
The brunette’s gaze flickered between the sand and the shade, sun glaring, and she knew he was right. “Alright, a little shade would be nice.” Helena smiled, taking his hand as she lifted herself onto her feet once more and slung her bag over her shoulder. She adjusted herself to the feeling of the sinking and almost uneasy sand beneath her feet, chuckling as Richard joked about once more.
It was lovely to know he was as comfortable in her presence as she was in his.
“I always wanted siblings as a kid. Felt far too lonely, especially compared to the other kids I knew when I was that age.” Helena shared, intertwining her fingers with his as they walked towards the tree. “And I didn’t know you were a man of games, Richard.” She winked with a cheeky grin.
Richard reached out a hand, taking Helena’s in his as they walked and they noticed she was struggling a little bit to balance due to the sand, flashing her a smile.
“I’m sorry listening to that” - he said as they reached the shadow under the tree - “No children should feel lonely” - he said, pulling her closer and kissing Helena’s forehead, before chuckling as he sat down - “Yes, I fear there’s a lot of things about me to which you don’t know yet” - Richard said with a cheeky smile.
Helena felt a hearty smile creep onto her face as she felt Richard’s hand slipping into her, her warm palm meeting his as their fingers intertwined. She looked down to her feet, watching out to not step on any larger stones or seashells, both to not get hurt but also out of a sort of respect towards nature.
“I think most children with no siblings can have that tendency, but there’s always other people, of course.” She hummed, feeling the direct heat of the sun evading from touching her skin as she shade beneath the tree brought a sense of coolness to her. It was such a contrast to standing just beneath the sun, only a line of a shadow apart. It was soothing. Helena’s cheeks flushed as Richard placed a kiss on her forehead, and she gladly leaned into his touch before the two sat down. She placed her beach bag beside her, her hand never leaving his. “Oh really? I guess that means I’ll have to make more time to learn about those things, which I don’t seem to mind.” A chuckle escaped her lips, her hand moving to his upper arm, where she traced small lines across his soft skin.
Director and screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood workshopped her award winning film Love & Basketballat the 1998 Directors Lab and premiered it two years later at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
