The trees danced with a gentle sway as the wind brushed past them, creating a small orchestra of rattling leaves. The air had the subtle smell of freshly cut grass mixed with a hint of the aroma of nearby blossoming flowers. A man sat silently on a park bench, enjoying the sounds and fragrances of nature around him. His eyes were tightly shut, causing all of his other senses to become far more vivid.

A gentle poke started at his cheek. "Hey there sleepy head, wake up," a womanly voice teased. The man, not yet finished with his relaxation, stretched and leaned onto the source of the noise, getting comfortable against it. "Come now, you're missing her cartwheels," it said in response to his actions. Though it asked him to get up, a limb carefully stroked his cheek.

"Do you smell the flowers?" the man said.

"Of course I do," the limb tapped on his face, "I smelled them on the ride over too," it replied with a giggle. The man smiled and opened his eyes to see the figure holding him. Probably the only one he would ever truly love. A large elephant lady, Mary, or his "Elephantess" as he would sometimes call her. Her trunk rubbed against his face again while she moved an arm to wrap around him comfortingly. 

"Just a little longer like this," the human said as he snuggled into the warmth of his wife. Her sun dress was agreeably smooth, allowing the man to lovingly rest on his woman's cushiony body underneath. In the distance he could spy his labor of love frolicking in the grass and doing childish acrobatics with glee. Her skin was far lighter than her mother's, hovering around a cutesy silver rather than a grey. She wore a simple T-shirt and shorts, in line with her newfound tomboyish tendencies.

With another stretch, the husband raised from the cozy side of his Elephantess a little reluctantly. He clapped at another pirouette his daughter performed. She looked back at him and gave an excited wave, then swiftly went back to more twirls and rolls. "Why don't you do any of that?" the man said with a nudge against the lady next to him.

"Why don't you?" She nudged back with a cheeky smile. "No one wants to see an old cow like me do that." The man presented his hand and motioned over to the field of grass where the child played. Her hand grabbed his and they left the bench. The two might have described it as "hand-in-hand" but her hand easily enveloped his almost entirely. The man's gaze admired his partner as they walked. Her shapely form was only improved by motherhood, and she had enough curves in all the right places. The floral sun dress she wore fluttered in the wind and pressed up against her, presenting her general form.

"You were never good at hiding where you're looking," she laughed. Her hand squeezed his, and they locked eyes.

"Who said I was hiding?" He squeezed back.

"Look, look!" A small voice piped up. The pair looked down at their child, who was holding several flowers of differing shapes and colors.

The larger elephant leaned down to marvel at what her daughter gathered. "Wow, those are pretty! Do you know the names of these, sweetheart?" Her trunk began to run over them. The relatively small girl looked at her handful of flowers in obvious confusion. "See this purple one here?" The older woman touched the pink petals of one with her front appendage, her hand still gripping her partner's. "This is an Allium, and this white one is a Petunia."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh," the girl said simply. She held up her bushel of flowers as an offer. "Want one?" The man's wife delicately picked a white one with her trunk and promptly placed it in her husband's shirt pocket. Mary took a purple one for herself and positioned it on one of her large, fan-like ears. She flapped them happily, prompting a chuckle from the child.

"Are you ready to eat now, Dawn?" the man asked his daughter.

"Mmmmmmm," the girl hummed in consideration. She looked down at her flowers. Suddenly, she dropped all of them and looked back up at her parents. "Yeah!"

"Alright then, come on," the father said, reaching out for her hand. Dawn happily took up his and the trio walked away from the field towards their car. It was a large, dull-red SUV that had faithfully served the family for years. As was standard for Sundays, its trunk area was packed with a cooler, a basket, and containers of food in bags. The man approached the rear of the car and popped it open, then hefted up the cooler.

"Ooh, look at you go," the elephant woman wooed. The man grinned, snatching up the trite flattery. She picked up everything else effortlessly and closed the back. 

"Can I help?" the child asked, tugging at her mother's dress.

"Oh? Sure sweetie, here," she handed Dawn the basket, "hold this for me." The girl let out a small trumpet of happiness and gripped the basket tightly, her small tail flip flopped back and forth. Having retrieved everything, the family returned to the grassy area and set down their various bags and items.

"Set that down and help your Dad out with setting the blanket. It's inside," the elephant woman said. The girl placed the basket in a nice spot, or as nice a spot as she could find, then retrieved the large blanket from the basket. Having placed down the heavy cooler by the basket, the human turned to his daughter.

"Here, hold one end and I'll get the other," the man said, reaching for one side of the fabric. "Spread it out, and," they pulled back and stretched out the blanket, "woosh!" They tossed it up in the air and it glided down to the ground.

"Woosh!" the girl repeated as she watched the picnic blanket fall. As soon as it settled on the floor, Dawn leaped on it and sat down, ready for food. The father set down the basket in the center and opened its top, revealing small confectioneries and tinfoil wrapped sandwiches.

The man sat down next to the girl and offered one of the sandwiches to her. "Peanut butter and jelly," he explained.

"Blegh," the little elephant replied and pushed the food away. "Jelly is gross!"

"Your mom made them, so it's definitely good. Wouldn't want to make her sad by not eating one!" the father said, handing it to her. Dawn considered it for a moment before hesitantly unwrapping the tinfoil and munching grumpily on the sandwich. "Good girl." While her mother made full use of her trunk like a third arm, the small elephant stuck to her hands, copying her father's trunk-less eating.  

Mary had pulled out all the containers from the bags and arranged them on the picnic blanket. She took a spot in front of her husband and daughter. Her trunk snaked into the basket to retrieve a sandwich for herself while her other arms went to work grabbing other bits of food. "I'm jealous," the man joked as he marveled at his wife's amazing multi-tasking.

The man simply took an apple from one of the containers of food and leaned back, lazily munching on the juicy fruit. While he may have been admiring nature earlier, he took to watching over his family. A sense of tranquility washed over him as he watched the two. There was nothing particularly special about it to an outside viewer, but knowing these two were a part of his life was enough to make him happy. "Make sure to wipe your mouth, Dawn," the Elephant mother chided as she cleaned the girl's lips with a napkin. 

The group continued to munch away at all the foods they brought, an array of snacks, sandwiches, and fruits. The man had considered having another child for quite some time, but considered, with the amount of food they go through, that could wait for some time. Occasionally, Dawn and her father would play with their food, causing her mother to rumble at a low pitch. The human couldn't hear them, but he got the message all the same through the Elephantess' glare.

A spatter of orange colored the sky as the sun edged ever closer to the horizon. The family had just about finished most of their food, though of course, the father ate the least of it. Leaning in close to his daughter, the man said, "Bet'cha can't climb that tree." He pointed at a nearby tree that was in the process of shedding its leafs. 

"Can too!" Dawn shouted. She set down the last of an apple core and dashed off to scale the bark mountain.

"Be careful!" the mother shouted uncertainly.

The man smiled as he watched his daughter zip off to complete her challenge. He got up from his relaxed spot on the blanket and walked over to his wife. "You go catch her. I'll clean up." 

Mary stood up and asked, "Are you sure?" He nodded and pulled her in close. They shared a fumbly, but loving, kiss followed by a quick hug. She gave a wave and ambled off to watch over her offspring, a little more than worried about the child. Even though her lineage was undoubtedly strong, it was hard to shake off the natural parental instinct of constant protection. 

Quickly getting to work, the man retrieved a trash bag out of one of the many bags and began to toss out all of the waste. Slowly but surely he made his way through the bulk of trash. He would look up at times to see Dawn still conquering the tree, not stopping for even a second. Her mother was at the base of the tree, goading her on, but not without the usual "careful" or "watch out."

Pulling the trash bag closed, the man tossed it over his shoulder and grabbed what other cargo he could before marching back to the car. It took a few trips, but he was finally finished. The only clue to their picnic was the flattened grass where they sat. The father looked back over at the tree, which now had a tiny elephant proudly tooting its horn at the top and a cautiously happy mother nearby.

With a stretch, the man walked over to the rest of his family. "OK! Now get back down!" he shouted from the bottom. Dawn stopped her cheering and looked down nervously. "Just look where you're going and you'll be down in no time." He beckoned with both hands. With cautious movements, Dawn made her way down the tree. Her cheery demeanor returned once both of her feet found purchase. 

"See! No problem," Dawn gloated.

The man crouched somewhat to give her a kiss on the forehead. She returned the gesture with a peck on his cheek with her nose, adding a "mwah" to complete it. "Come on now, let's go home," he said, offering his hand. His Elephantess offered her own. Dawn grasped both and walked away with her parents, in-between. She took a few hops and swings on their arms, a happy strain on her father's poor shoulder. "Did you have fun today?" he asked.

"Mhmm!" Dawn hummed.

The man looked up at his wife and added, "And you?"

The Elephantess smirked and nodded. "Of course."

They approached the car and filed in. The father made sure to buckle in Dawn before starting the engine and putting on his own seatbelt. He looked over at Mary, who was quickly becoming comfortable in the leather seat. He admired her for a moment before stealing a kiss from her cheek.

The car went into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot, driving off to a welcoming home.