"Community awareness," he replied with a smile bordering on the edge of wryness. Dominic continued, "I write critic pieces now and then on places and events in the area, and once in awhile I write simply to promote up and coming businesses in the community. It's not so bad, actually. Kind of gets me out of the office once in awhile."
It was honest work, he thought to himself, though advertising the newest sushi place or reviewing the recent seasonal festival couldn't possible hold a candle to what Karin did for a living. Still, he wouldn't feel his career was inferior to hers in other degrees of success. There was goodness to be shared in ruling out this or that place for entertainment or other recreational purposes, though on a different level than healing the sick.
Dominic's gaze had shifted to their shared end goal as he spoke, flames ever flickering in the distance, though occasionally he glanced at Karin. It was more to assess her level of comfort than to gauge whether or not she was really listening to him. The feeling of sand repeatedly pushed downwards as he walked alongside her was a comfort in and of itself--he felt he could safely make the conjecture that it must have aided her state of mind, too. Walking often proved good for clearing the mind of errant thoughts.
Or maybe it was only the ever nearing fire and the small party gathered around it looming closer with every step--light breaking through the darkness was always a reassuring sight. He wondered if they should announce their arrival, and decided quickly it was a must. Despite evening partygoers having a reputation of being good-natured and rarely minding another body to add to their eventful bashes, now that they'd closed more of the space between them and the night's focal point, propriety decreed they announce themselves before too long.
"I apologize," he said, "I could probably spend all night talking about my job." Dominic motioned to the bonfire with one hand briefly, arm falling back to his side after he finished speaking. "We should say hello when we pass by, just in case they're a little drunk--let them know we're not patrolling for proper identification cards." His statement was meant only in light jest, and he hoped it'd be taken as such. Mentioning anything about drunks seeing things they shouldn't on the darkened beach wouldn't have gone over well.