Page 5 of Archer
“Then move it to the top of your list and close the blinds permanently until you’re not alone in there.”
I rolled my eyes affectionately, even though she couldn’t see me. Aziza was such a mother hen. “Yes, Mom.”
She chuckled in response. “I know you have a session soon, so I’ll let you go so you can finish preparing. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” And I did. Meeting her had set a whole new path for my life, and I couldn’t be more thankful. As I walked over to close the blinds, my thoughts went back to the eye candy from the hall. I’d often wondered if he was interested in younger guys or if he was even gay, for that matter. His stopping to stare gave me hope.
Chapter 3
Archer
I stood in the Henderson’s backyard and mentally prepared myself for what lay ahead. Family portraits with two young children were guaranteed to be a challenge. I took a deep breath, adjusting my camera settings for the umpteenth time.
“Alright, everyone, are we ready to get started?” I asked, trying to sound more enthusiastic than I felt. The parents, Sarah and Ross, nodded encouragingly, positioning their two little ones—Lucy, who was five, and Danny, who was three—on the metal bench that Sarah had positioned in front of their koi pond.
When Sarah had called and booked the shoot, I’d been concerned because she’d insisted on doing it in their backyard.Once I arrived, I was relieved to see that it was actually a beautiful space.
“Just sit nice and still, okay?” Sarah instructed, her voice sounding like a mother who’d asked her kids to sit still too many times to think they would actually do it.
“Like statues!” Lucy declared, but her eyes sparkled with mischief as she nudged Danny, who promptly lost his balance and toppled off the bench, giggling uncontrollably.
I raised my camera to my eye, fighting off an already brewing headache, and snapped a few shots. They wouldn’t be the family portraits Sarah wanted, but I could tell she adored her children, so I thought she would enjoy the extra shots.
Sarah got Danny up off the ground and brushed him off before placing him back on the bench next to Lucy.
“Alright, let’s try that again!” I said, forcing a smile. “Big smiles, everyone!”
Lucy sprang up, her hands on her hips, striking a pose that could only be described as a cross between a superhero and a model trying way too hard. Danny, however, had spied something across the yard that caught his attention.
“My dinoswar,” he shouted with glee as he jumped down off the bench and ran across the yard. He reached down and picked up a toy dinosaur. “Look, Lu Lu, it’s my dinoswar,”
Sarah gave me an apologetic smile as he started making roaring noises and chased the dog around. “That’s his favorite toy. We looked everywhere for that thing yesterday but didn’t find it. Of course he would find it now.”
I shrugged. “That’s okay. Maybe we can use it to get a good smile out of him.”
“Danny, come on back over here and take a good picture for the nice man,” Ross urged, trying to coax his son into some semblance of cooperation.
“ROAR!” Danny replied, waving the dinosaur in my direction, but Ross swooped him up and spun him around like an airplane before depositing him back on the bench.
I adjusted the camera again, trying to frame the shot, but Lucy decided to hop up and spin in circles, her dress flaring out like a colorful flower.Breath, Archer.I reminded myself they were kids, and this was what kids did. Like earlier, I snapped some shots of her, a couple of which were pretty fantastic, but I could tell Sarah was nearing the end of her rope.
“Lucy, don’t you want to take a picture with the dinosaur!” I joked, trying to lighten the mood while I mentally debated switching careers to something less chaotic—like accounting.
“Dinoswars don’t take pictures!” Danny insisted, flopping onto the ground and rolling around, pretending to be a dinosaur. “They go Rawwrrr.”
“Okay, Hendersons, let’s regroup!” I called out, waving my hands like a coach trying to rally a sports team. “Let’s take a deep breath. In… and out.”
Lucy took a deep breath, but it ended in a giggle. Danny, now completely distracted, had found a flower and was busy pulling off its petals and tossing them in the air.
Okay, this was definitely not working.It was complete chaos, but they were cute kids.
“Let’s try something different,” I said, hoping to bring some calm to the storm. “How about if you all sit on the grass? We can revisit the bench a little later.”
They all plopped down, a jumble of limbs and children’s laughter. I snapped a quick shot, catching the moment before Sarah and Ross managed to get everyone into a position that would almost make a nice family photo.
“Okay, guys, let’s try this. Danny, can you sit in your mom’s lap?” He scrambled to get there, taking a second to roar again and make his dinosaur use Sarah’s arm for a snack. While she got him situated, I turned my attention to the other two. “Now, Ross, can you kind of turn to the side with your left knee raised up? Yeah, just like that. Now you lean on your leg with your left arm.” I watched as he did as I said. “Perfect. Now, Miss Lucy Lou, can you sit right there in front of your dad?”
I took a couple more shots of them that I thought would make them happy. There was only one thing I would change if I could. I doubted it would work, but I wanted to try, anyway.