Page 77 of Smile for the Camera
“Emilyn, let me have my moment.”
“Jase, let me tell the truth.”
Mrs. Rivers and Jordan chuckle.
“The only time Jase will ever be someone’s favorite student,” Jordan teases.
“Why you little—” Jase reaches over and playfully ruffles Jordan’s hair. Jordan swats away Jase’s hand, their laughter bubbling together.
“Settle down, boys,” Mrs. Rivers says with a laugh. “Time for lunch.”
She sets out paper plates, and on each, she places a turkey sandwich layered with lettuce and tomato, mayo oozing in the middle. After she passes out water bottles to me and Jase, she gives Jordan another sandwich. Jordan rips apart the sandwiches and, with the scraps, creates what looks like a moon made of bread and stars made of crusts.
“Those are the most beautiful moon and stars I’ve ever seen,” I say. It’s impressive how he can make something just by using food.
“Thank you!” Jordan says, methodically moving around the crusts. “I want to be a sculptor.”
“You’re already on your way there!”
“For my birthday last year, he sculpted me a motorcycle because I couldn’t have a real one,” Jase says. “Best birthday gift ever.”
“How thoughtful!”
“Anything for the best brother ever!”
Jase smiles hard enough that his dimples appear, my heart bouncing harder than before at the sight. He reaches over to ruffle Jordan’s hair again. Instead of swatting him away, Jordan giggles and bends his head forward to let Jase ruffle it more.
“You’re going to be an amazing sculptor, Jordan,” I say.
“Thank you, it’s my dream!”
“Sweetie,” Mrs. Rivers says, resting a hand on Jordan’s arm, “there are so many other jobs out there, like a doctor, or a lawyer, or a professor.”
She may sound sweet saying all of this, but my teeth grit hearing an iteration of what my parents always say.
“Jordan likes sculpting,” Jase says tensely.
“He has many years to think about his career,” Mrs. Rivers says, equally tense.
It’s a lot more awkward feeling tension between family members who aren’t yours. “Would it be okay if I take my photo now?” I ask to break the tension. “The setup is perfect with all this food.”
“Of course!” Mrs. Rivers says, returning to the friendly woman I met upon introduction.
“We’re about to see a real photographer get to work,” Jase tells Jordan.
“Cool!” Jordan cheers.
After I check my histogram and adjust my settings, I ask, “Can you all talk about something that makes you happy? Like something fun or something you’re proud of?”
“At yesterday’s show, we did a cover of ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ by Green Day,” Jase tells his brother and his mom. “The crowd loved it!”
“Yay!” Jordan cheers, pumping his little fist in the air.
“Your father’s favorite song,” Mrs. Rivers says. Though she’s smiling, I see her lips pursing like she’s stopping herself from saying something she shouldn’t.
As Jase tells them more, like how all the guys crushed it, and how he felt so much energy from them and the audience, Jordan leans in and beams while Mrs. Rivers nods along, her pursed smile softening into a genuine one. My lens frames the Rivers family and Curtain Lake, locking the three of them in focus.
Click!
