I was bouncing in my seat to Otis Redding’s “Sitting By The Dock of the Bay” and talking to a friend on the phone when I pulled up to the front of the apartment building where I was signing contracts with a beautiful couple for their wedding photography. It was one of the moments of supreme happiness that we experience like a wink of the gods, and the sun shone brilliantly for that moment as I nearly skipped to the front door. It was almost a premonition of better things to come.
Buzzed into the front door, I made my way to the apartment and was graciously let in by my lovely June bride, who introduced me to her gorgeous son, Xander.
“Hello, Xander!” I said. “It’s very nice to meet you.” He eyeballed me for a second, and then smiled sweetly. “It’s very nice to meet you, too.” He declared, as though he had decided something about me and was pleased. “Excuse me, please.” Charmingly, he trotted off to his room and I turned to his mother, pulling file folders of paperwork from my bag, and beginning the conversation that will lead us to the documentation of the big day.
“Ahem.” I looked around quizzically. Xander had resumed his position by my knee, smiling up at me from beneath his shock of curly black hair. He held his hands behind his back, something clenched in each fist. “Hi!” I said. I grinned back at him; his happy little smile was infectious. Bringing his hands in front of him he opened them to reveal a black plastic toy in one hand and a green toy in the other.
“Excuse me ma’am.” Xander stopped to smile shyly again. “Would you care for a dragon?”
And those, my dear friends, are the 6 words that melted my heart. Never in my life have I had a better offer, or one so genuine and generous. And the answer, as if you don’t already know, is yes, always, thank you!
I can’t wait to shoot this lovely family on their beautiful wedding day, and I am especially happy to see that little heartbreaker again. Hooray for June!