coming from his shoulder.
“Sometimes we have people trying to do drug deals and other stuff in these
school parking lots after-hours,” he said handing our ID’s back to us. “And, I
think 10:30 is late enough to call it a night on the homework, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir” I
replied.
“Yes, sir,”
Jo mumbled, looking down at her shoes.
“Don’t worry
young lady, you’re not in trouble. Just be safe. Okay?”
She didn’t
respond.
“Have a good
night,” he said as he and his partner climbed back into their cruiser and
pulled forward, but didn’t leave.
“Why don’t
you get into the car. I’ll get the film and lock up,” I told her.
Again, she
didn’t say anything. She just walked to the car and climbed in.
I got the
camera bag, film canister and locked the door behind me.
The
police just sat in the parking lot as we drove away.
The night
had been so great but crash landed so hard when the cops arrived that I didn’t
really know what to say so most of the way home we just sat in silence. When we
did get to her house I took Jo’s hand.
“Are you
okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she
said taking a deep breath. “Tonight was just a lot of firsts for me that’s all.
I think I just need some time to process it.”
“Will you
call me tomorrow?”
“Maybe give
me a day or two,” she replied, which I wasn’t expecting.
“Okay? Well,
please call me sometime so I know you’re alright. Okay?”
She looked
at me with a forced half-smile and nodded. Then she squeezed my hand and got
out of the car.
I didn’t
hear from her for the rest of the weekend, but on Monday morning I picked her up
for school, just like I had for weeks now. She didn’t feel the need to tell her
parents about anything that happened since she hadn’t gotten in trouble with
the cops, so it seemed like everything was okay. I decided that the best thing
to do was to let her bring it up when she was ready, but she never did.
Ten
Summer was
fast approaching.
Someone from
a small art magazine in Denver ran a piece about Jo and her work that was
noticed by a few galleries, which led to her being offered two exhibitions.
This meant that we didn’t see much of each other outside of school for a few
weeks. Then one morning, when I picked her up for school, she mentioned that
her parents wanted to know if I could take a portrait of their family. I had
already taken Susan’s senior portrait, and apparently they liked it. I guess
they also figured it would be a good opportunity to finally meet me. Now, Jo
and I had been seeing each other for over six months by this time and she had
met my mother nearly a month ago, so I knew a meeting with her parents was
coming. It’s just that neither Jo nor I had rushed to put it together, and now
there was this increased pressure on me to make their family portrait.
“Of course,”
I said after a minute of deliberation. “When were you thinking?”
“Is Saturday
okay?”
“I don’t
have anything going on Saturday. What time?”
“We usually
eat around 6:30, but they’d like you to come by at 5 so we have time for the
photo and so they could have a chance to talk to you. You don’t have to do the
photo if it’s a problem. They just like us doing a summer portrait every year,
and they’re willing to pay you.”
This caught
my attention, but I wasn’t sure how to respond to it.
“Would that
be weird, me taking money from your parents?”
“I don’t
think so.”
“How much
are we talking?”
“One fifty.”
“Oh, I think
I can be convinced to take a hundred-and-fifty bucks from your parents.”
“There’s one
more thing,” she said.
“Okay?”
“They don’t
know about your ear ring, and I think it would probably be best if you took it
out. Just for right now. Is that okay?” She asked with not a small look of
worry on her face.
Piercings
and tattoos had become a huge fad in the
“Sometimes we have people trying to do drug deals and other stuff in these
school parking lots after-hours,” he said handing our ID’s back to us. “And, I
think 10:30 is late enough to call it a night on the homework, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir” I
replied.
“Yes, sir,”
Jo mumbled, looking down at her shoes.
“Don’t worry
young lady, you’re not in trouble. Just be safe. Okay?”
She didn’t
respond.
“Have a good
night,” he said as he and his partner climbed back into their cruiser and
pulled forward, but didn’t leave.
“Why don’t
you get into the car. I’ll get the film and lock up,” I told her.
Again, she
didn’t say anything. She just walked to the car and climbed in.
I got the
camera bag, film canister and locked the door behind me.
The
police just sat in the parking lot as we drove away.
The night
had been so great but crash landed so hard when the cops arrived that I didn’t
really know what to say so most of the way home we just sat in silence. When we
did get to her house I took Jo’s hand.
“Are you
okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she
said taking a deep breath. “Tonight was just a lot of firsts for me that’s all.
I think I just need some time to process it.”
“Will you
call me tomorrow?”
“Maybe give
me a day or two,” she replied, which I wasn’t expecting.
“Okay? Well,
please call me sometime so I know you’re alright. Okay?”
She looked
at me with a forced half-smile and nodded. Then she squeezed my hand and got
out of the car.
I didn’t
hear from her for the rest of the weekend, but on Monday morning I picked her up
for school, just like I had for weeks now. She didn’t feel the need to tell her
parents about anything that happened since she hadn’t gotten in trouble with
the cops, so it seemed like everything was okay. I decided that the best thing
to do was to let her bring it up when she was ready, but she never did.
Ten
Summer was
fast approaching.
Someone from
a small art magazine in Denver ran a piece about Jo and her work that was
noticed by a few galleries, which led to her being offered two exhibitions.
This meant that we didn’t see much of each other outside of school for a few
weeks. Then one morning, when I picked her up for school, she mentioned that
her parents wanted to know if I could take a portrait of their family. I had
already taken Susan’s senior portrait, and apparently they liked it. I guess
they also figured it would be a good opportunity to finally meet me. Now, Jo
and I had been seeing each other for over six months by this time and she had
met my mother nearly a month ago, so I knew a meeting with her parents was
coming. It’s just that neither Jo nor I had rushed to put it together, and now
there was this increased pressure on me to make their family portrait.
“Of course,”
I said after a minute of deliberation. “When were you thinking?”
“Is Saturday
okay?”
“I don’t
have anything going on Saturday. What time?”
“We usually
eat around 6:30, but they’d like you to come by at 5 so we have time for the
photo and so they could have a chance to talk to you. You don’t have to do the
photo if it’s a problem. They just like us doing a summer portrait every year,
and they’re willing to pay you.”
This caught
my attention, but I wasn’t sure how to respond to it.
“Would that
be weird, me taking money from your parents?”
“I don’t
think so.”
“How much
are we talking?”
“One fifty.”
“Oh, I think
I can be convinced to take a hundred-and-fifty bucks from your parents.”
“There’s one
more thing,” she said.
“Okay?”
“They don’t
know about your ear ring, and I think it would probably be best if you took it
out. Just for right now. Is that okay?” She asked with not a small look of
worry on her face.
Piercings
and tattoos had become a huge fad in the
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