Shutter Sisters

The Way Things Have To Be

By

He is standing by the pie counter, talking on the phone.  Nick’s at the bar doing shots before the show.  I am waiting—wondering what the hell I’m doing here, partying with twenty-somethings in Manhattan when in a few days I’ll be turning forty.  

“A girl?” I ask him, and he nods, sheepish, rolling his eyes.  “Do you like her?” I ask later, when he hangs up because he can’t bear me photographing him like this.   

“We used to be together a long time ago,” he says, confessional.  “So I guess I’ll always be in love with her.”  
I show him this picture, and he asks for a do over.  I take a handful more staged shots of him, talking on the phone and flexing his biceps.  We laugh, collect Nick from the bar and go to the show.

It’s only when I’m home that I see the pieces of a heart in his reflection and remember how he laughed to hear her voice, how he folded his body in tight when they said good-bye, remembering the way things are, the way things have to be.

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What photo do you want to share today?  What tiny truth do you see when you look through your lens?

Comments

  13. One night last month, just before we sent our autistic 13 year old son to live in a residential treatment facility, I spontaneously took out my camera and started to snap away while he was in the bathtub. I was trying to preserve some tiny moments for my husband and I to recall while he was gone during the week. It was only after I uploaded the set, that I noticed how he was engaged and looking directly into the camera, something we rarely get to see. I keep coming back to this photo. It reminds me that even though Alex lives in a world we can’t understand, that he does have moments of absolute connection with us. He’s home now. The school couldn’t provide the intensive intervention that we had hoped for and looking at this photo, I know that we made the right choice.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/cartwheelsatmidnight/2843070944/

  16. I had to go for the Kleenex after reading this. Beautiful entry, beautiful photo.

    My truth? I miss him. In less then 2 hrs. we argued, he spread his wings and he was gone. He’s 17 (turns 18 in November) and he’s got a mind of his own. The only comfort in all of it, is that he at least went to live with his Dad instead of disappearing. He hasn’t spoken to me since. I wasn’t ready for the empty nest… but he just took a leap. Hopefully one day he’ll find his way home.

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/2529197290_2d395f8f8e.jpg

  26. Great post. Sometimes I see such truth when I look over photos I’ve taken. Like this series of lego pieces scattered around my house. Still. And my boys are all college age. Why haven’t I put them away? Why do I still find legos, dinosaurs, matchbox cars and the like in the strangest places…and why do I usually just leave them there when I find them to bring a smile to my face when I stumble upon them again?

    http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2008/09/22/long-forgotten-toys/