Page 27 of Revealing Mark

“Fine,” I mumbled, hating that he could blackmail me into this. I didn’t like being dictated to but he held all the cards.

Mark carried most of my stuff to his car as I tagged behind, feeling foolish that I had turned down breakfast. The lack of sleep and food wasn’t a good combination with me. I was feeling grumpier by the second. I decided to try to find some time to eat the apple he had given me when he wasn’t around.

I gave Mark the address and then I proceeded to ignore him.

While he drove, I went through my emails to refresh myself with the details of what the client wanted. It was a photo shoot for Mrs. Corbin for her young son, Marshall. He was only two. Kids could be difficult to work with but it was one of the things I loved about my job. Little children needed a lot of patience and I hoped I had enough to complete the shoot. I had worked with him before when I had done his baby photos and I couldn’t wait to see how much he had grown since the last time I had seen him.

Once we arrived, I got into work-mode and sat down to playwith Marshall so he wouldn’t be too wary of me. I sat and played with cars and talked to him while Mrs. Corbin got some refreshments. Mark hung back and I could feel him watching me interact with the fascinated toddler.

Within ten minutes, I had Marshall giggling.

“Are you ready to smile for me?” I asked him as I took his tiny hand in mine.

He nodded, with a car still clutched in his small hand.

His mom led me to the yard where she wanted the photos taken. I let him sit in the grass and play with his car while I got the equipment ready and set up the cameras. I hurried to set up everything quickly as I knew he would lose interest if I took too long.

I got a bottle of bubbles I usually kept with my equipment, since it was always a hit with the kids. I blew the bubbles and snapped the camera on the stand with my other hand while the boy tried to reach for them as they drifted above him. He laughed. He was such a happy boy it didn’t take long before I got all the photos I needed.

“You were the best,” I praised. He looked at me bashfully before coming over to give my knee a hug. I bent down and hugged him.

“You behave until the next time I see you, Marshall.”

“You were great,” his mom gushed, looking relieved. Obviously the shoot had gone better than she had expected.

“It’s taken lots of practice.” I shrugged.

Taking shots of kids was a big part of my job so I had to find a way to get them in the right mood for it to go smoothly.

When I began to pack everything up, Marshall started to get tired and grumpy.

“I’ll send some photos over this afternoon and you can let me know which ones you want,” I suggested.

“Sure, that would be great.” Marshall began to cry so his mother picked him up. “I need to settle him for his nap.”

I nodded. “I’ll let myself out.”

I’d been so engrossed, I had temporarily forgotten about Mark, who had been watching silently from the side. He came over to take my equipment and help me carry it out to the car.

Once everything was packed, we left.

“Do you need to go back to your place?” he asked while he drove.

“Yes, I need my laptop.”

He nodded.

A few minutes of silence followed before he spoke again.

“You really have a way with kids.” The word ‘kids’ sounded so foreign coming from him.

I nodded. “They make up a lot of my work so I’ve had to learn how to deal with them.”

“It’s more than that,” he added.

I turned to face him. “What do you mean?”

“You’re really good with them. You’re a natural mother.”