Picture Perfect Family

“Yes?”

“Can I stay in this truck till we get home?”

Daniel paused climbing in to see what she’d say.

Mandy swallowed then turned warm eyes toward Kaden. “If you want to, that’s fine. You haven’t seen Uncle Daniel in a while. You probably want to visit and ask him about those elephants, don’t you?”

Kaden took a sip of milk from his carton, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah, maybe. But I mainly want to stay in this truck because it was Daddy’s. We always went riding in this truck, before Mommy and Daddy went to heaven.”

Chapter Three

After getting Mandy’s truck running again, Daniel followed her back to the gas station. Bo saw them and walked out of the station looking glad. Daniel had planned to wait until she filled up and then follow her home, but Mandy got out of her truck and walked back to his with a keychain dangling from her hand. Daniel noticed a rectangular photo suspended from the silver ring, and as she got closer the image came into focus and displayed Mandy and Mia on Mia’s wedding day.

She neared his open window and handed him the keychain. The close proximity sent another sweet fragrance of peaches teasing Daniel’s senses, and he swallowed past the urge to inhale deeper.

“Here’s the key to the shop. You can go on ahead and spend a little time with Kaden until I get there.” She peeked toward the backseat and displayed another beautiful smile that wasn’t at all intended for Daniel’s enjoyment.

But he enjoyed it, anyway.

“Kaden, maybe you can show Uncle Daniel that house we built last night. That sound good to you?”

“Sure!”

“Lincoln Logs,” she said to Daniel. Her words were still short toward him, but he was growing used to it. She’d been perfecting her stoicism around him for seven years, after all.

“Those were mine and Jacob’s favorite toys growing up,” Daniel said quietly.

A look passed over her face, and he figured she was trying to decide whether to respond or simply walk away. Then her mouth slid to the side, and she blinked a couple of times before whispering softly enough for Kaden not to hear, “I remembered Mia had planned to get him some for Christmas so I asked Mr. Tolleson at Nelson’s if he could order a set. They came in yesterday.” She swallowed. “We played with them last night until we were both ready for bed, but I’m guessing he would probably like a guy to help with the building. I do my best, but I’m still learning.”

Daniel noticed that her eyes glistened. Undoubtedly she’d been crying during the short drive from where they’d picked up her car to the station. And Daniel understood. Kaden’s comment about “before Mommy and Daddy went to heaven,” was a sharp reminder that his nephew’s life had been forever altered by a distinctive barrier. In fact, all three of their lives had been altered by that same barrier. The time before Mia and Jacob died, and the time after.

Mandy exhaled thickly and said to Kaden, “I’ll see you back at home, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, rummaging through the brown bag Maura had given him earlier and pulling out another cookie.

“Hey, don’t eat too many. You’ll ruin your dinner,” she warned. “I made that taco soup you wanted.”

“I’ve just got this one left,” Kaden said, taking a bite. “And I’ve only had three, same as Uncle Daniel.”

“Okay. I will see both of you at home, then.” She turned and walked toward Bo.

Daniel drove to the town square thinking about Mandy, the way she spoke to him and more importantly the way she spoke to Kaden. There had been an intimacy there that he hadn’t anticipated, a maternal aspect to her tone and to her words.

By the time they arrived at the photo shop, Kaden had told Daniel about how he and Mandy built the big house out of logs, how they had picnics at the park and how she was trying to help him ride a big boy bike, but she hadn’t let go of the back yet, even though he really really wanted her to.

“She keeps running behind me ‘cause she don’t want me to fall,” Kaden said, standing beside Daniel as he turned the key in the lock of the shop’s door.

“She’s just trying to keep you from getting hurt,” Daniel explained.

“But how’m I gonna ride by myself if she won’t let go?”

“Maybe she’ll let me help you learn,” Daniel offered.

“You’re gonna let go?”

“Yes,” Daniel promised. Undoubtedly Kaden would take a few falls, probably the exact reason Mandy didn’t want to let go. He’d been hurt enough, and she didn’t want it to happen again in any way, shape or form. Neither did Daniel. But Kaden had a point; how would he learn, how would he grow, if everyone didn’t “let go” every now and then?

Kaden pointed to the hand-painted sign on the door. “We’re open for business now that we’re back, so we have to flip it over.”

Daniel’s laugh came easy. “You really are Aunt Mandy’s helper, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Kaden said, leading the way through the gallery portion of the store. “She needs me. She says so all the time.”

Something about the simple statement resonated with Daniel, but he didn’t stop to analyze why. Instead, he followed his nephew through the abundance of photos covering the walls and easels inside Carter Photography. Striking pictures of babies, children, couples and families. There were still life photos, as well, stargazer lilies, an antique sewing machine, a bowl of peaches. But regardless of the subjects portrayed in each photograph, Mandy’s work was incredible. He’d known her family was big into photography, but until this moment he hadn’t realized that Mandy had inherited the talent.

“Come on and I’ll show you our house we built last night,” Kaden said, moving down a hallway and past two studio rooms with backdrops and props stuffed into every corner.

The hall was filled with senior portraits of kids from Claremont High, some in formal wear and others outdoors. Each photo captured the personality of the teen, whether a boy in his baseball or football uniform, or a girl in an evening gown. It wasn’t what they were wearing but the way they looked that made the teens stand out, as though Mandy had depicted their very essence in the shot.

“Stunning,” he said.

“It’s upstairs,” Kaden called, not hearing Daniel’s comment and passing through the kitchen where a Crock-Pot held something that Daniel assumed was taco soup. The seasonings filled the air and caused his stomach to growl.

Kaden evidently heard. “Hey, you hungry?”

“It just smells good,” Daniel said.

“Aunt Mandy cooks great,” he said. “You staying to eat with us?”

Daniel inhaled another spicy whiff. “I certainly hope so,” he said without thinking, then realized that Mandy would probably toss him out the door as soon as she returned. Or throw a little extra Tabasco in his bowl.

“Cool!” Kaden continued through the kitchen to start up a stairway lined with landscape photos.

Daniel surveyed these with equal interest. Several featured the heart-shaped pond at Hydrangea Park in the midst of the annual Valentine’s display, pink lights and roses covering gazebos, the arched entrance and silhouettes of couples throughout. The Smoky Mountains, their dark heights capped with stark white snow and garnished with the pale gray clouds that earned their name. Again, beautiful and breathtaking. The last photo was a white sandy beach at dusk, a red-gold sun dipping in the distance and a little boy putting the finishing touches on an elaborate sandcastle complete with turrets, a moat and a bridge that appeared to be made out of Popsicle sticks.

Daniel stepped closer, because that little boy looked very familiar. “Kaden?”

Kaden had already topped the stairs, but started back down. “Yeah?”

“Is that you?” He pointed to the photo.

“Yep. Aunt Mandy took me to the beach and helped me build the best sandcastle in the world.” He grinned, his pride shining through. “Then she took my picture for her contests.”

“Her contests?”

“Yep. If she wins, she’ll get in the big glammeries. That’s her dream. Aunt Mandy says everybody’s got dreams that they want, and she wants the glammeries. Not a little glammery, like hers, but really big glammeries.”

“Glammeries?”