Page 19 of Safe With You

“Open mic?”

“That’s what I said.”

She laughed.

“People hire photographers for that?”

“I think people hire photographers for everything now.”

“Fair.”

I checked the time on my phone.

“I should get going.”

“Tell Mila bye before you leave.”

“Of course.”

A few minutes later, after promising my daughter I’d be back before bedtime and agreeing to bring her favorite snacks on the way home, I headed downtown.

The studio had become one of my favorite places over the years, not because it was fancy—it wasn’t, but because, despite being smaller than what some photographers worked with, it was mine.

Every framed photograph hanging on those walls represented something I had built myself.

Photography had been one of the few things that still made sense because people trusted me with their important moments, and all I had to do was show up and capture them.

The work gave me somewhere to put my focus when everything else felt impossible.

Now, seven years into doing it professionally, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside, sunlight streaming through the front windows and illuminating the row of framed prints that lined one wall—families, graduates, couples, community events—pieces of people’s lives frozen in time.

I set my camera bag down and headed for my desk.

Most of the morning disappeared into editing.

A maternity session from earlier in the week.

A graduation shoot from Thursday.

An engagement gallery that needed final adjustments before delivery.

The work could be repetitive, but I didn’t mind; editing gave me the space to think when I needed to and the distraction not to when I didn’t.

Around noon, I took a break and walked next door for coffee. The barista already knew my order, which was both convenient and mildly concerning.

“Large cold brew?”

“You know me too well.”

She laughed, and a few minutes later I was headed back to the studio with my drink in hand.

A notification sat in my inbox when I opened my laptop again.

A request for a family session.

The Martins.