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‘Who taught you?’ Alice looks pointedly at my mother, looking like a cover model of AARP Vogue, still waiting in line for the swings. ‘Emily?’
‘No.’
When I don’t elaborate, Alice turns to me, the question in her eyes.
Annoyed with myself for bringing it up, I grumble, ‘I did.’
‘Huh.’ Settling back on the bench, she leans against me once more. And just when enough time has passed that I think we’re finished with the conversation, she asks, ‘Why do you keep it a secret?’
‘I don’t.’ I shrug. ‘Not really. I just…’
‘Just what?’ Alice asks.
Not having the words, but also not wanting to disappoint Alice, I stand. ‘Wait here.’
‘What?’ She jerks forward. ‘Where are you going?’
I close my coat against the breeze, judging the distance between here and my house across an expanse of frost-crisped grass. ‘I’ll be back soon.’
Unlike mine, Alice’s expressions are easy to read. And whereas I don’t often feel the need to explain myself, with her I do. ‘I’m going to retrieve something.’
‘Okay.’ She elongates the word as if she doesn’t believe me.
I walk fast across the frost-crisp grass of Central Park. To keep warm, but it takes me a few minutes longer than I’d judged.
Once home, I had trouble making up my mind on which one to take. Thankfully, I get back just in time.
‘We’re next!’ Mary shouts from across the playground, having joined my mother in line, both of them with their arms wrapped around each other.
I wave with my free hand, then pass what I’m carrying to Alice.
She frowns at my prized possession. ‘A camera?’
‘A Pentax K100. It’s the camera I learned on.’ I shrug feigning nonchalance. ‘If you don’t count the old, disposable cameras.’
She holds it carefully, like she knows how much it means to me. ‘You used a disposable camera?’ Her exaggerated surprise is cute. ‘The great and mighty Thomas Moore?’ She laughs. ‘How very pedestrian of you.’
‘Yes, well.’ I clear my throat. ‘They were the easiest to buy and conceal from my father. Before my high school offered a photography elective that required me to purchase this.’
Her smile dims and I move on before she can ask follow-up questions.
‘Here.’ I help her stand then move behind her, guiding her hands around the camera with my own. ‘I already set the aperture and shutter speed.’ I point the camera at Mary who has just started to pump her legs on the swing. ‘Now press this button.’ I point to the shutter release.
Click.
It’s a sound I’ve heard thousands, maybe even millions, of times since I started taking pictures. Yet this click sounds different. The familiar noise is almost lost in the unfamiliar cacophony of children around the park, their parents trying to wear their kids out before dinner and bedtime.
A place where I never thought I’d be, let alone taking pictures.
‘Do you think it came out, okay?’ She pulls the camera back, pouting when she realizes there isn’t a digital screen to show her the photo.
‘That’s part of the fun.’ I raise her hands once more. ‘Getting to see the pictures developed. Figuring out if you captured the moment correctly or not.’
Pulling free, Alice turns to me, smiling. ‘That sounds very unlike you. Didn’t you just say not too long ago that you hate surprises?’
I grimace, not having an answer for that. ‘Well, I guess Chase is right then.’
‘And what does your brother say?’
