“Alright now, smile.”
The man pushed up his glasses and opened his eyes as wide as possible. Wrinkles had surfaced years ago and it was all he could do to appear young again. He put on a dry grin, with no teeth showing, and stood as straight as possible. He’d done this countless times throughout his life, taking pictures on countless trips and settings. This was routine.
The flash went off.
Lowering the digital camera from her face, she looked at the LCD screen and looked at the image. Her husband looked just as charming as when they first met, though it was clear that he was starting to get old. His hair was still light brown, but speckled with patches of gray, though it was difficult to distinguish in the dying light of the dusk. He still looked overweight, with a slight belly showing through the green polo shirt he was wearing. The Falls behind him rushed gloriously. “A good picture”, she thought.
They were just taking a look around Niagara Falls, off to visit their relatives at St. Catharines. They did this every month. It was always a nice trip, driving out and leaving Michigan behind, if only for a weekend. It was only during this trip that they made the impulse decision to take a look at the Falls from the Canadian side. Now here they were, leaning against a railing, and looking at the giant display of water before them.
“It’s my turn now.”
Her husband nodded, and they traded places. They could have taken a picture together, but her husband decided that since they could come anytime, they could just take another picture on another day since they were so close. Besides, he rationalized in the car earlier, we don’t have to bother the people beside us.
She was the one standing beside the railing now, with the Falls behind her. As she brushed her hair behind her ears, she realized that she was getting old too. There were patches of gray hair where there only used to be single strands, and she was starting to get wrinkles too. She sighed, and then put on as big and wide of a smile as possible. She winced as the flash went off. As her husband slowly lowered the camera, she felt a slight twinge of regret. They were childless by choice, but not because of health problems or career aspirations. They just agreed that they never really wanted to raise children in the first place, and that was that. Right now though, having someone else in the picture with her would have been nice. Something inside her did stir once in a blue moon whenever she saw other couples holding a baby, but for the most part she was comfortable with just her Tom. “And besides,” she thought, “I can play with Jane’s daughter when we get to St. Catharine’s.”
“Here, take a look.”
They both crowded around the camera to review the pictures of their trip. They stayed for a bit longer, soaking in the majestic view before them one more time, then left, effortlessly blending into a sea of faces.
