Page 3 of Mr Best Friend's Brother Grump

My kit is spread out on the bed. It’s the best way to check everything. I always arrange cameras, lenses, light meter, filters, battery packs, reflectors in the same order. If something is missing, I can see straight away because there will be a gap. It’s second nature now. I plug in my laptop, recharge the Canon and the Nikon. Put in spare batteries for the flash. I clean each lens meticulously. One tiny speck of dust could wreck a whole day’s work. I check the tripods and pack the reflectors and a couple of diffusers. I have a mental picture of my equipment. Check, check, check. We’re all good to go. Everything looks set. I leave my bags all ready for the morning and check the time on my watch.

I could take the girls out for dinner. That would be a nice thing to do, wouldn’t it? I’m starving. We could go to Marcello’s for pizza.

I open the bedroom door. Kendra and her friend are still on the sofa deep in silly girl chat. I don’t know if I should interrupt. They’re laughing. The friend, what was her name? Rosa? She has beautiful hair. She really does. She could feature in a shampoo commercial. Kendra catches me peeking.

“Nate, we were just thinking about food. Do you want to join?”

“I was just thinking about food too.” I exit my room, shutting the door behind me. “Marcello’s? My treat.”

We sit at the curved booth seat at the back of the cozy Italian restaurant, which is handily located just around the corner from the apartment. Gino says hi and opens a bottle of house red. He pours a measure into my glass for me to taste. I nod my approval and he fills each glass halfway, then places the bottle on the table.

“Nice to see you again, Mr Nathan. And with two beautiful women. You lucky man.” Gino winks then turns his attention to other customers.

“Italians, huh?” I say, a little embarrassed when Gino is out of earshot.

“He right though,” says Kendra not missing a beat. “We are beautiful, and you are lucky.”

I glance over at Rosa who also seems a little embarrassed by the waiter’s comment. She catches me looking and smiles shyly. Gosh. She has a bewitching smile. Very natural. Soft. Warm. She could do commercials for toothpaste. Or lipstick. Maybe perfume? Who would she wear? Something exotic.

“To New York and new beginnings,” says Kendra raising her glass and looking from me to Rosa. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” we say together as we clink our glasses.

“Nathan?” It’s Kendra.

“Yeah.”

“You’re staring.”

“Oh. Sorry… I’m ummm… preparing for tomorrow… Mentally.”

“Rosa. Please don’t be offended by my brother,” Kendra says, sipping her wine. “He’s photographing you… in his head.”

“I’m not,” I lie. “Okay... I was just looking at your angles.”

“My what?” Rosa says. Is she alarmed? Or interested?

“Nathan sees the world through a lens… all the time… whether he’s holding a camera or not,” says Kendra laughing. “He can’t help it. It’s a mental disorder.”

The pizza arrives. We share one of Marcello’s Super Gigante Funghi e Prosciutto with extra cheese and a Super Gigante Capriciossa with extra olives. Marcello’s pizza never disappoints. We agree that there’s far too much food, and we’ll never get through it. We can take the leftovers home in a doggy bag.

“Well, yes, Kendra. I see what you mean,” I say, addressing Kendra’s rather cruel observation of me, as I help myself to a piece of pizza loaded with ham, mushrooms, and long strings of mozzarella. “It happens in my mind, so yes to mental. But disorder? It’s more like the opposite. When I look at anything, I order it. Or organize it into frame…” I take a sip of wine as I think, then I try to explain how composing images is hardwired into my brain. “It’s not a conscious thing… I don’t even know I’m doing it.” I turn to Rosa who is tucking into a cheesy slice of heaven. “Have you ever considered modeling?”

“No! No…” Rosa says, wiping her mouth with a serviette. “Are you kidding?”

“You have good facial bone structure.”

“Thanks.” Rosa looks across to Kendra quizzically.

“You do, though,” says Kendra reaching for another slice of pizza.

“You could be a plus size model… You have the right dimensions.”

Both girls put down their pizza, mid-bite, and stare at me as if I am Voldemort.

“Oh yeah. Well, maybe I am more than a set of dimensions...” Rosa says, her eyes flaming in the candlelight. She is so animated. I wish I had the Nikon and the Z 85mm f1.8 S. I am captivated. Her words are flowing in a tirade, but I’m not really engaged with the content. The lighting is perfect. If she lowers her chin, that would be the money shot. “… and maybe I am a total person and not just a body.”

Silence pervades our booth after that. There are no leftovers, unfortunately. I get the check. We walk back to the apartment. I am behind the girls who are arm-in-arm a few steps in front of me. I get the feeling I’ve done something wrong, but I can’t imagine what it might be.

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