“And what about beyond my face?” she asked raising an eyebrow.
I winked. “I’ll leave that one to our fashionista here.”
Kelly studied Mom’s face. “Okay, so focus on the eyes and lips.”
“Let me try something,” Mom said. She stood up and grabbed her a couple items from her kit. With some quick flicks and gestures, she turned back to us. “Better?”
I studied her one last time. She looked flawless.
“Gorgeous.”
She smiled and blew a kiss at me.
“All right, let’s pack it up.”
Five minutes later, we were in the car.
We couldn’t have picked a better day. The sky was partly cloudy with bright pillars of light piercing through any opening it could find. The three of us, in the mean time, were huddled together in my SUV for the hour long drive; me, your friendly driver, Kelly in the back seat flipping through my portfolio, and Mom was in the passenger seat staring out the window as we traveled along the winding coastal highway.
“Damn, Jason you really got a range here,” Kelly said.
“What are you talking about?” I replied, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.
“All these crazy photos you’ve done. Models, Foods, Nature… Is this a riot? Where was there a riot?” She looked up at me.
“It wasn’t a riot. It was a protest. I took that one last year when I went to Madrid with Garry and Elliot. I got you that statue, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” She looked back to the photos. “It’s on my dresser… Holy shit I’ve seen this one before! You didn’t take this!”
Looking back, “Which one?”
“This Lady Gaga one.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “No that’s me. They got published and I think that’s how you saw it.”
“Bull,” she said.
“It is! I was friends with an aide and she passed on the recommendation. Kinda like you and your gig. It’s all in who you know.”
I could see Mom smile from the corner of my eye.
“Wow you must be blowing up then. How many shoots do you do a week now?” Kelly asked.
“It varies. On a busy week, anywhere from five to six. Slow week, one if any. Keep in mind I tend to book things further out than just a week.”
“That’s it?”
“Well, yeah. That’s a lot. There’s a lot of work between shoots. Setting up and planning prior, not to mention the time it takes to edit afterward.”
Kelly closed the portfolio and bounced in her seat. “So what’s the craziest shoot you ever did?”
I looked back to her. “Craziest? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Whatever,” she smirked.
“Craziest…” I had to think. I could see Mom shift in the seat beside me, gaining interest it would seem. “You know, probably that Lady Gaga one.”
“Really? That’s it? Nothing spicier or anything like that?” I appeared to have disappointed my sister.
“Spicy? Well,” I had to think. “I’ve done a couple swimsuit ones before.”
“So swimsuits are considered spicy then?” Mom asked.
“No, not really, but sometimes… I mean…” I looked back at Kelly. “Wait. What do you mean?”
“You know, like lingerie or… no lingerie.” She giggled.
“What you mean like boudoir?” I asked.
“Yeah. Ever done it?”
I glanced an eye to our mother who chuckled to herself.
“You know I can’t say that I have. Never really crossed my mind to be honest with you.”