The Perfect Family

Chapter 29: Jack

As we enter Madison's studio, we find tall and dark haired man standing by the counter. "Excuse me, we're looking for Madison Cooper" Emilie says as she taps the man on his shoulder.

"Hey, Jack good to see you. I see you finally granted me the pleasure of meeting your lovely wife" the man says as he pats me on the back. 

"Hey, Chad. It's been a while. Yeah, this is Emilie and these are our kids. Julia, Lucy, Maddox and Kyson." I said I gestured to my beautiful family.

"It's great to meet you all. I'll go see if I can find Maddie. I'll be right back" Chad said.

As he left, Julia looked up from her feet and asked me who that was. "How does he know Madison, papa?" she asks.

"Oh, that's Madison's boyfriend, honey" I answer.

"Wow, does she love him?" Lucy adds.

Oh, I'm sure she does. But you can ask her when she comes back with Chad" I respond.

Five minutes later, Chad returns holding Madison's hand and kisses her cheek.

"Look who I found" he announces.

"Hey, guys. Sorry that took so long. But you know how long these baby photography session take" Madison says as she straightens out her Incredibles t-shirt and dusted off her raven black yoga pants.

"Who was it today?" I ask.

"A four month old baby boy named Gideon. They just left a couple minutes ago after we went through his photos for his 4 month update on YouTube" Madison revealed.

"Oh, that's really sweet" Emilie sighs.

"Shall we get started?" Madison says as she leads us to the same pale colored door that  we were led to for Kyson's birthday photoshoot.

~X~

"I see you met Chad. He'll be helping me out today" Madison says as the six of us have a seat on her black leather couch.

The twins look at one another for a brief second, smile, and then Julia whispers something in Lucy's ear. Lucy nods in response

"Madison?" Lucy asks as she tugs on the corner of Madison's red -shirt.

"Yes, sweetie?" Madison responds as she turns to face the precocious four year old while adjusting the Canon lense.

"Do you love Chad?" Lucy asks.

"Of course, I do. We've been together for 6 months and I'm really happy" Madison answers.

"Good" Lucy responds.

"So, what backdrop did we have in mind for today?" Madison asks.

"Well, this winter weather has really been talking a toll on us, so I thought a spring background would be nice" Emilie answers.

"Okay, that's perfect. You know where the backdrops are, right honey?" Madison asks as she looks at Chad.

"I sure do. I'll be back in a couple minutes" Chad replies.

~X~

Chad returns two minutes later with a spring themed backdrop, which features a cloudless blue sky, a grassy green hill with bunnies and ducklings surrounding it, and a nice little wooden bench.

"Alright, lets get started" Madison says as she adjusts the lense of her Canon camera and begins to think of how to position us, while Chad sets up the backdrop.

After Chad sets up the backdrop, Madison gets an idea for the first shot.

"Since this is Jack's belated birthday present and we are all familiar with the term daddy's girl, I want to get a shot of Jack and the twins first. Is that alright, Emilie?" Madison asks.

"Of course" Emilie responds as Kyson sits on her lap and enjoys some  goldfish crackers and Maddox watches Curious George.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

20 minutes later, Madison asks Emilie and the boys to take a series of pictures together before we move on. The twins and I watch intently as Emilie and the boys take their photos. Maddox squirms out of his mother's grip while Kyson plays with strands of Emilie's hair. She attempts to get them to stay still. Unbeknowst to her, Madison captures these playfully candid moments.

"These shots are adorable! " Madison exclaims.

"You were shooting then?" Emilie asks.

"Of course. Natural moments like these are the best ones to capture" Madison answers.

I look at the time on my cell phone and realize that it is nearly 2:30pm. Maddox is going to be late for his speech therapy appointment.

"Is there anything else you want us to do?" I ask as I turn to face Madison.

"Just a few more shots" Madison answers.

"Alright, What did you have in mind?" I ask.

"I want both of you to have pair shots with each of the kids and then we'll end with a family photo" Madison responds.

"Sounds doable. Lets do this" Emilie said as she clapped her hands before picking Kyson up off the couch.

Madison takes a couple of pictures of Emilie and the boys as well as a set with the twins. This goes on for approximately 10 minutes before Madison says she is ready to capture the family photo. 

"Alright, here's what I'm thinking. The same positioning we did last time for Kyson's birthday" Madison says as she closes one eye and makes a frame with her hands. 

"You've got it, boss" I say as I begin gathering everyone up. 

I know that Maddox will not stay still for this photo, so I do what I can to have him stay. I tell him that we are going to have a monkey marathon when we get home. I read it in a book once that an autistic child's fixation can be used to motivate them. Who am I to disagree with true fact? Maddox agrees in his own little way by putting his arms up in the air and demanding to be lifted. 

"Alright, you guys are looking great. Okay, capturing the moment in 3, 2, 1... smile" Madison says. As the camera flashes, Maddox starts to freak out because the bright light bothers him. He pulls at his hair and starts running around in a circle screaming bloody murder. I try to follow him, but Emilie stops me. 

"I've got it" Emilie says. 

"Are you sure, babe?" I ask. 

"Of course. We've all been through this a decent amount of times" Emilie assures me as she places a hand on my shoulder before following Maddox. 

~X~ 

Emilie has been gone for nearly 15 minutes with Maddox. I'm starting to get a little worried about them. But she sends me a text message saying that they are safe in the room across the hall. She is singing to him. She starts from the beginning of You'll be in my Heart by Phil Collins and goes all the way to the end. It calms him down and they are eventually on their way back. 

"Everything is going to be fine, buddy. We'll just tell Madison to turn off the flash for the next picture, okay?" Emilie asks as Maddox continues to look down at his feet. 

After a couple minutes, we finally take a photo that is pretty close to perfect in our eyes. The girls are playing together with Lucy's mini Frozen playset and Maddox is hitting my face. Kyson being lifted into the air by Emilie. It may not be the ideal family photo displayd in most homes, but I guess that's what makes it all the more special. There is no definite example of perfection. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Even though our life might be filled with stress and constanly bein on the go, whose isn't? In my eyes, my family is pretty perfect and no one will ever convince me other wise.