my life with you {cheryl tweedy}

January 11th, 2018

Melanie

It's the next morning and I'm exhausted already. Mam and I spent the night with Will, then spent more of the night at a bonfire with everyone, then watched a whole film before going to sleep. Now we're headed onto the beach where Mam will be meeting the photographer for her photoshoot.

"There she is." Lily spotted the woman and led the whole gang to her. There is a white tent set up on the sand and lots of camera equipment and accessories for the shoot.

"Hey!" Lily shook the photographers hand and I stayed behind Mam.  Whenever we meet new people, I tend to hid behind Mam, shielding myself from the anxiety of new eyes on me.

"Hi, I'm Steph." The photographer shook Mam's hand, then mine.  I gave her a smile and looked around at the set.

There's a few other men and women, making it intimate.  I prefer settings like this where there's lots of free space to roam and not many people are working.  Also, whenever Lily comes to stuff like this, I feel a lot more comfortable.  She's like a comfort object from home that calms me.  If Mam can't help my anxiety, Lily can and if Lily isn't there to help, I have to help myself.

"So, for this we just want a lot of naturalism. We want natural makeup, natural skin, natural hair. We don't want to change anything drastically. So, because of that, we've gone for this purple swim suit and we just want to put on a big beige sweater to make the shoot fit into the Fall season." Steph explained and I watched Mam nod along to all the information. The makeup, hair, and styling all started to take the place, making me step back.

"C'mere, Mellie." Mam called me over to her as I looked up and found her in the curtain that was put up to give her privacy to change.

"I don't know who invented zips on swimming costumes, but I need help." She told me and pulled me in the changing room with her. I zipped up the bathing suit for her and giggled at her comment.

"Thank you." She put on the sweater as I stepped out of the curtain and walked over to Lily, who was on the beach.

"Doesn't it feel nice not to be stuck in that London weather?" She asked and I nodded.  We looked up and saw that the sun was starting to set.

Mam started her shoot, having people hold lights with the camera clicking every few seconds.  She was changing her poses, making her way down the beach.  Lily and I watched them do their thing while Mam does what she always does - look absolutely beautiful.

"Baby, c'mere." Mam called me over and took my hand. She twirled me around and laughed as we made our way down the beach, randomly dancing and skipping.

"Don't you miss the beach?" Mam asked me and pointed to the sun's last few seconds of rising up. She stood behind me and wrapped her arms around my neck, taking me into a warm embrace.

"Yeah, but I love London - it's home." I said and held onto my mother's arms.

"But, it's so gloomy right now." Mam argued, hating cold and rainy weather.  I know she much rather prefers the sun and heat.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that it feels gloomy. Plus, I love London because of the people. You know, like Thomas, Sierra, Kimba, and Nic." I turned around and hugged Mam's waist.  She held my head to her chest and kissed my head.

"C'mon, lets go back." Mam said and grabbed my hand, holding it all the way back to the tent.

"You guys wanna see the photos?" Steph asked Mam and I as we followed her over to the computer setup.  We looked as Steph scrolled through the photos.  I pinned a few in my head on my favorites, seeing that Mam seemed to be doing the same.