Profession

Post-prize

Deri invited Jon and me out to the estate for a celebratory dinner for winning the awards, a nice thing to do. John took our coats and directed us to the library. We were very surprised by the confetti and streamers raining down on us when we entered and the crowd of people waiting for us. It wasn't just Deri, Grant, and the tots, but also Diana and Daniel, Grandma Alex and Grandpa Damian, Uncle Tony and Aunt Ann, Grandpa Mark and Aunt Amy, Arie, cousins Tabby, Caroline, Iris, Nick, and Chris, Grandpa Bruce, and Uncle Bucky, Aunt Nessa, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Emma. My mouth hung open and a piece of confetti drifted in.

"Wow," I said, removing the paper and looking around. Jon was beaming and his hand on my waist squeezed gently. Everybody came forward to give me congratulations and hugs and kisses as John served us cocktails. It wasn't long after that that dinner was ready and we went through to the dining room. Darius and John had prepared a three-course meal plus a chocolate ombre cake (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate layers) filled with chocolate mousse and finished with rich chocolate ganache and sparklers. Over the cake (and I was delighted to get a big piece which I planned to finish without regrets) Daniel stood. I turned my attention to him, chewing absently.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight to celebrate Lys's important accomplishments. While she has won the BJA before for her stunning work at the London Olympics and was nominated for the Pulitzers for that work, I'm proud to see that the quality of her work has been recognized with the honors it deserves. As her father, I'm grateful to see that her work that isn't done while things are exploding around her is acknowledged, but I also recognize that her level head and commitment to the truth meant that everyone could see what happened in the Crimea almost as it happened, thus preventing wars with Persia and the Ottomans for control of the Black Sea, more loss of life, and it exposed human rights violations and tragedies." He paused.

"It's no secret in the family and beyond that I haven't been as supportive of my elder daughter as I should have been, as a daughter has a right to expect from her father. It's also true that I have misjudged her gifts. I thought that photography wasn't a suitable career choice for somebody in the family, that she should do more with her brain, and it's true that when she started her first development venture that I behaved very poorly. I never took the time to get to know her properly, thinking that the business was more important than my family since Wayne Enterprises is a huge economic and industrial presence the world over, employing so many people. I thought that shared blood was enough. I was wrong. And I regret that I ever made Lys feel like she wasn't sufficient or important enough. I'm so used to putting up a show for the public that I lost track of the personal side of life with my daughters. This is my fault and my loss. I see Deri with her daughters, how they come first with her, above the company, and I know this is how I should have ordered my priorities, but I didn't. And so I've ended up with a daughter who barely tolerates me at dinners every few months, more to please her husband than from a genuine desire to see Diana and me, and this is on us. Lys gave us our opportunities, but because she doesn't fit into an easily recognized mold and has the courage to stay true to herself, I was unhappy that she demanded to be seen on her terms. If you had given in, gone to work at Wayne, you'd have been very unhappy, I think, and certainly the world would be less without your gifts." 

I felt a fingertip under my jaw, gently closing it over the bite of cake I'd just taken before Daniel spoke. My husband is awesome.

"Lys, I'm sorry that I haven't been supportive and loving as you deserved, that I was spiteful and churlish when you started MM, not as enthusiastic as I should have been about your Olympic rowing career, and disdainful about your work, your calling. Your portraits show your subjects in a little different light than people are used to seeing. The formal portraits of the Queen of Great Britain and her engagement photos, for example. Your fashion and sports photography and the Crimea. And your nursing work. Your drive to be helpful in ways that allow you to have direct connections with people whom you help. You never just throw money at a problem. You always get in there and do the work. I see your life through your shutter; finally I could see why you started going to the islands again. Sure, your photographs show a remarkable culture and its works, but more than that, your affection for the place and the people saturate the images.  I'm a poor father, and being hands off led to an almost insurmountable divide between my daughters. I am grateful that you're here tonight, so that I can publicly apologize for my failures.