A few evenings, I walked along the harbor taking pictures of ships. I sent one with a pirate ship to the group; even my grumpy brother loved it. And the Little Italy Farmer’s Market was a must on any free Saturday. I still had many places to see, and my list was far from complete.
Just as I hung the picture MJ and I had worked on together, I heard MJ singing as she walked down the hallway. I quickly moved a few empty boxes to the door, crumpling the brown wrapping paper covering the special photo. With a smile, I stepped back to take a few photos of the finished room for Elena.
As if on cue, MJ opened the door, bumping my back with it.
“Oh, sorry, Vicky. Is it ready?” she asked. When I pointed to where it hung, she gasped at the finished product. “He’s gonna love it. Thank you so much.”
I opened my arms as she jumped into them, and I kissed her cheek as she held my neck.
“MJ, you in here?” Katy asked as she walked into the room. She looked away when she saw us.
“Mom, look what Vicky did,” she said excitedly as I set her on her feet.
“Hey, where’d you all go? I’m done. Got an important meeting tonight, so let’s head out,” Miles said, his voice getting louder as he neared the room.
Take that, Katy. He’ll be with me tonight, not you,my petty side yelled.
“In here, Daddy,” MJ yelled, giggling excitedly. When she took my hand, I squeezed it as we watched Miles’ reaction when he walked in.
He nervously looked around the room for a moment, seeing Katy here with me, until his eyes doubled back to the large, framed photo on the wall.
“Oh. Wow,” he breathed, walking closer to it. “Vicky. This is. Wow.”
He touched the white, wooden frame that matched the décor in the room, his awe-struck expression mirroring mine from when I saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel as a little girl.
“Daddy, do you love it?”
He looked at me, then at MJ with tears in his eyes.
“I think he likes it,” I whispered to MJ with a smile, my eyes filling as well.
“I don’t understand,” Katy said, looking from the picture to each of us.
“Mom, it’s our sign. You don’t remember? Daddy and I…” MJ said in confusion. Katy blushed, trying to answer.
“It’s our thing,ourspecial thing,” Miles said, eyes not leaving the black-and-white photo.
I had borrowed a professional camera from work the first night I went to Miles’ house because I wanted to look like I knew what I was doing. When MJ told me about it, I was so glad I’d brought it.
That night, I took a photo of MJ in her favorite pink dress, the same one she wanted me to match for her paint color. I sent it to a photographer friend in Rome, who worked his magic. He kept the dress in full color but turned a close-up of MJ’s hands forming a heart into black and white. With the white frame, the contrast looked stunning against her pink walls.
When she’d mentioned it that night as she chatted about her father and how much she loved him, I knew it would end up being special for them. She hadn’t mentioned Katy when it came to the special sign, but MJ’s question to her meant she should’ve recognized it.
Miles moved, and in two steps, I was in his arms, his warm tears falling on my bare shoulders. My eyes closed as I held him close. He was still holding me when I opened my eyes to see Katy watching us, her chest rising and falling quickly. I closed them again, knowing I wasn’t doing this to hurt her, but I refused to leave this sweet moment with Miles.
He finally pulled back and wiped his eyes, bending down to pick MJ up and kiss her on both cheeks.
“Best present ever, my beautiful girl. I love you so much.”
When I looked again, Katy was gone.
“I’ve got to get to another house before I go into the office. I’m so glad you love the picture. MJ was the best model,” I said lovingly.
He nodded and leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “We will talk.”
“Yes. Promise.” Turning to MJ, I said, “This has been the best experience doing this with you. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”
She hugged me again when I bent down and said, “You’re part of the family now, Vicky.”
