For You

"Stand here."

Renee shifted a few steps to the right in her boho sandals. The grass and fallen leaves crunched beneath her feet as she moved, settling somewhere she thought would be okay for the photo. She glanced over at her fiancé right before the photographer lifted her camera.

"Okay, smiles!" The woman behind the camera exclaimed as she showed all her teeth, not in a way that was pleasant but more like something out of a dentist's office.

"How you doin'?" Sean asked Renee while he placed a hand on the small of her back.

"Tired. My back is sore and my feet are killing me," Renee admitted.

She did not want to be outside taking pictures in the cold. She liked to observe it, and enjoyed the freedom she felt she had in the colder months of Toronto. The scarves, tights, and turtlenecks she stuffed into the back of her closet were brought to light, along with a few pairs of Doc Martens. Those were surprisingly comfortable as she was growing a human.

Renee grimaced when a cold gust of wind whipped past them. Goosebumps erupted all over her body, and she tugged her thick cardigan to pull it around her body. It was tough, though, with her rounding abdomen in the way.

"We're almost done," Sean whispered.

"Let's try a shot at that bench," the photographer nodded toward a dark wood bench over by a tree.

Renee sat on the bench while Sean stood behind her. They smiled and stared at the camera, then changed poses to something more neutral and ominous, then pleasant. All the while Renee felt her shoulders weighing her down, and her body calling for a break.

"That's enough, right?" She finally asked the photographer.

The woman looked up from behind the camera, "This is your session. I have more than enough, but I think your guy wanted a few more shots."

Renee turned to shoot a look at her fiancé.

"Do these have to be taken today? Let's just come back another time-"

"Fall, chilly, and the middle of the day." Sean gestured around the park, "that's what you told me you needed to be in the mood to take maternity photos. Now, here we are. We need to make these memories, and the conditions are perfect. For you."

Renee looked at him, then around the park. She took in the kids in their light coats swinging on the swings. The sounds of metal squeaking could be heard from a distance. Another gust of wind flew by, and Renee felt her teeth knocking against each other then.

She didn't say a word to Sean. Instead, Renee walked over to her bag and pulled out her phone. And on the way back to her fiancé, she picked up a brown maple leaf off the ground.

Renee came in close to Sean, "look at the camera please."

Sean's eyebrows tried to marry in the middle when he looked at Renee, but he humoured her.

Without even a 'cheese,' Renee snapped a photo of the two of them together. She brought the phone back, closer, as she looked at the few selfies she took with Sean and the golden-red maple leaf in her hand.

"That was for me," Renee said, then handed her fiancé the leaf.