Where love leads us (Sequel of BWYDT)

Chapter 16

Lauren laughed and nodded her head. "I understand that more than you know."

"I know, right?" Michelle exclaimed with excitement, smiling at her mother. "You do. You totally get it."

"So keep trying to explain everything else to me and let's see what else I get."

The teenager settled back down into the chair with the same light smile on her face as Lauren. "Well, there was a certain point where I just stopped trying to share certain things and just focused on the things we had in common instead. Not just with mom, but friends too. So trying to now share those things that I've never said out loud before... it's... scary, putting yourself out there to be judged when you don't know how they will take it." She admitted with a weird twist on her face. "Just like you just told me it would be."

"Which brings us right back around to my first question. What draws you to photography?"

The room suddenly felt very tense in the silence. Not an awkward or painful tension, just deep. "To share." Michelle's voice was hushed and full of serious emotion. "I haven't always had someone there with me to share things with. But when I take pictures, I have them to show and share moments and experiences with others when they're ready or interested. They are like proof of things I saw or did that I can hand to someone and it's like they were there with me then, experiencing them as well."

Lauren studied her daughters face silently. She was looking up at the ceiling again but not really seeing it. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking of something very intently. "Let me in."

Michelle turned her head and their eyes met. She had heard Lauren and Camila say that to each other before. It was one of those aspects of their relationship that Michelle admired. They showed each other that they truly cared for the whole person, not just the easy aspects. They wanted to know and to understand. "I want to change the world."

The photographer sat there patiently as Michelle lowered her feet to the floor and pivoted. She was still slouched in the chair, half hanging out of it as only a kid could, but she faced her birthmother to continue.

"People see their world what they allow in it and what they deal with daily but little else. I want to shatter their world in a sense. Show them things they never knew existed. I want them to see things and feel things that make them unable to continue living their current lives because something in them has changed and it is too big to fit back into such a small box. I want them to see more, feel more. I want to see and feel more." The passion in her voice grew with each sentence but then faded. "Does that sound stupid?"

Lauren hesitated, swallowing hard around the lump in her throat. "No. That's not stupid at all." She paused and cleared her throat as she moved her attention to her pants, running her hands along with them. "I envy your passion and I hope you never lose it. It is a rare gift."

"One I apparently inherited from you." Lauren smiled but she knew she couldn't take full credit. Between her, Camila, and Ariana, Michelle had grown up surrounded by people with overflowing levels of passion. At least until recently.

~/~/~/~/~/~

"Thanks again for having me over, Lo." Normani said as she sat down on the sofa in the married couple's living room. Most everything had been put away by now. Only a few stray boxes piled in the corner remained from their latest move. The sofa and chairs formed the main portion of the long room by the white fireplace while the end was designated for the kids and filled with toys. "I won't lie. I've been a bit lonely lately. It's not a good look for me. Though, at least, with Mike's insistence that the restaurant is geared more towards higher-end clientele, I haven't gone without great food for a long time. I will have to thank Camila for continuing that streak when she gets back down."