The Camera Tells All

“Smile for the camera,” George heard the photographer say as he waited for his turn for his senior picture retake. He was disgusted he needed to have a retake, but his mom insisted she really didn’t like the first set of pictures.

While George waited, a tall, thin girl walked into the waiting room. She checked in and George heard her say her name was Elle Mac. That was very interesting. That’s not how George imagined she would look like. Elle dated one of his friends the previous school year.

Elle cautiously sat down near George in the waiting area. She smiled shly at George. George returned the smile and said, “You’re Elle Mac. I never knew that was your name. My name is George Green. I’m one of Michael Caullie’s friends.”

“Oh, I know who you are. Everyone knows who George Green is,” Elle replied.

Elle and George chatted for a few minutes before they were called for their turns behind the camera. They would try to stay focused on the camera, but here and there they would take a quick glance at the other and then give the camera a huge smile.

After they finished their portrait sittings, they each went their own ways. How surprised they both were to see each other two weeks later when their summer school class started. They chatted occasionally. Elle was a very serious student, and George tended to sit in the back corner of the room snoozing on and off. She later learned that he worked late hours at his summer job, and 7:30 AM came a little early for some high school students. They were in class with a group of close friends that summer, so they had fun hanging out as a group.

The summer ended, and their senior year of school started. Elle and George attended a big high school, but they ended up having lunch during the same period. Elle sat with her girlfriends, and George sat with his buddies. One day, Elle noticed that Grant Chambers was sitting at George’s lunch table. Elle had a crush on Grant since the sixth grade. She wanted to get to know him better. George was her excuse to go over to the table.

“Hi, George. How was the rest of your summer?” Elle asked.

“It went too fast, but I had lots of fun hanging with the guys,” George replied, wondering why he hadn’t seen Elle in the lunchroom before.

Determined to stay chatting at the table longer, Elle thought of her next question, “How did your pictures turn out? Did your mom end up liking any of the shots?”

George laughed, “I guess they turned out alright. My mom found a couple she liked.” George almost blushed when he remembered the one shot where he had a huge smile. He recalled he had just peeked a quick look at Elle and turned his head back for that shot. “How did your pictures turn out?”

“Well, my mom scheduled retakes for me,” Elle explained. “We agreed on one from that set.” Elle became thoughtful when she remembered her favorite pose. She was holding a rose. She had just peered over toward George, and they made eye contact. In the picture Elle was looking longingly to the side with a very happy smile on her face. Her mom wanted a pose with Elle looking right at the camera.

As the lunch period passed, Elle and George continued to chat. “I never realized you went to St. Mark Church,” George revealed.”

Elle was quick to respond, “I always go to 7:30 AM mass with my parents.”

“7:30 mass! That’s ridiculous!” George exclaimed. “Some day, I’m going to take you to noon mass.” Elle just laughed.

The next day, Elle brought her food tray over to George’s table, totally forgetting about trying to attract Grant’s attention. George made space for her right away. “Elle, hi, I was hoping you would join us today.”

“I hope you don’t mind an extra at your table,” Elle answered shly as she sat down.

“No, we have plenty of room,” George explained.

Elle and George chatted about many things from books to movies to classes and food. In the discussion of movies, George learned that Elle had not seen The Princess Bride. It had been out for weeks. “Some day, I’m going to take you to see The Princess Bride.” Elle had not dated much, so she thought he was just making conversation.

The next day, Elle found her way to George’s table again with a surprise in hand for him. This time there was already a space open for her. She just sat down and said, “Hey, George. I brought you something. I made cookies last night and thought you might like to try one.”

With a mouthful, George exclaimed, “These are amazing—chocolate, oatmeal AND butterscotch! Thanks!” Elle just smiled, pleased with her efforts.

Elle and George talked and talked about everything. The topics of church and movies came up again. George proclaimed, “I still can believe you haven’t seen The Princess Bride! Some time I am going to take you to noon mass and then to see the movie.”

Elle surprised herself when she replied, “Okay, when?” And that is how their first date was scheduled for the next Sunday.

Since Elle had not dated much, she was a nervous wreck! Her sister Jeanie didn’t help. “What if he tries to kiss you at the sign of peace during mass? Don’t sing too loud during mass. Do you think he’ll hold your hand during the movie? Don’t share a drink with him—you don’t know him very well. Don’t let him kiss you when you get home. It’s daylight, and everyone will be watching.”

George must have been nervous, too, because he went to the wrong house. Elle was watching out the window and saw him get out of his car. She ran out the door. “George, my house is over here.” George was very embarrassed. Elle just ran out to his car. Elle was disappointed that George didn’t come to the door to meet her family. It was just mass and a movie—no big deal.

The first date was a huge success! There were no kisses, drink sharing or hand holding, and Elle refrained from singing too loudly during mass. They continued to eat lunch together and to get to know each other better.

One day between classes, George saw Elle, came up to her and quickly asked, “Will you go to Homecoming with me?” Elle said she would, and they went their separate ways.

At this point, they did not talk of the phone too much, but they did that evening. Elle said, “I’m so excited about going to Homecoming together! I’m going to go dress shopping tomorrow.”

“Oh, that was it!” George exclaimed “I came home from school and knew there was something I wanted to tell my mom, but I forgot what it was. It was that we are going to the dance together.” Elle didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. George had forgotten that he asked her to the dance.

That was just the start of a fairy tale senior year together. Elle was nominated for Homecoming Queen. They went to all the dances together and just had a marvelous finish to high school together. Both Elle and George did well and received scholarships, and they were very excited for each other.

Elle decided she would attend the state university well before senior year to study teaching. George was leaning toward going to that same school to study business long before the two had met. They had a large group of friends attending that university and were looking forward to being there together.

And then, their dreams came crashing down. Elle’s mother was very concerned about the two kids attending the same school. “I’ve heard about what happens to couples in college,” Elle’s mom revealed. “You haven’t really dated many other people. It’s not a good idea for you and George to attend the same school as a couple.”

Elle, being a rule follower, regretfully ended her relationship with George. He didn’t really understand the reasons, but he respected Elle and her mom enough to go along with her request. Elle and George had a tearful goodbye in early August. The next week, George found out his financial aid fell through, and couldn’t afford to attend the state university. He would be staying home to attend a community college.

It was a sad ending to a fairy tale romance, but they each went their separate ways. Elle received her teaching certificate and went on to become a school librarian in the neighboring town to where she grew up. She never dated and felt she was destined to be an old maid librarian. George immersed himself in his business career. He received his MBA and transferred all around the US opening new offices for his company. There was no time for dating in his busy life.

Elle and George had been out of high school for 15 years. Elle had saved up enough money and decided to take a trip to England during summer vacation. George had traveled across the US on business and finally had the opportunity to open an office in Australia. The next step for both of them: passport pictures.

Elle scheduled her passport picture appointment for a Saturday when she was off school. She arrived early for her appointment and waited in the waiting area. The door opened, and a man walked in. Elle barely looked up, but when she heard him check in and say, “George Green for my passport picture,” Elle’s eyes immediately veered toward the speaker.

George sat down in the waiting area to read his newspaper. Elle was shocked, and almost whispered, “George, is that really you?”

George looked up from his newspaper and saw Elle’s smile and deep brown eyes. “Elle, Elle Mac?” He looked at her left hand—no wedding ring.

“Yes, it’s me,” Elle replied.

“Elle Mac, it’s your turn,” the photographer called. George was called for his picture moments later.

While they both tried to cooperate for the photographers, they kept trying to peek at their old sweethearts. The photographers finally gave up, “That will be good enough. You didn’t need to smile so intently.”

George and Elle met up outside the door to the photography studio. “Would you like to get a cup of coffee?” George asked Elle.

“Sure, there’s a shop right next door,” Elle explained.

They sat for over two hours talking about everything from their careers, families and books to movies and religion. They realized how much they had missed each other and enjoyed the other’s company.

With a smirk, George proclaimed, “That’s it! I’m going to take you to noon mass and a movie.”

“Okay, when?” Elle responded.