Joey Donna sat crouching behind two thick bushes by the sidewalk in front of the Los Angeles mall holding his camera in his hands in front of him and being as still as a statue. He was a paparazzi photographer in charge of taking pictures of stars at any stage in their careers or time in their lives whether they were just starting out, about to make a hit, or about to retire. He loved what he did and right now he was patiently waiting for Shelly Goldstein to come out as she was his latest interest and now there were hot rumors going around that she was engaged to Harvey Williams and that she might even be carrying his child at the same time.
His long wait was paid off when he saw her approaching the exiting side of the doors from inside the building. He got himself ready and then just as she opened the door and stepped outside he jumped up from his hiding spot, held up his camera and snapped a photo of her as she was holding a large box under her left arm. She was so startled by the camera's flash and his sudden appearance that she gasped and dropped her box to the ground. Joey at once hung his camera on a strap around his neck and then went to assist her.
"Hey, sorry about that," he said in his Brooklyn Italian accent, "didn't mean to startle you." He knelt beside her as he picked up the box she had dropped. As he did so he noticed the top had come halfway off. Then unable to help himself he took the top all of the way off and saw that inside the box was a stunning and expensive looking silky white wedding dress. He smiled in triumph as held up his camera again and snapped a close shot of it.
"So, it's true," he said happily. "You really are engaged, and it's to Harvey Williams, right?"
"It's none of your business!" Shelly exclaimed irritably as she grabbed her box from him and turned around briskly and began hurrying off.
Joey didn't mind as he was quite used to these sort of reactions and many more now. He then checked the film in his camera and so that it was near to all used up. So he decided he had best go and get the pictures developed and drop them off at the office.
After he had done this he went back to his apartment where he lived with his wife Molly of six months. He and Molly had fallen in love with each other under the most unusual of circumstances but they still loved each other and were happy together. He felt a had become a better man ever since he had met her. He had changed both outwardly and inwardly. He always combed his hair and shaved in the morning now and also wore much nicer and stylish clothes. He also felt he had a better outlook on himself and on life in general.
He opened the door to his apartment and called out, "Honey, I'm home!"
Molly came out of the kitchen wearing her apron. She wore her radiant smile that she always welcomed him home with. The smile that always let him now he was right where he belonged with her and she with him. She went up to him and embraced and kissed him. This was another way in which he knew he was right where he needed to be with her.
After they had kissed he leaned toward the kitchen and asked, "So what's cooking?"
"Green beans and pasta with meat sauce," replied Molly cheerfully.
"You know that's my favorite," said Joey. "But why'd make it so suddenly?"
"Oh... just because I love you," replied Molly as cheerfully as before.
Whenever she said those three words to him she sent his soul soaring, and his heart skipping a beat and the world seeming to stop still for them as if there was no one else more alive. He never took those words for granted either as they had never been spoken to him before by anyone other than his parents before her and they were what he lived on just as much as food if not even more so.
"I love you, too," he replied.
Then they went into the kitchen and sat down to dinner. They ate and chatted happily about their day while they had been apart.
"I got the picture of Shelly Goldstein today," Joey said. "She bought a wedding dress so it looks like she really is marrying Harvey Williams, though whether or not she is carrying his baby still remains a mystery for now. I may have to wait a few more months to find out for sure."
"Speaking of babies," Molly said with her eyes twinkling. "I was sick this morning shortly after you left and so I went to see the doctor and you know what he told me?"
Joey stared at her with his eyes growing wide and his mouth opening slowly in a gasp. "You mean you're..." he trailed off and Molly just smiled and nodded. Then his face broke apart in a huge smile. "I'm gonna be a Daddy!" he exclaimed ecstatically.
They finished the rest of their dinner in silence. Then after they had washed the dishes together they sat down together and began talking more about their baby.
"If it is a boy let's name it Gino after my brother," said Joey.
"And if it's a girl?" asked Molly.
Joey thought for a moment and then replied, "I always liked the name Celeste."
"We have so much planning to do before the baby comes other than just what to name him or her," said Molly. "We have many things to get."
"That's right," said Joey. He then looked around and then said, "And we probably should also get a new apartment too. One that is bigger and has more room."
The apartment they currently lived in had only three rooms and was also rather small and even a bit cramped and they both knew that with a new addition coming they would need to make more accommodations for it.
"I suppose you're right," said Molly. "But how are we going to afford an apartment that's much better than this one?"
Joey thought about this for a while and then said, "I'll just get a new job."
"But I thought you loved the one you already have," said Molly. "I remember you telling you would never want to do anything else."
"I did," said Joey. "And I still love my job, but now I love you more and soon my love will get even bigger when our baby comes, and there are some sacrifices one must make for their families sometimes. And I think for me that time has come now."
"Well, I do want you to still be happy," said Molly. "Do you think you could still find a job that let's you show your talent for taking pictures?"
"I could try," said Joey. "But if I can't I guess I will just have to go into the meat cutting business that my father always wanted for me. That is just how much I love you and this baby."
Then they went to bed and the next day Joey took his camera and went out as he did every day to look for the stars to photograph. He also decided he would take the time in between to look for another job.
He first went into a grocery store to see if they were hiring. As he was approaching the store he passed a couple pushing a stroller along the sidewalk. He paused and smiled at them as he thought how in a year's time he and Molly would be just like them.
Then suddenly the couple saw him and approached him. The father came up to him and said, "Hello, I am Greg Newman and this is my wife Gwen and our daughter Susie. We noticed you had a camera with you and were wondering if you would do us the honor of taking a family picture of us."
"Sure, I'd love to," said Joey.
Greg then gave Joey their address and the date that the picture was to be taken on, and then they went their separate ways. Joey went into the grocery store and asked if he could apply for a job in packing or restocking but found that they were not hiring at the moment.
Next he went into a restaurant to see if he could find a job as a waiter or a dishwasher. When he went inside he noticed at one table there was a family of two parents, grandparents, and a little girl sitting around with a large cake in the center lit with five candles. He listened as they all sang Happy Birthday and imagined himself and Molly singing it to their own daughter in a few years.
After the little girl blew out all the candles, her mother looked up in his direction and got up and approached him. She said to him, "I see you have a camera with you. We're here celebrating my daughter's birthday and we would like a picture of us if you would be so kind as to do so for us."
Joey smiled and replied, "I'd love to."
He then went up to their table and once everyone was in a ready position he snapped a photo of them. The mother then wrote down their address for him to send them their picture to after it was developed. He then went to see the restaurant's manager and asked him about hiring him but he found that they were not hiring here also.
Next he went to a zoo where he hoped he could find a job with some of the animals. He walked in and passed by many animals. He paused at the monkey's habitat and watched as a mother chimpanzee was teaching her two little ones how to swing from tree branches. It was so cute and he thought about how much in common we have with our primate cousins as he imagined himself one day pushing his daughter on a swing set at a playground.
Just then a man came up to him and said, "Excuse me, sir. I just noticed you have a camera with you and I was wondering if you would take a picture of me and my kids in front of the monkeys."
Joey smiled and said, "Of course I will."
Then he took the picture of the man with his kids around him in front of the monkeys and then he was given the address to send the developed picture to. He then went to talk to the zoo keeper and asked about hiring him there, only to find once again that all their positions were taken.
All in all he was unable to find a new job that day. Then a few weeks later he got the pictures he had taken developed and sent them out in the mail to their respective families and he then also went to the house where he was to take a family picture for Greg Newman.
When he got there he saw there was quite a large family gathered and so they all had to stand close together to be able to all fit into the picture. Then after Joey took the picture an elderly man approached him and asked,
"So do you take pictures for a living, young fellow?"
"Well, yes I do," said Joey. "Though I'm planning on finding a new job soon."
"But why?" asked the man.
"Well, because my wife is gonna have a baby and so we'll need to get a bigger apartment and also because I want a job that will make my child proud of me."
"Well, I don't see why your child wouldn't be proud of you for being a photographer," said the man. "After all, good ones are hard to come by and they make people happy for capturing them in a special moment in time just like you have done here today."
"But I take pictures of celebrities and movie stars when they're not looking," Joey explained. "They usually aren't too happy about it."
"Well, then maybe you just need to get a different job of taking pictures for different purposes," the man said to him.
"Well, I guess I would like to," said Joey. "But I don't know where to go for that."
"Well," the man said, "I read in the paper this morning that there is a job opening for a new family photographing facility down town. So you might want to check it out."
He then gave Joey the address to the place which was surprisingly close to where he lived. He then went down to the place where he filled out an application and then the man in charge read over and seemed to approve of it.
"So I see you've always been a paparazzi photographer before," the man in charge said. "Very impressive. This means you always want to get the best shots you can at the best angles and sides. I think that is just what we're looking for around here."
"Yes, sir," Joey said. "My job does rely on getting only the best shots. It was because of it that I found my wife who is just now pregnant with our first child. And you see, I felt I needed a more fulfilling job to become a good example of a father and husband now."
He smiled in understanding and said, "So how about you start here tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning?"
"Sure. That'd be great! Thank you so much, sir!" Joey said.
So from then on Joey was a master photographer at taking pictures of families. He truly felt his new job made him a better person as much as becoming a husband and father did which he became nine months later when their daughter Celeste was born.
