friday afternoon, the sunshine shone and she wrapped herself in ballet pink cashmere and filled a suitcase with nude heels and cocoa butter and a skinny tie and dolce & gabanna cologne. she met him at the train station where they settled into seats and watched the cityscape turn to lush green countryside studded with rustic fences. they arrived at her parents' home and the scent of familiarity washed over her; it was the same home that she grew up in. the kitchen was bustling with stirring and tasting and hugging and conversing and laughing. she loves being with her family, surrounded by the feeling of home, reminded again of what it was to be seventeen. they spent saturday at home, cooking together, inspired. they curled up together in the hammock and let the spring breeze lull them to sleep. there was music and dancing and laughter in the evening. the following day, they woke eager for the afternoon to begin. she piled her hair on her head, they picked up iced coffees and drove to rural meadows to meet two adorable couples to photograph. they met their first clients who brought balloons and styled their shoot in shades of black and white. a rural-meets-modern session that they loved photographing, ankle deep in mud. after soaking up a little sunshine into their skin and reveling in the first real warmth of the year, they met the next couple. they brought their vintage bicycles and his tee shirt that reads, i just want to ride bikes with you. they set up a knitted blanket, a selection of cheeses and a bottle of organic wine. what followed was such a pleasure to photograph: a couple, styled in creams and nudes, bicycling to their wine & cheese picnic; pouring a blend of cabernet sauvignon and carmenere into glasses and sipping; kisses so intimate and his thumb on her soft lips; walking hand in hand through the tall grasses, through the soft light. after the picnic was put away and hundreds of pretty photographs had been recorded to remember forever, they left the rural meadows for the city centre to dine on greek food. they tasted greek wines, ordered lamb souvlaki, tasted off one another's plates. four friends. they finished the evening with dancing, at the same place that she and her love had danced for the first time, more than five years before, on the second day that they had met. their new friends told them that they adored watching them dance, their love for one another evident. clearly you are head over heels in love with each other. yes, they are. she wondered how she could have ever imagined that moment when years ago she was twirled by him for the first time, at the age of seventeen. the life they've created together since then is simply filled with goodness.
