Entry tags:

!complete, char: andrew wilkinson, char: pandora montgomery, time: 2010 02

RP: Picture Time!
Who: Andrew, Dora, Ainsley and McKay
When: Wednesday, February 7, 2010, afternoon
Where: Andrew's studio
What: It's time for the twins' six-month photo shoot.
Warnings: Grief


Surprisingly, Dora had remembered this particular appointment. It had been written in her calendar, which was probably why. That, and she'd already picked out the outfits for the twins. Logic, which was her friend at the moment, told her that she would eventually want pictures of her twins at six months.

Besides, the structure of a schedule helped. And it was on her schedule. So she dressed them with care, and put on a few charms to hopefully drool proof the outfits at least short term. It was surprisingly resistant int he quantities that teething produced.

Then she arrived at the studio. Her own dress was much simpler than the twins' outfits. She hadn't bothered with it, and it fit too tightly around the middle. For once, she hadn't really thought about her own appearance, though usually she considered it quite well, for it was often armor, after all. Her expression was that same smooth, mask like one she'd worn most of the time since she'd found out the news, though it softened and cracked at times around the babies.

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In the wake of the recent tragedy, Andrew had found himself in a strange sort of predicament. There was a flurry of activity with scheduling, people cancelling appointments and an influx of new appointments as others seemed to be reminded of their mortality and realized the value in getting professional pictures done. Because you never knew when your time would be up, or when a loved one's would be, a life lesson he had learned the hard way himself.

He'd ordered a bouquet of flowers to be sent to the funeral, not feeling enough a part of their family or group yet to attend but not wanting to ignore it altogether when he did have a connection to the Montgomery family through ZJ. He'd half-expected Dora to cancel--he knew how hard it was to lose one's spouse and having a child to take care off after, and she had two plus another on the way, so it had to be even more of a challenge. He wouldn't have held it against her, but he was relieved when she did show up. It didn't stop the concern when he saw how unkempt she seemed to be, but the twins were well put together, so he had to give her credit for pushing through to take care of them.

Evie was set up in a little play pen in one corner of his studio and near her was a little table and chair set up with tea and biscuits he'd picked up fresh from a bakery this morning. "Help yourself, I'm almost set up for the little tykes," he greeted her with a small smile, motioning toward the table as he finished setting up his standing camera. He would take shots with his handheld as well, but he wanted to make sure to get a good variety for her. He'd already decided he wasn't going to comment on her losses unless she brought it up; he remembered being frustrated by strangers or near-strangers constantly bringing it up after Mary died.
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She just couldn't quite think of herself yet. The dress was clean if not quite fitting, except for a bit of drool and honestly you simply could not stop that production wagon. The twins were her priority.

There was a feeling of relief when he didn't immediately gush sympathies or anything. A faint loosening around her shoulders.

"No problem," she said. "And thank you." She didn't think she'd actually eaten this morning and her hunger was only now making itself known as she settled the twins down for a few and nabbed a biscuit even though a couple bites made her stomach uneasy.

She did find a little smile for Evie in her pen. "How's your little tyke?"
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"You're welcome," he called back softly, almost finished fiddling with his settings. He had several ideas for the shoot for the twins today and more for the ones he wanted to get of them and Evie, which he wouldn't be charging Dora for, and he hoped that she might find some comfort in the process and the results despite everything else.

Andrew did glance back at Dora with a bit of a crooked grin when she asked about Evie. "She's doing fantastic. She's got crawling down to an art and has started trying to pull herself up on everything. It won't be long until she's running about and I won't be able to keep up with her," he quipped lightly. He was doing his best to act normally, as if the tragedy from only a week and a half ago hadn't happened. If he could give her any sort of gift or comfort in this time, that was what he thought would be best.

"Have the twins started rolling yet?" he asked curiously. It would change some of his setup, though not drastically, if they were. He knew this was their six-month pictures, but he wasn't sure if that was six months from literal birth or six months from when they'd been due. He knew they'd been born premature, but he wasn't familiar with how that affected the way their age was expressed during this time of rapid development. Maybe it didn't change it at all.
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It was comfortable to talk about the babies, and she wondered if he'd let her hold Evie, and if Evie would be amenable. The twins were so fussy lately and she just couldn't tell if it was her or them or both. She knew she wasn't at her best, but damn she was trying for them at least. She was up and out and they looked fantastic, at least.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do when they start walking," she admitted somewhat dryly. "Hopefully between now and then I'll have a few ideas."

Her smile was faint but it was there as she tucked some stray strands of hair back behind her ears. "Yes. Ainsley's pretty much got it down, but McKay is still struggling in one direction. But he's teething first, so I think it's balancing out. They're a little behind the typical chart, but if you count from when they were due, they're doing really well," she added as she often did, since some women especially gave her that pitying look of oh your babies are behind.
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Andrew chuckled softly at her admission, nodding his head slightly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out as you go along, and of course magic helps." He'd seen some of the struggles his mum and Harold had with Phoebe and didn't envy them for it.

He was not the pitying sort and wasn't about to judge her for her children's development. Perhaps if they'd looked malnourished and unkempt, he'd be concerned and mention something to somebody, but he understood the grieving process all too well, and wasn't about to put any extra stress on the woman by making unfounded judgments. Instead, he nodded and set about putting in a few adjustments. "They look to be doing well," he commented casually.

"Are you ready, little lady?" he asked Ainsley as he came over to them, reaching his hands out to the baby girl. "I was thinking I'd do individual shots and some with them together," he explained, and Ainsley had seemed the more amenable just now. It was something he preferred to do with twins, giving them that individual touch rather than treating them as one person in two bodies.
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"Thank goodness. I don't know how Muggles do it." Motherhood was exhausting enough when you had wards and spells. Though she knew muggles were an ingenious enough lot, she wouldn't give up magic if you paid her. Not that it would be that easy -- even now, there was an aura of it about her, faintly. She was a witch, no mistake, and a powerful one.

The twins were well turned out though. She hadn't quite gone overboard but she'd definitely focused on them. As she had since everything happened. They wouldn't let her withdraw completely, which was a lucky enough thing. "Miracle of miracles, they are. They've grown so much." Though they missed their daddy... Ainsley more than McKay knew something was missing, since Ewan had handled her more since she was less likely to freak out at his anxiety. But they both knew something was wrong with her.

The little girl's hands waved and she cooed and babbled at him with surprising amiability, happy enough to be held by someone who knew how to do it. She had on an adorable dress with ruffles, something a bit old fashioned by muggle standards but which somehow fit with Dora's normal taste, though it was mauvey rose colour (her favorite colour aside from black and green was pink). Adorable was a word for her, with her bright, keen eyes (her mother's) and her dark hair coming in.

"That's fine. I'm sure they'll appreciate it when they're older," she said with a hint of dryness. They handled being separated for short periods but it was still hell currently to keep them too far apart while trying to sleep. Dora picked up McKay, in his wee trousers and the vest that was a few shades darker than his sister's dress, to match. Her smile grew with warmth, life touching her features again for a moment, as she lifted him, and the expression earned a gurgle of baby joy in return. "They're two individuals at all times except naptime, really."
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Although his eyebrows rose a bit at her words, Andrew wisely opted not to comment on it. Muggles did just fine, he knew, even muggles with magical children, but he wasn't trying to make things awkward with her, not only as a client, but as future extended family of sorts.

Considering he hadn't met the twins before, he had no frame of reference for their growth, but he did smile warmly at the comment, knowing what a marvel it was to see one's child grow, seemingly, right before your eyes. "They look well," he said in what he hoped was an encouraging tone as he picked up the surprisingly welcoming baby girl. He lifted her with an ease that bespoke of his own parenthood and took Ainsley over to the setting he'd arranged for the pictures. Even as he set Ainsley down, adjusting her ruffled dress as he did, Evie became increasingly curious about the goings-on and pulled herself up along the side of the play area Andrew had her in, big blue eyes blinking up at Dora as she yelled some nonsensical babble at her and bounced on her chunky little legs.

"Oh yeah?" he asked after snapping the first few pictures. "Are they good nappers as long as they're together, then?" He thought it might do Dora some good to have the conversation keep flowing, especially if it steered clear of the tragedy.
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"Relatively so," she replied. "As well as one can expect I suppose. One is much more the night owl than the other." Which hadn't been too bad before but made things harder now. Though with her brother and ZJ so close it helped some.

She wandered over to Evie, holding McKay, and crouched so the two babies could study each other through the pen. McKay's head tucked a bit into her shoulder but he still seemed curious.

"So are you settling into this whole having an extended family thing all right?" she asked conversationally. It was a big thing, after all.
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He could imagine that was stressful at times--it had been difficult enough with Evie's odd sleep schedule that first year, he couldn't imagine how much more exhausting it would be with two infants on different sleep schedules.

Evie looked up at Dora and McKay, smiling and doing a bit of baby babble as she raised one tiny clenched fist in a little wave.

Andrew had a moment of pause before he spoke, not quite sure how to answer that since he still hadn't reached out to his father yet. He still wasn't sure he wanted to. "Fairly well. ZJ's really easy to get along with, and everyone's been quite welcoming." More than he'd thought possible, if he were being honest. And he was almost surprised at how easy it was to slip into a casual conversation with Dora, thinking that perhaps she needed it. Life was hard--sometimes it felt impossible--after the loss of a spouse, and he just hoped he was helping her even a tiny bit.