"PRETTY AS A PICTURE" (Jane's Dilemma): A Short Story (Updated & Expanded 4/11/12)

I’ve never wanted to be a Beauty Queen. I never felt like I had to be the prettiest girl in

school. Or in class. Or even on my block.

I’m a Plain Jane. In fact, that’s my name. Jane. Jane Johansen. I’m sixteen and a junior

in high school. I’m not hot. I’m not homely. I just am.

Now Liddy Davidson. She’s hot. Long, straight, brilliant blonde hair, with subtle

brunette streaks, parted down the middle. Lovely eyes of such a light blue that they often

appear to be silver. And an ever-present effervescent smile that always just seems so

genuine.

Liddy lives directly across the street from me on Lilac Lane in suburban Spokane,

Washington. Liddy is a Beauty Queen. For real. One year ahead of me in school, she

has already been crowned Junior Prom Queen, Miss Teenage Inland Empire and was a

semi-finalist in the Washington State Young Woman’s Role Model Pageant. Word is

that she got jobbed in that last one. Turns out that Miss Vancouver was the pageant

organizer’s niece. Give you one guess who won.

She also happens to be an honor student, a Sunday School teacher for grade school kids

at First Lutheran Church of Spokane and a regular volunteer at the Salvation Army soup

kitchen downtown.

But other than that, the girl really doesn’t have much goin’ for her.

Yeah, right. I should be so un-perfect.

Anyway, I’ve known Liddy since we moved to Spokane back when I was seven. And

while we haven’t exactly been best friends, we do occasionally stop and chat when we

see each other out and about in the neighborhood or at school.

Like this morning when we happened to pull into adjacent spaces in the school parking

lot.

“Hey, Jane. How are you doin’?”

“Oh. Good morning, Liddy. I’m doin’ great. How ‘bout you?”

“Life is good. Thanks for asking. So tell me about your internship at The Gazette. I bet

that’s pretty cool, getting your photos published in the paper, huh?”

“Yeah. Well, it will be, I guess. Whenever I get one published. My shots still haven’t

made the cut yet, as it were. But I’m hoping soon here. They tell me to just keep

pluggin’. It’s gonna happen soon.”

“Oh, I know it will, Jane. For sure. You’re such an amazing photographer.”

“Well, thanks, Liddy. I appreciate that.” How sweet. Yet how totally typical of Liddy.

“Absolutely,” Liddy continued enthusiastically. “Let me know when one of your photos

goes in the paper and I’ll buy a copy. Or actually probably check it out online, right? I

mean, like pretty much nobody actually reads the paper, paper anymore, I guess, do

they?”

I just nodded. Liddy was right. Still, her kind words of support really meant a lot to me.

“I gave you my cell number, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ve got it saved.”

“Great. Just feel free to call or text anytime, Okay? Seriously.”

“All right. I sure will, Liddy.”

“Well, I gotta hustle it up here. Drill team practice waits for no one, ya know? You have

a super day, Jane!”

“Okay. You, too, Liddy. And thank s so much for your encouragement. That’s really

sweet.”

Liddy shouted back over her shoulder as she picked up the pace toward the gym,

“Wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it, girl!”

And there you have just another in a long list of Liddy’s considerable natural attributes.

Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous; she’s also a super nice person. Which makes hating

her because she’s beautiful pretty much impossible.

Anyway, back to me and my plain ol’ ordinary life.

Oh. So this is kind of exciting. At least, it is for me, anyhow. I got an internship as an

apprentice photographer with The Spokane Gazette. Photography has been a passion of

mine since middle school. I actually had some of my pictures published in the latest

South Hill High School yearbook. It seems like people are always telling me I really

have an eye for a good photo. So I guess I do. I know I sure like being appreciated for

doing something I totally love to do with all of my heart.

Oh, man. I just hate when I'm in a total rush, running around the house trying to find my

darn keys (again) and I'm so hungry I could eat a cow. Or have one!

“Do you want me to make a sandwich to take with you, honey?”

“No thanks, Mom. I’ll just pick up a bagel at the deli. I really gotta get goin’. I’m

running late. I’ll see you tonight. Love you!”

“Love you, too! Take some awesome pictures, sweetie!” I could hear Mom call after me.

But I was already bolting out the back door to leap into my trusty ’05 Ford Focus and

motor on downtown to The Gazette offices.

“Dante’s Deli” is in the same building as The Gazette offices, just off the first floor

lobby. They make the most awesome Walla-Walla Sweet Onion bagels known to man.

And their Garlic Herb Cream Cheese is absolutely to die for.

Jeanie, the closely-cropped little dynamo with the pierced nose and tongue, is behind the

counter most of the time when I come in. She always greets me with a big smile and an

enthusiastic, “Hey! So how’s the fledgling photog phenom today?!”

And I laugh every time.

“Just trying to become relevant, Jeanie. I’m not askin’ for much here,” I respond this

time, only half-joking, actually.

“Gonna see your stuff on the front page any day now, my bodacious bagel buddy!”

“Oh, I’m sure hoping, Jeanie. Gotta go. Runnin’ late. Have a great day!”

“You, too, hon. Rootin’ for ya!”

No sooner do I set foot in the newsroom than Ron Wilson, the Senior Assignments

Editor for The Spokane Gazette, greets me with a most hearty declaration,

“Got an assignment for you, Jane. You ready to get some killer shots for me, ‘newbie’?”

“Yeah, Ron. I’ve been ready, already. What’s up?” I inquire with more than a little

anticipatory excitement in my voice.

Ron laid it out for me. “The city is making plans to sell a good chunk of Riverside Park

to local private developers who want to put up a mega shopping center, restaurant row

type of deal. I’d like you to get some pics of the area in question for a multi-perspective

story we’re gonna go with on this whole thing tomorrow. We want it to run on the front

page.”

The front page! Finally! It’s all starting to happen now, baby!

But in an effort to temper my urge to just spaz right out and remain somewhat

professional, I respond to Ron’s totally rockin’ announcement in as subdued a manner as

possible…considering. “Cool. Whereabouts are we talkin’ in the park and I’ll head out

and start snapping away here?”

“Here’s the map of the park. I’ve highlighted the area they’re talking about tearing up in

yellow for you. Now get out there and make me proud, Jane. It’s your big chance, young

lady!”

“Yeah. Okay, Ron. No pressure or anything, huh?” I chuckle as I bid Ron goodbye.

“I’m off!”

And with that, I grab my trusty Nikon and my car keys and head out the door and into the

dawn of what I hope will be a burgeoning career in big time news photography. Man,

that would be so cool.

Hey, dare to dream, right?

When I arrive at Riverside Park, I glide into the first open space I spy in the parking lot

and virtually fly out of my car to begin clicking away with those “killer shots” Ron

expects from me.

It is a beautiful early autumn Spokane afternoon. Lots of great sun-splashed shots to

capture today for sure.

I’ll start here by the Latawah River and then work my way around the park.

Nice shot of a kayaker shooting the rapids there.

Now the ducks waddling on the river bank.

And here’s a guy fishing from a rock off the shore.

Okay, that’s enough river stuff. Let’s get some of the gardens in full bloom. And the

trees on the cusp of their full foliage.

And gotta get the squirrels scampering about doing their herky-jerky stop and start thing.

Now for a couple of nice wide panoramic type shots.

And…whoa.

Hey now. Check this out.

We have a young couple totally making out on that bench in the shade of one those big

ol’ evergreens. I’m sure they won't mind if I catch a little candid image from afar here

now, will they?

Click. Whirrr.

And I’ll bet that this passionate pair won’t care if I zoom-in for a quick close-up, either.

Nice. Okay, that oughta do it. I’ve got plenty of shots to choose from now. Time to

head on back to The Gazette and start making a name for myself in this world.

Boy, that gal-half of the kissing couple looks really familiar.

Oh my gosh. Is that Liddy Davidson? Oh, wow. It is Liddy.

And who’s the guy? I wonder if I know him? Cute T-shirt. And I’m liking the sharp

short haircut. Good taste in men there, Liddy. Now there’s a real shocker, huh?

Hold on! No way! What the hell?!

That’s no guy. That’s Jeanie! From Dante’s!

Oh my God. I can’t breathe!

Liddy and Jeanie are lovers. Lesbian lovers. For crissakes, Liddy and Jeanie are gay!

Now this is front page news. The local Beauty Queen has a sweetheart. And that

sweetheart is a chick!

Wait. Did they see me? No. It looks like they didn’t.

Big hug. One last kiss. And off they go their separate ways.

I take off in a dead sprint to my car, ever wary of being spotted by either Liddy or Jeanie.

I practically dive into my car, whereupon I fumble around, trying to find my key before

finally jamming it into the ignition, revving up and rocketing out of the parking lot with

my threadbare tires screeching at high pitch.

As I merge onto the parkway and race back to the office, I try really hard to calm myself

down a little. I am so freaked out!

I almost wish I smoked so I can mellow out with a cigarette. I stuff two sticks of

Wrigley’s Spearmint into my mouth instead and chew away like a woman possessed.

Which I am. Possessed with guilt.

And mass indecision.

Do I delete these two compromising photos I have stored in still life in my camera?

Or do I share the pictures with Ron, and together, we can decide what to do with them? I

simply can not imagine doing anything that may potentially hurt either Liddy or Jeanie in

any way. But if I do share the photos of the two young women kissing, what could it lead

to? For sure there are a whole bunch of Gazette readers who will identify such a popular

and high profile girl like Liddy in either one of the photos with Jeannie.

But then I also wonder, what might such a stunning photo mean for my future with The

Gazette? Or beyond, perhaps? Oh, damn it. How can I even be thinking this way?

I'm still agonizing over what to do with my pair of photos when I pull into The Gazette

parking garage. I get out of my Focus slowly and head with dubious deliberation toward

the elevators.

As I round the corner to the elevator doors, I stop dead in my tracks. I actually stumble a

step backwards.

For there by the doors stood Liddy Davidson. Looking directly at me. And looking like

I’ve never seen her before.

Sad.

“Hi, Jane. I bet you’re surprised to see me, huh?”

I reply in a hushed voice which I’m sure was barely audible, “Um, no. Not really,

actually.”

The silence that follows my meek words is the most excruciating ten-seconds imaginable.

At last, Liddy ends the torture. “So you saw me and Jeanie at the park, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I saw you. I wish I wouldn’t have. I really do, Liddy. But I did.” As I

deliver my confession, I stare straight at the ground, unable for some indefinable reason

to look Liddy in the face. I lock in on her pink Nikes. They are so beautiful. Just like

Liddy. Only they're a little stained from the fresh cut grass of the park she and I just

came from.

Then suddenly comes this from Liddy. It is something that I had not expected at all to

hear.

“It’s Okay, you know, Jane. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed at all. Jeanie and I have

been a couple for months now. She is such a special person. And we are so happy

together.”

“That’s awesome, Liddy. Really. That’s so great. I just think the world of both of you

guys, ya know?”

“Thanks, Jane. I feel the exact same way about you.” Liddy paused. She flashes that

100-watt smile at me. And then she gets right to the point. Graciously, but earnestly.

“I don’t now what your plans are with the photos you took, Jane. And there’s really

nothing I can do or say that’s going to influence your decision one way or the other."

Then her voice begins to crack as she adds, “I guess I would only ask you to follow your

heart in whatever you decide. And that your decision is bigger than just you.” And with

that, Liddy smiles at me again. Only not so brightly this time. And with her now

quivering lips closed. Then she nods, wipes her cheeks dry and walks away to her car.

I stand there, motionless. I watch her drive by as she heads to the garage exit. She

waves. I wave back. I try to force a smile. But I’m sure it winds up looking more like a

grimace.

I continue to stand by the elevator doors for several more minutes.

Thinking. Weighing. Gut-wrenching. Struggling to decide if it is more important for me

to make what may be a big splash with a potentially controversial photo. Or to not

possibly damage the lives of two people I truly care about. And, more importantly,

who also care about me.

I take a deep breath. I exhale ever so slowly. As if it is my last. Then I address myself

out loud, “Well. Here’s to your future, Janey girl. Let’s just hope it’s one we don’t

regret.”

And I step into the elevator.

That night, I swear I must have started and cleared like fifteen times. But the text I

finally manage to send communicates exactly what I need it to.

Hi, Liddy.

Hope it’s not too late.

I can’t believe it. My assignments editor picked one of my park photos for tomorrow’s

FRONT PAGE!!

He actually said all 18 of my pics KICKED ASS!!

And I want you to know something else, Liddy.

I originally took 20 shots.

Your friend



Always

Jane