Chapter 13

Now that school was over it was time for the next milestones—three weddings, none of them ours. But first...

"Tommy, will you come with me tonight?"

"Come with you? Oh, first night of rehearsals, right?"

"Yeah. Will you?" After all her experience on stage there was still some of the shy beginner in my lady.

"Sure I'll come along."

We got to the park and walked to the theatre. The cast was just starting to gather, so Beth joined them while I found a seat in the bleachers. One of the theatre group's board members covered some basics like the location of the restrooms and other important info about the facility. Then the show's director, Dan, took over and talked about the rehearsal process and what he expected from the cast. The whole thing sounded a lot like what we'd heard in school. When he was done, the cast started their first read-through. Scripts in hand, they just stood in place, the actors reading their parts with Dan filling in for the parts not cast yet.

Beth was uncharacteristically quiet on the way home. Normally she'd be talking my ear off over starting a new show, but not tonight. By the time we got home my nerves were on edge. It just wasn't like my lady to be so quiet.

"Okay, what's up?"

"Um, well, Dan asked if you had any experience with theatre."

Oh, oh. Here it comes.

"And what did you say?" I asked with more than a little trepidation.

"I said you did, especially on the technical side and ... I'm sorry, Tommy, I volunteered you!"

"Volunteered for what?"

"Well, he said he needed someone who could help build sets and that kind of stuff."

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"So you volunteered me to help, huh?"

"Only if you want to. I told him I'd ask you. You don't have to, but as long as I was going to be there, I thought it would be nice to have you there, too."

I thought about it. It wasn't like I had a lot of things to do in the evenings, so why not? And that's where it started.

...

"Tommy, are you coming to bed soon?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to finish up my notes for next Friday."

It was the week before Gracie's wedding and I was busy trying to learn all the tricks of wedding photography.

When I crawled in next to Beth and Ghost my lady looked at me. "Tommy, are you sorry you said 'yes' to Gracie?"

"Oh, I guess not really sorry. I just don't want to disappoint her by not doing a good job. You know I've never shot a wedding before and I'm afraid I'll miss an important picture."

"If you don't relax you'll be in the hospital with an ulcer and won't get ANY pictures!"

Tuesday afternoon Beth came home from work and found me checking web sites for information on wedding photography and filling a text file with notes.

"Tommy, get your jacket."

"Huh?" I looked up from my computer.

"Where are we going?" I said as I saved my file.

"Out for dinner and a movie. You're driving me nuts."

I guess maybe I had been a bit preoccupied. But the wedding was Friday and this was Tuesday already.

"Tommy, you're going to have to give this a rest or you're going to be so keyed up you won't be worth a damn to Gracie on her big day."

"I know, I just..." I ran down. I'd been nervous before a shoot before, so what was it about this one? Did I really think I couldn't do it?

One thing I'd learned about my lady: If she wanted something, she'd get it, and soon she had me forgetting Friday. At least for a while.

She drove to our favorite little restaurant where she kept me in stitches describing some of the strange things she'd run into working at her folks' shop.

"Some guy came in and asked if we could build him a computer. I explained that CNC machining didn't have anything to do with actually building them. Then there was the woman who asked if we could drill a hole in her cutting board so she could hang it up! I swear some people shouldn't be let out without a keeper."

After our meal we walked around the corner to a theater where they were showing Charade, the Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn classic. We'd seen it on TV, but it was much more fun being in a theater with an audience. Anyone who thinks streaming videos and DVDs will kill movie houses doesn't understand crowd psychology. There's just something about sitting in a theater watching a film with others, even strangers.

When we walked out of the theater I was glad I had my jacket. It might have been June but the evenings could still be chilly.

Once we got home, I was ready to crash. I finished in the bathroom just in time to see Beth walk out of the bedroom with Ghost in her arms. She was whispering to him as she headed for the kitchen. Would she have more luck trying to talk him into something than I did?

When my lady came back around the corner she was gloriously nude and was wearing that look. I reached over and turned out the light, expecting her to crawl in next to me. I was wrong. The next thing I knew she started caressing my legs. As she worked her way up, she crawled onto the end of the bed and pulled my legs apart. As she ran her fingers up the inside of my thighs I felt a warm pair of lips working their way up my rising shaft. As her tongue toyed with the crown I felt her fingers circling the base. That had me moaning in expectation.

"Are you relaxed yet?" she said in a deep, throaty whisper. All I could do was groan and whimper. As keyed up as I'd been it didn't take her long to relax me the rest of the way and soon I was telling the world about it.

"I'm glad Cindy and Greg aren't upstairs tonight," Beth chuckled. "I'd hate to have them think anything unsavory was happening down here."

I just growled, flipped her over on her back and returned the favor. I intended to stretch things out until she was begging for mercy, but it just wasn't going to happen. As I got close I felt something on my leg ... then my butt ... then my back ... and then my shoulder. As our feline voyeur looked down at my lady she opened her eyes and tried to give him a stern look.

"I thought we had an agreement," she gasped. Ghost just stared at her, settled down on my shoulder, and licked his chops as I started to move again.

I hoped he enjoyed the ride as much as I did!

Wednesday morning I was back at it early and feeling a little foolish. Since I started doing photography for others I'd unconsciously developed an attitude about wedding photographers. It wasn't anything blatant, but somehow I'd picked up the feeling that the people who did weddings weren't real professionals. I don't know if it was because there were so many part-timers shooting their cousin's wedding or what caused it, but I suddenly realized I'd turned into a photo snob.

Studying up for Gracie's wedding cured that. I was frankly surprised at the craft some wedding photographers put into their work.

"I still don't understand why you're so worried about Friday," Beth said as she got ready for work Thursday morning. "It's certainly not the biggest assignment you've ever had."

"I guess it's because all my previous work has had the option to re-shoot the pictures if they didn't turn out. With a wedding, I'll only have one chance to get everything right."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

I thought about her offer. "Well, yeah, now that you mention it. Will you be my assistant? I mean be there to make sure I don't forget anything on the list, make sure Gracie's dress looks right and I don't line people up on the wrong side. You know, stuff like that."

"Hmm, I suppose. Do I get paid for something like that? I mean, what does a photographer's assistant usually get?" I could hear the lewd chuckle behind her question. I guess she figured she'd found a good way to distract me. Smart girl.

Friday we drove to the chapel. I had a camera in hand, another around my neck, and a bag full of all the ancillary stuff I might need. I just hoped I wouldn't mess up anything.

I made sure we got there early enough to catch Gracie when her mother drove up to let her out, already gowned, hair styled, and looking great.

"You look fantastic!" I told our friend.

"Thanks, Tommy." I could see the red creeping up her throat as I snapped pictures of her in all her glory and wondered if any of them would end up in the album for this special day. "I'm so nervous. I hope I don't mess up today."

"Gracie, don't worry about it. Just think of it as another photo shoot and you'll do fine." I glanced at Beth and saw a little grin. Maybe her way of telling me to follow my own advice?

I was just finishing up the formal shots of Gracie by herself when Joey walked in.

"Hey, there's the groom. You clean up pretty good," I kidded our friend. Joey was wearing a tux and, truth be told, did look pretty good.

He and Gracie had decided to do the formal pictures before the ceremony itself, thinking everyone would be fresh, makeup un-smudged and clothes un-wrinkled. Besides, it would give everybody a chance to relax before the big moment.

Beth was her usual organized self and soon had the couple properly arranged for their first formal picture. I was a little amazed at how much fussing she did—making sure Gracie's train was arrayed properly and every fold of her dress was where it belonged. I thought back to our first shoot with Gracie and grinned. Today was a far cry from posing behind a tree. After starting with Gracie and Joey we added people as the rest of the wedding party arrived.

We finished the formal pictures just as the guests started to arrive, so we moved out of the chapel to wait until everyone was in.

Soon the organ music started and Joey and his best man moved into position. The organist segued into the traditional wedding march and Gracie and her father came down the aisle while I snapped images of the grinning bride and her proud father. Once Gracie's father turned her over to her soon-to-be husband, I went up to the choir loft at the front of the church to get the pictures of the ceremony itself. I had assured the minister that I wouldn't be using a flash during the ceremony which seemed to surprise him. Apparently some photographers hadn't discovered a tripod and time exposures yet.

I was down from the choir loft and standing at the back of the church when I heard "You may kiss the bride." Then Gracie and Joey were turning around and being introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Samuelson for the first time.

I got pictures of the newlyweds coming back down the aisle, Gracie looking radiant and Joey with a proud grin from ear to ear.

As the reception line was progressing I took shots of the happy couple and their guests, then it was off to the reception at one of the local hotels for more pictures ... and food! As we circulated through the reception I had a chance to catch up with a bunch of the kids I'd known in school. I saw a couple of Beth's "mice" and noticed both were sitting with guys. I guess my lady's advice and nudging worked.

I was a little bemused when Gracie's sister Cheryl came up to me during the reception.

"Are you the photographer that did the pictures for my sister? You know, the ones in the woods?"

"Um, yes, I am."

"Could you ... I mean would you do one for me, too?"

"How old are you?"

"I've just graduated. I turned eighteen and I want to do something for my boyfriend and when I saw the special pictures you did for Gracie, well, I thought..." she ran down and it was obvious she wasn't real comfortable talking about the idea. I gave her one of my cards and told her to call me. As she walked away I wondered if I should mention anything to Gracie, then thought better of it. I mean, if Cheryl was of legal age it shouldn't be any of her older sister's business.

We got home late and my first thought was to get all of today's images copied from my camera's memory cards to my computer. That done, I plugged in an external drive and copied everything, then made another backup to a DVD. Paranoid? Probably, but I wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to call Gracie and tell her something went wrong. I also made myself a promise to NEVER accept another wedding shoot. At least the worst was over. Now it was just a matter of making up a proof book for the bride and waiting until she decided which prints she wanted.

Saturday afternoon I was working on Gracie's pictures when my phone rang. It was Cheryl calling about a session with me. We tentatively set up a time for the following Wednesday afternoon. When Beth got home I mentioned it to her.

"She certainly didn't waste any time, did she?"

"No, she didn't. Can you get free Wednesday afternoon?"