The brideâs nasally whine cut through the string quartetâs soft music. âHey, photographer, not there. Move that way a bit.â She waved a large knife, indicating where I should go, the glossy white ribbon tied around the handle rippling with her efforts. âRemind me again why Iâm paying you when Iâm giving all the direction?â
God help me, but I wanted to shove her face into the wedding cake. Deep breaths. I tried to smile while I took a step to the left. I looked through the viewfinder of my Nikon and assessed the shot. The whitewashed weatherboard walls and iron chandelier holding candles created a magical backdrop. So pretty.
âNo! Oh my God, do I have to do everything myself?â she shrieked, and I started. The bride bore down on me, knife still in hand, and pushed my shoulder until I was situated exactly where she wanted.
Who said weddings were an easy way to earn money? The bride retreated to her spot next to the groom. At least he had the good grace to blush. I wondered if he was reassessing his choice of a life partner. Bad luck, buddy; you already put a ring on it. âAre we ready to cut the cake now?â she asked, heavily pencilled eyebrow raised, as if Iâd been the one holding things up. Sheesh.
âLook this way,â I said, my eye twitching. The bride, Tracy, rolled her eyes. I guessed I was stating the obvious, but her husband had been looking at her, so what was I supposed to do? They both turned to the camera, Tracyâs scowl quickly switching to a glowing smile. I snapped a few shots while they poised the tip of the knife on the icing then pushed the blade into the four-tiered work of art.
With Tracy occupied, I quickly stepped back to my original position and clicked away as they fed each other cake. Why hire me if youâre not going to trust my judgement? It wasnât like I was the cheapest photographer out there, and I doubted Tracy had a degree in visual arts. Whoâd come up with the âthe customer is always rightâ saying? Honestly, most of the time, the customer had no idea about shot composition and lighting. A headache threatened as I thought about the editing suggestions that would be coming my way next week.
Her parents joined her, and her father leaned in for a hug. I quickly moved forward, focused the lens, and clicked some close-ups. That would be an amazing shotâthe emotion in his face brought tears to my eyes. I couldnât wait to see it on my large desktop screen. ExceptâŚ
I blinked and stopped clicking. I must be tired, because her father seemed see through, like I imagined a ghost would be. I could see Tracyâs mother through him. What the hell? I lowered the camera. And, of course, he was solid, normal again. I must need more coffee. Maybe Tracyâs whole crazy-bride thing had me so stressed that I was hallucinating.
Feedback exploded from the speaker system, destroying my hearing with laser precision. A giggle followed, and then a womanâs voice slurred out of the speakers. âOopsie. Time to dance! Get your arses on the floor, peeps!â Taylor Swift blasted over the partygoers. So that was it for any conversation. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and checked the screen. 8:45 p.m.: forty-five torturous minutes to go. At least the bride would be too busy to harass me, as her bridesmaids had dragged her onto the dance floor.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and hoisted my camera in front of my face. This was probably one of my favourite parts of a weddingâthe candid shots where everyone was having fun. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned.
The brideâs father stood there, solid as ever, thank God. He even smiled. âHi, Lily. I wanted to say thank you very much for today. You helped make this an incredible day for my daughter. I know she can get a little carried away sometimes.â He shrugged, as if to say âwhat are you gonna do?â Hmm, I could think of a few things. âAnyway, hereâs an extra something to show our appreciation.â His smile was genuine when he handed me a white envelope. It all felt a bit Mafia.
âUm, thank you, Mr Papadakis. Thatâs very kind of you.â He had already paid me the full amount for the job via direct debit, but I could only assume this was extra cash. I really wanted to know how much, but I wasnât sure if it was polite to open the envelope in front of him.
âItâs my pleasure. My wife and I canât wait to see all the pictures. Thanks again.â He smiled and made his way to the dance floor to bust some moves with his daughter. What a nice dad.
I took a deep breath and fought an unexpected tear. If I ever got married, I didnât have a dad to celebrate with, or a mum. They disappeared when I was fourteen, presumed dead. Maybe I would just avoid the whole âgetting marriedâ thing, then I wouldnât have to worry about missing them being there. At least I still had my older brother, James. After my parents disappeared, he took care of me. Then later, he met and married a London girl. They lived just outside London, but he called me every week, and I knew Iâd be getting a call later for my birthday. Heâd been over there for six years, but he never forgot the important dates.
I nabbed the last of the shots for the night, said goodbye to the bride and groom without too much drama, then lugged my equipment to my Subaru and packed it into the back seat. Once behind the wheel, I locked the doorsâone could never be too carefulâand opened the envelope. I simulated a drum roll by vibrating my tongue on the roof of my mouthâokay, it didnât sound anything like a drum roll, but it was better than nothing. My ears rang from the loud music, but the crinkle of the envelope opening was still loud in the quiet car. I held my breath as I pulled out the contents⌠green plastic notes, which meant, oh my God! One thousand Aussie dollars in hundreds.
âWoohoo!â I screamed. This called for a song. âHappy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday, dear Lily. Happy birthday to me!â Best present ever. One-thousand un-taxable dollars. I grinned. Maybe I could duck over to the UK sooner than I thought. This money was so going into my holiday/visit-my-brother fund. I turned the radio on and sung along with the latest pop tunes all the way home. Maybe turning twenty-four wasnât so bad after all.
Except, I may have spoken too soon.
