When they returned, clearly having also raided my cupboards, judging by the assortment of biscuits accompanying the mugs of tea, Tilly had calmed a little and we’d tidied up her face and hair. She gave a glance at Sam. I scooted up and touched his arm as I moved past, encouraging him to go and sit by his fiancée.
‘Sorry about earlier,’ she said.
‘It’s all right.’ He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
I took a sip of my tea and slid Tilly’s book onto my knees. Flipping to the ‘photography’ section, I found several lists.
‘What do all these mean?’
Tilly peered over to see what I was looking at. ‘Oh. Those were categorised in to how badly I wanted them.’
‘OK. So, this person was your second choice, and so on?’ I said, pointing a French manicured nail at a name on one of the lists.
‘Yep.’
‘Right. So, what about ringing these, and seeing if any of them have that day free still?’
‘I don’t think they will, but we could try. If you don’t mind? I mean…’ she glanced at the clock on the wall ‘… I am supposed to still be working.’
I waved my hand. ‘Priorities.’
To be honest, I didn’t think they would have space either. We were hitting prime wedding season and anyone worth their SIM card would have been booked long ago. Finishing our tea, Tilly and I split her final choice list into two and started making phone calls. Half an hour later, we’d been through all of them. Every single one was booked. I’d had a couple promise to call me back if anything changed but I didn’t hold out much hope. The tears now shining again in Tilly’s eyes showed me that she didn’t either.
‘Are there any more that you liked?’
She swiped her hand under her nose, and I leant and grabbed the box of tissues from the side of the sofa and passed them over. Taking one, she wiped her eyes and nose haphazardly, then shook her head.
‘All the others we considered just didn’t seem to have the sort of look we were going for. They were all really staged, and formal. We want a more relaxed kind of feel, as well as some traditional shots. Ones that really capture our personalities.’ Tilly flicked through a few of the pages in her file. ‘It seems a waste to spend so much money on a photographer that you don’t share the same aesthetic with. I think I’d rather just put those funds towards the honeymoon.’ She let out a sigh, before continuing. ‘I think the best thing to do is to send an email to everyone who is coming, explaining the problem and asking if, after the wedding, they can send us any photos they think are good. I’ll set up a special email address for it, and then we can choose ones from them. Some are bound to be great!’ I could see that Tilly was doing her best to pep talk herself more than any of us.
‘Sounds like a great idea!’ Alex said.
‘I think so too!’ Tilly smiled at him. Alex returned it and then shot a covert look to me and Charlie. No, we weren’t buying it either.
‘Or… I could maybe take some for you?’
Everyone turned to Charlie. A hint of colour began to show around his neck. He stuck a finger in his collar and pulled at it a little. Bearing in mind it was an open-necked casual shirt, the quirk was kind of adorable. ‘I mean, if you really can’t find anyone else.’
‘You’d do that?’
Charlie nodded. His glance flicked briefly to me and I read the panic in it. Somewhere deep inside me, I felt an inexplicable shift.
‘I mean, I’ve never done anything like this before so I feel it’s only fair to warn you that the shots might not be great. But if you show me the kind of thing you want, I’d be happy to do what I could.’
I watched Charlie for a moment and surmised that him being ‘happy’ about it was probably an enormous overstatement. Alex caught my eye and I could see the same thought reflected in his expression.
‘Of course! We could do that, couldn’t we, Sam? Of course!’ Tilly gushed. She jumped up and rushed at Charlie, bumping into him with a huge hug. ‘Thank you thank you thank you!’ Charlie’s eyebrows rose in surprise and the corners of his eyes crinkled in laughter as he returned the hug. I saw Tilly’s shoulders start shaking as tears of relief overtook her.
Charlie tightened the hug. ‘It’ll be all right,’ he said quietly. ‘I promise.’
Tilly and Sam arranged to meet up with Charlie, and show him ideas for the sort of look they were going for, and then I sent her home. It had been a pretty emotional afternoon for them both and I could see Tilly’s telltale tics of when she got tired beginning to show. It was funny what you picked up when you worked so closely with someone every day.
‘I’d better be going too,’ Alex said as the door closed behind them.
‘You have to help me!’ Charlie sidestepped, blocking Alex’s exit. ‘I can’t corral a bunch of wedding guests! I’ll never get the shots she wants!’
Alex pulled his head back and shook it, confusion showing on his face. ‘Then why did you offer to do it?’
‘Because the poor girl is about to get married and has no photographer. And she was so upset and crying! I couldn’t bear it!’
