Rory perks up. ‘Would that be homemade soup, then? From where I’m sitting, that sounds a lot like a dinner invitation.’ Only Rory could twist it to that. Although obviously, from what he said this morning, he wouldn’t be up for it even if he got one.
Despite the day being peppered with food servings, until now I’ve only seen it through my lens. If I wasn’t so tired I’d sigh. ‘In case you’d forgotten, mate, dinner dates aren’t in your portfolio or whatever it is you call it. I’m just flagging up how hard today’s been, and that I’mreallynot in tune with weddings, okay? End of message.’ I unplug the lead from my last camera and move onto the pile of memory cards I’ve carefully arranged on a plate.
He looks at me like he thinks I’m mad. ‘What’s not to like about today? It’s had all the fun of a party, with none of the social demands of being a guest. It’s scored pretty close to a perfect ten for me.’
I’m snorting because it’s fine for him to say that. ‘You haven’t had the responsibility. Or the worry of failing. Hell, you’re not even taking real pictures.’
He looks affronted. ‘I’ve hadmycamera out too.’
‘Sure.’ That claim is so ridiculous, it’s barely worth the effort of a headshake. He’s been carrying it around like a theatrical prop. End of story.
He frowns. ‘So which bit did you object to? You had a good time with the girls before, judging by the screams coming out of the dressing room. The ceremony was great, the fake snow confetti shot couldn’t have been more of a blizzard. Thanks to my dictator tactics, we rattled through the group lists. You nailed the crowd shot from the balcony, neither of us fell asleep in the speeches. With my expert advice to keep you on track, why wouldn’t the day go like a dream?’
I admit some bits weren’t so bad. ‘Taking Nancy and Scott’s couple pics on the beach was okay.’ Her dress flying in the wind by the sea was phenomenal. When Scott wrapped her in her chunky wool cardi and hugged her, they looked so much in love they could have walked straight out of a magazine ad. And the cake and the flowers were great too.
Rory’s pondering. ‘Those mini fish and chips on the buffet were one of my high points.’
I shake my head, despairing because he has so little idea. ‘You do know, the photographers aren’t supposed to graze?’
He shrugs. ‘If it’s the bride’s mum offering, it’s rude to refuse.’ No doubt he’s milked that relationship to the max. ‘My wedding radar tells me we’ll be off again soon. You need to stop playing with your cameras and eat something.’ He drops two mini quiches and a large vol au vent on the plate next to my two remaining memory cards.
I let out a squawk. ‘Careful, I haven’t done those yet.’
‘Stop panicking. It’s the only way I’ll get you to notice food.’ He looks unrepentant, then his face breaks into a smile as he spots a hound wandering our way. ‘All that freaking out about the dogs and they’ve been lovely. This one’s Hetty, she’s got diamonds on her collar.’
I hate to be agreeing with him. ‘They’re very photogenic.’ If you can overlook how huge they are, they’re dark grey, elegantandwell behaved. ‘This one’s greeting you like a long lost friend.’ Her head’s at table level and I watch her snuffling round Rory as he fondles her ears for few seconds, then look back to my computer.
‘Hetty’s the hungry one, I’ve been feeding her titbits all day.’ Rory laughs as she makes a lunge for his sandwich. ‘No, this one’s mine, girl. Oh, shit!’
‘What’s the matter?’ As I look up and see the last of my vol au vent disappearing into the dog’s chops, I let out a groan. ‘She took my quiches too. Nancy said if there’s food around, they’re like doggy Hoovers.’
‘Jeez, just listen to those teeth crunching.’ Rory’s obviously impressed that a dog can fit that much food in its mouth all at one time.
Then, as I stare at the crumbs and the memory card left on the plate there’s a tiny lurch in my chest. ‘Where’s the card gone?’
Rory frowns. ‘It’s there, on the plate. Next to the pastry flake.’
My stomach deflates like a popped balloon. ‘No, there were two. Definitely two.’ As I hear my high-pitched squeal rising, I haul it down to a hissed whisper so people don’t hear. ‘They were there next to the food. Waiting to be backed up andfullof wedding pictures. If the card’s gone, they’ve gone too.’ If my heart was racing earlier, it’s nothing to the way it’s thundering now.
His face crumples. ‘Crap, crap, crap.’ He thumps his fist on his thigh. ‘Has Hetty just eaten the wedding photos? If it was the card she was crunching on, whatever was on it is gone forever.’
‘Nooooooo.’ I’m already on my hands and knees, patting the floor in the hope it’s somehow down here. As I come nose to nose with Rory under the table, he’s shaking his head.
‘Vol au vents and quiches just aren’t that crunchy. I think we have to face that it might be gone, Holly Berry.’ If this is breaking it gently, it’s hurting way too much.
I’m about to let out the biggest howl of my life when he holds up his hand and I swallow it back in again.
‘Wait. We need to take our time and have a sensible plan here.’
I’m whimpering. ‘As said by the guy who was so sensible he put the vol au vent next to the memory cards, then called the food-inhaling dog over.’
His voice is low and very measured. ‘There’s no point saying anything now and spoiling the day for Nancy and Scott. Other than mentioning that Hetty ate a piece of plastic, obviously.’
Even if I get where he’s coming from on that, he’s missing the point. ‘But what about thepictures?’ It’s a full-on banshee scream, funnelled straight into his ear.
He winces and rubs the side of his head. ‘Whatever we do, it won’t bring those photos back. So we need to concentrate on making the rest the best they can possibly be.’
I’m still screeching in his ear. ‘But I need to see what’s been lost.’ It might only be a small fraction. If it’s random shots of people eating wedding cake it’s bad enough. If it’s the cake cutting picture, it’s horrendous. But if I’ve lost the only pictures of the ceremony, what the hell am I going to do then? This is like being awake in a nightmare. I want the ground to open up and swallow me.
