Chapter 3 - The Extra Photographer
I barely slept that night. Somewhere around three in the morning, I finally knew exactly what I intended to do about it. And it had nothing whatsoever to do with confronting Vivian directly.
The next morning I called my photographer, Camille.
"I need to change something about the wedding day," I told her. "And I need you not to mention any of it to his family. Not to his mother. Especially not to her."
A brief pause. "Okay. Tell me."
"I want another photographer added."
"We already booked a second shooter."
"I want one more angle specifically."
"For the ceremony?"
"For Desmond."
Another pause. "What exactly do you want covered?"
"Everything." I told her all of it — Desmond waiting at the back of the church, arm held out, counting under his breath if he counted at all, his hands, his face, every single step of that walk. One photographer up front covering the ceremony normally, and another positioned farther back, or off to the side, focused almost entirely on him. Not just the walk itself, either. The preparation beforehand. The exact moment we reached Julian. The moment Desmond finally sat down.
"And I want a completely separate album," I added.
Camille stayed quiet a beat. Then: "So you want the walk itself to be the wedding."
"Yes," I said. "That's exactly what I want."
The extra coverage cost enough that I had to shift money out of the flower budget to cover it — two large reception arrangements canceled, replaced with smaller ones instead. Nobody noticed. Certainly not Vivian.
For the following three weeks, Desmond kept practicing, sending me updates without being asked. Twenty-two steps today. Then, an hour later: Forgot to slow down at the turn. Doing it again.
Once he called Julian directly. "What hand do I use?"
"For what?"
"Handshake."
"Right hand."
"But Beatrix is on my right."
Julian apparently spent five full minutes trying to work through the logistics of that with him before Desmond solved it entirely on his own. "I let go of Beatrix first."
May you like
"Perfect."
"I practiced."
