“Yeah, if you hear anything let me know. I’m hoping--”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Josie said, coming up beside them with Tommy in tow. “Hi, Allison.”
“Hi,” she said with absolute giddiness, stepping forward to give Josie a long hug. “You look so beautiful. That was the most romantic wedding I have ever been to.”
“Thanks,” Josie said in her usual humble way. “And thank you for doing the guest book.”
“My pleasure.”
“Mommy!” Tommy whined, scratching his legs through his tuxedo pants.
“I think he might be allergic to polyester,” Josie said. “Could you take him to get changed, Nat? His clothes are in a bag in the room we got dressed in.”
“Sure,” Natalie replied. “Come on, Tomster. Aunt Natalie will fix you right up.”
She excused herself and took Tommy upstairs, welcoming the chance to get out of the crowd. After changing into his jeans and red t-shirt, Tommy said he was hungry, and Natalie took him back down to dish up a plate of food from the buffet line. Once she had him seated at the table beside Brandon, she went to get something for herself. Her mother met her on the way.
“Where have you been? I’ve hardly had a chance to say two words to you since we arrived last night.”
“Well, it’s been pretty crazy, Mom. Between being Maid of Honor and helping with Tommy, I’ve barely said two words to anyone.”
“I know. We’ll have to get together tomorrow after this is all over.”
“I’m spending tomorrow with Daddy and then Monday I’m leaving for an assignment.”
“Leaving? I thought you were watching Tommy this week?”
Natalie stopped her progression toward the food table. She suddenly had no appetite.
“I got an assignment, and I have to leave on Monday. He’s going to be staying with Patrick and Faith.”
She expected her mother to spout her opinion of her decision to back out on her commitment, but her mother didn’t reply. She went ahead and got some cake and punch for Tommy, feeling relieved her mother had let it go and yet wishing she would have been excited for her.
Returning to the head table, she saw Brandon had pulled Tommy onto his lap. Several others in the wedding party were still seated, including Josie’s friend Lily and her husband, Peter.
“Hey, Natalie,” Brandon said, lightening Natalie’s sour mood in an instant.
“Hey, Bro,” she teased, setting Tommy’s cake in front of him. “Welcome to the family. Now I can start treating you like Patrick.”
“Uh-oh. Sounds like I’m in trouble.”
Natalie winked and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll break you in slowly. It will be a few years before I start asking for money or anything.”
“Have you met Michael?” he asked.
She looked over to see Brandon’s cousin sitting in the adjacent chair. He smiled at her, and she noticed his eyes were an amazing shade of gray-blue.
“No, but I heard somewhere he plays a sweet piano.”
“Yes, that he does,” Brandon said. “I’m afraid my wife may want to do this every weekend just to hear him play and sing that song. Did you write that, Mike?”
“I did,” Michael replied.
“Can you play at my wedding?” Natalie asked.
An amused smile formed on Brandon’s face, and Natalie realized her impulsive words too late.
“Sure,” Michael said. “When is it?”
Natalie laughed. “I don’t know. I have to find a groom first. But when I do, I’ll be sure to give you a call.”
“If I’m available, I’d be more than happy to,” he said.
“Natalie?” Josie asked, coming up behind her. “Did you bring your camera with you?”
“Yes.”
“Could you take some shots of us outside with Dad since he missed out earlier?”
“Sure,” she said. “Let me scope out a spot.”
Natalie slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the side door. She pushed it open, and the bright sun greeted her. Looking for a shady location with a nice background, she heard footsteps behind her and feared her mother had followed her out, but she turned to see Michael instead. She breathed a sigh of relief and waited for him to catch up.
“Could I ask you for a favor?”
She waited for him to continue, curious as to what he would want from her.
“I need a good picture of me to send with my résumé, and I keep putting it off. Could I get you to take a couple since I happen to have my suit on today. I would pay for them, of course.”
She agreed without hesitation, and he walked beside her until she found the perfect spot. After selecting the right camera, lens, and film, she checked the light meter readings and told him where to stand. Portraits were not her area of expertise, nor her passion, but she knew enough to get good results for friends and family.
She hadn’t succumbed to the digital revolution in photography yet. It was easier and left a smaller room for error, she knew, but it wasn’t pure photography in her opinion. It didn’t have the same feel, and she preferred the “old-fashioned” way.
With Michael’s face and upper body centered and focused, she hit the shutter release, advanced the film, and took another of the same serious pose. He had a nice complexion and a clean-shaven face. Josie’s assessment of the “boy-next-door look” fit him well.
“Okay, let’s see a smile,” she coaxed. A slight closed-lip one emerged, and she took two more shots.
“Can you do any better?” she asked, peeking around the side of the camera. “Come on, think about your girlfriend.”
“Don’t have one,” he said without changing his expression.
“Who did you write that song for?”
“My wife.”
“Okay, think about her.”
His expression changed, but not as she hoped.
She put the camera down. “Did I just bring up a touchy subject?” she asked, hoping his wife hadn’t died tragically or something.
He flashed a sweet smile, bringing out his dimples. She knew she had finally caught the real Michael and captured the expression before it had a chance to fade. She understood the delightful sparkle in his eyes when he replied.
“As far as I know, I haven’t met her yet.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Brandon and Josie interrupted them before Natalie had a chance to reply to Michael’s statement. She began taking pictures of the happy couple with her dad and some by themselves. Michael slipped away with a nod and a wave. After the informal photo shoot, it was time for the bride and groom to be whisked away in a white limousine. Natalie planned to meet them at the airport.
She arrived at PDX about an hour later dressed in khaki pants, a pale green v-neck shirt, and a tan baseball-style cap. Her white canvas sneakers carried her across the sky-bridge to the terminal entrance at a relaxed pace. She had stopped by the Discover Oregon publication office briefly to pick up the shooting list and instructions Mr. Trent had left for her. She knew she needed to go over them before leaving on Monday, but right now she had other things on her mind.
She found Brandon, Josie, and Tommy waiting for her in the ticket-counter area. Tommy seemed more settled about the impending separation than he had for the last few days. Apparently Brandon had been successful in setting him at ease. Natalie smiled each time she heard Tommy call Brandon “Daddy”, and she listened to Josie’s last-minute instructions about where they were staying, to call anytime for any reason, and what to pack for Tommy for his stay at Patrick and Faith’s--all things Josie had already gone over but felt the need to say again.
Pulling Tommy close, Josie gave him a loving squeeze and reminded him they would call when they got to Hawaii but that he would probably be asleep. She also reminded him to be good. Brandon took his wife’s hand and kissed her fingers in a reassuring way. Natalie saw Josie smile and relax.
“I know everything will be fine,” she said. “I guess Tommy’s not th
e only one having some anxiety about this.”
“You deserve this time away, Josie,” she said, reaching over to give her a hug. “Have a wonderful time and don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him and so will Patrick and Faith.”
“I know,” Josie said with a sigh. “And don’t you worry about leaving on Monday either, okay?”
“Deal,” Natalie replied, holding out her pinkie finger. Josie looped hers with it, and their agreement was sealed.
After a good-bye that left all four of them with tears on their cheeks, Josie and Brandon stepped away, and Tommy remained by her side. Natalie took his hand, and he seemed fine. The breaking point for Brandon came when Tommy said, “Bye, Daddy. I love you.”
Natalie and Tommy stayed to watch some planes take off. They couldn’t be certain which one was carrying his mommy and daddy, and Natalie doubted that any of them were since they didn’t stay too long, but Tommy was satisfied and became his normal self as they went out for pizza and then on to the apartment, but when bedtime came so did the tears.
“Mommy said to pray whenever I get scared,” he said between sobs. “Will you pray for me this time, Aunt Nat-lee?”
“Sure,” she said, kneeling next to Tommy’s bed and pulling the covers up to his chin. She took his small hand in her own and closed her eyes.
“Please keep Mommy and Daddy safe on the airplane, God. And help Tommy not to be scared.”
“Amen,” Tommy mumbled.
“Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?” Natalie asked.
Tommy nodded and moved over so Natalie could lay down next to him. While she waited for him to fall asleep, she thought about the other times she had prayed in the last few months. There had been that first time in December when she had asked God for a breakthrough in her Portland-based photography career, and she had landed an assignment a few days later. She didn’t know if that had been a coincidence, a result of her hard work sending out letters and pounding the pavement to show her portfolio, or a direct result of her prayer.
Then there had been the times she had prayed for her sister. She knew Josie had been nervous about meeting Brandon’s family over Christmas weekend for the first time, and she had asked God to help things go well. After Josie had returned from their visit, her sister reported things had gone much better than she had expected but seemed distracted by something Natalie couldn't put her finger on, so she had prayed for her again. Later she found out Brandon had proposed to Josie on Christmas Day and that Josie had a difficult time knowing if she deserved someone as wonderful as Brandon.
Once Josie had decided to accept his proposal, she had never looked back, and now she was a happily married woman. Natalie did ask God to give them a good honeymoon in Hawaii. They were both wonderful people, and Natalie thought if anyone deserved to live happily ever after, it was those two.
She had a more difficult time praying for herself. Other than that initial request for a job, she had not brought herself to ask for anything else. Besides not knowing if she believed in God at all, she figured if he did exist, he had more important things to take up his time than her petty wishes.
Natalie wanted things to go well with her dad tomorrow, for Tommy to feel more settled by the time she left on Monday, and to have good weather over the next week for her assignment, but the only thing she felt comfortable bothering God about was Tommy, so she prayed for him once more.
He fell asleep within ten minutes, a result of his long, busy day, she knew. While Natalie waited up for Josie to call, she reviewed the shooting list and letter of instruction Mr. Trent had given her for her photography assignment, flipped through some guide books he had placed in the packet, and planned out a tentative itinerary of which lighthouses she would shoot each day and the times she would spend at each one. Already familiar with the Oregon Coast, she knew the temperamental weather could pose a problem and decided to visit each lighthouse twice, once on her way down south and again on her way back up to Portland.
She knew she could finish by the end of the week and have the weekend to have the film developed, sort and label the transparencies, and turn them over to Mr. Trent on Monday. She crossed her fingers that she wouldn’t encounter any major obstacles.
When Tommy woke her the next morning, the first thing he did was ask if Mommy had called. Natalie told him she had and that the plane had arrived safely.
“She said they would call again this afternoon after we get home from church,” Natalie said.
“I should tell God thank you, huh?”
“We both should,” she said, and Tommy prayed right there and then. His innocent faith touched her more than she would admit to anyone. She hugged him when he finished. “Okay, go get ready. I’ll make us some breakfast.”
When they arrived at church, she took Tommy to the children’s area and then sat beside some of her new friends in the main auditorium that had been reset in its usual way. She didn’t think about Michael being there until she saw him up on the stage playing the keyboard. She hadn’t noticed him before today, but after seeing him yesterday and having the chance to talk with him, she paid more attention to his presence and musical talent. He was very watchable.
Her dad hadn’t set an exact time for her to come for dinner, and she called him later that afternoon to see if he had a specific time in mind. Josie and Brandon had already called to talk to Tommy, and he was playing a video game. Natalie took advantage of the free moment.
“I’m afraid I can’t have you come tonight, baby,” she heard her dad say over the phone. “I left some loose ends in Miami, and there are some things I need to take care of before business opens tomorrow.”
She tried not to let her disappointment show. She knew she should be used to this, but it came as a shock. “Okay,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “Do you know when you’ll be in town again?”
“A few weeks, I suppose,” he said.
She had a thought and decided to try one last time. She really needed to ask him about the possibility of staying at the house now if she had any hope of remaining in Portland, and she didn’t want to do it over the phone. She could get a later start in the morning than she had planned. Having to wait until Tommy left for school, she wouldn’t get to the beach until the early morning light was gone anyway. A few more hours wouldn’t set her back much further.
“How about if I come over for breakfast tomorrow?” she said, allowing hope to fill her voice. “Remember how I used to drive over on Saturdays and you would give Leona the morning off and we’d go out to that great place on the lake? Does Leona still work for you?”
“Yes, she does,” he said. “I’d almost forgotten about that. She never did understand why she couldn’t cook for us herself, although I know she did appreciate your effort to give her the day off.”
“So, is it a date? Please, Daddy? It will be like old times. I really want to see you before I leave. I have something to ask you.”
She knew she had laid out her heart before him. He had stomped on it before, but she hoped her gamble would pay off this time.
“Sure, baby. That sounds great.”
The following morning she took Tommy to the bus stop and reminded him Patrick would be picking him up from school that afternoon. She told him good-bye and felt relieved when he didn’t seem upset about her leaving.
Faith greeted her at the door when she stopped by to drop off Tommy’s bag. A month away from her due-date, her sister-in-law looked well. Patrick and Faith were expecting their third child.
“Thanks for bringing his things,” Faith said. “Can you come in, or do you need to get on the road?”
“I’m on my way to have breakfast with Daddy,” she replied. “Then I’ll be heading for the coast.”
“Oh. That should be fun,” Faith said. “Tell him hello from us.”
“Are you certain this is okay, taking care of Tommy?” Natalie asked. “This assignment came at the worst possible time. I feel--”
“Natalie, it’
s fine. The girls and Tommy are at school all day, and Patrick will be here in the evenings. I wouldn’t expect you to pass up this opportunity. I think you’ve been living with Josie too long. Her worrisome ways are beginning to rub off on you.”
“Oh, boy. I can’t let that happen,” Natalie laughed. “Okay, I’m going. But be sure to call me if that baby decides to come early.”
“We will,” she assured her. “Have fun and drive safe.”
Natalie trusted that Faith was being honest with her and drove to Daddy’s house located in the town of Lake Oswego, an affluent and secluded suburb of Portland. She caught sight of portions of the large homes through the wooded area as she drove the windy road. As soon as she saw the large, black iron gate at the entrance to her father’s driveway, she knew she had found the right place.
She picked up the security phone and Daddy answered, buzzing her in immediately. She drove through and watched the ominous gate close behind her in her rearview mirror. That gate alone brought back a flood of memories of the times she had spent here with her dad during her teen years. They had been sporadic and unpredictable, but she had always loved them.
One of her favorite memories revisited her as she drove slowly down the narrow paved driveway. It had been during her junior year while she had been dating Colin Reed. Her mother did not approve of him and had made no attempt to hide the fact. It had made her want to date him even more.
She hadn’t seen Daddy for several months and had decided to bring Colin over the first day he returned. She knew Colin was rough around the edges and didn’t expect Daddy to like him. She thought she would punish him for being gone so long by bringing Colin along and letting him know she had every intention of continuing to date him no matter what he said.
Colin had been the one to buckle under pressure. The first words out of Daddy’s mouth had been, “If you expect to spend any more time with my daughter, I suggest you get a good lawyer because I will hire a P.I. to follow you night and day just waiting for you to make a wrong move. You'll be thrown in jail so fast you won’t know which end is up.”
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