“These are great,” Cassidy said. “The bicycle composition is really nice. The light on those honey jars is beautiful.”
“But.”
“I didn’t say but.”
“You were about to.”
Cassidy took a sip of tea. “They’re exactly what we need for the website. Clean, well-lit, professional. Linda will be thrilled.”
“You’re being very diplomatic.”
“I’m being honest. They’re good shots, Melissa.”
“They’re boring.”
Cassidy didn’t argue with that. She just waited.
Melissa scrolled to frame nineteen. Sally and the man in the straw hat. The laugh. The hand on the counter. The slight blur.
Cassidy leaned in. Her finger hovered over the display without touching it. She studied the image for a long time, longer than she’d spent on any of the still lifes.
“That one,” Cassidy said. “That’s the town.”
“It’s out of focus. Sally and that man are slightly out of focus in the bokeh.”
“I don’t care.”
“The composition’s wrong. She’s barely in the frame.”
“I don’t care about any of that.” Cassidy looked up. “That woman is having the best moment of her morning. You can feel it. The honey jars are nice, but this is the one that makes you want to come to Starlight Shores.”
Melissa knew she was right. She’d known it on the bench by the marina, scrolling through the display before she’d even decided to bring the camera to Cassidy. The buildings and objects were competent. The accidental people had soul.
“There are two more like that,” Melissa said. She showed Cassidy the water bottle handoff and the girls on the seawall.
Cassidy looked at each one carefully. “These are all accidents?”
“Edges of frames. I wasn’t aiming at them.”
“Your edges are better than most people’s centers.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m not flattering you. I’m telling you what I see.” Cassidy handed the camera back. “The still lifes are good and we’ll use them. But if you can get more of those…” She pointed at the display where Sally’s laugh still glowed on the screen. “That’s the project.”
Melissa turned the camera off and set it in her lap. The Gulf water stretched out below the deck, blue and flat, and a seagull stood at the edge doing absolutely nothing.
“I didn’t mean to take those shots,” she said.
“I know.”
“I was specifically trying not to take those shots.”
“I know that too.”
“I don’t know if I can do it on purpose.”
Cassidy picked up her iced tea and settled back in her chair. “Can I say something? And you can tell me to shut up if it’s too much.”
