AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Oh, bloody hell, what’s he done to himself now?’ Sharon exclaims, and my eyebrows shoot up. ‘Sorry, I’d better go and check he’s OK.’
‘What did I miss?’ Toby asks.
‘Apart from the sweary vicar and the fact that the Church of England is the most confusing organisation I think I’ve ever come across? Nothing much. Charley was right though, she’s nice. Misguided, but nice.’
‘Misguided how?’ Toby asks.
‘She thought we were a couple,’ I laugh.
‘Yes, that is misguided.’ He smiles. ‘I’m way out of your league!’
‘You think that, if it helps,’ I tell him, putting on my most patronising voice. ‘Quick, Charley and Ed are free. It’s time I had another cuddle with my god-daughter.’
‘For someone who professes not to be maternal, you’re not very convincing, you know that?’
‘Amelia’s special, that’s all. She’s not just any baby, she’s my best friend’s baby and my god-daughter.’
By the time we’ve eaten lunch and drunk a series of toasts to Amelia it’s nearly five o’clock. I’ve got to be on an early morning flight to Oslo, so we make our excuses and leave. As I drive home, Sharon’s remarks come back to me and I chuckle to myself at the thought of Toby and I being a couple. I wonder if she’s friends with the mad woman we met on the plane the first time we travelled together.
19
AUGUST
‘You know the wedding I’m doing in a few weeks?’ Toby asks me, as I help him to tidy up the studio after his final set of Art Nude photos. In addition to chaperoning him with the various models he’s brought in for the book, I’ve taken to coming down and helping out when I’m around and not working. Toby says he enjoys the company, and he has shown me how to set up the lights and what the various different umbrellas and soft-boxes do, so I actually feel useful in here now. I’ve also learned quite a lot about cameras, and how changes in the various settings affect the final picture. It’s been surprisingly interesting, although I think I’ve seen enough female flesh in the Art Nude sessions to last me a lifetime. The models have been very varied, from tiny waif-like things that look like they’ll blow away in the breeze, to plus-sized women with curves aplenty. They’ve all radiated with confidence in front of the camera though, and I’m sure the book will be beautiful.
‘The incredibly lavish one? Sophie double-barrelled something and James double-barrelled something else?’ I reply.
‘That’s the one. Sophie Beresford-Smith and James Huntingdon-Barfoot. It’s the first weekend of September. Are you around?’
I consult my phone diary. Toby and I have not long returned from a whirlwind trip to Morocco, with two nights staying in a traditional riad in Marrakesh followed by one night to experience the beaches of Agadir. It wasn’t without incident, as Toby got distracted during our visit to one of the souks, and for a while I thought I’d lost him forever in the maze. The traditional hammam was amazing though. As well as writing that up, I know I’m going to the West Country to review a number of boutique hotels in the next week or two. I’ve also got a trip to the Caribbean in September, which I’m in two minds about. Although I love the Caribbean, it will still be the hurricane season, so the weather might not be great.
‘I am,’ I tell him. ‘It’s the weekend before I fly to Barbados.’
‘Do you fancy coming along as my assistant? I thought you might enjoy it.’
‘Won’t I just get in your way?’
‘No. I’ll do all the main stuff, but I can find things for you to do. If it were a celebrity wedding, such as the one I did last week, then there would be no chance because you’d have to be vetted and everything. There’s no issue with this one though, and it promises to be quite a spectacle.’
I think about it. I do love weddings and, from what he’s told me about this one already, it promises to be seriously over the top. The bride is the only daughter of a billionaire, so no expense has been spared.
‘Count me in.’ I grin.
‘Excellent. It will be a fairly early start, as we have to get to the bride’s house to capture her getting ready, and we’re there until the first dance, so it will be a long day. Can you get here for seven o’clock?’
I make a note in my diary, and we head across the road for our traditional fish and chips. We’ve graduated from sitting on the floor in the studio, and now we eat it at the table in the kitchen of his flat.
* * *
On the day of the wedding, I arrive at Toby’s studio bang on seven o’clock. He’s already loaded his car, but there’s an extra rucksack by the back door, which he offers to me.
‘I thought it was time you had your own kit,’ he explains, ‘so I’ve got you a camera, a flash, and some lenses. Have a look.’
I open the rucksack and see a camera pretty much identical to the one he’s taught me to use, with a standard zoom lens, a telephoto lens and a wide-angle. There’s also a flash unit in there.
‘It’s for you to keep,’ he tells me as I adjust the settings and take a couple of test shots to check the results.
‘Oh, Toby. I can’t possibly accept this!’ I exclaim. ‘It must have cost a fortune.’
