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We’d discussed our plan for the gingerbread man cookie booth with Stephan, Cam’s store and farm manager. He was even more enthusiastic than he usually was about new ideas. He was already planning the email newsletter announcing it as the main activity for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. If it was a hit, and let’s face it, it would be, they’d hold it every Saturday until Christmas. He even suggested we do it for all the holidays. Easter eggs at Easter and flags at the Fourth of July. The boy had a knack for business, so I agreed to talk to Ivy about it and get back to him.
“I noticed you and Lance are pretty close,” Becca said, sipping at her mug.
“What? No,” I said, trying not to look like a deer in the headlights. “Okay, sure, I’m staying at his place, but that’s only temporary.”
“I wasn’t referring to your living arrangement. I was referring to your trip to Saginaw tonight and then him showing up with you and Lucy today.”
I shrugged, going for nonchalant and praying it worked. “Isaac needed to switch shifts and you know Lance, he’ll do anything to make sure the diner succeeds. Even if it’s not convenient for him.”
“He didn’t look to inconvenienced when he was giving Lucy a horsey ride out to the barn.”
I chuckled and held up my hand. “That’s fair. I just meant that he’s always willing to change his plans. I think part of it is because he’s never had any formal training other than the internship he did at The Hideaway in high school. He sees himself as less than Mason or Isaac who have had culinary training, so he steps out of their way rather than push back.”
Becca leaned forward in surprise. “Wait, Lance never went to school to be a chef? That’s natural talent?”
I pointed at her and nodded. “Which he will never agree about, of course. Says he learned everything from Mason, but that’s a lie. He’s been cooking since he was nine. I used to be at his house after school and he’d have dinner on the table by the time Michelle got home from work.”
“Wonder why he never went to school?”
“Circumstances, I’m sure,” I said vaguely. I didn’t want to tell her about the accident and his inability to drive. She was new to town, so she didn’t know his history the way those of us who grew up with him did. “I meant to ask you this morning if you’ve set a date for the wedding.”
I needed to change the subject fast to keep her mind off Lance and me.
Her hand went to her neck where she nervously stroked it a few times. “Not yet. Cameron wants to, but I haven’t been able to. He understands, but I still feel bad.”
“I’m confused. I thought you wanted to marry Cameron. When he proposed last Christmas Eve, you were all in.”
Her hand fell from her neck, and she sighed. “Oh no, I want to marry him. I’m just afraid I’ll have an episode and that will ruin it for him.”
By episode she was referring to her now diagnosed PTSD stemming from her childhood. She was being treated for it, but it was a process with the diagnosis so new.
“I’m confused why you think that would happen if you got married here at the farm.”
“Cameras,” she whispered without hesitation. “Everyone has one now and if they take a picture of me and I’m not ready, I could get upset.”
I didn’t know all the particulars about why she didn’t like having her picture taken or being on video, but I’d seen the fear firsthand. It was terrifyingly real for us, so I couldn’t imagine how terrifying it was for her. What she went through as a kid must have been brutal.
“I can understand that when pictures and video are your main trigger. You don’t want to be surprised by a flash you aren’t expecting. Are you planning to invite a lot of people?”
“No,” she answered immediately. “It will just be our close friends from the diner, Audrey, Gabe, and Heather.”
“Okay, it stands to reason then if it’s friends and family coming, they’ll understand your request for no photos. You put out a basket on the counter and everyone puts their phones in it until after the ceremony.”
“That might work,” she said, her tone a bit more hopeful than it had been.
“Then you put one person in charge of taking any photos you want when you want them, so you know when to expect it. I know you want pictures of your wedding, but you want them to be safe, right?”
“Yes, safe,” she answered, and I noticed a tremble go through her. “But I don’t want the pictures on anyone else’s camera. That’s dangerous. They could put them on the internet.” Her tone had gone from hopeful to terrified again and I grasped her hand.
“Becca, you’re okay and no one here has a camera right now. Take a deep breath.” She inhaled and exhaled at the same time I heard nails ticking on the floor. Along came little Bradley, Becca and Cameron’s pup who had been sleeping under the Christmas tree. He jumped around Becca’s feet until she picked him up and cuddled him, her face buried in his fur.
“He always knows when I’m upset,” she explained. “Then he comes over so I can hug him.”
I ran the tiny pup’s tail through my fingers. “Bradley loves you and so does everyone else in this town. I was thinking if you gave Ivy your camera, she would take the pictures and then give you the camera at the end of the night. That way, no one else has them but you. Does that make sense?”
She held Bradley close to her but finally nodded. “That’s smart. Ivy wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. I don’t think anyone would, but I’m afraid someone will put me on social media without me knowing. They wouldn’t mean any harm by it, but that’s dangerous for someone like me. That’s dangerous. It can’t happen.”
“I understand, Becca,” I promised, holding her knee until she settled.
