Chapter 4
“Is it because I’m pregnant?” I heard the voice come from down the hallway. I had only met Aurora once, but I could instantly recognize her voice. It was soft, yet undeniably strong. I really liked her, and I wasn’t sure why, but hearing this statement made me instantly concerned. Not for the fact that she was pregnant, but because from the tone of her voice, it was clear that the person she was talking to was not very happy about something. Unconsciously, I slowed my steps and inadvertently heard more.
“It’s not Aurora. All of this is for you. Why can’t you see that?”
“If it really is for me, then why don’t I have a say in it?”
“Because you”re not paying for it,” came the curt but soft reply, and my brows shot up.
There was a brief silence, and then Aurora replied.
“You want us to go over this again? You want me to explain to you that I can very well afford the wedding that I want, and so can David?”
“You’re a part of this family, married or not. I didn’t think using your marriage to benefit all of us, including your husband, was too much to ask for. You’re getting what every girl dreams of. First of all, we’re not even bringing any contention for the fact that you’re marrying him and having his child yet?—”
“What’s wrong with him?” Aurora cut her off.
There was another brief silence, but by now, I had arrived at the closed-off dressing room and was certain that it was best to just wait outside to not intrude on such a charged moment.
Although as I looked around the cordless but classy wedding store hallway, I couldn’t help but feel like I was eavesdropping. It was going to be very hard to explain if I got caught, but that awkwardness felt better to me than heading in right now.
“First of all, not every girl wants this… and it deeply upsets me that I can’t even have a say at the end of the day in my own wedding. It’s been this way ever since I was a child… I never had a say in anything concerning me and my life choices and now even in?—”
“You had a say in dating Ronny,” the response came. “Which was against all of our approval. And you had a say in getting married or not to him. We didn’t interfere. In fact, we haven’t interfered in anything you did since you got into college, but on this matter, you’ll have to listen to Drake.”
“Drake, that betrayer,” she scoffed.
“You aren’t really saying that about him, are you?” The woman asked. “He’s always been on your side more than anyone else.”
”If he’s always been on my side, then why isn’t that the case now? Why is he deferring to you and what you want? It’s strange to me that he’s even doing this because Drake answers to no one. He’s your puppet; he runs this company, so it just makes me wonder what you are currently holding over him to make him turn against me in this way.”
A long tense silence followed, and it gave me the time I needed to mark that name Drake in my head. He sounded like a total domineering and upsetting prick.
On Aurora’s behalf, right then, I decided that I didn’t like him, but more than anything, as I listened even more, I realized that things weren’t as easy for her. So just as I began to hear footsteps approaching from around the corner, I straightened and knocked and started to walk in. I would be on her side and try to support her as much as was needed. I promised myself just as I eventually met the women present in the dressing room.
There were four women present. Two were the staff of the bridal shop, one dressed in a suit as the attendant while the other, who was sifting through the dresses that had just arrived on the rack, seemed much more elderly and almost matronly. But the sleekness of her grey hair back in a bun and the heavy string of pearl beads around her neck, as well as the hard line in the corners of her lips, almost made me think she was in charge of everyone present. She immediately frowned at me upon my entrance, but I turned to meet the two other women seated in the seating area and dressed gorgeously.
Aurora was the last to notice me because she had lowered her gaze to her phone, but the second woman seated, whom I couldn’t help but notice had the same sleek shiny jet-black hair as she did, looked quite frail. Though I had expected to see a domineering and unfeeling woman given the responses she had just been giving to Aurora, I couldn’t help but notice that my heart moved slightly at seeing her. She seemed sad and exhausted, but as her eyes landed on me, I couldn’t decide whether or not she was unkind.
“Is she one of yours, Madelyn?” she asked with a light smile. However, before I could respond, the woman behind spoke up. Her voice was softer than I had expected, but her words were sharper than anything else I’d ever heard.
“Absolutely not. Excuse me, what are you doing here, and what hole did you crawl out of?”
I was just about to introduce myself and say hello to Aurora when I heard her words, and I couldn’t help but turn around to gaze at her in shock. She too seemed to realize what she had just said, but as she took in my baggy ripped jeans and the graphic tee I had tucked into them, I almost couldn’t blame her. I definitely looked like I had crawled out of some pauper”s hole and intruded on some high-class gathering. But I was still irritated at her rudeness and made sure that she understood this.
“Please leave immediately,” she said. “This is not the general area. This is a private dressing roo?—”
Aurora cut her off.
“Please calm down, Madelyn, you don’t have to be rude,” Aurora said. “I invited her over to capture this moment or whatever this is now. No offense to you, Evelyn, it”s just that I thought this would be a special time, but all my enthusiasm has gone down the drain.”
I could understand more than she knew, so I ensured to wear my loveliest smile and then headed over to her. Rather than a handshake, I pulled her into an embrace, and although she remained stiff for a moment as though it was unexpected for her, she eventually relaxed into my arms and hugged me back.
“You heard?” she asked, and although I briefly hesitated since I hadn’t exactly planned to hear her, I nodded and admitted the truth. She sighed then, and after a little while, she pulled away.
“I’ll not just be your photographer,” I told her, low enough that hopefully she was the only one that heard. “I’ll also be on your side, so whatever you need help or support for beyond the photographs, I’ll be there for you.”
Tears slightly misted her eyes at my words, and then she hugged me once again. “Thank you,” she said, and a few seconds later her mom”s voice filtered through.
“Is this a friend of yours, Rory?” she asked, and Aurora finally released me and turned towards her.
“Yes, she is,” she replied.
“She”s my photographer, Evelyn. Evelyn, this is my mom.”
I held out my hand for a handshake, and although there was a slight delay as her gaze lowered to it, she eventually accepted it. However, her gaze immediately went to her daughter.
“I thought Victoria was going to handle the photographer. Wasn’t she working in collaboration with Henry Vaughn from Vogue?”
“I don’t know about that, and I don’t care either about whatever Victoria has planned. We were just talking about how I have no say whatsoever in my own wedding, but she is non-negotiable. I’ve followed her work for years, and I want to work with her.”
At this, all eyes turned on me, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt very self-conscious, judged, and out of place.
Firstly, I hadn’t expected this wedding to be in such an expensive bridal house in the middle of Manhattan. I had some brides tell me that just passing here gave them anxiety due to the
prices, and I wouldn’t have pegged Aurora for being from wealth after speaking with her, but now… I could believe it. She had talked about a small church, though, with stained windows, and I started to wonder now if this wasn”t the actual ceremony she wanted me to take photos of but just a few prior moments before.
“Sure,” her mother finally replied. “Let’s just start trying the dresses. We’ve already been here for half an hour.”
With a sullen look, Aurora turned her attention to me, and then she smiled.
“You can get started,” she said. “I’m going to try a few dresses on, so please watch me a bit and capture these moments. I”m sure it will be apparent on my face if I find the one I like among the most, and I”ll also make sure to be as expressive as possible so that you can also capture all the ones I think are absolutely ridiculous, which will be most of them.”
She said the last part louder than was needed, but when I saw her eyes go to the matron behind us, I understood and couldn’t help but be amused. I liked her even more.
“Sure,” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll get started immediately. Just act as usual and try to forget that I’m here. I’ll handle it all.”
“Alright,” she replied and returned to her seat.
I went to a corner to pull out my equipment and camera, and soon I was set up and ready. I watched as they held the dresses up to her one by one. They debated about the rest, but Aurora didn”t actually get to try any one of them, even though the women kept insisting that if she did, she would like it even more. Instead, she kept a frown on her face and kept drinking the non-alcoholic champagne they had delivered to them.
I captured it all—the brooch on the table, her frowned and slight slouch, and the way her mother watched through it all. Then, of course, I didn’t miss how Madelyn, the matron, stared at me multiple times as though I was a complete eyesore. As a result, I made sure on a particular shot to turn on my flash with the hope to linger with it. She blinked at the sudden brightness and seemed to be even more annoyed. But when Aurora”s mom finally put her foot down and insisted that the dress she was holding on to had to be tried, she turned to her mother and smiled. Aurora turned then to look at me, and I knew that she was asking for my opinion, which made me wonder if she had any true freedom.
I gave a glance at the dress, and although it was a little bit more ballgown than I would have preferred, it was still a gorgeous dress that I thought would be extremely flattering. So, I nodded in support.
“It will give us more pictures to create a story out of,” I said, and she smiled and rose to her feet.
“We’re not creating a story here or whatever,” Madelyn cut in rudely. “This is serious business. There will be more people than you can even?—”
I shut my ears off to her nonsense and lifted the camera to my face to continue on with my work. She was tired out, I was focused, and I enjoyed every minute of my work.
Five minutes in, and I could no longer decide which dress I liked the best. And so, even though Aurora still looked very reluctant, I doubted that it was because of the difficult circumstances surrounding her wedding. Instead, it felt as though she, just like me, was falling in love with every single one and almost not even caring anymore that the direction of the wedding was not according to her wishes.
But these dresses! I couldn’t stop pausing in between shots just so I could look at them with my own eyes. Each time she looked at me and I nodded, almost in a trance, and began to even imagine myself in them.
Eventually, though, she took a seat, exhausted, and I smiled and took her photos in this state as well.
“So, what do we think?” her mother asked, looking down at her probably impeccable notes.
“I have no idea,” she said. “I like all of them but I don’t know yet.”
I was in the same predicament as her, but I did have a suggestion.
“I could work on these photos today and send them to you,” I said. “I took photos of you wearing each one, so this might help.”
“Thank you,” she said, her gaze lighting up. I smiled as well, obsessed with my photos as I flipped through the screen.
“We have to choose the menu and desserts in a few days as well as meet with the event planner in the wedding hall,” her mother told me. “Will you be coming along as well?”
I lifted my head then, but before I could even look at Aurora with the question, she nodded and proclaimed her response.
“Of course, she will be,” she said. “She will be accompanying me throughout the entire process. So, she’ll be there as well.”
“You should speak to the event planner about this,” her mother said, and this time, I was on her side.
Aurora looked at me and then her mother.
“She’s not the one getting married. I’ll let her know beforehand so that she doesn”t give Evelyn any trouble, but on this one aspect, I’m not budging for any reason.”
Sighing, her mom stood to her feet and then grabbed her purse. The attendants, as well as Madam Madelyn, also came over, ready to escort her out of the bridal shop.
“I guess we’ll see you then in a few days. Today was successful enough.”
We watched her leave, but just before she was no longer within earshot, she thanked her.
“I was happy having you here, Mom,” she said. “Thank you.”
Her voice was low, but her mother heard her loud and clear. She turned and sent her a brief and small smile. Eventually, we were left alone, and she turned around to give me a smile of her own, this one way more significant.
“Do you have another appointment after this? I’d like us to talk more. My studio is within walking distance from here.”
“Your studio?” I asked, wondering if by some strange twist she was a photographer as well.
“Yes, I”m an artist and I paint,” she replied, and I nodded. I didn’t have anything else planned, so after giving her request a little more consideration, I instantly agreed.
In no time, we were out of the wedding store, mainly because Madelyn didn’t seem to want us there anymore, which made me wonder just how rich they were, that Madelyn and seemingly everyone else were more important than the bride and her opinions for her own wedding.
I didn’t want to pry, however, so even when we got into the car, I kept my mouth shut and my curiosity to myself and only spoke when I was spoken to.
We had found the sun too scorchingly hot, so the moment we got out onto the street, we decided that taking a taxi would be best.
I had no qualms whatsoever with this, so soon enough, we were riding in the back of the car together. Her studio, surprisingly to me, was in her apartment. But it was so big that it had its own section that it seemed apt. The tall wall-length windows were what took my breath away, and when I realized that this section was the size of my entire apartment, I couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. I had thought her to be just like one of us, the suffering peasants of the city, but it turned out that her family was wealthier than imagined. Or maybe this was all her? Artists made exorbitant amounts of money. I didn’t want to pry, though; after all, my job was to support her in the best way I could, like I had promised, and make her moments as memorable as they could be.
So, I decided then to be as completely honest with her as possible.
“I would kill for your apartment,” I said, and she smiled in response.
“I understand. I would do the same as well. It used to be about three apartments
including the elevator. I fell in love with the windows and lighting from outside first before anything else, but when I approached the tenants to rent them out of the place, there was a war. One didn’t even care about the amount and just wanted to ensure, according to her, ‘privileged brats like me don”t get their way.’”
“Oh no,” I said. “This must have been tough.”
“It was,” she said, but luckily, that was where my brother came in. His name is Drake Moran.
“He immediately found the actual owners of the apartments and bought them all out. By the following week, renovation had started to turn all three apartments and the elevator in to one apartment, and I couldn’t believe it.”
“By the way, I felt guilty about kicking them out, but Drake made sure that they were well compensated.”
I could see that she felt a little guilty and judged, but I quickly waved this concern away.
”No need to defend your desire,” I said. “If I had the means, I”d do the same. That”s how life works, and if I really wanted to get back at you, if I were one of the tenants, I mean, I”d work hard and ensure to buy it all back and ensure that you wouldn’t have access to it. All is fair in love, war, and hustling for New York apartments.”
She laughed at this, and I couldn”t help but delight in her breezy laughter. It was pure and light, such a welcome contrast from how upset she had seemed earlier.
“Alright, let me make us some tea or coffee?”
“Tea,” I replied. “I”m trying to cut back on the caffeine.”
“Just like my brother,” she said and headed over to the kitchen.
Once more, her brother Drake was mentioned, and I couldn”t help but be curious about this famous tyrant that was controlling the entire family and not letting anyone get their way.
“He’s quite strict with his life and by extension everyone else around him,” she said as she filled a kettle with water and set it on the stone.
She continued speaking.
“One day he noticed how dependent he had become on caffeine to perform at full capacity, and he absolutely hated it. He said it was a weakness he couldn’t tolerate, and so within the following week, he had immediately switched to tea.”
“Wow,” I couldn’t help but think. He sounded extremely uptight; however, she didn”t seem to think so and was even smiling as she narrated, perhaps without realizing it.
“There”s a lot of things I love and respect about him, but these days he”s being so anal that I can”t really think of one. Why am I even talking about him? How did he come up?”
Once again, I was amused by her slightly unhinged personality.
“Anyway, enough about him. Please take a seat. I’ll be right there with you.”
I sat on a stool at the island counter along the window that looked like the exact café setting we had met at. She brought over some cheesecake, and I was more than happy to indulge in the late afternoon delicacy.
“So,” she said.
“As you’ve heard, I’m pregnant, so there are a lot of dresses here that I could wear now, but I don’t know if I”ll be able to that day, and I really don”t want to break down.”
I didn’t have an answer to this, but I did empathize with what she meant.
“When is the wedding?” I asked. I realized that I didn’t even know.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “I haven’t given you any of the basic information about my ceremony.”
“It’s okay,” I replied as I sipped from the chamomile tea she had made for me. “We can discuss it now and in detail.”
“Alright,” she said and calmed down. “So, first of all, the wedding is in two weeks,” she said, and I was very surprised to hear this.
“Two weeks?” I asked, and she nodded.
”Yeah, but they’ve been making preparations for the big one for a couple of months now, so don”t worry, we’re not in panic mode, at least not yet. It’s just that after they shut down my church idea the previous time, I haven’t bothered bringing it up, but after I saw you, it was revived, and now I can”t stop thinking about it.”
She truly loved my work, I realized as I watched her eyes sparkle. However, admiration and bills being paid were two different things. So, I pulled out my price sheet and handed it over to her.
She took it heartily, gave it a quick glance before handing it back. She immediately agreed wholeheartedly, and I wondered if she had seen it properly.
“I”ll take the highest package,” she said. “I want every special moment covered, and to make Drake and the rest of them pay dearly, I’ll even add a little bonus to show my love.”
I was more than floored and barely able to contain my excitement, but I managed to control myself until it began to sink in. No one had ever chosen my deluxe package, much less infused it with the promise of a bonus, so I was incredibly excited.
“Alright,” she said. “I”ll make the deposit for the next two weeks so that you’ll be assured for at least the next two weeks. All this has happened so suddenly, so you must be a bit startled and skeptical as well.”
I smiled at her kind words.
“More than skeptical, I’m more grateful. Because of how somewhat niche my photographs are and my limited contacts, it can be difficult to get substantial back-to-back work, so it’s just wonderful that you reached out to me in the café.”
She smiled softly at me and then pulled out her phone.
“The next agenda, like my mom told you, will be to meet with the event planner at the venue. This, though, will be a bit far since it”s in the Hamptons. You won’t have a problem coming over, will you? If you do, I can arrange a car to come pick you up?”
“Oh no,” I instantly replied. “I”ll definitely be able to make it there; it”ll be no trouble. Just send me the address.”
”Alright,” she smiled. We chatted a little bit more, and a little while later, I was on my way back to Anna”s house.