14 #4
“If it’s free, I can work there. I need the table cleared and permission to use it. Joana and I can prepare the surface. The sweets stay refrigerated until we take them to the ballroom.”
Elisa checked the schedule on the device she was carrying.
“It’s free until tonight.”
“Then I can finish without waiting for another delivery. Teresa, can you give me twenty more minutes before they photograph the table?”
She glanced at her watch.
“I can arrange it with the photographer. The guests will still be at the ceremony.”
I looked at Ivo.
“Can you help me move the equipment out of here?”
He was back from the walk-in.
“Sure.”
Dante put his phone away.
“Elisa, can you make the room available to them?”
“Sure.”
He moved aside with álvaro to let the cart through. No call to prove a better solution would arrive because he’d ordered it.
I watched the scene for a second. Then I walked into the room.
***
Joana removed the decorations from the table and handed me the clean cloth.
“You’re going to make this table ten centimeters taller by sheer force of anger.”
“At least fifteen.”
She laughed and began preparing the space beside me. We worked with our elbows tucked in more than usual, shifting position at each step. It was uncomfortable. It was also a way to get the work done.
Ivo brought the pieces in the order requested. I checked the internal supports, aligned the tiers, and only then began the finishing touches. On the other side of the table, Joana was arranging the last row of sweets on trays that would be taken to the ballroom when Teresa gave the signal.
Now and then I looked toward the door. Dante didn’t come back.
Only when I stopped expecting him to step in again did I realize I’d been waiting for it.
The finishing work needed small movements, and my hand finally steadied. Spatula marks disappeared where I wanted them to. A strip that had come loose went back into place. Joana slowly turned the base, watching the side I couldn’t see.
“A little to the left,” she said.
I corrected it.
“There.”
When we finished, I called Teresa. She checked the route, moved an empty box out of the way, and came with us to the ballroom. Ivo and I carried the cake. Joana went ahead, opening doors and warning people coming toward us.
The table was set.
We set it in the center, adjusted its position, and began arranging the sweets. The photographer arrived while I wiped a tiny mark from the base. He asked if we were ready for pictures. Teresa looked at me first.
“Go ahead,” I replied.
I stepped back.
The picture he showed us held no worktable stuck in a doorway, no makeshift workspace. Only the finished work. I liked that about my profession. On days like this, it also angered me. The effort it took to solve a problem tended to vanish along with it.
So, before leaving, I asked that the incident be documented.
Elisa recorded the equipment change and our solution. Teresa added the delay she’d accommodated in the schedule. I checked the account, requested a copy, and filed it with the delivery records.
I didn’t want to go through that again at the next wedding.
***
Dante was in the hallway leading to the garage when we finished loading Ivo’s car. Joana had gone back to get a bag, and I was checking the floor of the trunk to make sure I hadn’t left a spatula lying around.
“Did it go well?” he asked.
“It did. Teresa moved the photos back. Service for the guests wasn’t affected.”
“I saw the table all set up.”
I closed the trunk.
“The hall looks beautiful.”
“I was talking about your work.”
The compliment got through before I could receive it as indifferently as I’d intended.
“It was a team effort.”
“I could tell.”
Dante looked toward the door through which Joana would leave, then turned back to me.
“When I took out my phone, I was going to order a worktable that might not even get here in time.”
“And someone would have had to unload it while we were trying to finish.”
His expression shifted briefly, almost a smile.
“Yes.”
I put my bag on my shoulder. I didn’t want to argue. I didn’t want to reward him as though respecting my decision were a favor, either.
“Thank you for letting Elisa sort it out with me.”
“You already knew what you needed.”
Joana appeared holding the bag aloft.
“Found it. Behind the door.”
I introduced them properly, because until then they’d only exchanged greetings in passing. Joana shook his hand, listened to his compliment about the setup, and said she hoped for a table at the right height next time.
I laughed before I could stop myself.
So did Dante.
It was strange to hear us there. Three tired people talking about a table, without my past taking over the conversation.
On the way back, Joana asked if I’d recorded the extra time.
“I did.”
“Good. So did my back.”
I rested my head against the seat and closed my eyes for a few seconds. We still needed to unload, check the equipment, and wrap up the day. My mom was with Bento until seven.
But I didn’t need to spend the rest of the afternoon replaying in my mind the way I’d said no.