Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Camille Spaulding sat at the small café bistro table, a bottle of chardonnay chilling in an ice bath just to the side, directly within arm’s reach.
The small restaurant was crowded with the lunch hour rush, something the women didn’t have to compete with back when they first started coming here so many years ago.
It had been a little hidden gem, this seaside café with its fresh catches and open-air setting.
Camille loved how the coastal breeze would sweep through the windows, bringing with it the salty scent that paired so well with the dishes they served.
Today, the windows were shut to keep out the breeze that straddled the line between a true wind and a gust. Something was brewing out over the waters, churning and ominous. Camille didn’t like it, not one bit.
She gripped the neck of the wine bottle and poured another hearty glug of the crisp drink into her now empty glass, glancing around.
If her friends were going to be late for their scheduled lunch, then it was on them if they missed out on the wine.
She was fine waiting, but waiting with a drink in hand was the way to do it.
She rolled her wrist to check the time and in doing so, her eyes immediately snagged on the shiny new addition to her left ring finger.
Two months married and it still felt like the honeymoon phase.
In fact, she wondered if they would ever work their way out of it.
With a man like Foster as her new husband, she doubted they would, and that was absolutely fine with her.
Every time she thought of him, her stomach quivered deliciously.
Goodness, he was everything she’d ever hoped for and dreamed of.
Exponentially more, really. Tender with her both emotionally and physically.
In tune with her in every way, from their day-to-day, to the plans for their future.
Every morning, she woke up reliving the memories of their perfect wedding, and today, she’d get to do it all over again.
The door to the café swung wide and Edie rustled through, her short red hair a mess of curls around her face as the forceful wind swept her inside.
The box hugged to her chest looked cumbersome, and for a split second, Camille almost regretted selecting such a large photo album.
But it was her wedding, after all. And Edie was a phenomenal photographer.
It had been an impossible task to narrow down the images, and in the end, Camille opted for the largest package available. She needed them all. Every last one.
“Is that what I think it is?” Camille stood from the table to take the big picture book from her friend, making grabby hands.
“All five-hundred and fifty images.” Edie collapsed into a chair with a huff after passing off the bulky wedding album. “I hope you didn’t order all of these images out of fear of hurting my feelings.”
“Oh, Edie. We’ve been friends long enough that you should know I’m not worried about hurt feelings.” Camille gave her friend a smirk. “Seriously. I’m in love with each and every shot.”
“Maybe it’s more that you’re in love with the man in each in every shot.”
“That too.”
She set the leather album directly in front of her on the table and cracked the spine. Instantly, the first photograph drew tears to her eyes. Yes, Edie was absolutely right. It was the subject in each picture that caused her heart to swell so fully, her ribs almost ached.
Foster was handsome, but that wasn’t it, even though Edie had captured his good looks perfectly. It was his expression. The look of adoration that sparkled in his eyes like the sun catching a cresting wave. A glimmer of devotion. Awe. Absolute love.
Though she’d been married before, Mark never looked at Camille that way, even on their best days.
That didn’t bother her anymore. She used to mourn the fact that she’d stayed in a loveless marriage for so long, and during the prime of her life, some might argue.
She grieved all the years wasted on a man who couldn’t remain faithful to the vows they exchanged as college graduates.
She’d stopped that nonsense the moment she met Foster.
He somehow made swearing off men seem like the greatest misjudgment of Camille’s adult life.
It was still unfathomable to her that one good man could completely change her view on relationships and love.
Even change her outlook on life in general.
Where she once only felt despair and frustration, Foster managed to turn everything into hope, like righting the rudder on an off-course ship.
Honestly, before Foster, Camille had assumed she’d be content with her perpetual singlehood. And she was, for the most part. But the way this man made her feel—protected, cherished, worthy—that was something she wanted in her life…permanently.
Saying ‘I do’ at a sunset wedding in front of her dearest friends and family was as close to a fairytale as Camille would ever get. And waking up beside Foster each morning since was her sweetest happily-ever-after.
And this book. This book was a masterpiece.
Each page took her back to that precious day.
She could feel the cool ocean air caressing her shoulders again.
Sense the spray from the waves that seemed to roar and crash in an echo of cheer and celebration.
Edie was a master behind that lens, and these images were the perfect representation of that storybook moment.
“Are you crying?” Edie blinked at Camille from behind her wine glass.
“I’m overwhelmed.” Without looking up, Camille browsed through the entire album, sinking deeper into each memory with every turn of the page. “You’ve given me the gift of reliving the best day of my life. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for this.”
“They’re only photographs.” Edie tried her best at remaining humble, but there was no need. Her work was unparalleled. She deserved to bask in that praise.
“You and I both know they’re more than that,” Camille challenged.
“I’m just glad I could do this for you. Capture the best day of your life with my camera.”
“It’s what we do, the three of us. Share our sweetest moments.”
Edie took a slow sip of her wine, pausing. “Are you ready for this next one?”
Camille moved the album to the side and returned to her own glass of chardonnay. “Not entirely sure. There’s a reason I’m a half bottle deep already.”
Before the two could converse further, Tabitha finally strode through the door, teal scrubs adorning her body, an exhausted expression downturning her features.
“Sorry I’m so late.” She took the remaining seat at the table with the other women. “Surgery ran long.”
“How did it go?” Camille dared to ask.
“Fine, in the end. But there were a few surprises we weren’t prepared for,” Tabitha said in a rush. “And you know how I feel about surprises.”
Camille and Edie shared a look across the table.
It was too late to change course now. Casey and Hannah had already set things in motion, and even as Camille brainstormed ways to lessen the shock of it all, their waitress was making her way to their table, menus in hand. It was go time.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” The server passed Camille and Edie their menus first, then moved to hand one off to Tabitha.
“Oh, I don’t need it. I already know what I’d like to order.”
“Maybe you should take a look at the specials,” Camille countered, getting the sense that the wheels were falling off already. “Might want to try something new.”
“I’d like the Chinese chicken salad,” Tabitha said, eyes narrowed. “And an iced tea with two lemon slices. Thank you.”
Panicked, their waitress clung to the remaining menu.
“Shoot. I don’t have my notepad.” She patted her apron with a free hand, doing her best to play the part but it was clear acting wasn’t her forte.
“Let me grab that really quick. I’ll just leave this here with you.
” The young girl all but shoved the menu at Tabitha.
“Is it so difficult to remember a salad and iced tea?” Tabitha asked her friends rhetorically once the frazzled waitress dipped out of sight.
“I think she’s new,” Camille supplied. “And would you look at that? Some of these additions to the menu are, too.”
The corner of Edie’s mouth slid into a grin. “Oh, right. These specials look great.”
Tabitha hadn’t even cracked her menu open. Instead, her eyes focused on a text that lit up her phone like a beacon of distraction. If she got called back into the hospital, it would ruin the entire surprise, and poor Casey and Hannah worked so hard to pull this off.
“Since you already know what you want, can you help me decide?” Camille opened Tabitha’s menu for her. Her sister clearly had no intention of doing so on her own. “Should I try the Mama Mia Marinara?”
Zeroed in on her phone and absolutely nothing else—certainly not the sheet of paper tucked into the leather menu, listing the biggest special of them all—Tabitha’s eyebrows drew tight.
“I have to go.” She stood from the table, chair legs scraping loudly on the floor as she shoved out from her seat.
“I’m needed back in the OR. I’ll sync up with both of you tonight. ”
Before either woman could protest, Tabitha was gone. Out the door and out of sight, but certainly not out of mind.
“Are we at all surprised?” Camille asked, not even needing to hear Edie’s answer to corroborate her agreement.
“She’s still being pulled in so many directions.”
This was the tightrope her sister would always walk: to have a responsibility to her patients and community while at the same time doing her best to maintain healthy relationships with the friends and family she loved. It was a balancing act that threatened to pull her down at every turn.
Camille angled in her chair, catching Casey’s eye from across the café as he stood to make his way over. Hannah lowered the menu that had been obstructing her face and yanked the ballcap from her head, abandoning her makeshift disguise as she joined them.
“I’m really sorry, kiddos.” Camille truly was. They were so close to pulling it off.
Their faces bore a knowing disappointment.
“It’s not your fault,” Casey said as he slid an arm across Hannah’s shoulders, pulling her into his side. “My mom is hard to surprise, but we’ll figure out a way to do it. Back to the drawing board.”