wedding date | miniminter

xxvi

— Eve

September was drawing to a close and this meant that the October edition of Look magazine was coming out in a few days.

I watched out the window of Eric's studio, staring down at the busy pavements of London as I fiddled with the loose strands of my jumper. The sound of Eric's chair relaxing caught my attention and I looked over my shoulder to watch him move over to an empty tripod with a camera in his hands. He dropped to a crouched position in front of the tripod and carefully balance the camera on top of it.

"Eve, c'mere." Eric said, his voice was low. Today, he was in a bad mood and I was walking on very thin ice around him because one wrong move and he'd snap at me. I made my way over to him, looking down to meet his blue eyes gazing back up at me. He raised an eyebrow as I cocked my head to one side before he cleared his throat and looked back towards the set.

"Go get the models, please." Eric demanded, "The clipboard on the desk has their names on it, only get the first five."

"Sure thing." I said with a grin, walking over to grab the clipboard before making my way towards the back room. I tiptoed over the various wires and extension leads before reaching to push open the heavy black door. The room almost fell silent as the door swung open, nearly all the models' eyes were on mine as I fumbled with the clipboard. I cleared my throat before reading off the first five names and asking them to follow me to the set area.

Eric acknowledged our presence, giving me a half smile as he folded his arms over his chest. I tiptoed back over the wires, standing next to him and resting my chin on top of the keyboard. Eric then proceeded to clap his hands, rubbing his hands quickly together as he examined all of the well-dressed models.

"Hello everyone, I'm Eric," Eric introduced as he used both of his hands to point to himself before he then pointed to me, "And this is Eve, my assistant photographer."

I gave a wave, tucking my hair behind my ear. Eric looked from the models to the set before he started arranging them around it. He placed the three girls on the deep emerald sofa and had to two boys lean against the back. Eric then took a few steps forward and grabbed a spare camera off the table, turned it on and positioned it to start taking photos of the models.

"Give me your most natural pose, please." Eric said. I watched carefully at what Eric was doing, I had never been to a proper photoshoot before so I was intrigued to see how Eric worked. After a while of Eric taking multiple photos, I was beginning to get bored so when my phone buzzed in my back pocket I didn't hesitate to pull it out and look at my recent notification. 

From Mum at 10:33am
We'll see you October 7th darling for Sarah's wedding!! Is she excited? I know we are! We're so excited to see you and we're excited to meet Simon too, have you messaged him yet? xxx

"Shit." I muttered under my breath, looking quickly up at Eric to see that he was still busy taking photos. I didn't bother replying to my Mum, knowing if I didn't text Simon now then I would forget and both of my parents would get annoyed at me that they didn't meet the best man.

To Simon at 10:35am
Hey, are you free October 9th?

He was quick to reply.

From Simon at 10:36am
I am, why?

To Simon at 10:37am
My parents have invited you to come to dinner with us, for some reason they want to meet you before the wedding

From Simon at 10:38am
Sure, I'll come

I had to admit I was a little baffled at his response as a part of me was expecting him to reject my parents offer to come to dinner with us. Maybe he just wanted something to do but I wasn't going to question it even though I desperately wanted to.

To Simon at 10:39am
I'll see you October 9th then & I'll send you some more details nearer the time

I sent the message, slipping my phone into my back pocket before looking back up at Eric who was fiddling with the lens of a camera. I walked slowly towards him, peering over his shoulder down at the laptop which was showing the photos he had taken.

"They're really good, Eric." I stated, "I'm sure Karen will love them."

He hummed in response, twisting the lens into place before he glanced from the pictures to me.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, drumming the clipboard against my chin. He pondered for a moment, running his tongue over his teeth before he locked eyes with me.

"Nope. Just stay there and watch me."

I internally groaned. This is what my day was going to be, watching him take photos and try not to fall asleep as I watched him. I knew it was a good learning experience but I would honestly rather watch paint dry.

"That's okay, right?" he asked, resting a hand on my shoulder.

I reluctantly nodded, "Yep."

"Good, now could you do me a massive favour," he hesitated as he locked eyes with me "Can you go get me coffee?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

this chapter is tacky but oh well, nothing i can do about it now because i'm stuck for ideas

remember to vote and comment!

nell
28/09/17