A Timeless Romance Anthology: Summer Wedding Collection

by Melanie Jacobson

  So I did. Then I laughed. “Really?” I asked. “Did you do this on purpose?”

  “What?” He didn't take the camera away and moved around in front of me as his camera clicked and clicked and clicked.

  “Shakespeare?” I waved the book at him. He kept shooting pictures. “Romeo and Juliet?”

  He laughed. “Right. Your name. That was just a coincidence. A very probable coincidence though, since all of the books in the trees are Shakespeare. I got them from an English teacher who was getting new copies for her classroom. They were old and hardback and looked cool swinging from the branches.”

  “Have you always wanted to be a photographer?” I asked.

  “Nope. When I was five I wanted to be a pirate, but my mom told me I’d be disinherited if she ever caught me pillaging. I didn’t discover photography until way later.”

  “Really? When?”

  “Six.”

  I laughed again. Jack was funny. Funny was new. Adam was never funny.

  Jack had me in all kinds of crazy poses while we talked and his camera clicked.

  By the time we left to go out to the locations, I discovered that he’d been given a Sony World Photography award, that his parents weren’t actually any more impressed with him taking pictures than they had been of his pirate pillaging ambitions, and that he was a dog person.

  In that same time, he discovered I was willing to climb a tree in a dress that cost more than some people’s cars, I confessed to not knowing what the Sony World Photography award was, explained my job of being an intellectual property rights lawyer in exhausting detail, and told him my favorite song was from an obscure band out of Utah called Shadow Puppets. He made fun of me when I told him the name of the band.

  “So why a lawyer? Or was it just because you wanted to be a pirate too?” he asked with a grin.

  I laughed at his lawyer joke, and considered his question as he packed up his camera and folding tripod in a carry case. What did I have to lose in admitting to my uneducated pedigree? “Neither of my parents received a higher education. None of my grandparents or great grandparents even finished high school. When I started college, my dad would brag that someday his daughter would be a lawyer or a doctor and bring glory to our family name. I knew I had to be one or the other, so I could make him proud.”

  “And the doctor thing didn’t work out because...”

  “I throw up at the sight of blood.”

  Jack laughed. “I’m with you on that. Well, sort of. I don’t stay conscious long enough to know if I throw up or not.” He looked at his phone, which rumbled with the incoming text. “Cab’s here.”

  On the ride over to the park, we pointed out our favorite parts of the city.

  We discussed our favorite restaurants, our favorite plays, our favorite movies.

  And most of them were the same.

  Alison texted me while we were walking through Central Park to see how I was doing.

  I sneaked a glance at Jack and texted back. Great. The photographer’s amazing. It’s sad that this is the best date I’ve had in years and the guy I’m with is my photographer, and he thinks I’m engaged.

  She texted, *Snort*

  Which was her version of LOL.

  “Are you hungry?” Jack eyed a hot dog stand as we passed.

  “You want me to eat a hot dog in this dress?” I gave him a look that I hoped conveyed the absurdity of such an idea.

  “You climbed a tree in that dress.”

  What was there to say to that? I had climbed a tree in it, and had fun doing it.

  “Yeah, I’m hungry.” I admitted. “But I left my purse back at the studio.”

  “It’s on me.” He pulled a wallet from his inside jacket pocket. Smart. He wasn’t one of those idiot New Yorkers who kept their wallet in their back pockets. He grinned at me. He had a great smile. “Or, rather, it’s on your fiancé. I’ll add it to the bill.”

  I coughed and felt blood drain from my face—‌which was probably better than blushing. “Right. Good idea.”

  That settled it. I was evil. I was totally going to burn in the fiery pits of Satan’s playground for this little escapade of deception. But I didn’t stop Jack as he ordered his hot dog smothered with everything. I ordered mine with relish, mustard and ketchup.

  “What? No onions?” Jack raised an eyebrow at my condiments.

  I gave an indifferent kind of smile.

  “Ah, I see. Probably planning on a steamy make-out later. Onions are the destroyer of good kissing.”

  I blinked for a moment trying to figure out if he meant that he planned on kissing me later when I came to my senses. No, he means Adam. Which was too bad, because onions or no onions, Jack would have been fun to kiss.

  He consumed his hot dog as though he hadn’t eaten in a month, then excused himself to use the restroom. I sat on a bench to wait, feeling starved, and wondering how to consume my own hot dog without getting ketchup stains on the dress. It was bad enough to have my hands so full of food I couldn’t lift my skirts. I hated walking when the hem dragged the ground.

  “You going to eat that?” someone asked.

  As I turned to the voice, I had to keep my face in a neutral position. I hadn’t noticed the street-smudged man when I sat next to him, because he’d been on the ground, wedged between a tree and a garbage can. He wore a tattered coat in spite of the growing summer heat.

  I wanted to eat the hot dog, but I could eat later. This guy likely didn’t have a later option.

  I stooped down so we were at the same eye level and handed him the hot dog. When he took it, his fingers wrapped around mine, and his warm, wet eyes filled with gratitude. “Bless you, princess,” he said.

  I smiled at the name and stood up again. “You’re welcome, dear sir.”

  Jack approached just then. “Back to work?”

  I nodded and followed him down the path, lifting my skirts so they stayed off the ground.

  “Thank you!” the homeless man called after me.

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “What was that all about?”

  I shrugged without comment.

  We pretty well toured the entire park, taking pictures everywhere: the Swedish cottage, the band shell, on and around several bridges, benches and gardens, the carousel and at the Belvedere Castle.

  Jack knew the park better than I did. He knew where to get shots without crowds of people in the background. Together, we laced our way through the little empty corners of every garden.

  It took the whole day.

  In the course of a whole day, I learned that Jack cried at the ending of Star Wars, which was entirely corny for any guy to admit to out loud, and that his parents would likely trade him in for me, because I went to law school, while he’d been a university drop out.

  From Harvard University.

  “You dropped out of Harvard?” I couldn’t keep the incredulity out of my voice. “Who does that?”

  “A guy who doesn’t want to grow up to be a clone to the men who came before him, that’s who.” Jack backed up a little to get the picture.

  I adjusted my position on the stone stairs and tried not to laugh when a bicyclist nearly ran Jack off the walk. “Oops,” Jack said. “Didn’t see him.”

  I did laugh then. “I didn't even bother sending Harvard an application since I knew they have a magical force-field surrounding their admissions offices that automatically sets overreaching applications on fire.”

  “Trust me. You proved your intelligence by not applying. It’s good to know who you are and what you want without strings attached. Intelligence has very little to do with where a degree came from.”

  I liked that he said that—‌liked that he wasn’t one of those non-thinking, under-achieving drop outs. He really did know who he was and what he wanted. Nice.

  Adam hadn’t been like that. Everything with him had been about what other people wanted him to do or be.

  I was not one of those things that Adam’s family wanted for him. Adam had pre
tended he didn’t care. But ultimately he did care, and ultimately, I didn't want to belong to a family full of implications and expectations.

  “I didn't go to law school just because my parents wanted me to,” I said, wanting to make sure he understood. “I went because when I was in high school, my uncle developed a tool that helped with welding. He went through the process to get a patent on it and everything but ended up becoming prey to someone who took his idea and sold it as his own. He didn’t understand his rights, so the other guy won. After that, I knew I wanted to help protect people in situations like that. I wanted to help people keep their own creative ideas.”

  Jack made a noise that sounded like something between amused and impressed. “As a man with creative ideas, I thank you.” He gave me a slight bow before moving us on to the next photo opportunity.

  I watched Jack closely after that and found all of his manners to be refined and careful. He spoke well, using language that proved he was well read and well educated in spite of dropping out of college. Was his family like Adam’s? Would they have certain requirements for the sort of people their children married?

  Jack had become a photographer in spite of the opposition from his family. I felt certain that it wouldn’t matter if a girl was what his family wanted or not. For Jack, it would only matter if she was what he wanted.

  After only one day, I couldn’t keep myself from admiring him, and feeling a little stupid for imagining such a connection after so little time.

  We ended at the turtle pond with the castle in the background. My stomach growled in protest of the many hours that had passed since the hot dog that didn’t happen.

  “I heard that, hungry lady.” Jack pointed at my stomach. “We’ll be done soon. This is the last shot. I wanted to end here because of the clouds.” He glanced up.

  I followed his gaze to the sky where I realized the clouds were afire with the sunset.

  “You knew we were going to have a pretty sunset today?”

  “It’s my job to know. That’s why I rushed you at the cottage.” He pulled out his phone. “I set my alarm so we’d be here when the sky was at its best.”

  He settled me near the water then moved out far enough to take the pictures. He asked me about my family, my friends, and finally, the question I should have been expecting but had actually forgotten about—‌my fiancé.

  “Adam?” I smoothed my hands over my dress, wishing I hadn’t left my clothes and purse back at his studio. It wasn’t like I could run away. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

  “Are you excited to marry the love of your life?”

  He probably asked this question of every bride, but he seemed annoyed with it as he asked me. I thought about the question and answered honestly. “Yes. I am excited to marry the love of my life... someday.”

  “What? You don’t have the big day set and circled in hearts on your calendar?”

  And there it was. He finally asked a question that couldn’t be answered without a direct lie. The photo shoot would be expensive, but it would have a much greater cost if I didn’t confess my lie. I’d have to tell the truth, put the day on my credit card, and pay for it until I was in a retirement home.

  “Actually... there is no date.”

  Jack made a psh noise. “Figures.”

  I frowned. “What figures?”

  “Nothing, sorry. Forget I said anything.”

  “No. Tell me why you said that.”

  “It’s just—” Jack pulled the camera away long enough to roll his eyes and scrub his fingers through his hair. He immediately put it up again as if hiding behind it. “Adam doesn’t ever really follow through on things. He’s not the kind of guy who comes to mind when I think of commitment. It’s not surprising he hasn’t pinned down a date yet. Look, I’m sorry. I know it’s rude to say anything like this to you of all people, because, obviously, he’s finally got some sense, or he wouldn’t have been able to catch a girl like you.”

  Sucker punch.

  Adam didn’t have a girl like me. He had someone else.

  I bit my lip, trying to keep it from trembling. Tears stung hot in my eyes. I looked away, trying to keep Jack from seeing them before they fell. The sky had gone brilliant with color. The clouds reflected a melting kind of sherbet into the water of the turtle pond.

  I suddenly felt cold and wrapped the green scarf tighter around my shoulders.

  Deep breath.

  Time to tell the truth, without letting Jack jump to his own conclusions again.

  Who knew the truth could be so hard?

  Chapter Four

  Jack’s eyebrows were knitted together as he slowly lowered his camera. “I’m really sorry, Juliet. I didn't mean to make you cry. Please. I’m so sorry.”

  I turned and shook my head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I should be the one apologizing. The truth is, there is no wedding date, because there is no wedding.”

  “I... wait a minute. What?”

  I blew out a long breath and focused on the water, not wanting to see Jack’s face when I explained the horrific lie. “Adam called off the wedding last week. He decided he liked the girlfriend he was seeing behind my back better than he liked me.”

  Silence came from behind me, which felt worse than anything. How did I come to this? I wasn’t a bad person. I was the kind of person who picked up litter on the streets and in the subways. I tossed quarters to street performers and never complained about my next door neighbor, the little old lady who played her television at volumes that suggested she wanted to share her viewing experience with the people in New Jersey.

  Finally Jack said, “I don’t get it. Why are you here? Why are we doing this?”

  So I confessed it all—‌the fact that I was stuck paying for all those deposits, that Adam had no consequences for his actions at all... except this one. The fact that the dress showed up right after he broke off the engagement. The fact that the dress was beautiful, and I felt like such a nothing after Adam left that I needed something to make me feel valuable again.

  I even admitted to desperately wanting revenge.

  I don’t know what I expected to happen.

  But I didn’t expect for Jack to start laughing.

  “Really?” I was mad now. “I just poured my heart to you, told you my darkest secret and my greatest shame, and you think it’s funny?”

  He laughed harder.

  Which really ticked me off.

  I narrowed my eyes, tightened my grip on my scarf, and stomped away. I’d get a cab to his studio, get my stuff, leave him my credit card number, and move to a mud hut in Africa.

  He grabbed my arm and spun me back toward him, into his arms which he wrapped around me.

  I tried to struggle out of his grasp, but he held me tight. “What are you doing? Let me go!”

  “I’m giving you a hug. You need one whether you want it or not. Now stop acting like I’m mugging you, or someone will call the cops, and your ex will be paying for bail as well as pictures.”

  I pulled away enough to look him in the face. “You can’t charge him for the pictures.”

  “Sure I can. He signed the contract.”

  “He’s a family friend. That won’t go over very well.”

  Jack pulled me back into the hug, but kept talking. “Don’t worry about that. Adam won’t want to admit to his parents or my parents that he was a creep about this. He likes them to think he’s a nice boy—‌even though everyone knows better.”

  I kept up the tension, trying to pull out of his arms while arguing the point. “Okay, fine. But I’ve had a change of heart. I really can’t go through with this. Anger getting the better of me isn’t who I am. I’ll pay for your time... and the hot dogs.”

  “Juliet?”

  “What?”

  “Stop talking. You’re ruining my hug.”

  “Oh.” My face warmed again, which was okay because there were no mirrors here. Jack would never know about this particular blush.

  He
stayed there with his arms wrapped around me for a long time, long enough for me to give in and relax against him. It was nice being held by him. Nice in all kinds of ways that didn’t make sense. I was just out of a relationship. How could my emotions move on so quickly?

  The answer was the obvious one—‌the one Alison had been repeating over and over again. Adam had been wrong from the beginning, and deep down, I knew that. Jack’s embrace was long enough, it should have been awkward and uncomfortable. Instead, the seconds pulling through minutes during the simple act of being held by another human who cared gave me something I hadn’t had on my own. Through this embrace, this strange exchange of energy, Jack had loaned me his strength.

  He pulled away so he could see my face. “You absolutely do not need a dress or a few pictures to prove you’re valuable. I’ve just spent one of the nicest days I’ve ever had in my life, with a woman who is smart, funny, capable, and very beautiful.”

  I took a sharp breath when he let his finger softly drift over my bottom lip and then stepped away from the circle of us that he’d created. He took my hand.

  Wow.

  I wanted to say something, to thank him for literally holding me together, but no words came.

  “I’ve made a decision,” he said, tugging me down the path. “I’m not going to charge Adam for the pictures—‌even though he’s a jerk and deserves it, and I’d love to finally have something to hold over him for all the misery he’s caused in my personal life over the years, but I’m only not charging him because I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. You give me the go ahead, and I’m totally billing the guy. But I’m not taking your money either.”

  He squeezed my hand, stopping me before I could fully get my mouth open to protest. “Uh-uh!” He said. “No arguing with me. We’re going to do a trade instead. I have a gallery showing coming up in the next couple of weeks—‌one that requires my images to be unique, yet realistic views of our fair city. You’ve got a great dress. The green shawl adds a nice visual touch, and now that I know you’re not really engaged, it makes sense as to why you wanted a splash of color.”

  I tried to interrupt again, but he went on over the top of my questions. “You are now my model. I get to use the images I create with your pretty face in my show and in any advertising I want. If I sell your image to a stock photo company, and your picture ends up being used in a magazine ad for lipstick, you can’t sue me for compensation or get mad, because it isn’t my fault you’ve got great lips.”