Chapter 1
It didn’t take more than ten minutes before I started to regret leaving my house today. It was hot for one and I made the mistake of assuming there would be more than just a few big fans to cool the space. I could feel my blouse sticking to my back already. I had to wrap my thick hair up in a bun to keep it from plastering to the side of my face. Forget about my own make-up, it melted off on the bus ride over. And none of this would have mattered if I just followed my rule of no unvetted clients. I set up my station, took a deep breath and called over the mother of the groom.
I usually just wear my jeans and black t-shirt but of course, this bride wanted pictures of her make-up being done. That may be a common request for most people but not in my small, West Virginian town. Here we have one park with a gazebo that had been painted over at least half a dozen times and a handful of covered benches that serve all the local nuptials that aren’t taken care of at the court house two towns over. Jenny Kramer does hair, Mary and John’s dinner does the food, and if it’s a bigger wedding, Jenny calls me for make-up. I prefer to take care of everyone at her house. She was really good at small talk so I didn’t have to be. We weren’t exactly the closest of friends but close enough.
This however was not the norm. It was the daughter of a former mayor who thought the novelty of having her wedding during our summer festivities would be ‘too cute and totally charming’. I should have known as soon as I heard that comment that I needed to turn this one down. I wasn’t even born here and I felt a little protective. It’s not that the summer music and festivities didn’t draw outside attention but, not like this. It was as if she wanted the small town look with a mountain backdrop but didn’t really give a damn about the town itself. They brought the food and the hair stylist, make-up was the only missing piece and I was the only one around. Lucky me.
The only reason I said yes is because they were going to pay me enough so I wouldn’t have to take another wedding this year. Living mostly off-grid means I have minimal bills and can get by doing make up for weddings, face painting at festivals, and the spooky actors at the annual church-run haunted house. That was about all the human interaction I needed. My literal cabin in the woods meant I spent more time with wild animals and insects than people. It was literally half the appeal of moving into the unkempt property. I didn’t exactly have a lot of experience with upkeep on rain water collection systems or solar power, but the idea that I could basically disappear from polite society was more than enough for me to watch a few videos and figure it out.
I did my best to smile and not melt into the floor as I finished up the last bridesmaid. The maid of honor, and self-proclaimed wedding planner told me I had fifteen minutes before the bride was ready and politely implied that maybe I should touch up before the photographer came over. She then proceeded to march around making sure everyone was doing their job. I could already tell she was going to need touch ups before the ceremony but I ignored that for now and proceeded ‘to fix my face’ as she so politely described it.
Not that I really cared what I looked like but, I was more than happy to take a break from all of it. I wandered over to a table with water and some light snacks, grabbed a bottle and found the least populated corner, leaned back and closed my eyes, rolling the cold water bottle between my hands. I could still feel the light film of sweat on my forehead and the back of my neck. I reached a hand back and held the cold bottle behind me, and tried to imagine myself literally anywhere but here. Well, almost anywhere.
“You look hot.”
I really didn’t want to open my eyes, hoping that comment wasn’t directed at me. I peeked out one eye and saw a tall, slender man with a cocky smile looking down at me. He was leaning against the wall, casually holding a camera. Great, the photographer. I brush off my pants and stand up against the wall. I do my best to ignore his stupid come-on. I was already crap at making eye contact for too long and this guy was not letting go of my gaze, even tilting his head to keep my eyes locked. Doing my best to stay calm but everything about him was creeping me out, down to the way his finger tapped lightly on the shutter button.
“You guys ready for me?”
He was standing so close, he was almost boxing me into the corner. His camera balanced on his hip pointed up at me. I couldn’t be sure but I swear I heard it click. This day can’t be over fast enough. He didn’t look away with that creepy half smile, permanently burned into the side of his face. He leans in a little closer, causing me to back up a step, barely staying out of reach. I’ve done a pretty good job of avoiding men like this, handsome and successful, thinking that every woman is going to swoon. I dress plain and keep my head down but for whatever reason, curiosity maybe? A strange mountain girl that he could hook up with and forget. Unfortunately he picked the one woman who wasn’t interested.
“They said five more minutes. Can I get you a drink?”
I hold up the water bottle, “All set.”
We stood there for a moment. His hand reaches up to my face and brushes a sticky piece of hair behind my ear. I should have done something but I was completely frozen at the unwanted contact. He let his fingers trace down my cheek until a loud bang caught his attention and he spun around, giving me just enough room to sneak past him. I look to see one of the delivery drivers dropped something heavy and fragile. Glass, or maybe ice, was shattered all over the street. I could already hear the maid of honor chewing the guy out but I just kept moving to my station. I shook out my shaking hands and took a few deep breaths. The last thing I needed was to mess up the bride’s face and be the next target of everyone’s ire.
I did my best to focus, despite not wanting to be there. Since I agreed to stay and do a whole second look for half the bridal party before the evening festivities, I still had several hours to try and avoid this guy. The entire time I was working, I could feel his eyes on me through the lens. Knowing he was going home with dozens of pictures of me had me a little nauseous. As soon as I was done I did a quick clean up of the table, leaving my kit there, grabbed my bag and slipped out the side. I knew the photographer was stuck at the ceremony but I didn’t need to be. In fact it was politely suggested that I take a break and I was more than happy to get away from this guy at least for a bit.
