Champagne Toast (10 page)

She greets me with a kiss when I walk through the apartment door and then immediately looks down to the gift bag in my hands.

“
What
’
s that?
”
she asks, her eyes wide.  She licks the marinara sauce from her fingers and wipes her hands on the apron wrapped around her trim waist.  I watch her hands sadly.

“
What?
”
she asks incredulously.

“
Are you cooking?
”
  She nods in response.
“
I would
’
ve like
d to taste
that,
” I say softly.  “
Looked delicious
.”
Kate blushes slightly, the apples of her cheeks growing pink.  The glow of the candles makes her look like an angel.

“
I made spaghetti, no big deal,
”
she shrugs.

“Oops, I think you missed a spot,” I whisper, pointing out a tiny spot of sauce beneath her lip.  Kate moves as if she’s going to wipe it off.  “No, let me,” I say. 

Carefully, I kiss the sauce from her chin, planting kisses across her jaw and down her neck.  Kate sighs and I can feel her heart thumping in her chest.

“Ev?” she says, her voice cracking.

“Mmm?” I mutter between kisses and Kate runs her fingers through my hair.

“I think you got all the sauce off my chin,” she says, tilting her head up towards the ceiling.

“And it was delicious.”  I smile, giving her one last small peck on the tip of her nose.

“Are you finally going to tell me what’s
in
there?”
she asks
, gesturing towards the gift bag tied with a giant scarlet colored bow, Kate
’
s favorite color.
  I almost forgot it was in my hands. 

“Of course,” I concede, “I was just a little…”

“Distracted?”

“Exactly,” I grin. “
Okay, so promise you
’
ll hear me out,
”
I say tentatively, handing her the package while I take my bulky winter coat off and place it on a nearby chair.

“
Okay
. . .
?
”
Kate says, a curious look in her eyes.  I want her to keep that look, but am dreading the look of irritation that I fear is just around the corner.

“
Open it,
”
I insist. 

Kate gives me one more suspiciou
s glance before untying the bow.
“
Nice touch,
”
she says appreciatively.

“
I thought so,
”
I smile.

Kate reaches into the gift bag and pulls out her gift, a Canon EOS 55 35mm film camera in mint condition, despite its age of 13 years.

“
Oh my god,
” s
he
marvel
s,
“
Evan, it
’
s incredible.  This must
’
ve cost you a fortune
.” 
She looks conflicted.  Thrilled and worried
,
all at the same time.

“
No, it was worth every penny.  You
’
re talented, sweets.  I want you to focus on your photography.
”

“
But, I already have a camera, remember?
”

“
Yes, I know.
But, you said yourself that it
’
s not in good shape.  This one is in mint condition, Kate.  It
’
s never been used, which is really hard to find
.”
Kate continues to
stare
at the camera.

 
“
Someone sold it to the camera shop and the owner couldn
’
t believe the condition it
’
s in,
”
I continue.
“
It will give your pictures the texture you love.
”

“
I don
’
t know what to say,
”
Kate says, her eyes welling.  Embracing her, I stroke her hair and kiss her neck behind her ear.

“
Say you
’
ll use it.  Say you
’
ll take hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures with it.  Say you
’
ll share your gift.  Because you
’
re so talented, Kate, so talented.
”

Kate clutches my shoulders and sighs into the crook of my neck as she runs her fingers through my hair, settling them on the base of my neck.

“
Thank you for believing in me, Ev,
”
she whispers.

“
I always will,
”
I murmur.
“
Always.
”

Kate tenses within my arms.
Sappy moments have never been her thing.  She can only handle so much mush and then she retreats.  She pulls back forcefully and jumps up and down.

“
All right, Mr. Maxwell, you
’
re my very first subject.  Go sit in the living room.
”

“
Now?  Shouldn
’
t we eat first?
”
  I ask, realizing I have just set myself up to be photographed.  But it
’
s worth it if I can help her believe in herself.

“
Hey, this is your doing, buddy.  Now get over there so I can load up this camera and take some shots.
”

“
Only if you promise to show me how to develop them.  I
’
ve been sleeping here for months
,
and I haven
’
t been invited back into your darkroom
.” 
I raise an eyebrow and Kate rolls her eyes.

“
I want to know all the ins and outs.  Teach me, please,
”
I say, taking her hand and guiding her to the living room.

“
You got it.  I
’
ll take some shots.
Then we
’
ll eat dinner and make our way to the darkroom.  I
’
m curious to see how different the shots will look now that I have a real camera
.” 
Her enthusiasm is contagious.

I plop myself on her couch and begin making pouty model faces.  Kate cracks up as she plays with the camera and loads the film I purchased.

“
Wow, what a hottie we have here,
”
she teases.

“
You know it, Armour,
”
I reply, again forming a dramatic pout with my lips, placing my hands up near my cheeks and gazing up at the ceiling like a 1940s hand model.

“
Okay, let
’
s be serious.  You
have to give me something good,” Kate says, pretending to sound exasperated.

“
You
’
re the pro, sweets.  Tell me what to do.  Direct me,
”
I reply.

Kate stares intently before tilting my chin towards the floor and adjusting the collar of my shirt.

“
Just look at me.
Don
’
t smile or anything, just direct your eyes my way,
”
she says, crouching down on the floor.  I look her square in the eye before she places the large camera in front
of her.  She points her finger
towards the shutter, indicating where I should look.  She
’
s such a natural.

She snaps photo after photo of me.  Sitting, standing, serious with my chin in my hands and laughing with my eyes crossed.  She goes through several rolls of film and is completely in her element.  I
’
ve never seen her like this and I wish I could freeze this moment in my memory forever.
Somehow I don
’
t think that
’
ll be too hard to do.  The emotion I feel for her is so intense, I know that soon I will have to express my love to her.  Bracing myself that she might not return those three wor
ds, I know they need to be said . . .
and soon.  I
’
ve never said them before, but somehow with Kate they feel right.

After finishing her third roll of film, Kate sighs, looking exhausted in the best possible way.  She looks sated, satisfied and truly blissful.  A wave of satisfaction flows through me, as I know I have brought her to this state of happiness.

We spend our dinner hour twirling spaghetti with our forks and spoons and dipping our garlic bread in the sauce.  Kate laughs again and again as she sips her wine and reminisces over our little photo shoot.  She
’
s so excited to see how these photos will develop and it
’
s all over her gorgeous face.  Her eyes are bright, her smile is wide and I
’
m amazed at how much I love her.  It
’
s scaring the shit out of me.  I
’
ve never been in love like this. I
’
ve had plenty of girlfriends, but none of them had such power over me. This is brand new territory and as petrified as I am at feeling like this, I
’m all in.

She’s my world now.

When the wine bottle is empty and our bellies are full, we clean up the kitchen and make our way to her makeshift darkroom.  Kate leads me into the room and gives me the lay of the land.

“
Here, put this on,
”
she says, sliding an apron on over my head and tying the strings in the back. 
“
Lots of chemicals in here, we have to protect our clothes.
”

“
Wow, I
’
m so impressed that you did all of this yourself,
”
I say in wonder as I look at all
of
her supplies in the large room.  Her bathtub has been transformed and is almost unrecognizable
,
as a large wooden structure has been built to fit inside.  Trays sit on top of the structure, and the shelves above are lined with chemical-filled containers.  The smell is pungent. 
“
That
’
s a really strong smell,
”
I observe, waving my hand in front of my face.

“
You
’
ll get used to it,
”
Kate says matter-of-factly as she places gloves on my hands.  She snaps the glove as she puts them on me.  Such a smart ass. 
“
Don
’
t be such a baby,
”
she winks.

“
So, what are all these chemicals?
”
I ask, pointing at the large jugs.

“
This one is the Developer,
”
she says, pointing,
“
and this is the Stop Bath.  Over there is the Fixer and the Hypo Clear
.”
She sees the clueless look on my face and giggles.

“
Seriously,
”
I laugh,
“
I feel like Charlie Brown in his classroom. 
Wah wah wah wah wah
.” 

Kate laughs and rolls her eyes. 
“
It
’
ll all make sense soon.  Give me a minute.  I
’
ve never had to teach anyone before.
”

“
Are you sure you still want to?
”
I ask gently.

“
Absolutely,
”
she grins from ear to ear, and I can
’
t stop myself.  I
’
m kissing her deeply, my gloved hands grabbing her earnestly.  She kisses me back but laughs into my mouth.

“
C
’
mon,
”
I say,
“
I
’
m rockin
’
this sexy apron and gloves.  This doesn
’
t turn you on?
”

“
You always turn me on, Ev.  But, when I felt the gloves in my hair, I couldn
’
t help it; I had to laugh
.” 
She shrugs.
“
C
’
mon, let me show you how all of this stuff works.
”