Page 32 of The Calendar of New Beginnings
Lucy had bought Leica because her hero, Henri Cartier-Bresson, had talked about the camera brand becoming an extension of his eye in his biography, which Lucy had read hundreds of times. The famous French photojournalist had mastered the art of candid photography, and Lucy had pored over his body of work and everything written about his life to search for the secrets of his success. She loved Ansel Adams’ black-and-white landscapes of the American West, but her very soul was touched by Henri’s photos of world events like Gandhi’s funeral and the last days of the Chinese Civil War.
Henri had claimed his photography style was grounded in the concept of the decisive moment, which was the title of his first book. It was a notion she intrinsically understood. To capture such a moment of pure, uncensored truth, you had to always be present and ready.
The camera phone didn’t feel right in her hands, but she wasn’t ready to take her Leicas out. Since the accident, she hadn’t touched them except to pack. Hadn’t been able to. She’d captured some excellent photos of the attack on the Congolese village before the explosion that had knocked her out, but she couldn’t bear to look at them yet. At least the soldiers hadn’t stolen or destroyed her equipment in the melee.
She raised the camera and sized up the shot. Since it was a flat-screen viewer, she could use both eyes to frame it. Her depth perception wasn’t an issue here, thank heavens, since it only affected her when she tried to pick up the objects closest to her.
Sinking to her haunches, she angled the phone until it captured the exposed rock a few feet away in the water.She lowered the camera to look at the scene with her naked eyes, and when she closed her left eye, as she was apt to do out of habit, her vision immediately went blurry. And darn it all to hell, she could hear in her head her doctor telling her not to do that.
She almost lowered her phone in defeat. Taking photos shouldn’t make her feel helpless and weird.
But she was made of sterner stuff than that. Adjusting the camera again, she took a few photos of the sunlight illuminating the water around the rock. Her new inclination to close her right eye like she was some pirate photographer with an eye patch wasn’t a longterm answer. It certainly wasn’t comfortable.
It didn’t surprise her that the photos were all wrong. She wasn’t used to the technology and her timing was off. But how was she going to make this calendar happen when she couldn’t even capture a decent photo with a camera phone? Could she back out? But no, despite her initial reluctance, she was determined to see it through. She’d just have to go back to the basics.
She was going to have to relearn her craft until she was surer of the fate of her right eye. God, she was going to have to investigate buying a new camera model; one with an electronic view finder. It sucked, but Lucy knew better than to rail at fate. That wasn’t who she was. And she wasn’t a quitter either. She was an award-winning photojournalist, and she was going to continue to be one. Somehow. And dammit, she was going to be a freaking awesome teacher too.
As she deleted the photos of the pond, her phone chimed. It was from Andy.
Good luck with your first class today. You’re going toknock them on their butts.
Nice of him to send her a text when he was working. Sharing their ice creams had cemented their bond in a whole new way. There’d been some unexpected intimacy, but Lucy knew that was from Andy’s vulnerability. Still, the way he’d looked at her a few times…
But they were just getting used to looking at each other again, right? That was normal.
She texted him back.I’m a little nervous, but I have decided to be the best photography teacher they could ever find in Dare Valley.
I don’t have any doubts,he responded.We’ll have to huddle again later so you can tell me all about it.
Huddle. Friend talk. Her mind flashed back to the awkward look that had crossed his face after she strong-armed the bill for their ice creams.
You’ll have to see my new digs. It’s like Strawberry Shortcake meets Jane Austen.
Her phone immediately buzzed.No kidding. I’m almost afraid to cross the threshold. Gotta run. A nurse just buzzed me. Good luck!
Good luck indeed. She went inside to prepare for her first class. Again. She might not be able to take the kind of photos she wanted to right now, but by God, she could teach others how to take their own.
By the time Lucy drove to the university later that afternoon, she felt calmer and more decisive. The faculty parking lot was easy to find, and she’d snuck into enough journalism classes as a teenager to remember the path to her new department. If only Arthur Hale had still been teaching at the time—back in the eighties, he used to teach one coveted class every year.
The administrative assistant to the dean showed her to her new office, leaving her with a warm welcomeand a shiny brass key to the lock on the door. The office had one lone window, and Lucy was happy for the light.
“I was hoping I might catch you before class,” she heard a man say from behind her.
Turning, she smiled. “Hi, Tanner.”
“Hi, Lucy,” he responded, leaning against the doorframe. “I remember my first day as a teacher, so I thought I’d pass along the best advice anyone has ever given me. It comes from my sister-in-law Jill.”
It was impossible to keep her mouth from twitching. Jill Hale had been making waves since childhood, and Lucy had always enjoyed running into her on her trips home. “Knowing Jill, I’m sure it’s a doozy.”
“She told me not to be boring,” he said with a slow grin. “And Meredith reminded me most kids here want to be like us, so we’ll have a cult following, like it or not.”
She sat on the edge of the desk. “Do they follow you around and hang on your every word?”
He shrugged. “Most of the time. Unless I’ve given them a bad grade on an assignment. Then they try and work their way back into my good graces.”
She laughed. “Well, that’s going to be weird. I might ask for some tips on handling that kind of adulation. I’m not used to it.”
His brow knit then, and she stilled. He was easing into something, and Lucy feared she knew what it might be.
