"You need some sleep," she told her reflection in the mirror. The room's phone rang, and she eyed Maya in the bath playing with her favourite green duck. "Mummy's getting the phone. Do nothing silly, okay?" Maya nodded and Elle tottered out of the bathroom, picked up the receiver, and plunked herself on the mattress. "Hello?"

"Am I speaking to Ellenor Grace?" an excited voice asked.

"Is that you, Bianca?" Bianca was the Van Belts' bride-to-be. A young 20-something, a gorgeous brunette with the deepest blue eyes Elle had ever seen, with intellect and body to match. Mind you, Conrad Van Belt wasn't that bad himself.

"Ah, darling, you made it!" Bianca squealed. "I was worrying a little. Your assistant called up this morning saying something about your daughter and that you were heading up."

Bianca, unlike Elle, was a punctual woman, and it became obvious to Elle that, since she'd crossed the mandatory five hours drive to the location, somehow turning it into eight. Bianca had worried. Naturally. "I was beside myself telling Conrad we should have offered you a driver. You must be exhausted."

"A little." Elle chuckled. "But it's good. I'll get a good night's sleep." She lied. There would be no good night's sleep. Not while worrying about how she was going to juggle both her work and Maya on the day of the wedding. "I hope you won't mind, but I had to bring my daughter with me on this trip. I'm so sorry, it's unprofessional, but I, I couldn't leave her with anyone."

"I'm glad you brought her. It must be hard for her to be away from you, and there are plenty of children at the wedding for her to play with. Besides, we've actually got minders organised so the adults can have a bit of fun, if you know what I mean." Elle could hear the smile in Bianca's voice.

Of all the bridal parties, the Van Belt's had by far been the most organised, so this didn't surprise Elle one bit. "That just takes..."

"A load of you?" Bianca chimed in. "You're welcome. Now, I got to go. I'm glad you're finally in town. I just wanted to remind you that the rehearsal dinner is tomorrow. The program doesn't start until midday, and we'd like some pre-wedding shots, but we've decided we'd love you to cover the dinner tomorrow as well. What do you think?" she finished.

"Anything for the bride."

"Great. We'll meet you at the Church at twelve!" The phone clicked. Elle put the receiver back and stretched out on the bed.

"Maya, are you finished yet? Let's grab some dinner downstairs."

There was a knock on the door in the morning and Elle groggily peeked out from under the duvet. "Who is it?"

"Housekeeping."

"Oh, shit," she sprang up and scrambled out of bed, coaxing Maya to wake up as well. She opened the door to a young housemaid and stepped out of the way, then sat down at the desk, flipping through some of the reading material while Maya sat on the corner chair and watched TV with the volume down.

"I hope I didn't wake you," the woman said. Her badge read 'Sima'.

"Not at all," Elle lied. "If you hadn't come by, I might have slept through the entire afternoon."

"In town for business?" Sima asked.

"A wedding."

"Many people here since yesterday for weddings."

"Or they could all be here for one wedding." Elle chuckled. Having dealt with Bianca and Conrad for a few months, it wouldn't surprise Elle if all the guests at the hotel were part of the couple's wedding party.

An hour later, showered and refreshed, the two of them stepped out onto the sunny street with Elle's camera bag slung over her shoulder. She'd asked the older woman at reception directions to the church and discovered it was within walking distance. So, without further ado, they had decided a walk would be a nice, healthier option, especially for Elle's poor old car.

"Do we get to see the bride? And her big pretty dress?" Maya asked as she swung Elle's arm.

"Not today." She stopped walking and looked up at the old Mason church. "Guess this is it." Elle knew they were a tad too early as they started up the stairs. The less stress she gave the bride, the better. Besides, scoping out the wedding venue before the big day wasn't such a bad idea. She let Maya's hand go. "Stay close, okay? I don't want you wandering off."

Maya nodded and ran ahead of Elle, up the slope, down the side of the church. Elle followed, eventually coming into a neat garden. She could see a few nooks and corners she could use for backdrops. An image of her own wedding flashed in her mind and Elle twirled the gold band around her wedding finger as she often did when she missed her husband. She didn't know why she still wore the ring. Perhaps it was her way of keeping Blake close. According to her mother, it was a sign of some mental health issue, hanging onto a wedding band almost two years after losing the spouse. Perhaps it was, perhaps it wasn't. Elle just knew she didn't care.

She watched Maya run through an arch of ivy and start picking some flowers from the garden bed. She fished her camera out and started taking photos of the garden. Once done, she called out to Maya before turning back to the church. "Let's go see the inside."

"Mummy! Look what I got?" Maya ran behind her.

Maya's sudden scream stopped her, and she turned around to see a young priest help her to her feet. He looked at Elle as Maya scrambled to her side. "You must be the photographer?" the priest greeted her with a smile.

"You must be Father Daniel." She offered her hand.

"It's a beautiful garden, isn't it?" He shook her hand gently. "The marquees are going up this afternoon, in case you wanted pictures of those, too." Elle smiled awkwardly. "I've never carried out such a big ceremony before," Father Daniel said finally. "Shall we go in and start with some tea?"

Elle nodded, walking alongside him as they headed into the church, holding Maya's hand as they did. "I haven't covered such a big wedding in a long time either."

"I've heard of you before, Ms Grace," Father Daniel recalled, surprising Elle. "You used to work for Kurt Schneider's company. What was it called?"

"All Chemistry Photography," Elle smiled fondly. How long had it been since she last heard from Kurt? Maybe six years. Kurt had left the country a year after Elle's marriage to Blake.

"Ah, yes." Father Daniel nodded. "I always thought it was an odd name for a company."

"How did you know I used to work for Kurt?"

"I was assisting Father Thompson a few years back when All Chemistry was covering a wedding. A disaster of a wedding, it was. We heard all about how the photographer's assistant exposed the bride's affair."

Elle's mouth fell open. That incident was nine years ago. She remembered being shocked when she'd accidentally walked in on the bride in her bridal room with a man who wasn't the groom. "I wasn't expecting that either," she said with a laugh.

"It was quite a day and one of my first, so the memory is still quite vivid, I'm afraid."

"Well, at least this one won't turn out like that." She stepped into the church as Father Daniel held the door open.

"It's nice to see them come back to their roots to start a new phase of life." Father Daniel led Elle and Maya into his office, a quiet nook at the back, behind the altar, filled with books and a simple wood table with a desk lamp on it. "Please take a seat, Ms Grace. I'll brew us some coffee."

Elle nodded, getting Maya to sit without fidgeting on the chair next to her. They had another ten minutes before they expected the couple, and she felt awkward sitting in a minister's office.

"How has life treated you so far?" the priest asked, passing a mug of black coffee.

"It's had its ups and its downs." Elle ruffled Maya's hair. "I have her now, and my business. They both keep me busy, so I can't complain." She sipped the coffee, unable to look the priest in the eye. She couldn't bring herself to say she's a single mother. Not in that office.

"And your husband?" he asked, sitting down, eyeing the gold band on her finger.

"He passed away almost two years ago." Elle hugged the mug as if it were a shield.

"I'm so sorry, dear." Father put his cup down. "It's a privilege we get, spending even a small amount of time with a loved one, Ms Grace. We should always embrace their memories with a smile and a joyful heart, don't you think?"

He reached across the table, grabbed the tissue box, and handed it to her. "If we cry or let sorrow grasp our hearts, then what good were the moments when all they tried to do was to put a smile on your face?"

Elle dabbed at the corners of her dampened eyes, and for the first time in two years, it hit her, that more than half the time she'd thought of Blake, it had been with sadness in her heart. Not anymore, she thought. Father Daniel was right. Blake deserved to be remembered with a smile. "Thank you, Father."

Conrad stuck his head in. "Thank God. For once, Bianca is the last to arrive." He floated into the office casually. Elle frantically dried her eyes before they noticed a thing.

Maya reached over for another tissue and handed it to her. "Here, mummy. Don't cry." Embarrassed, Elle quickly grabbed the tissue and forced a smile on her face as she turned to face Conrad.

"We were just talking about the time we first met," Father Daniel kindly added, rising to his feet. "Turns out, Ms Grace and I met several years ago at a similarly big wedding."

Conrad cracked a smile and shook the priest's hand as Bianca slipped into the room after him. "Bianca and I," she corrected. "And we're not the last. Our entourage is yet to arrive. I told them all midday sharp."

(Chapter 9 continues...)