As soon as I entered the hotel lobby of the Red Rock Resort, I found the man I was going to marry. He just didn’t know it yet. He was sitting on one of the couches near the concierge desk biting his lower lip as he read something on his phone.
He glanced up and caught me smiling at him. Before I could avert my eyes, pretend to be looking around the room, he sent me the most heart-melting smile. I was instantly in love with this man.
I wanted to introduce myself, though I had no idea what I would say. I took a step forward, tripped over my own luggage, and landed on a bellhop dolly, sailing across the room. The cart ran into a couch and I went flying, landing right at the cute guy’s feet. He reached out a hand to me.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I took his hand, letting him help me to my feet. “Just a little mortified.”
“Oh, man!” I turned to see a nearby teenager shaking his head at me. “I missed it! That would have gone viral, too!”
I could feel my cheeks growing warm. I turned back to the cute guy. His hand was still in mine. “I, uh, better go check in. Thanks.”
“Yeah. Of course. Sure you’re okay?” When I nodded, he released my hand. “Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Thanks, um ...”
He smiled. “Logan.”
“Seddy. Thanks, Logan.”
I made my way back to the desk trying to avoid people’s eyes. I just wanted to escape to my room and wallow in my humiliation. Thankfully, the girl behind the counter pretended nothing had happened. I grabbed my bags and made my way to the elevator.
I decided I could benefit from a relaxing shower. The flight had been miserable and my rental car smelled like bodily fluids. I sniffed my clothes as I entered my room. Yup. I smelled as bad as my car. And Logan must have noticed that! I groaned.
I was only staying a few nights, but I decided to unpack my bags into the dressers. After a quick shower with copious amounts of soap in lukewarm water, I felt more like myself. I put on a flirty sundress and let my damp shoulder-length hair air dry.
I placed my camera case on the extra bed and opened it. Inside, nestled in the custom foam, were my two best cameras. I ran a hand over each. I considered my digital one, but that reminded me too much of work. I didn’t care that this was a business trip. I reached for my SLR.
My two-day conference was being held at the nearby Sedona High school, which my map app informed me was only about a ten minute walk from the hotel. The mid-July sun was low in the sky, almost touching the famous red rocks of the Arizona desert, but there were still several hours of sunlight left. I spent the walk considering my options for supper. I doubted there was food at the convention. The restaurant at the hotel didn't have the most appealing menu. I had seen a few restaurants as I had driven into town, but that would mean returning to the disgusting car.
I hadn’t made a decision by the time I reached the school. Following the signs, I made my way to the registration desk. The woman behind the A-G desk was a little too chipper for my taste.
“Hi! Welcome to PhotoFest. Did you preregister?”
“Yes. Seddy Bishop.”
“Bishop. Bishop.” She thrummed through the files in the bin in front of her. “Oh, yes. Here you are! Sedona Bishop. That’s a beautiful name. Any relation to the city?”
My mother had always told me it was where the stork had left me, but I wasn’t about to share that very personal information with this stranger. Thankfully, my shrug encouraged her to move on.
“I see this is your first PhotoFest. Here is your nametag.” She handed me a blue lanyard, waiting for me to place it over my head before pointing out the various papers within the folder.
“In here you will find all sorts of information for the entire weekend. You should really make sure to check out the vendors in the gymnasium tomorrow. If you’d like, there's a meet-and-greet in the cafeteria right now and boxed lunches will be available there tomorrow. Some of our seminars have limited capacity, so you are going to want to sign up for those. You can do that right over there.”
She pointed to a card table where a man sat with a laptop and a bored expression. I turned back to take my folder, but the woman just did not want to stop talking. “There’s also a station at the meet-and-greet and your packet has instructions for how to sign up online. If you have any questions, look for someone with this shirt.”
She tugged the bottom of her powder blue tee with a small Photofest logo on the front, then turned so I could see a much larger logo on the back. Finally, she handed me my packet.
“Thanks. I think I’ll just go read this ... over ... there.” I pointed far away and headed down the hall. Signs directed me to various meeting rooms. The entire school had been taken over for this conference.
I had no problem finding the cafeteria, although finding a place to sit was a bit of a challenge. Most tables were occupied, although I managed to find one in the back corner. I wasn’t very interested in making small talk with a bunch of strangers. I just wanted to plan out my weekend to make sure I didn’t get locked out of any interesting sessions.
“May I join you?”
I looked up to see Logan, the cute guy I had literally fallen for. What were the odds? I smiled at him and gestured to a seat.
“Is this your first time, too?” He pointed at my folder. “Yours is blue like mine. The guy in front of me had a white one and didn’t have to listen to the long spiel about where to find everything.”
I smiled. “I don’t mind. I mean, it was a little long-winded. But, I didn’t know we needed to sign up for some of the seminars. I’m just trying to figure it all out.”
“Find anything good?”
“Didn’t get that far.”
Logan looked around the room. “This place makes me uncomfortable. Too much like my old high school. What do you say we go grab a bite and read through all this over supper?”
I thought it sounded great. But, I didn't want to seem too eager. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Saw a steakhouse up the road when I was driving in.”
I nodded as I stood. “Yea, I saw that place, too. Sounds great. I’ll meet you there.”
He walked with me to the edit. “So, what’s your story? Hobby or professional?”
“Both. I do weddings and portraits to pay the bills. Candids and landscapes for myself.”
“Ditto. Where you going?”
At his confused look, I couldn’t help but giggle, pointing in the opposite direction. “I walked here. My car is back at the hotel.”
He gestured towards the parking lot. “Then I’ll drive you to the restaurant.”
He didn’t wait for a response. I hesitated a moment before following him. I knew getting in a car with a complete stranger was a bad idea. But, the last thing I wanted was to offend my future husband. When we reached his car, I followed him to the driver’s side. He raised his eyebrows, but I spoke first.
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but can I see your license?”
“In case I’m some psycho serial killer?” He smiled, removing his wallet from his back pocket and passing me the ID.
I took a quick photo with my phone as I walked around the car, returning it to him as I took my seat.
“Decided I’m safe?”
“Almost.” I sent the photo to my friend Emily with a quick note. If you don’t hear from me by midnight, this is the guy I’m with. I turned back to Logan. “I know it’s stupid, but my friend and I have this thing. I wanted to let her know who I was with.”
“Well, if I kill you, I’ll have to remember to text her not to worry.”
I didn’t like the way this conversation was going. I started flipping through the pages in my folder. “Sweet!” I held up a coupon. “Twenty percent off at Diamond Lens.”
Logan frowned. “They’re accessories are so overpriced. You shop there?”
Relieved at the change of subject, I shook my head. “Not really. I mean, they have the best price for film, but that’s all I get. Everything else is too expensive.”
Logan sent me a sideways glance as he pulled into the parking lot. “Really? Film?”
I hopped out without answering. The air was full of the rich scents of steak and fried foods. Unlike a greasy fast food joint, it made my mouth water. I took a deep breath. “This place smells so good!”
Logan held open the door for me and I was pleased to see that, despite the full parking lot, the place was not too crowded. A hostess smiled at us from her stand.
“Welcome to Sedona Steakhouse. How many?”
I let Logan answer. “Two please.”
“And would you like to eat inside or out?”
Logan turned to me. “What do you think?”
It was a gorgeous night. The answer was obvious. “Oh, outside sounds fantastic.”
Logan turned back to the hostess, but she had already gathered two menus. “This way, please.”
Logan gestured for me to go first, so I followed the girl through the restaurant to the back porch. We stepped outside to a spectacular view of the red rocks. It was breathtaking. “I didn’t even realize I was staring until I felt Logan nudge me from behind.
“You okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” I hurried to the table where the hostess was placing the menus. “I just ... Did you see the mountains?”
Logan smiled at the hostess as we took our seats. “Thank you.”
The girl nodded and headed off. I glanced at my menu. I was not a huge fan of steak, but the burgers sounded amazing. I took Logan’s silence to mean he was having a difficult time deciding as well.
After we ordered, Logan pulled out all the papers in his folder. I did the same. The schedule for the weekend was easy enough to find. I gave it a quick once over.
“So, it looks like there are seven sessions with three workshops during each one.”
Logan frowned. “There’s not even a break for lunch.”
“And, what if I like two of the workshops for a session?”
“When are we supposed to see the vendors?”
I glanced at Logan. “I think I’m in over my head.”
He nodded. “Let’s focus on one session at a time. Nine am. What sounds good?”
I read the three options. “I have no idea what any of these are really about.”
Logan flipped a few pages before finding a program book. “Oh, hang on. Yup. Here are the descriptions for each workshop.”
We spent almost twenty minutes reading each description and building our schedules. It turned out we had many of the same building interests and would be taking several sessions together. We made sure to block out times for lunch both Saturday and Sunday as well as a chance to see the vendors each day.
“Why twice?” Logan asked.
“Because if you see something, you don’t impulse buy. You think it over Saturday and go back Sunday to buy it.”
Logan nodded with a smile of approval. “I like that strategy.”
Our food arrived and we took a few moments to savor our meals. I ate a fry and then sampled my potato before biting into my burger. I closed my eyes with a sigh of satisfaction.
“This may be the best burger I have ever had in my entire life.”
Logan nodded. “I don't know if it’s the steak or this knife, but it cuts like butter.”
After a few more bites, Logan nodded towards my camera, which I had placed on a chair between us. “So, I gotta ask. How are you able to earn a living using that?”
I smiled. “I don’t. I have a DSLR for work. But this is my people-watching camera. I get the most amazing candids.”
“Do you develop them yourself?”
I nodded. “Yup. It’s a lost art. I turned my guest room into a darkroom. My mom has to sleep on the sofa when she visits!”
“I bet she loves that.”
I shrugged. “She doesn’t mind. So, what got you interested in photography?”
We spent the rest of the meal comparing our work photography while I did mostly weddings — he specialized in school portraits — and hobby photography — he liked to photograph birds and other animals in nature while I liked candids and landscapes.
When we asked for the check, Logan excused himself to the men’s room. I picked up my camera to take a picture of the mountain. I got some great shots of people talking at nearby tables. I even got a shot of the two guys I saw standing by the kitchen entrance.
The waitress returned with my check and I put down my camera. Before I could even see the damage, the unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang out. As the second shot fired, everyone screamed and ducked under their tables.
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