After the meeting, she walked Micah around the preserve. He lugged two camera bags, a tripod, and a backpack full of supplies with him. She tried to get him to leave everything but his camera behind, but he refused. When they neared a pond with bright-yellow wildflowers poking their faces above the water, he stopped to set up his tripod.
“This is perfect. I have to get this before the light changes. See how the sunlight plays on the petals?”
She nodded and watched. His equipment was expensive, spotless, probably purchased specifically for this retreat. She thought of her twenty-year-old Canon sitting on the counter in her cabin.
“Just remember,” she said as he set up his shot, “your first idea of what’s photo worthy isn’t always the best. Think of the body of work you want to create while you’re here. The feelings, the themes. What do you want to say?” She couldn’t believe she was repeating the same lines that had made her cringe when she first heard them from Casey and the others. Back then, she’d thought they were empty clichés, but now she knew they held some truth.
“So you’re telling me this isn’t photo worthy?” Micah asked.
“I’m not saying that. I just think you might be surprised at the photos you’re taking by the end of the session. When Gregory gets back, ask him to take you to a place called The Bottoms.”
He shook his head. “Why would we go there? Isn’t that the ugly part of the preserve?”
She smiled. “Yeah. It is.”
Gregory called her name as she left the dining hall after grabbing a quick lunch. Her shoulders relaxed when she saw him coming toward her. Halcyon had somehow felt incomplete without him.
“When did you get back?” she asked.
“Late last night. I was supposed to be gone a few more days, but I was ready.”
Together they walked out of the dining hall and into the thick, warm air outside.
“I’m glad to be back. It feels different here this summer.” As they walked he bumped her with his elbow. “How’s the new group?”
“Fresh as little daisies. Eager to take the art world by storm.”
He laughed. “They’re always that way. Although maybe not you though. When you got here, you were more . . .”
“Surly? Oh wait, that was you.”
“No, I was going to say you were tentative. Thoughtful. Maybe a little defiant, but that’s better in the long run.”
She needed to get back to her cabin and pack some of her prints for shipping, but when Gregory sat in the shade under a sweeping oak tree, she sat next to him. The mess in her cabin could wait.
The other artists filed out of the dining hall, ready to gain as much new ground as possible on their works in progress. Jenna waved at Micah. He held up a single camera bag that hung from his neck. She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
“You must be teaching him well,” Gregory said.
“I’m not teaching. I’m just trying to help him make good decisions. Like not hauling three bags and a tripod around the preserve every day.”
“You’re a good assistant then. How about that?”
She shrugged and leaned her head back on the chair. “I’ll accept that.” A breeze kicked up and rustled the sunlit leaves overhead.
“I’m taking the job in California.”
“Good for you.” She kept her gaze on the trees, holding her breath tight in her chest. The last few weeks with him had felt different. The push and pull, the conversation, the comfortable silence as they worked. It was both enticing and unsettling. She sensed his gaze on her but she didn’t turn her head.
“You could come with me, you know.”
She laughed to mask her thudding heart. “Me, in California?”
“Sure. Why not?”
She finally glanced at him and something in her shifted, as if she’d just stepped into a boat bobbing in the water. His voice was casual, his body relaxed, but his gaze was firm and unwavering. She rubbed her forehead. “Gregory, you can’t just ask me to come to California with you.”
“Why not? I just did.” He gave her a half grin.
“It’s too big.” She shifted in her seat to face him. “I can’t just . . . I have kids and a life and . . .”
He sat up and leaned toward her. “I know you do. And we’ll figure all that out. Look, you’ve been trying to decide what to do in your life, right? Halcyon was a gift and you took it and look where you are now. Maybe California is another gift and all you have to do is take it.”
“California is a gift for you. It’s your job. I can’t just follow you there. I’ve followed a guy across the country before, and it didn’t turn out too well for me. I can’t do it again.”
“I’m not asking you to follow me just for the fun of it. It’s a job for you too. The dean said I get an assistant—an official, well-paid one—and I get to choose who it is. You’d be helping me with grading and paperwork, but you’d have plenty of time to do your own thing. California’s a beautiful place for photography. It could be a fresh start.”
She closed her eyes. It couldn’t, wouldn’t work. When she opened her eyes, he was watching her.
“What do you say?”
“Hey, guys,” a voice called from up the path. Jenna looked over Gregory’s shoulder and saw Casey walking toward them, a bright-red envelope in her hand.
“Will you come to my cabin later?” Gregory asked, his voice quiet. “We can talk there.”
She nodded and he stood.
“How’s it going?” Casey said when she reached them.
Gregory nudged a rock on the ground with the toe of his boot. “Just catching up on what I missed while I was gone.”
She nodded toward Jenna. “Your mentee has done a great job with Micah.”
He smiled. “I knew she
