Supreme Impostor

2◇ Night getaway

I’m running as fast as I can through Seattle. My heart beats as I think of my clients who have been waiting for me for almost twenty minutes, in front of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption.
I was hired to take pictures at their wedding, and if I’m too late, I’ll be fired as soon as I get here.

"Look where you’re going!"

"Sorry!"

I go around an old couple and jump over the head of a girl as tall as three apples. I hear from here the insults of his mother, things I had never heard and I never want to hear again.

At the turn of a street, I finally arrive in front of the church where the wedding is taking place. I walk towards them, a hand in the air to apologize for the delay. Piles of cars are parked in front, and there is a crowd of people in fancy clothes. Instead of smiling on that happy day, they look worried when I arrive. They even open their eyes and yell at me to go faster.

Are they in such a hurry ?

"Attention!"

I barely have time to turn my head, a girl jumps on me to push me violently to the side. An old power pole crashes to the ground a few meters from the two of us. The crash is less deafening than it seems, but enough to twist my heart of a panic fear. My eyes remain wide open, even as my body refuses to respond to my brain. I keep repeating that I almost died.

"Are you all right?"

My sensations return little by little when I discover a young woman on me, her long blond hair, almost platinum resting on my torso. Her accent is very pronounced, and I don’t think she’s from here. She straightens her legs by removing dust particles on her rather chic blue dress. She is necessarily one of the wedding guests.

"I think we’ll have to call an ambulance for him," she suggests.

I try to straighten myself by wiping a piece of my sweatshirt. The young woman who has just flown to my rescue picks up her handbag, and summarily arranges her platinum hair.

"Thank you," I said with obvious embarrassment.

I can’t believe I missed getting a pole on my head, and being rescued by the first one. Moreover, she fixes on me the bruises of her eyes, without malice or reproach but rather with relief.

"Please. Be careful."

Its remoteness is supported by the slamming of its high heels on the slabs that cover the front of the church. Those who I guess are friends of my savior, come rushing to meet her. They seem really concerned. That’s it! I want to disappear into a hole because of my guilt.

"Hey! The photographer! Jelyan !

I jump when i heard m'y name and turn around quickly. The groom calls me, and he doesn’t seem happy. At the same time, my death almost ruined his wedding. Well, if he didn’t want a blunder, he just had to hire a professional in the field. I’m sure he took me because I wasn’t too expensive.

And I’m not going to complain.

So I run to him, reciting a thousand excuses. Instead, he looks up to the sky before patting my shoulder to tell me to go photograph his bride. I perform like the professional that I am not, but the pictures are rather beautiful.

The rest of the day takes place between laughter, vow pronunciation, reception and cake tasting. At one point, firefighters came to retrieve the pole from the ground, also checking that there is no longer any source of danger.

But I avoid thinking too much about the fact that I almost got crushed like a pancake. I prefer to enjoy this famous wedding cake. It was when I put the first bite in my mouth, that a flash sounded in front of me, blinding me briefly and making me look up at the heroine who saved me just a few hours ago. She also holds a camera - from the flash.