Finding A New Focus

Chapter 1: Wish Granted

 "I was in a coma! How could you do this to me?"

 "I was lonely, Sharon, and scared! Alex was the only one there for me; it just happened!"

 The woman dressed in an elegant, gold gown blushed and hid her face behind her bouquet. The enraged bride hiked up her hoop skirt to spin around and glare at her maid of honor, who then proceeded to mouth the words, "I'm sorry" and ducked her head.

 The bride's face grew a deeper shade of crimson and just when she was on the brink of starting a civil war, she broke into tears. The bridal party was quick to comfort her and dab at her heavily-made-up face. The maid of honor was eager to come to her side, but the bride refused and shoved her away.

 The chaos had started about an hour ago.

 It was a beautiful ceremony and everything was going perfect, until the priest asked the dangerous question that started it all. He didn't even get to finish the "speak-now-or-forever-hold-your-peace" part when the groom blurted out that he had an affair with the maid of honor after the bride was in a car accident and a coma for a few months.

 The crowd of friends and family gasped in horror and murmured voices echoed around the dome-shaped sanctuary of the old church. They had managed to bribe the guests with cake and punch in the reception area while the bridal party attempted to work out their newfound problems.

 Now, Gideon was wondering how he had managed to get stuck with the bridal party.

 He had been listening to their endless bickering and finger-pointing for nearly an hour and he was ready to receive his payment and go home. He had only done a quarter of his job and he would have happily taken a quarter of his wages if that meant he could slip out of here before fists began to fly.

 Gideon Fletcher was a professional wedding photographer and very skilled in his beloved profession. Photography was the only thing in this world that gave him a true sense of purpose. It was something he had pursued ever since he was a mere ten years old. He was able to attend classes as a teenager and was the photographer for his school newspaper, but his career didn't start until he was a freshman in college.

 His roommate's cousin was getting married and was on a tight budget. They had already spent their savings on the wedding and had everything they needed, except for a photographer. His roommate suggested Gideon, even though he wasn't a professional, and since they were desperate they took what they could get. So, Gideon eagerly took the opportunity and when he was done, the couple was extremely satisfied with his pictures and recommended he start his own business.

 So he did.

 When he had time outside of classes and homework, he was behind a camera. Offering shoots to everyone in need, his career went off without a hitch. It wasn't until he graduated a few years later that he was able to fully commit to it.

 Four years later, he stayed busy hopping from venue to venue and he loved every second of it. After doing his roommate's cousin's wedding, he realized that his favorite to shoot were weddings so he decided to make that his business.

 Now, here he was and while he still loved what he was doing, there was something missing in his life. He had spent nearly ten years taking pictures of weddings and it wasn't until three weddings ago that he started to think about his own. He had a girlfriend for three years now and just recently he dipped into his savings and bought the most beautiful --and expensive-- diamond engagement ring from the last location's jewelry store. It had been sitting in its box in his suitcase for a few weeks now.

 He knew he was ready. After three years, he was sure he loved this girl, but he was still plagued with questions. Would she want him? She lived a rather luxurious, busy lifestyle that she seemed to love over everything else in her life. He still feared that that everything included him as well, but he had to know. He wanted her to know just how much he adored her. He knew there was no one else in his life that he wanted as his wife.