Chapter 7 - The Camera That Was Still Recording

By four in the afternoon, the ballroom no longer looked like a wedding waiting to begin.

Dinner had been served because Sophie refused to let thousands of dollars of food be thrown away. Guests ate in confused clusters while Mara told them only that Sophie and Colin were safe and the ceremony had been canceled by the couple.

No speeches were given.

No first dance began.

The cake remained untouched beneath its white sugar flowers.

Sophie changed out of her wedding dress and into the simple cream suit she had worn to the venue that morning.

Rita folded the dress into its garment bag.

“You don’t have to take it home today,” Rita said.

“I want it out of here.”

“Okay.”

Sophie touched the hidden patch of June’s handkerchief sewn into the lining.

“Keep this part safe.”

Rita’s eyes softened.

“I will.”

There was a knock.

Mara stepped in with a tall man carrying two camera cases.

“This is Leo Park, the videographer.”

Sophie recognized him from the rehearsal dinner.

Leo looked deeply uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry to bother you.”

“What happened?” Sophie asked.

“I think I have something you should know about.”

Rita’s face tightened.

“What kind of something?”

Leo set one camera case on the table.

“Yesterday, after the rehearsal, I left a locked-off camera recording room ambience while my assistant packed lights.”

Sophie frowned.

“Why?”

“I was testing a time-lapse for the reception setup. The camera ran about forty minutes longer than I thought.”

Mara looked at him.

“And?”

“It captured a conversation near the head table.”

Sophie’s stomach sank.

“Between whom?”

“Colin and Elaine.”

Rita closed her eyes.

“Of course it did.”

Leo raised a hand.

“I have not shared it with anyone. I found it when I was backing up cards after the ceremony stopped. I only listened because I heard Sophie’s name.”

Sophie looked at him.

“Play it.”

Leo hesitated.

“It’s private audio recorded incidentally. I don’t want to make a bad situation worse.”

“Play it.”

He opened his laptop.

The video showed an empty ballroom lit by work lamps. Chairs were only half dressed. A worker crossed the frame carrying linen.

Then Elaine’s voice came from somewhere off camera.

“You’re backing out.”

Colin answered.

“I said I’ll handle it.”

“How?”

“I’ll talk to Sophie after the honeymoon.”

“After Monday does not help us.”

“I can get the signature tomorrow.”

“And Rita?”

“What about her?”

“She keeps inserting herself. The flowers, the deposits, the schedule. If you don’t separate them now, Sophie will call her every time you make a financial decision.”

There was a pause.

Colin said, “Moving her seat is petty.”

Elaine replied, “It’s visible.”

“That makes it worse.”

“That makes it useful.”

Sophie reached toward the keyboard.

“Stop.”

Leo paused the recording.

Rita was staring at the floor.

Sophie turned to her.

“Do you want to leave?”

Rita shook her head.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Sophie nodded to Leo.

“Continue.”

Elaine’s voice returned.

“If Sophie corrects the seating publicly, you know what I’ll do.”

Colin said, “You’ll pull the money.”

“I’ll protect myself.”

“One hundred thousand dollars is not protection. It’s leverage.”

“Then stop giving me reasons to use it.”

Another pause.

Colin said, “Rita doesn’t deserve this.”

Elaine answered, “Rita will survive a different chair.”

“She paid for half the room.”

“And that is exactly the problem. She buys access and Sophie calls it generosity.”

“She is generous.”

“Then let her be generous from the proper distance.”

Sophie looked at Rita.

Rita’s face was pale, but she did not look away.

The recording continued.

Colin said, “If Sophie finds out about Brookfield before the ceremony, she’ll postpone.”

“Then she must not find out.”

“I hate this.”

“No, you hate needing help. There is a difference.”

“You don’t know her.”

“I know exactly what kind of woman she is. Competent women believe every question deserves an answer. Marriage will teach her that sometimes decisions have to be made before everyone is comfortable.”

Sophie gave a short laugh.

Mara whispered, “That sentence should be framed as a warning sign.”

No one smiled.

The recording continued.

Colin’s voice softened.

“I love her.”

Elaine answered immediately.

“Then save her from her own hesitation.”

Leo paused the video without being asked.

Sophie looked at the frozen frame.

The camera showed only an empty table and half-hung fabric.

Rita said, “He knew it was wrong.”

“Yes,” Sophie replied.

“That almost makes it worse.”

“Yes.”

Mara looked at Leo.

“How much more?”

“Six minutes.”

Sophie nodded.

“Play it.”

The next part concerned the vendor refunds.

Elaine complained that twelve thousand was not enough to solve anything.

Colin replied that it would cover Monday’s interest and payroll until a pending sale cleared.

Then Elaine said something that made Richard’s earlier involvement look different.

“If Rita refuses to help and Sophie refuses to sign, Richard is the next pressure point.”

Colin answered, “Leave him out of it.”

“He already guaranteed you.”

“That was his choice.”

“Exactly. He wants his daughter’s approval. Use that.”

Colin’s voice turned hard.

“No.”

Elaine laughed.

“Then what do you propose?”

“I propose getting through the wedding without turning every person Sophie loves into collateral.”

The recording ended a few minutes later with footsteps moving away.

For a long time no one spoke.

Sophie finally said, “Make three copies.”

Leo looked at her.

“One for you, one for me, and one sealed with the raw footage.”

“Okay.”

“I do not want it posted or shared.”

“I won’t.”

“If anyone asks what happened, do not leak it to defend me.”

Leo nodded.

“Understood.”

Rita looked surprised.

Sophie met her eyes.

“I am not turning my canceled wedding into entertainment.”

“Good.”

Mara closed her notebook.

“There’s someone else asking to speak with you.”

“Who?”

“Your father.”

Rita sighed.

“Send him in.”

Richard entered carrying his suit jacket over one arm.

He looked older than he had that morning.

“I heard Colin told you everything.”

Sophie leaned against the vanity.

“He told me enough.”

Richard looked at Leo’s laptop.

“What’s that?”

“A recording from last night.”

Richard’s face tightened.

“Of what?”

“Elaine telling Colin you were a pressure point.”

He stared.

“What?”

Sophie repeated the relevant lines.

Richard sat down heavily.

Rita watched him.

He rubbed both hands over his face.

“I am an idiot.”

“No,” Sophie said. “You made a bad choice.”

He looked at her.

“That is a kinder sentence than I deserve.”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

He nodded.

“I called the lender.”

Colin had apparently given Richard the loan officer’s number when he signed the guarantee.

Sophie straightened.

“What did they say?”

“They cannot discuss Colin’s full account with me, but they confirmed my guarantee is limited to seventy-five thousand and does not attach to you or your property.”

Rita exhaled.

“Good.”

“I also told them I had been given inaccurate information about Sophie’s willingness to contribute collateral.”

Sophie looked at him.

“What happened?”

“They said they would note the file and require direct verification from any additional guarantor.”

Mara nodded.

“That matters.”

Richard looked at Sophie.

“I should have verified before signing anything.”

“Yes.”

“I thought helping Colin would make me useful to you.”

Sophie’s face softened slightly.

“Dad.”

“I know how pathetic that sounds.”

“It sounds lonely.”

Richard looked down.

Rita’s expression changed.

He continued.

“When I came back from Arizona, you were already an adult. Rita had done all the hard years. I didn’t know how to be your father without barging in.”

“So you waited for people to invite you into the important parts.”

“Yes.”

“And when Elaine did, you didn’t ask if the invitation came from me.”

“Yes.”

Sophie nodded slowly.

“That is what you need to fix. Not today. Later.”

Richard’s eyes filled.

“I will.”

Rita crossed her arms.

“And the guarantee?”

He looked at her.

“I’m responsible for my own signature.”

“Good answer.”

“I may lose money.”

“You may.”

“I won’t ask Sophie to rescue me.”

Rita’s face softened a fraction.

“Better answer.”

Richard looked at his former wife.

“I’m sorry about the table.”

Rita laughed quietly.

“The table?”

“I knew it felt wrong that I was beside Sophie and you weren’t.”

“And you sat down anyway.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted one photograph where I looked like the father I should have been.”

Rita stared at him.

Richard continued before she could answer.

“That was selfish. I’m sorry.”

Rita’s eyes shone.

“Do you know what bothered me most?”

“The chair?”

“No. The corsage.”

Richard looked confused.

“Karen’s corsage?”

“Yes.”

“She didn’t ask for it.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

“Because I made every flower in that room. I made bouquets for women I had never met. I made a corsage for your wife because Sophie asked me to make sure Karen felt included.”

Richard looked stricken.

“And no one ordered one for you.”

“No one from Colin’s side did. Mara had one for me in the bridal suite, but Elaine told a server it was for the wrong person and sent it back to refrigeration.”

Mara blinked.

“What?”

Rita looked at her.

“You didn’t know?”

“No.”

Rita gave a tired smile.

“I found it later when I went to check the flowers.”

Sophie stared at her mother.

“You knew that before the seat?”

“Yes.”

“And you still said nothing?”

Rita looked ashamed.

“I told myself it was a mistake.”

Mara stood.

“I labeled that corsage personally.”

Sophie’s face tightened.

“What did the label say?”

“Rita Dawson — Mother of the Bride.”

Richard closed his eyes.

Rita shrugged, but the gesture failed.

“I didn’t want a flower to ruin your morning.”

Sophie’s eyes filled.

“Mom, you keep shrinking your hurt to protect my day.”

Rita looked at her.

“I wanted you to have one beautiful day.”

Sophie stepped forward.

“I wanted you in it.”

Rita’s face broke.

Sophie hugged her.

For the first time all day, Rita cried openly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“So am I.”

“No more facts hidden.”

“No more.”

Richard stood a few feet away, eyes wet.

Sophie looked at him over Rita’s shoulder.

“You too.”

He nodded.

“No more.”

Mara’s phone buzzed yet again.

She read the message and looked almost annoyed by it.

“What now?” Sophie asked.

“Elaine wants a family meeting before she leaves.”

Rita pulled back and wiped her face.

“Of course she does.”

Richard’s jaw hardened.

“Why?”

“She says she has information that changes the financial situation.”

Sophie looked at Colin’s empty ring box on the table.

“Does Colin want the meeting?”

Mara checked.

“He says yes.”

Sophie took a slow breath.

“Fine.”

Rita looked at her.

“You don’t owe them another conversation.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

Sophie looked at the frozen rehearsal image on Leo’s screen.

“Because I don’t want to spend the next six months wondering what they would have said if I stayed in the room.”

Richard picked up his jacket.

“Where?”

“The ballroom is too public,” Mara said.

Sophie thought for a moment.

“The ceremony room.”

Rita frowned.

“The chapel?”

“Yes.”

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Sophie looked toward the hallway where she had expected to walk with her bouquet only hours earlier.

“If they want one last family meeting, they can have it in the room where they expected me to promise everything before knowing anything.”