Part 3 — The Secret Change
The next morning, I called our wedding photographer.
Her name was Lena.
“I need to make a change,” I told her. “And I need it kept quiet. Especially from Daniel’s mother.”
There was a short pause.
“All right. What do you need?”
“Another photographer.”
“We already have a second shooter.”
“I want another angle.”
“For the ceremony?”
“For my brother.”
Silence.
Then Lena asked gently, “What exactly do you want photographed?”
“Everything.”
And I meant it.
I wanted Nathan waiting behind the church doors.
Nathan straightening his jacket.
Nathan holding out his arm for me.
Nathan counting under his breath if he needed to count.
His hands.
His expression.
Every nervous glance.
Every careful step.
The moment he handed me to Daniel.
The moment he hugged me.
The moment he sat beside Mom.
All of it.
One photographer would continue covering the ceremony normally.
The other would focus heavily on Nathan.
Then I made one more request.
“I want a separate album.”
Lena was quiet again.
Finally, she said, “So the walk itself is part of the story you want preserved.”
“No,” I said.
“It is the story.”
The extra coverage wasn’t cheap.
I had to take money from another part of the wedding budget.
So I canceled two oversized flower arrangements planned for the reception and replaced them with smaller ones.
Nobody noticed.
Certainly not Margaret.
Meanwhile, Nathan continued practicing.
He sent me progress reports.
“Twenty-two steps today.”
Another day:
“I went too fast at the turn. I’m doing it again.”
Once, he called Daniel with what he considered a serious logistical emergency.
“What hand do I use?”
Daniel was confused.
“For what?”
“The handshake.”
“Your right hand.”
“But Sarah is on my right.”
Daniel spent several minutes attempting to explain how Nathan could shift positions.
Nathan finally interrupted him.
“I let go of Sarah first.”
Daniel laughed.
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Good,” Nathan replied. “I practiced.”
