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“A posed picture,” she noted. “Not your usual work.”
“Yeah, well, it was appropriate for the purpose of this exhibition. The rest of the pictures are more natural.” Daniel paused. “If you can call photographs of sick kids natural.”
Concern for her friend ate at Amy. He’d been quieter than usual in the car. Distracted. Now his voice was strained. Nervous tension radiated out of every pore.
She touched his shoulder. “Would you like to take a few minutes before you have to face the crowds?”
He gave her a tight smile and shook his head. “Nah, I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will. The exhibition’s going to be a huge success. Wait and see.”
He looked at her with a tenderness that softened the stress lines around his eyes. “How is it you always seem to know the right thing to say?”
She shrugged. “How is it you always seem to know the right picture to take?” She could have said something more, perhaps wished him luck, but there were times when words weren’t necessary between them. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
Since their encounter on the beach a few weeks back, she’d been careful to keep their interactions touch-free. But Daniel needed her, and she could hardly refuse him a little physical support.
She reached up to wipe the lipstick off his face, and he trapped her hand against his cheek, holding it there. His eyes filled with an intensity she couldn’t read, and her heart began an unsteady pounding.
The air between them was charged in a way it never had been before, and Daniel’s touch, once casual and friendly, now seemed…heated.
Amy wanted to say something, but their conversation was cut off as a woman swooped down on them. “Daniel, you’re here,” she boomed. “Excellent. There are a million people waiting to meet you, and the press conference starts in ten minutes.”
He gave Amy a helpless look as Valerie Carnell, the gallery owner, whisked him away into the crowd. Amy waved him off with an encouraging smile, hoping he’d relax as the evening wore on. She hoped she’d relax, too. The nervous energy between the two of them made her jumpy.
She accepted a glass of wine from a passing waiter, took a couple of large sips, and when she felt a little more in control, turned to the photographs. It was time to see what had affected Daniel so much over the past few months.
The pictures were remarkable. Daniel had captured the feel of the ward with uncanny accuracy. He’d brought the clinic to life. Amy was transported. The gallery dissolved away, and she found herself standing in the middle of the hospital, watching the bustling activity taking place before her eyes.
Nurses tended to their sick patients. The care they lavished on the children was so powerful, Amy felt an inexplicable need to help. Couldn’t she soothe away that small boy’s pain, ease the teenage girl’s hacking cough?
Her heart twisted for the mother sitting by her son’s side, holding his hand while he slept. A book lay forgotten in her lap as she stared down at him, her face haunted.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a doctor on duty. His shoulders sagged, and he looked downright exhausted. She could almost smell the coffee that steamed from his polystyrene cup, misting his glasses.
For the first time, Amy had a real idea of how Daniel must have felt when his sister was a patient on this very ward. She blinked rapidly, forcing her tears away. God, what the young Daniel must have gone through. The fear, the dread he must have lived with. No wonder he hated speaking about that year. It wasn’t surprising the memories were hitting him so hard now.
She had a sudden need to find her friend, throw her arms around him, and comfort him. To take away the pain. Make the hurt disappear. She searched the room, but there was no sign of him.
He was probably busy with the press interviews.
With no other choice, she finished looking at the photos and smiled at the last one—a picture of a little boy and his father leaving the hospital. A huge grin and a bunch of balloons spoke of happy outcomes.
“Aren’t they incredible?”
She turned around to find Daniel’s mother, Molly, and his sister Sarah. “Unbelievable,” she exclaimed, both delighted to see them and excited to have someone to rave to about the exhibition. “The two of you must be bursting with pride.”
“Oh, believe me, I am,” Molly said. “I’ve been bragging to anyone who’ll listen that Daniel’s my son.”
Sarah cringed. “She’s been telling everyone.”
Amy grinned. “I know what you mean. I’ve had this mad need to grab complete strangers and tell them Daniel’s my best friend. He’s the most brilliant photographer ever.”
“Undoubtedly.” Molly smiled.
“This is his best work yet,” Sarah added.
Despite the laughter, being at the exhibition couldn’t be easy for Daniel’s family. “It must be tough on you both, seeing these pictures, reliving it all.”