Pain
El could feel herself vibrating with excitement.
During the exhibition at the gallery, two incredible things had happened. Mike's publisher, now also hers, had commissioned another book of photographs, and told her she could start by taking photos at the gallery during her show. He made the offer because he'd found out from the gallery curator that every single one of her prints had sold.
He had told her months ago that there were two mortal sins when it came to photography, one, not believing in your photos, and two not charging enough for your work. So she had worked with the curator on the pricing for the prints. She had been shocked at the figures he was coming up with. He told her they were going to be a little on low side, but because this was her first showing, they were "priced to sell".
Well, she thought, they sold. She had made what she thought was a small fortune. Both the curator and her publisher told her this kind of news would spread quickly through the art world. They said her next showing would probably make her a rich woman and cement her career.
She was now looking through the candid shots she had taken during the show, making three stacks. She found it much easier this time choosing photos she really wanted people to see, compared to the ones where the composition just wasn't working. A middle stack of ones she needed to look over again.
Two weeks before her first show, her excitement had made it hard for her to choose the photos that would be processed into a larger format for the gallery. She had been given full control of the theme and content. Mike's publisher said he would take care of all the details so she could concentrate on the subject of the exhibition itself. The showing would take place in Chicago which thrilled El even more. She and Mike could drop in on her twin sister Jane and Dustin. They wouldn't be expecting them, They four of them could go out to dinner and catch up.
Mike.
It was all his doing. He had suggested that her photographs were good enough to be on display at a show. He had supported her from the very beginning when she had expressed interest in getting a camera. He made sure that she had a camera that was way beyond her capability. She had protested at first until she heard his reasoning. Mike told her that she would quickly grow into, and possibly surpass what the camera could do for her, but they would deal with that when the time came.
Mike had done the technical research on cameras, but he explained everything to El. He made sure she actually understood and didn't just take her nods as an indication that she did. She loved the way Mike was so patient with her. Not just with details like that, but with everything.
She just loved Mike, period. She still felt bad that the first words she ever said to him were "go away". He looked like she and just punched him in the stomach. Then, later at the bike rack he had apologized like it had been his fault. And she responded to his apology by telling him not to talk to her. She was sure Mike had looked like he was about to start crying, and if he had, El knew she would have followed suit.
El had fallen in love with Mike the very first time she had looked at him. She had known at that moment, the phrase 'love at first sight' was true. So totally true, it hurt to even think about how completely she had fallen in love that day. She had tried to smile at him, but saw how her sister was looking at him and decided it was not going to happen between her and Mike. El smiled to herself when she remembered that she had tried to psychically beam her love to him, but she knew that, at least in this universe, she didn't have any psychic powers.
It had all worked out in the end.
Mike was the kindest, most loving person she had ever met. His deep gentle eyes made her weak in the knees everytime he looked into hers.
Her breath would catch when he smiled at her.
When he kissed her, the fluttering in her heart made her feel like she would faint at any second.
And every time he said, "I love you, El," The world disappeared and there was only the two of them sharing their souls. El would suffer through an inner battle to keep from crying. Mike would sense this and pull her into a hug. El would instantly lose the battle and cry on his shoulder. Almost every time.
It had been El's suggestion that they move in together. Her dad moved back to the lake, and let them have the cabin. All their friends had wondered what had taken them so long.
El dragged her eyes back to the black and white photos and her attention back to the task at hand. One particular photo was an intimate one of a private moment between a couple.
They were kissing. Not an intense passionate kiss, but a simple, "I am yours", loving kiss. It was a couple deeply in love and stealing time together at a busy function. The guy had one hand on her hip the way Mike would do when he kissed her, and the other hand on the small of the girl's back as if to pull her in protectively, a little closer. Just like…
El's blood ran cold.
Just like Mike would hold her. Just like Mike would kiss her. The girl's head was mostly in shadow as El had intended, and most of Mike's was also, but she'd recognize that mop of hair of his anywhere. She recognized the way he held the girl.
El's eyes lost the struggle to contain her tears. She was going to be sick. Violently sick.
She ran to the bathroom and barely made it before her stomach heaved up it's contents.
Long after she'd emptied her stomach, she continued to dry heave between hitching sobs.
El managed to whisper one word before she fainted and sagged to the floor.
"Mike."