Seven Falls, New Hampshire
September 2006
Reena Phillips adjusted the flashbulb then leaned back to study her subject.
“Tilt your head to the right, just a bit,” she instructed. When her adolescent subject rolled her eyes and did so, Reena held back the smile. She, too, had hated the constant neck rolling photographers had tortured her with when she had been younger. “Okay, perfect! Smile big!”
Click. Flash.
“Next!” she called as the girl dashed out and away.
Tucking an auburn lock behind her ear, Reena fiddled with the knobs on her equipment, readying it for the next eighth grader. She was at Seven Falls Intermediate School for her first major job in the town of Seven Falls. Having moved to the sleepy New Hampshire hamlet with her sister six weeks ago, she hadn’t expected to be given work so quickly, but the mayor, Howard Dorough, had contacted her about doing official school portraits for the elementary, intermediate, and high schools. Shocked that she’d be given such a large workload so quickly, she’d jumped at the opportunity. And here she was.
“Hi.”
Reena glanced up at the young girl standing in front of the stool everyone sat on to have their pictures taken. She seemed shy, Reena noted as she accepted the ID sheet the girl handed to her. Her dark hair curled around her shoulders, and her deep green eyes watched Reena’s movements curiously, carefully.
“Uh, have a seat” she glanced down at the ID sheet “Kirby. Kirby Richardson. Just hop up on that stool and look at the flash bulb, right here.” Reena gestured, while she set up the camera for the shot.
Kirby cocked her head. “Why? If you have the camera there, why do I have to look at the flash? Won’t the pictures come out weird?”
When Reena gave her a surprised look, Kirby snapped her mouth shut.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that question before,” Reena admitted. “Actually, portrait shots tend to look better if the person is looking away from the camera. If you’re looking at the camera, the portrait comes out with you looking too direct, sharp. Trust me, it’s better if you look at the flash bulb.”
Kirby nodded then complied with Reena’s instructions. Thirty seconds later, Reena let her go, but Kirby stayed.
“Can I ask you how all this photography stuff works?” Kirby asked in a small voice.
Reena shrugged. “Um, sure. But, right now, I’ve actually got the rest of your class to finish, so if you want to come back in an hour…”
“I can’t,” Kirby said. “I’ve got a history test last period. I just want to know if you’re going to print them digitally or if you actually have a darkroom. I like taking pictures, but I always have to print them on the computer because my dad doesn’t have time to take me to Newport where they have darkrooms.”
“How about this,” Reena began, knowing she’d have to hurry with the next few students in order to keep in line with her schedule. “I do have a darkroom. It’s on Lincoln Avenue, between the flower shop and the bakery. You can stop by there if you want around three this afternoon. How’s that sound?”
Kirby flashed her a huge smile. “Thanks! Thanks so much, Miss…”
“Phillips,” Reena supplied.
“Miss Phillips. I’ll have my dad pick me up then from your shop after a little bit, so I don’t get in your way,” the girl assured her.
Reena shook her head. “You won’t be in my way. I’ll see you after school then.”
Kirby nodded then hurried out, hearing Reena call “Next!” She couldn’t wait to call her father and tell him that there was an actual photographer with a real darkroom in Seven Falls, and that she was letting Kirby in to see it.
***
“But I don’t wanna go!” Brian Littrell complained as he was dragged out of his cramped office. He tried to shake Howie Dorough’s hand loose but failed and ended up in the elevator.
“It was your idea, so you get to present it to the architect I brought in,” Howie said firmly.
Brian eyed his friend, trying to figure out a way to break his resolve. He didn’t want to go meet some architect who probably had no clue as to the spirit behind the memorial that the town had decided to commission for their one and only park. He’d much rather go back to his office and write his weekly column for the newspaper, then head over to coach his Little League team, followed by the daily hour-long inspirational radio show he did. Unfortunately, he thought, there was probably no shaking Howie once he was set on something. It was one of the things that made him such a good mayor for a town where everyone knew everyone else and changed their minds about the biggest decisions in the blink of an eye.
He slumped against the wall. “Fine. I guess I’ll go meet your architect. But if it looks like she doesn’t understand the true spirit of Seven Falls, I’m out of there.”
Howie hid his smile. Brian always came through, even when he didn’t want to. “Okay.” He glanced at his watch. “She’s supposed to be at my office in ten minutes. Walk fast,” he called over his shoulder as he rushed off the elevator.
Brian rolled his eyes but caught up to his friend. “So, tell me about this architect. Where does she come from? Have you seen her other work? Does she come with good recommendations?”
“Brian, do you really think I would’ve hired someone for a job like this if I hadn’t done all the background research on them that I possibly could? Besides, Callie has a good feeling about Gwendolyn Phillips.”
Brian tried not to sigh again. As much as he loved Howie’s wife, he just didn’t believe in her sorceress “hoo-hoo” and her “feelings”. So what if he believed wholeheartedly in the legend of the falls? It didn’t mean he believed that Callie Dorough was a descendant of the sorceress who’d cast the spell on her son and his lover. For some reason though, a good majority of the town did believe Callie, while Brian simply chose to agree to disagree with her.
“I’m trusting you on this one, pal,” Brian reminded Howie. “She better be good at capturing the essence of the legend. You know, the love, the despair, loss, and hope. The foundations of Seven Falls.”
“I know, Brian,” Howie muttered. “I’ve only heard this from you a thousand and one times in the last year or so, you know.”
Brian followed Howie into the city hall building. “Okay, jeez. I’m coming with you today, aren’t I?”
Howie held open his office door for Brian. “Yeah, you are. Sit and don’t say anything until you’ve heard her initial ideas, okay?”
Brian plopped into one of the cushy chairs sitting in front of Howie’s desk. “Scout’s honor.”
Howie rolled his eyes and hit his intercom button. “Jenny, is Miss Phillips here?”
“Yes, she is. Should I send her in?” his secretary’s voice squawked over the machine.
“Yes, please. And can you get us some iced tea, too? It’s disgustingly hot out there.”
“Of course.”
Satisfied, Howie sat behind his desk and pulled out the files he’d compiled for this particular project. The plan was to build a monument to the supposed three hundred year anniversary of the casting of the spell of the Seven Falls’ lovers. The legend was something everyone in the town had grown up with for centuries, and many had felt that a monument or memorial was long overdue. Since many, including his wife, claimed that they’d seen the ghosts of the lovers, they had voted to construct a memorial in the park at the last annual town meeting. Since then, Howie had searched for an architect and found Gwendolyn Phillips, a woman who had built other such memorials in other small towns across the country. He was hoping that she didn’t let him and the other Seven Falls residents down.
A knock on the door yanked Howie out of his thoughts and made Brian stand.
“Come in,” Howie called, then stood, too.
Gwen Phillips entered the room looking every bit the confident businesswoman and architect that she was not on the inside. Inside, she was quaking at finally meeting the mayor who had contacted her six months ago about a project that captured the heart and soul of a town. Despite the fact that she’d done other similar projects in her career, she was still nervous.
The nerves, though, didn’t show at all as she shook Howie’s hand. “It’s good to finally meet you in person, Mr. Dorough.”
“Please, call me Howie. Everyone else does. I hope you’ve moved in all right,” he said, gesturing her into a chair.
She nodded and set her briefcase on the floor next to her. “My sister and I are loving the town. I don’t think I can convey her immense gratitude at you giving her the entire school population to photograph. I believe she’s over there, right now.”
Howie smiled. “I saw her work and decided it was what I was looking for. Besides, the old photographer we used isn’t worth the trouble to pull him up here from Newport. By the way,” he pointed to Brian. “This is Brian Littrell. He had the initial idea for the memorial and has a few ideas for its shape. Brian, Gwen Phillips.”
Brian shook her outstretched hand, measuring her up. She seemed competent enough, he mused, from her pinned up brown hair to those wary brown eyes. She wore a pinstriped, no-nonsense business suit and hadn’t bothered with any jewelry other than tiny earrings. Pity, he thought. She’d look a lot better if she loosened up and wore the sparkles. He’d learned that the jewelry a woman wore clued others in to her personality. He hoped Gwen Phillips’ personality wouldn’t be as dry as her lack of jewelry.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, in a prim and proper tone, Brian thought again.
He gave her a wide smile. “I’ve been looking forward to hearing your ideas, Miss Phillips. Howie’s confident that you’ll capture the essence of our legend.”
“I’ll certainly do my best,” she assured him, knowing he already doubted her.
Brian sat as she did. “Howie is confident about your best being the best.”
“And you, Mr. Littrell?” she wondered. “Do you agree with him?”
Brian shrugged. “Let’s hear your ideas. Then, we’ll see.”
Rolling his eyes at the both of them, Howie opened his files. “Miss Phillips, Gwen. I’m hoping that you brought your initial plans with you today. My plan for the progression of this is to work with you to refine your ideas and drawings, get the town’s approval of them, then get started on the actual building of the memorial. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get started on the first step, now.”
She nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve spent time at the site that’s been picked out and have sketched some of the possible ideas that I had for the face of the memorial.” She pulled out a file and sketchbook from her briefcase and set them on Howie’s desk. Opening the sketchbook, she pulled several sheets out and spread them across the desk. “These are my initial ideas, all of which are, of course, up for proofing.”
Brian stood and, walking around Howie’s desk, leaned over his shoulder to study the sketches. She’d captured the scenic setting in the park, he noted first. The trees, the shrubbery, and the swingsets in the far background were exactly the way they appeared in reality. But…the ideas she’d had for the actual memorial were wrong, he thought. Whenever he’d thought of a monument to the legend, he’d never thought of having representations of the actual lovers. Besides, where were the waterfalls? They were the most important element of the legend, anyway.
“What about the waterfalls?” he wondered aloud.
Gwen looked up at him questioningly. “What about them?”
“You don’t have them anywhere in these sketches,” Brian pointed out, gesturing at the pages.
“And? Did I need them?”
“Did you…” Brian made a strangling sound and started turning red. “Howie! You! You said she understood!”
“Brian,” Howie prayed for patience. “Everyone has different feelings and different things they take away from the legend. I’m sure Gwen felt more strongly about the lovers than she did about the waterfalls where they are said to still walk. Am I right, Gwen?”
Annoyance coating her throat, she looked directly at Brian. “I read up on everything I could find about the legend, and I thought the lovers were the most tragic, and important, part of this legend. However, if the members of the town feel that the waterfalls should be included, I’m willing to be flexible. Does that work for you, Mr. Littrell?”
Brian found perverse pleasure in watching her eyes spark from temper. It was good to know she obviously wasn’t as cool and collected—boring—as she appeared. “I’m willing to work with that. Sorry I gave you a hard time,” he apologized, giving her a wide smile.
Her eyebrows rose. How had he managed to change moods so completely and quickly? “Uh, yeah. That’s fine. And, I’ve worked with more difficult people before,” she assured him before turning back to Howie. “Would you like me to change some of these sketches to incorporate the waterfalls?”
“Have you been up to the falls, yet?” Brian asked before Howie could speak.
She shook her head. “Not yet. I’ve been busy moving in and whatnot.”
Brian turned to Howie now. “I think she should see the falls before she makes any adjustments to the drawings. Don’t you think that would be a good idea?”
Howie nodded. “In order to capture the true essence, I think it’d be a good idea if you did go up there and see what they’re like, Gwen.”
“Okay.” She nodded. She wanted to do a good job and would do whatever it took.
“I think she should go up there with Kevin. I mean, he’s really good with telling the legend and giving people chills about the lovers. He’s seen them, too. What do you think, D?”
Howie considered. Kevin did have a knack for telling the tale, capturing the real feeling behind it, so it would probably be a good thing if he was the one who took Gwen up to see them for the first time. After all, first impressions were the most important. He just hoped today wasn’t one of Kevin’s “in the zone” days.
“Kevin Richardson,” he began, looking at Gwen again, “is a good friend of ours, who happens to be one of the best people to take you up to the falls. Any time anyone comes through Seven Falls wanting to know about the legend, we send them up with Kevin. He’ll tell you the tale better than anything you might have read in the town’s history. If you want, I can call him, and he could take you up there today. If you have time, of course.”
Gwen nodded, knowing the only thing left on her schedule for the day was making sure Reena didn’t burn dinner. “Sure. Thanks, I can fit that in to my schedule.”
“Well, then.” Brian stood. “I gotta go. My kids are probably waiting for me. I coach Little League,” he explained at Gwen’s confused look. “I’ll talk to you later, D.”
“Wait.” Brian stopped and looked back at Howie.
“Yeah, D?”
“What if,” Howie began, frowning at his fingers. “I think we need pictures of the falls, too. Do you think your sister could take care of those for us?” he asked Gwen.
She shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I know she’s probably busy in the darkroom with those portraits, but she’d make time. When do you want me to ask her to do them by?”
“Maybe the two of you could just go up there with Kevin?” Brian suggested.
Gwen nodded. “Good idea. I’ll ask her about it after I know if or when your friend will take me up there.”
“I’ll call him, now,” Howie replied.
“Have fun!” Brian called over his shoulder as he headed out.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This story takes place over the course of one week, starting with Monday. So, the chapters will be days of the week, and each day will have multiple parts, so you don't have to read huge chapters...though they're kinda big already...I hope you enjoy!
