Chapter 7 - THE PHOTOGRAPH
By three in the afternoon, the festival was winding down.
Hannah walked over to where Lorenzo and Emma were sitting on a wooden bench eating lemon ice pops.
“Mr. Duca, you really didn't have to stay the whole day,” Hannah said, her voice filled with deep, sincere gratitude. “You’ve already done more than enough. You gave her the best day of her life.”
“The contract was for one full day, Hannah,” Lorenzo reminded her gently, wiping a drop of lemon ice off Emma’s chin with a clean handkerchief. “We still have a few hours left.”
Just then, a middle-aged woman with a professional camera slung around her neck walked up to them, smiling warmly.
“Excuse me! I’m the volunteer yearbook photographer,” she said. “You two make the most wonderful pair. Would it be alright if I took a quick portrait for the St. Cecilia memory book?”
Emma looked up at Lorenzo with wide, hopeful eyes.
Lorenzo didn't hesitate. He pulled Emma closer against his side, resting his arm protectively over her shoulder, and looked directly into the camera lens.
Click.
The flash illuminated the afternoon air.
“Thank you so much!” the photographer beamed, waving as she walked away. “I’ll make sure a copy gets sent to the main office for you!”
As the sun began to dip below the tree line, casting long, golden shadows across the schoolyard, Lorenzo walked Hannah and Emma back to the Maybach.
When they arrived at the estate’s staff quarters later that evening, Lorenzo walked them right to their door.
Emma sleepily clutched her stuffed rabbit in one arm, rubbing her eyes with the other. She looked up at Lorenzo, her voice soft and heavy with exhaustion.
“Thank you for being my daddy today, Mr. Duca.”
Lorenzo knelt down one last time, gently brushing a stray curl away from her forehead. “You did a very good job negotiating, Emma Bennett. Same time next year?”
Emma’s eyes went wide. “Really? You’ll come back?”
“I keep my contracts,” Lorenzo promised.
Hannah unlocked the door, turning back with tears shimmering in her eyes. “Mr. Duca... I don’t know how to repay you for this.”
May you like
“You already have, Hannah,” Lorenzo said quietly, standing up. “You reminded me that the world isn't only made of stone.”
He turned and walked back toward the idling Maybach, disappearing into the evening shadows.
