Eleven months.
He had spent almost a year quietly arranging restoration.
Working with archivists.
Digitizing recordings.
Repairing photographs.
Tracking missing pieces.
“And the wedding?”
Evelyn said:
“He wanted to give it to you before.”
“I asked him not to.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to be there.”
I stared.
“You expected to attend my wedding?”
“No.”
“She shook her head quickly.”
“I wanted to meet you after.”
“Before your honeymoon.”
“Adrian planned to bring you here this morning.”
I looked at the clock.
11:26.
That explained the collection appointment.
“He was going to tell me today.”
“Yes.”
“Then why the note?”
Evelyn’s face colored.
“I panicked yesterday.”
“I came to the hotel.”
“What?”
“Not inside the wedding.”
“To deliver the final film case.”
“Adrian met me behind the service entrance.”
“Someone from storage took that Polaroid because Adrian needed proof of condition for the restored chest.”
“That sounds absurdly formal.”
“It was.”
