She Walked Out of His Shadow

He reached for the thermos, but Pamela darted in ahead of him.

"Let me pour it for you, Carter."

Maybe she meant to break the awkwardness, but she moved too fast, and her sleeve swept against a file box.

A clatter.

The box hit the floor, and everything inside spilled across the ground.

A few handmade photo albums.

I had spent three whole months on them, taking the negatives Carter had discarded over the years and rebuilding them into a collection.

I'd planned to give it to him, hoping it might help him find his way back to why he'd first picked up a camera.

But that day, I never even got the chance to take it out.

So afterward, I just left it at the studio.

Now the photos lay scattered everywhere.

Lunging to catch the falling thermos, Pamela stepped right on top of them.

A heel punched a hole through the photo paper.

A cry.

Pamela shrieked, and still couldn't hold the thermos steady.

The scalding porridge sloshed out and splashed across the top of her foot.

"It hurts," she said, her eyes going red in an instant as she clutched her foot and crouched down.

Carter shoved the table aside and pulled Pamela up.

"Where did it burn you? Let me see."

He glanced at the thermos, then at the top of Pamela's foot, his expression darkening.

"Violet, I'm not blaming you."

"But before you came in, couldn't you have knocked first? None of this would have happened."

I looked at the wreckage on the floor, my voice flat and even.

"She knocked it over herself."

He helped Pamela into a seat and frowned at the photos.

Watching how anxious he was, I was suddenly struck by how absurd it all felt.

I quietly crouched down and picked up the scattered photos, one by one.

Then I dropped them into the trash can beside me.

The exhibition was set for that Saturday.

It was the biggest one since Carter founded the studio.

Three months ago, when he handed me the plan, he pointed at the first item on the schedule.

"Violet, the featured speaker spot, it's yours and no one else's."

"Without your support these four years, there'd be no Carter today."

For those words, I turned down every work function the company had.

I lined up the venue for him, coordinated with the media, even reworked the press release line by line.

Saturday morning.

A huge poster stood at the entrance to the gallery.

I stopped, my eyes settling on the line of text at the very bottom.

The featured-speaker spot that had been mine was covered by a sticker.

It read: Pamela.

I stood there and looked at it for a while.

Then I walked into the main hall.

Carter was directing the workers on the lighting. When he saw me, he came over quickly.

His gaze swept over me, and his brow creased.

"You're here. Go rest backstage, we're cutting the ribbon soon."

I looked him in the eye.

"The name on the poster. What's that about?"

Carter paused.

"The investors brought it up at the last minute this morning. I was dealing with the media and didn't get the chance to talk to you about it."

"Violet, I know this is unfair to you, but today really can't go wrong. After it's over I'll thank you in front of everyone, just you."

I said nothing, stepped past him, and walked into the hall.

On one of the display walls hung an enormous photo of a girl's back.

The girl wore a white dress, standing on the rocks by the sea.

The light and shadow were handled flawlessly, carrying a cool, mysterious air.

It was taken two years ago, when Carter and I went on a trip to the coast, a candid shot of his.

Back then he'd said it was the most soulful photo he'd ever taken.

I looked at the plaque beneath the photo.

The title: Muse.

The model line had no name, just a single printed line.

For my muse.

Beside it, the exhibition brochure carried the press headline.

*Pamela Matthews, through Carter Dickerson's lens — a born muse.*

My eyes stung before I could stop them.

So it turned out even my silhouette could be hung under someone else's name.

"This piece—" Carter came up behind me, a thread of panic in his voice.

"Violet, let me explain."

"I know it's you in that photo." His voice dropped lower.

"But everything's riding on Pamela right now. If the promotion changes course, the whole exhibition takes the hit."

"Once it sells, I won't touch a cent of the money. I'll set it aside for when we get married."

I turned my head and looked at the face I'd loved for four years.

"Carter, is it because you think I'll never leave?"

Carter froze.

He clearly hadn't expected the question.

Then he gave a soft laugh.

"Don't make a scene today, all right?"

He kept his voice down.

"After the exhibition wraps up, I'll bring all the press together and introduce you properly — as my lead planner, and the most important person by my side."

I didn't answer.

I reached up and took the lead-planner badge off my chest.

I laid it gently in his hand.

"That's all right."

I turned and walked toward the exhibition hall doors, one step at a time.

Behind me came Carter's impatient voice.

"Violet, don't do this today, okay?"

I didn't look back.

I took out my phone and opened the rental app.

I pressed confirm.

The sunlight outside was sharp, and I walked straight into it.

Carter didn't come after me.

He held the badge in his hand, then turned and walked toward Pamela.