A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber Page 0,26
head between the two seats. “Well, hello there,” I said, patting his head.
“I bet he smells those cinnamon rolls,” Sean said. “You know how he got his name, don’t you?”
I laughed, remembering the story. “I should have brought a treat for him, too.”
“He’s not getting my cinnamon roll, so don’t even think of offering it to him.”
“No worries. You’re good.”
Once we reached the top of Snoqualmie Pass, we took a short break. Sean walked Bandit and then returned to the car. I had everything ready for him when he joined me. We ate our breakfast and I shared part of my roll with Bandit, who licked my hand in appreciation. Or it might have been on the off chance a bit of the icing remained on my fingertips.
Once we were back on the road, Sean gave me the lowdown on this assignment. “Seattle Magazine asked me to shoot several murals around the state. I was up in Anacortes a week ago, and Seattle has a number of murals as well.”
I remembered seeing one or two over the years, mostly near Seattle Cancer Center and the University of Washington Medical Center, where Harper had spent much of her hospital stay.
“Have you shot any in Tacoma?” I asked, thinking there were sure to be several there.
“Tacoma’s interesting,” he said, glancing toward me before returning his attention to the road. “They have what’s known as Graffiti Garage, and that’s literally what it is. The city banned graffiti, but they allow artists into this garage every Sunday to paint the walls. I stopped by one week and the artwork was fantastic. Some of the best I’ve been able to shoot.”
“Did you get a look at the two that are in Oceanside?” He couldn’t very well have missed them. Not many people were aware Keaton had painted those.
“It was those murals that inspired the idea. I took pictures of them and a few in Seattle and approached the magazine with the idea and they went for it.”
“So you drum up your own work?”
“Yes. I am often approached to do a shoot, but others are on spec. My trip to Bolivia is on spec, which means I’m footing the cost in the hopes of finding a publication that will find it newsworthy.”
More and more, I was learning what it meant when Sean said he was a freelance photographer.
“Thus far, my assignments pay the bills, but there’s a lot of hustle that goes along with this career. The thing I’ve learned is that when I do what I enjoy, then the money will follow. It didn’t come easy. It involved a lot of sweat equity, but there’s nothing else I’d rather do.”
“I know what you mean,” I said. “In the early days, I’d stand on the sidewalk in front of Bean There and hand out samples of my drinks and home-baked goods to any poor unsuspecting soul who happened to walk by.”
“It takes effort and ingenuity to build a business. Good for you.”
It was certainly stepping outside my comfort zone, but I didn’t mention that. “Success came slowly and involved a lot of sleepless nights, but looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Briefly taking his eyes off the road, Sean smiled. “Me, neither.”
The five hours it took for us to arrive in Toppenish flew by. Normally I’m an introvert, quiet and reserved. Sean had a way of drawing me into conversation. We talked in spurts. The silence was relaxed and comfortable. I learned more about his family and shared stories of my own. I told him about losing our mother and how our father had struggled in the aftermath of her death. His sympathetic look told me he had read between the lines and understood Dad’s struggle with alcoholism.
When we arrived in Toppenish, we ate lunch in an authentic Mexican place that seemed to be doing a robust business. The building looked like it was weeks from being condemned, but the parking lot was full. The food was a different story. We ate like kings and queens. Bandit was tethered to the table where we ate al fresco. Bandit lapped down an entire bowl of water and the dry dog food Sean brought along.
It was at the restaurant that I learned Sean spoke fluent Spanish. The man was full of surprises. On the server’s recommendation, I ordered a tamale with asparagus and it was oh, so good. Sean had chicken enchiladas. The salsa was spicy and delicious.