Erandi had both perfect and imperfect timing.
Venue safety expert Steven Adelman and I had just ended our journey to Victoria, British Columbia to speak at a conference. After two flights and a long taxi ride, a hotel clerk directed us down Government Street for food. We passed a fudge place, promising to return, and entered Bard and Banker Public House on a corner.
At the risk of drawing attention to ourselves, I placed my camera on the bar and set the timer. Erandi, one of the resturant’s servers, did not see my set-up and walked in frame at the precise moment the camera clicked twice.
“Ohhh,” Steve and I shouted simultaneously like when a sports fan’s favorite team just misses a big play. Steve wanted to see the shot immediately. It ended up our favorite photo of the trip, which probably isn’t saying much. Steve started explaining to Erandi the virtues of the candid shot and I announced aloud she probably regretted even passing our table. But she appeared genuinely interested and stood patiently for a while by our table. A man wearing a military ballcap one booth over smiled in amusement.
I ate a turkey sandwhich and we forgot to return for the fudge. The whole trip happened very fast and Erandi was part of the blur.