Cadence of Cranberries - Valerie Comer Page 0,20
Dafne’s life.”
“You’re right. I just fret about my baby girl.”
Hearing that term reminded Winnie of the way Charlie spoke of Katri. He’d been waiting long enough. “Have a great day. I’m meeting Katri’s dad to start planning the wedding.”
Franco glanced over across the bustling bistro.
Marley set a mug and plate across from Charlie, and the two shared a few words. “He bought Redband Roasters last spring.”
Dino lifted his mug. “Kass asked us to test their brew this morning. Not bad coffee.”
High praise. Winnie chuckled. “Talk to you later.” She made her way past several more tables and slid into the yellow chair across from Charlie. “Sorry about that.”
“You weren’t kidding when you said everyone knows everyone else around here.”
She took a sip of her coffee. “Those are two of Al’s brothers.” But she didn’t want to talk about Al today. “Is this your coffee?”
Charlie grinned. “How can you even tell without all the usual flavors in there?”
“I, um, rarely have a salted caramel latte. Just at the Night Market, actually.”
He angled his head and studied her. “Interesting. Why’s that?”
“Not sure. Wednesdays were treat night, I guess. I drink too much coffee to go overboard with all the sugars all the time.” She wrapped the spiral-bound’s cover to the back and pulled out a purple gel pen. “I don’t even know how to plan someone else’s wedding. Did Katri give you any clues?”
“She told me to adopt the KISS method.”
Winnie blinked. Had she heard correctly?
“KISS stands for keep it simple, stupid.”
“Oh.” Winnie let her breath out. “Yes, simple. That’s what Dominic said to me, too. We can do simple.”
“Maybe. But I suspect Katri just didn’t want to be presumptuous. What girl doesn’t dream of a fairytale wedding?”
Winnie studied Charlie’s face. He seemed to believe that, and it reminded her he’d told Katri money was no object. Did he really have that kind of cash, or was he willing to go into debt for his daughter’s wedding? An expensive party wasn’t necessary.
She broke off a piece of the giant cinnamon roll and nudged the plate closer to Charlie. “Feel free to have some. Hailey makes the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever tasted in my life. People drive across the city just for those.”
“Smells amazing. Thanks.” He tore off a strip then nodded as he chewed. “Good stuff, for sure. Better with Redband coffee.” He lifted his cup and grinned at her.
Winnie smiled back and clinked her mug with his. Solidarity and all that. “So, about the wedding. I did take the liberty of calling our church to see what dates might already be taken. Dominic had suggested the first weekend of May, since that works well for him finishing school and them moving to Spokane, but my nephew Alex has already booked that for his wedding.”
“If that’s the best weekend, we can find a different venue.”
“Um, no. Dominic will want to attend Alex’s wedding and vice versa. And you can’t make all the Santoros choose which wedding to attend.”
“One in the morning and the other in the afternoon or evening?”
Winnie glowered at him. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Well, it would save travel for out-of-town relatives.” He shrugged.
“It would,” she conceded. “But nearly everyone lives within ten blocks of Bridgeview Bible Church. One of Al’s brothers lives in Galena Landing, Idaho, and that’s under three hours away. And one of his nephews lives in Helena, Montana.” She wouldn’t think about Basil in Seattle, since she was praying daily that he’d not only find his way back to the Lord, but back to Bridgeview. If God answered her prayers, he’d be back in the fold long before the spring weddings.
“Okay. The second weekend in May?”
“The fellowship hall is booked for a Mother’s Day tea on Saturday.”
Charlie’s eyebrows spiked as his chin dipped. “The third weekend?”
Winnie tapped her pen on the page. “Available. I checked with Dominic yesterday, and he said that would be okay. I mean, they’d hoped for earlier, but this will work.” She consulted her calendar app then wrote the date on the first page of her notebook. “I’ll confirm with the church tomorrow. They’re holding the date meanwhile.”
“That’s less than six months away. Is that long enough?”
“Three days is the minimum, since that’s how long you have to wait in Washington State after buying a marriage license.”
“That didn’t exactly answer my question.”
“It actually did. What I meant is there isn’t any such thing as long enough. The bigger and fancier the wedding, the more lead time you need. Since the kids have