had an interview. That’s huge. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks. I just need to figure out what to do. It’s weird, but I feel like Giorgio’s proposal shifted my worldview or something. Does that make sense?”
Mackenzie stared at her drink. “I know exactly what you mean. There was something so powerful in that moment—it put all our lives in perspective.”
“And not in a good way,” Stephanie grumbled. “I have a meeting with my mother on Saturday. We’re going to talk about her wedding. There are no words to describe my lack of joy at the thought of getting through the wedding planning with her. I have no idea why I said I would help.”
“Because she’s your mom and you love her.”
“Maybe, but I don’t like her very much.”
Mackenzie grinned. “No one does, sweetie. Don’t worry about it. You’ll do great and the wedding will be beautiful.”
“I should get you to plan it,” Stephanie said. “She’d agree to everything and adore it because it came from you.”
She expected Mackenzie to laugh, but instead her friend’s humor faded and her face paled.
“What?” Stephanie asked, sitting up straight. “There’s something.”
“Sorry. My period. I’m cramping.”
“You sure?”
Mackenzie looked at her. “I could show you proof but it would be gross.”
“You’re right. Okay, finish your drink and I’ll make us a second round. We’ll drink to the thrill of being women and try to figure out what God was thinking when he invented menstruation.”
* * *
Barbara ran her hands across the front of the binder Stephanie had handed her. The picture of the happy bride and groom on a beach at sunset should have been far too obvious for her taste, but instead of being annoyed by the photograph, she found herself happy and excited.
“This notebook will help keep all the information about the wedding in one place,” Stephanie told her. “I have the same thing on my tablet. Whenever we make a decision, we’ll update both.”
They were in Barbara’s dining room. Stephanie had arrived with three overflowing tote bags filled with magazines, folders and what looked like several table linen samples. Barbara would never admit it out loud, but she was impressed. She knew her daughter had handled at least a dozen weddings at Bel Après over the past few years. She couldn’t remember any disasters, and the Solstice Party had gone well. Maybe she should assume the best about Stephanie and relax about the wedding. If worse came to worst, she could step in to run things herself.
But for now, she would play at being the bride and enjoy being taken care of. She appreciated that Stephanie understood the importance of the meeting. Despite the fact that it was a Saturday morning, Stephanie had dressed in an office-appropriate floral-print dress. She had on makeup and her long hair was pulled back in a low ponytail.
She was the prettiest of her three girls, Barbara thought. Catherine could be a beauty, if she wasn’t so damned odd all the time. Her taste was appalling. Half the time she wore overalls with some ripped-up T-shirt. As if she and her family couldn’t afford normal clothing. And she didn’t want to get herself started on how those children of Catherine’s dressed. When she was younger, Galaxy had spent an entire summer wearing a ridiculous bumblebee costume and Catherine had let her.
As for Lori, well, she was an ongoing problem. She certainly dressed professionally enough at work, but she always looked so frumpy. Maybe it was because she was fat. That girl put on five or ten pounds a year. In another decade, she was going to be as big as a house. Barbara held in a sigh. Where had she gone wrong?
She shook off the question and focused on what Stephanie was saying.
“The flow of most weddings is fairly traditional,” her daughter explained. “A ceremony, followed by a reception. The wedding can be family only, with a larger reception to follow, or you can invite everyone to both. The reception dinner can be a sit-down with servers or buffet-style. We can have a DJ or a live band. It’s all available.”
Barbara almost felt light-headed by the possibilities. “No buffet,” she said firmly. “That I know for sure. Otherwise, I just don’t know. What do you think?”
Stephanie dug in one of the totes and pulled out several very thick bridal magazines. “Start with these. Look at the dresses, of course, but read the articles. They’ll talk about everything from the right kind of makeup to how to have a