“It’s me and Mignette rattling around this place at the holidays. I would be honored if Penny and Chase were married here. You know the pavilion easily seats a hundred. Maybe a few less with a setup for the ceremony. You could tent the patio for the dance floor. We’ve done that lots of time in the past. How about the stage we put up for the opera gala? A night of Puccini. Magical. There’s a catering kitchen out there that we used last Thanksgiving for a big dinner, so everything still works. And hookups for Star Waggons. We even have tables and chairs stored away, though they haven’t been used in years. You’ll need a valet, but they can park cars on the tennis court. And my assistant Delilah can help with any detail management vis-à-vis La Mariposa. And, Abigail, I’d be pleased to offer the main house to you and your family for your stay. I’ll move to the guesthouse for the week. Or maybe a hotel. Definitely a hotel. That sounds fun!”

The rest of the Merry Widows started to buzz, as if Toots’s gesture had awoken them from their slumber. This mighty crew of women had years of expertise in throwing events, large and small, festive and fancy. They had chaired fundraisers and hosted lavish holiday get-togethers. They had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for their charities of choice and donated time, talents, even the dated clothes out of their closets to others. Furthermore, they had planned their own daughters’ weddings and been to dozens of others. Alexa had been too busy organizing their vacations to learn how to give her expertise away for free as a volunteer. They couldn’t let Toots be the only one to rally. They were the people they were waiting for.