In the last twelve hours, Madison had suffered professional whiplash, thanks to a sob-filled voicemail from Penny informing her the wedding was off and an early morning email from Alexa telling her the ceremony was on. The email included information about La Mariposa, the involvement of the Widows, and a carefully constructed to-do list to execute in the next thirty-six hours. She immediately Google Earthed Toots’s house and knew her destiny. Once she saw the splendor and envisioned the wedding as Alexa had described it, there was no way she was dropping this event from her portfolio. If it happened, she wanted to be there for it.

“Here’s what I think,” Alexa said, beckoning the crew and pulling a medium-size whiteboard out of her bag. “We go full steam ahead on the ceremony and reception at Toots’s house. Madison, you got the to-do list, what do you have for us?”

On cue, Madison fired up her tablet and started taking the assembled crowd through some visuals. “I’m executing the to-do list as instructed, Ms. Diamandis. Since today is Saturday, we’re going to check a lot off the list because Sunday in the summer in Montecito is rosé all day for wedding vendors. We got a little lucky because our floral designer had a Thursday night gig, so she’s open today. In one hour, we’ll meet with Flowers by Flora. She’s newish to the area, originally from Carmel, but she’s already done small events for a few local influencers and . . .” And here Madison lowered her voice and swiped her screen to reveal a fairylike redheaded creature clutching a wicker basket, standing next to Gwyneth. “You-know-who. A moonrise ceremony. Look at the depth of the shades of white in these arrangements. All the colors of the moon. Amazing!”

Abigail studied the image closely and nodded. The baskets were loose and natural but filled with style. “Stunning. Sophisticated.”

“Greek!” Alexa added. “I mean, like the wildflowers poking through the cracks in the ancient stones of Patmos.” They all thought she might cry.

Madison put her hand to her heart. “I’m glad you feel that way about her. Because she feels that way about this wedding. When I told her about the Merry Widows providing ‘found florals’ and ‘gathered greens,’ she said that kind of organic sourcing made for a rich bouquet and a fantastic Instagram post. Plus, foraging is very of the moment. Also, she’d be honored to work with such acclaimed local gardeners, who are part of such a beautiful community of crones.”

“‘Crones’ is a strong word,” Ming said sharply. “We prefer ‘wise women.’”