“Of course. Understood. Amazing. After our meeting with Flora, it’s cake time. Room for Cake, who promise to incorporate blue buttercream and a butterfly motif into the design of the display.” (The butterflies were Toots’s idea and the Widows agreed it would be charming.) “Cake meadows, no relation to me, Madison Meadows, are very popular now. I suggest a trio of flavors hidden amid the blooms and butterflies. One lemon olive oil, one chocolate, and one coconut.” Madison swiped to a photo of a tiered cake hidden among a three-dimensional floral wreath, so really the best of a wedding and the worst of a funeral in one concept. It was a no from Alexa, but Madison’s enthusiasm was so endearing, she didn’t want to shoot her down right away.

“I’m not so sure about the meadow concept. Penny didn’t want too many trends incorporated. But let’s keep an open mind and taste that cake, shall we?” Alexa said in her warmest tone of the morning.

“Great. Finally, in the late afternoon, we’ll meet with Zina the caterer for some preliminary ideas and to establish a budget. Her specialty is Greek and Mediterranean. She’s a personal friend of Penny’s so this could get tricky?” From the question mark in her voice, it was clear that she didn’t want the bride to find out about the meeting with Zina.

Despite Abigail’s misgivings on ethnic food at the wedding, she wanted to be a team player. “We’ll tell Zina that we have Penny’s best interests at heart and to keep the tasting on the down-low. We can order dinner to go from her to make our time worthwhile. My treat. If that’s all right with you, Ming?” Abigail offered, and her host accepted.

“If we can nail all this down today, we can work on linens and rentals tomorrow,” Madison promised.

Alexa nodded. She liked this Madison, and she’d already decided to save her from a career planning weddings and offer her a job in the travel business, but not until January. “We proceed as if this is a blip in the planning. A minor blip! Madison says we have until the first of November to cancel before losing most of the deposits. And, if I pay for a cake for a wedding that never happens, I’ll eat it myself,” Alexa vowed. Again, the “Do you understand!” was implied.

Hearing Alexa use her imperious Anjelica Huston voice, Abigail knew exactly how she pulled off travel miracles for her clients. It was like she was willing the couple to re-engage and keeping the plans in place was her secret weapon.

Chapter 24
The Parting

The Mother of the Groom