The words of the happy couple started to come out at a rapid pace and made less and less sense to her. Squeeze in the wedding before the campaign starts in earnest. Only have one bridesmaid, which will be impossible because she has already been in seven weddings and feelings would be hurt. Rent a house in Astoria that could also be the campaign headquarters. Rent an estate in Montecito for the family and the reception. Mediterranean mezzes and lemon cake. Leaning toward a beach picnic for the rehearsal dinner. Maybe the mayor can marry us. Certainly, the mayor will endorse him. All the guests in shades of blue. The mothers need to coordinate dresses. Their friend Ree, the graphic artist, is going to design the campaign logo and the wedding logo. Wait, weddings have logos?

For the couple who two weeks ago claimed they hadn’t made any plans, they certainly seemed to have made all the plans now. Abigail guessed they were hiding something.

Penny looked pleased as punch. “We appreciate your support so much. On such a quick timeline, we’re going to need all your help.”

“What do you think?” Chase asked with excitement in his voice.

Abigail was stunned. She looked at her counterpart and, much to her surprise, the mother of the bride also seemed shell-shocked. This pleased her. Abigail could only squeak out one question: “Queens?”

Chapter 7
The Dinner

The Mother of the Bride

“Queens?” Alexa gasped at the same time as Abigail. The whole thing was so unexpected. Her Penny had gone and planned her whole life without consulting her. How could that have happened? In the past, they had talked about everything. Even in the last two weeks, they’d talked every day, mainly about Penny’s crushing work schedule, thanks to a demanding client and a new project. But Alexa had believed her when she said that they hadn’t started the wedding planning. Now, boom. This. A lifetime of decisions laid bare between the pasta course and the main. And she was hearing them all for the first time, like she was an outsider. Like she was an in-law!

Sure, she was invited in now to help with the tedious decisions, like reception venue, but the big decisions, like spouse and house, were already made. She couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that Penny would be living in New York, never mind Queens near the airport. The airport! From the California Riviera to the shadow of LaGuardia. And if Chase won his election, he could be in Congress for decades. They might move to DC, the dowdiest city in the country, awash in women in navy-blue suits with below-the-knee skirts. She’d never come back to California. To Montecito. What had Alexa done wrong?