Paula dropped the last little pink cake into the coconut. She’d never really thought about Rowena cooking just for herself. All the meals and food packages had made Paula feel inadequate, as if she wasn’t capable of looking after Dan herself. If Rowena enjoyed cooking so much, it must have been difficult to be eating alone now. Paula felt a pang of guilt for all the times she’d been annoyed by Rowena’s food parcels.

“That’s the final one.” Paula placed the delicate little cake in the container beside the others.

“Thank the good Lord for freezers. That’s the last of everything that can be made in advance.”

“How are you going to manage on the day?”

“I’ve got Joan Talbot and a couple of ladies from the church running the kitchen.”

“That’s good. I was hoping you weren’t planning to serve the food yourself. You are the bride after all.”

“I had intended to do the final preparation on the morning and get people to serve themselves but Austin convinced me to get help.”

“Good on Austin. It all happens so quickly. You want to be able to enjoy your wedding and your guests and not be trapped in the kitchen.”

“Exactly what Austin said. Joan runs a tight ship. I trust her to get the job done.” Rowena started snapping lids on containers.

“Don’t these have cream in them?”

“Yes but it’s best done on the day. Another job for Joan and her helpers.” Rowena waggled a finger over the last lot of jelly cakes before she put the lid on. “I hope four dozen will be enough.”

“How many guests are you expecting?”

“It’s only a small group, forty-nine at last count, but I don’t want anyone to go hungry.”

Paula looked across at the menu list stuck to the fridge and started reading. “Jelly cakes (pink, green and chocolate), sponge kisses, fairy cakes, apricot slice, peppermint fingers, almond biscuits and melting moments.” She glanced at Rowena, then continued. “And that’s only after they’ve worked their way through the sausage rolls, mini quiches, cheese puffs, vol-au-vents, sandwiches, asparagus rolls, skewered prawns, chicken shashliks and devils on horseback, whatever they are. Sounds scary.”

“They do involve prunes and toothpicks.” Rowena smiled.

“I think I’ll keep away from them then.” Paula grinned and realised she was enjoying herself. Cooking and Rowena’s company would normally have been a stressful combination but this morning the two Woodcroft women had made a good team.

“I think I’ve got enough sausage rolls and quiches to spare a couple for lunch, if you’d like to stay.”

“Thanks, I should get going soon though. Bert is working on the plumbing this morning.”

“Is it playing up again? That house needs extensive renovations.”