Page 43 of The Girl from Devil's Lake
Jenny arrived at half past two. As soon as greetings were out of the way, Joanna wanted to get down to business. “Shall we start with the dress?” she asked, leading the way to the master bedroom.
“Sounds good to me,” Jenny said with a shrug.
Joanna had already removed the wedding outfit from the dry cleaner’s plastic wrapper and laid it out on the bed. Once Jenny slipped into the sheath, it fit perfectly. Years earlier when Joanna had worn the dress, the hemlines of both the dress and the matching full-length satin jacket had fallen just below her knees. On Jenny they landed an inch or two above. Naturally Jenny hadn’t thought to bring along a pair of heels for trying on the dress, so what she saw in the mirror probably wasn’t the most flattering. Even so, she seemed pleased with the result.
“It’s perfect, Mom,” she said. “And don’t worry about the shoes. I’ll be able to find a pair online with no trouble.”
“What about a nice hat or veil?” Joanna asked.
“Nope,” Jenny said. “Neither one. Don’t need ’em.”
“Do you want to take the dress home with you so you can show it to Nick?”
“Not on your life. He’s not supposed to see it before the wedding, and this is where I’ll be wearing it. I’m happy with putting it back in your closet where it belongs.”
Leaving the bedroom they settled at the dining room table where Joanna placed her iPad front and center.
“I suppose you made a list?” Jenny asked. Joanna’s propensity for list-making came as no surprise to her daughter.
“Of course.”
“I’m assuming the dress was number one?”
Joanna laughed. “Yes, it was. Next up is invitations. Those need to be printed and in the mail by the end of next week at the very latest.”
“OMG, Mom!” Jenny exclaimed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “You do know that it’s 2023. Nick and I won’t be mailing out printed invitations. We’ll be sending them via email. We found one we both like on a greeting card website, and you can order thank-you notes that match the invitations. We have a list, and we’re planning on sending the invites out either later tonight or tomorrow.”
“Okey dokey,” Joanna said, realizing she’d just been put in her generational place, and deservedly so.
“What’s next?” Jenny asked.
“Who all’s in the wedding party?”
“Nick’s best man will be his older brother, Gavin. Cassie will be my matron of honor, and Leah will be the flower girl. Dennis and Jeffy will be the ushers, and Sage will be in charge of the guest book.”
Cassie Parks had been Jenny’s closest friend all through school. Now married to Leonard Dupnik, a Bisbee firefighter, she had a five-year-old daughter named Leah and was expecting her second child, a boy, due in early March.
“That’s it?” Joanna asked.
“That’s it.”
“What about flowers then?”
“Marianne and I talked about those yesterday,” Jenny said. “It’ll be Christmastime, so the church will be full of poinsettias. That means we won’t really need flowers to decorate the church. The colors will be red and white—red and white roses for my bouquet and red boutonnieres for all the guys. Also red and white rose corsages for you and Nick’s mom. Since there’s no longer a flower shop in Bisbee, I’ll order those from one in Sierra Vista. They’ll have to be picked up, but I’m sure we’ll be able to manage that.”
“Cake?” Joanna asked.
“Cassie’s mom volunteered.”
“How many people?” That was the last item on Joanna’s list.
“Twenty-five to thirty tops. This isn’t a big wedding, Mom. We’re only inviting relatives and good friends. And, no, we’re not invitingButch’s folks. I think we all had more than enough of his mom the last time they were here.”
Joanna agreed wholeheartedly, and she was sure Butch would be on the same page. Butch’s dad, Donald Dixon, was all right, but his mother, Margaret, was a holy terror.
“What about food for the reception here at the house afterward?”
Jenny laughed. “I’m leaving that up to Butch. I prefer Mexican food of some kind, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to figure it out.”
