Before he could speak, Grace spoke absentmindedly. “Well, I know it’s not about money. He knows I have the money. So, we can’t take offense about the money. I’ve already hurt him by being bothered about him spending so much money on me. I’m not going to do that again.”
Craig sighed, gritting his teeth as Grace nailed him with her comments. “Grace, as much as it kills me to say it, Melanie is right. This is your decision. I won’t try to influence you, so if you don’t want to be influenced, don’t ask my opinion. You’ll have to let us know what you decide. Talk to Mel if you like. I think she’s capable of being a little more objective.” Craig stood, picked up his infant daughter, and left the room.
“Mel, does Craig really want to buy the dress, or did he just think it would be a nice gift and one that would help stretch the wedding dollars? I looked at the bank statements; there is just over three thousand dollars in there. That’s a lot of money, but we both know it’ll only pay for a very, very simple wedding.”
Melanie smiled. “Craig is a man. He would think it fine if you showed up in your denim skirt and favorite flannel shirt. It only matters to Nolan because it’s a tradition.”
“He won’t have family there, only his father’s partner and his friends. I’ve always thought that the groom’s family got short-changed in a wedding, but I don’t know. I know that Nolan would handle me telling him ‘no’ better than Craig would. Maybe it means more to Craig then?”
Melanie shook her head. “No, the Buscher pride is just stronger than Nolan’s desire to continue a tradition.”
“I know you wouldn’t do it, Mel, but I don’t know if I can break a tradition like that.” Grace seemed more bothered by the idea than Melanie expected.
“Grace, I don’t think Nolan is bothered by breaking tradition. I don’t think that matters to him at all. I think that he’s more interested in the joy he’d receive in continuing it. Does that make sense? It’s like when you want to buy a friend a birthday present for their party and then hear that they’ve requested no presents. You’re not sorry the present buying tradition has been broken, you just miss honoring the friend with a gift.”
With a hug for Melanie, Grace went in search for her brother. “Craig? You know I’ve considered you my ‘protector’ since Daddy died. You know that I’ve tried to give you the respect and honor that a role like that deserves. I’m not going to give Nolan any answer until I either have a ‘no, I do not approve at all,’ or a ‘you have my blessing to do this.’”
While Grace and Melanie had been talking, Craig had stood before the Lord in prayer. He knew that it wasn’t a sin for Nolan to buy the dress. He knew that he could care less if they just got the whole thing over with the next weekend. He knew he was choosing to have his pride hurt by the offer, and he knew, without a doubt, his reaction was sin. “Grace, you have my blessing to make any decision about this dress that you like with two provisions.”
“What are they?” Grace wasn’t sure she liked the idea of provisions.
“First, you pray about this before you even consider it. I think we’re all making a mountain out of a molehill here, but maybe it’s for a reason.” He paused before continuing. “Second, that you do what you really want, and what you really think the Lord would have you do, not what you think will make everyone happy.”
Grace found Nolan in his kitchen, drinking a cup of his favorite coffee. “Care to take a walk?”
Nolan dumped his coffee out and followed Grace from his house. “Well, we’ve decided that we don’t know. Craig said something that is making me wonder, but I’ll let you know in a day or two, ok?”
Nolan stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Neither of them noticed that they were standing in front of Mr. Wirth’s picture window. The elderly man sat in his recliner and watched as the couple talked, remembering days gone by.
“Grace, if I thought you would feel at all obligated, I wouldn’t have asked. I thought it would be nice to carry on traditions, but not at the expense of relationships. If you decide to allow this, just have the bill sent to my house. I’ll know then. Otherwise, let’s not speak of it again, ok? I’ll understand either way, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to come to me and tell me yes or no.”
“You are too good to me. You really are. I’m so happy that I could just—”
Nolan found Grace’s abrupt silence amusing. Pulling a sprig of mistletoe from his pocket, he held it over Grace’s head. “Kiss me? You could kiss me perhaps?”
Verily silently cheered as Nolan held the mistletoe above Grace’s head. He seemed to hesitate until Grace nodded. Unaware that they had a witness to their first “real” kiss, Grace and Nolan seemed reluctant to part.
Nolan’s voice was deep with emotion as he whispered. “Merry Christmas, Grace.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
December
As he entered Brunswick Haven, Nolan asked a passing attendant where to find Fran Buscher and was directed to her room. Fran opened the door holding a tissue to her nose and scowling. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m very happy to see you too. We were sorry you didn’t feel well enough to spend Christmas with us.”
“I wasn’t. All that yammering about Jesus and stars. It’s ridiculous. Grace brought me my gifts this morning. She always makes me food, and this year she gave me a scarf.”
“I brought you a gift as well.” Nolan pulled a box from his jacket. “Merry Christmas.”
Fran glared at him suspiciously. “You’re here about Grace. I thought she looked too happy. I should have checked her hands.”
Smiling, Nolan nodded. “Yes, you should have. The left one is sporting a new ring.”
The disgust on Fran Buscher’s face surprised him. “You could have any woman in Rockland—almost. Why not someone more sophisticated?”
“Because then she wouldn’t be Grace. I want Grace.”
“Can you put up with her Jesus talk?”
Nolan sighed and sank into her extra chair uninvited. “Ms. Buscher, I wouldn’t want her if she wasn’t a child of the Lord.”
“Oh, not you too! How did I get stuck with a family of raving fanatics? I have managed just fine without Jesus all of these years—”
“I beg to differ.”
“What?” Fran protested indignantly.
“Jesus has been with you every moment you’ve been near Grace or Craig—even their father and mother. Jesus was with them and therefore, you haven’t gotten along without Him.”
“Well, He hasn’t done anything so grand for me, so He can just stay away.”
Nolan stood and smiled sympathetically. “Ms. Buscher, if it wasn’t for Jesus, you’d be all alone. Without Jesus, your family would have given up on you years ago, and you know it. They love you, but love can’t cover pain, unless something deeper heals the wounds.”
~*~*~*~
Paige, Melanie, and Grace sat at Melanie’s kitchen table making lists of things to do. Grace wrote down the money she had to spend on the wedding and everyone looked at it with determination. This wedding would stay on budget and would be the nicest wedding anyone could come up within seven weeks’ time.
Paige was in her element. “Ok, Grace. The dress is the first thing. We can spend weeks searching stores, websites, catalogs, etcetera, or we can decide what you want it to look like and just take it to a seamstress.”
“I just assumed Grace would make it.” Melanie looked at Grace with huge question marks in her eyes.
“I did too. I even sketched a few of them last night. I’m wearing Mom’s veil, though. I know that much.”
Paige put on her professional mantle and spoke seriously to the two women. “We have seven weeks to come up with tuxedos, dresses, flowers, the cake, the photographer, the decorations, the food—she won’t have time to make her dress.”
Grace nodded. “And I’ve never been good at making myself highly tailored clothes. It’s easier on someone else. You’re right. So who do we get to do the dress?”
They called Nolan several times as they tried to determine a color scheme. After the fourth or fifth call, Nolan gave up in mock despair. “Grace, choose whatever color you want and don’t tell me what it is. It’ll be a surprise for me.”
London and Mickey were nominated flower girl and ring bearer. Nolan named Mike as his best man and Craig and Nathan as groomsmen. Grace asked Paige to be her maid of honor and chose Melanie and Traci as attendants. The entire wedding party would be odd. It was quite unavoidable with Craig walking Grace down the aisle and then standing with Nolan during the ceremony, but this was how Grace wanted her wedding and everyone stood behind her.
Melanie secured the church and called her friends until she found someone who knew how to get wholesale flowers. Paige found dresses for all the attendants and a flower girl dress for Amber in the exact same shade of eggplant. She ordered tuxedos with matching ties, and to Grace’s relief, the attire for all attendants was found, purchased and on its way the first week.
Grace planned a menu of hors d’oeuvres that could be prepared beforehand and frozen. A call to several bakeries made her angry. “I had no idea that cakes were so expensive! If I’m not careful, I could spend several hundred dollars just on flour, sugar, and eggs. What do I get for my money? Cake for everyone and someone gets carpel tunnel syndrome from squeezing the silly bag of frosting. I’m going to tell Nolan I want to elope. That solves the dress issue, saves a ton of money, and everyone can just congratulate us at church.”
“No you won’t, missy, I’ve already reserved a room at Grimsbey’s for your shower. It’s in three weeks, by the way, so I need a gift list by Friday. I’ll register you to save time.”
“You make me sound like a purebred dog. Ick.” Grace laughed as she joked with her friends.
This would be a wonderful wedding. Even if it killed her. And if she continued to feel as badly as she did now, it would kill her. Grace couldn’t wait for Dr. Kline’s medication to start working.
As the women continued making plans, Nolan stopped in. “Don’t want to bother you, ladies; this shouldn’t take long.” He smiled at her as he said, “Grace, I need to know if you have a passport.”
Grace shook her head. “Will I need one?”
Nolan flipped open a folder containing passport applications and a list of instructions. “When you get this filled out, I’ll need copies of your birth certificate, your state ID, and we’ll need two passport-sized photos.”
Giving Grace a quick kiss, Nolan hurried out to his Escalade and drove away. The three women stared at each other in shock. Finally, Paige spoke. “Where are you guys
going
?”
“I don’t know. Out of the country, I guess. I’ll have to pull down the suitcases, won’t I?”
Grace’s comment showed the other ladies that she was clearly stunned. Paige made a note on her list to find out if Grace should pack for warm or cold weather, and Melanie placed a call to Nolan to get the particulars. Patience had never been Melanie’s strong point.
Hearing Melanie’s squeal, the other two women exchanged glances. Grace could hear Nolan laughing. “Ok, Nolan, I’ll call Dr. Kline to check on shots. I doubt she’ll need them, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Thanks and—she’s going to love it—no, I would never tell. It’s too much fun keeping her in suspense.”
~*~*~*~
“I like this one. The fabric is just what I want. Can we get this locally or in Rockland? I don’t want to take a chance on ordering…” Grace stood in what seemed to be the millionth dress tried on in one morning.
Allie Thompson was carefully taking measurements of both Grace and the dresses she tried on. The woman had turned her garage into a sewing studio, and she specialized in wedding dresses. Melanie walked around the room looking at different dresses and trying to imagine this many wedding dresses in one place when none were for sale.
“How did you ever afford to purchase so many dresses?”
Allie laughed as she made notations on her pad. “I actually buy them at garage sales, thrift stores, second-hand stores, and occasionally on eBay. If I can get a dress for under fifty dollars, it’s worth the investment if I don’t have the size and style already. It gives my brides something to work with.”
Finally, Grace picked her dress. “I want this style. The princess seams really seem to give me a ‘leaner’ look, which is always a blessing! The neck is wrong; I want to turn this basic style into as much of an Edwardian styled dress as possible. No high necklines… let’s do an illusion of a high collar. I love their simply elegant sleeves… Now, how can we imitate their skirts with that beautiful insertion lace and still have the long lines of the dress?”
Allie showed the three women swatches of fabrics that the stores in a one hundred mile radius kept in stock, as well as her personal selection of laces. It was two-thirty before Grace got home from the session, and she was exhausted. When she realized that school was out for the week and Cade wouldn’t be coming, Grace pulled her favorite quilt over her on the couch and fell into a deep sleep.
Nolan found her resting late that evening. Grace hadn’t called to welcome him home, and her house was dark. Concerned, he’d crossed the street and found her door unlocked. As he saw her sleeping, a rush of protectiveness washed over him. He reminded himself that Grace was still a weak woman. Until her medication took over and really did her some good, she wouldn’t be able to handle as much work as she would try to do.
He turned on her lights and tried to reload her stove as quickly as possible. As he stirred the coals, Grace stirred on the couch. “Is something wrong, Nolan?”
“It’s just getting chilly in here. Thought you might like some heat.”
“I picked out my dress today. I think it’s going to be lovely. Paige knew a seamstress that is amazing. She thinks my dress will be finished in three weeks.”
“How did Paige find someone with an opening in such short notice?”
Grace yawned as she tried to sit up. “Something about not working from November to March and owing Paige a favor—whatever. Now I have a dress!”
Chapter Thirty
January
Three weeks later, Nolan found Grace working hard in her kitchen. Her forehead dripped with perspiration and her hands shook from exhaustion. Taking one look at her, Nolan determined to try to get her to call the doctor.