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The next day, the four of them attended church, Father Mike beaming at seeing them in the congregation.
Afterward, Zoe had lunch with Chris, before going to the pottery studio, while Lauren and Mitch went to the local vineyard, one of their favorite places.
As they enjoyed lunch in the outdoor café, Lauren told him about Zoe’s proposal.
“Do you mind if Zoe moves into your apartment after we’re married?”
“No.” Mitch sounded as if he loved the idea.
“She thought she could take over your lease once you move in with me.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” He nodded. “And the rent isn’t too bad – she could probably swing it.”
“I hope so.” Lauren crinkled her brow. “I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I should give her a raise – Ed as well.”
“Can you afford to?”
“Probably.” Lauren thought about the state of the café’s books. “Things are going well at the moment and I have a decent balance in the business account.”
“It would be good if it’s just the three of us in the cottage – you, me, and Annie.”
“I know.” She let herself savor that image for a second. “But Zoe will be over for dinner maybe a few times per week, and we still have craft club Friday nights.” She thought she should warn him.
“I know Zoe is important to you, and so is craft club.” His fingers were warm against her own as they held hands across the table. “And I want you to be happy.”
“And I want you to be happy.” She smiled at him.
“I am,” he assured her.
***
THAT AFTERNOON, LAUREN printed out the wedding invitations. The paper had arrived earlier that week, so all she had to do was print a sample first, to make sure the words were centered properly.
Mitch had gone home, saying he would start packing up some of his stuff, even though there were several weeks until their ceremony.
The test invitation looked perfect.
“Brrt?” Annie stood on her back legs when she heard the whirr of the printer, and stretched up as the paper came out.
“It’s the first wedding invitation.” She showed her the paper decorated with pink and violet flowers.
“Brrt,” Annie said in approval.
“Now we have to print out the rest of them.”
Annie ‘supervised’ the printing of the remaining fifty-three invitations.
There were sixteen sheets of paper left, just in case they had any last-minute additions to the guest list.
“Now we have to put them in envelopes and address them.” Lauren wished Zoe was here to help her for this bit. She thought it would be just as quick to write the addresses by hand than to type each name into the word processing program and then center each envelope perfectly – and she wasn’t sure if printing guests’ names and addresses would be frowned upon as a faux pas, anyway.
By the time Zoe arrived home that evening, Lauren had finished over half the envelopes.
“Ooh, your handwriting is so nice and even.” Zoe admired the pale pink envelopes.
“Thanks.” Lauren stretched out her fingers, which were feeling cramped. “I think I’ll have to finish the rest tomorrow.”
“Just as well we’re not going dress shopping until next weekend.”
“How was the pottery studio?” Lauren asked.
“Great.” Zoe grinned. “Chris came with me and let me boss him around as my assistant.” She giggled. “But don’t worry, I’ll make sure the mugs will be ready for the wedding.”
“I wasn’t worried.” Lauren smiled. “I spoke to Mitch and it’s okay with him if you’d like to move into his apartment after the wedding. But if you’ve changed your mind, you’re welcome to keep living here.” She was sure Mitch would understand if her cousin didn’t want to move.
“I haven’t.” Zoe shook her head.
“I should have done this before, but I want to give you and Ed a small raise.”
“Really?” Zoe’s face lit up.
“Really,” Lauren confirmed. “The accounts are going pretty well at the moment, so I should be able to swing it.”
“Awesome!”
“You might have to thank Martha.” Lauren smiled.
“Yeah, her marshmallow lattes are a hit, and we’re making an extra profit with the marshmallow fee.” Zoe giggled.
“A little profit.” Lauren thought of the thirty cents that covered the cost of those pink and white marshmallows and a little for the café.
“And your carrot cupcakes.”
“I’m going to make a batch every day this coming week.”
“Good idea.”
“Brrt!”
***
THE NEXT DAY, LAUREN and Zoe went grocery shopping, visited Mrs. Finch, and then Zoe zoomed off to the pottery studio, borrowing Lauren’s car, while Lauren mixed up cupcake batter for Tuesday, and labored over the rest of the wedding invitation envelopes, Annie ‘supervising.’
“Finished.” Lauren relaxed in the chair and gazed at her handiwork. She hoped this would be her only marriage because right now she didn’t want to handwrite another address ever.
She wriggled her right hand, her fingers feeling cramped.
“Brrt?” Annie gently patted one of the envelopes.
“Now all we have to do is fold the invitations and put them in the envelopes.” Thank goodness the envelopes were self-sealing.
She wondered what Mitch was doing right now, knowing it would have nothing to do with wedding stationery. She envied him for a minute, then reminded herself how lucky she was to have found him. Or had Annie found him for her? She glanced at her fur baby, picked her up, and cuddled her close.
“Thank you for being you,” she murmured.
“Brrt.” Annie snuggled into her chest.
Lauren nearly dozed off, jerking awake when she heard the back door slam.
“I’m back,” Zoe called out. “Now I’ve made good progress on the pottery mugs, we can start sleuthing!”