On Thursday, Gabe and E were dispatched to the store with a list of supplies, and the top item on the list was: “As many tiki torches as you can find.”
“What does that mean?” E asked. “Twenty? A hundred?”
“Twenty would be good,” Laney said in a distracted voice as she continued to scribble. “And don’t forget the fuel. They make a citronella and cedar if you can find it. Do you think you can find strings of little white Christmas lights too? I’m not sure if we have enough.”
“Probably,” he replied. “After all, it’s almost the end of August. Someone must have their Christmas stuff out.”
“Well, if all else fails, Snow’s probably has some,” she said, tapping her pen. Finally, she sighed and handed him the paper. “Okay, I guess that’s it, but put your phone on ‘loud’ so you’ll hear me if I think of something else.”
E read the list. “What are the ribbons for?”
“The jam jars.”
“And what are we using for plates and silverware and glasses?”
“The caterer is taking care of all that . . . the bar too. They’re dropping off everything Saturday morning.”
“Flowers?”
Laney nodded. “Saturday.”
E started to realize the magnitude of the planning that had gone into this day, and he shook his head. “If I ever get married, I’m going to elope.”
“Oh, no!” Laney said warningly. “There’s no eloping in this house. I’m getting every mother-son dance I have coming to me!”
E laughed. “We’ll see . . .”
Just then, Gabe came down the stairs and looked over his brother’s shoulder at the list. “What do we need Christmas lights for?”
“They’re for under the tent,” Laney explained, “to make it look festive.”
Gabe rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’ll look festive without Christmas lights.” Then he looked at his brother. “You ready? I have to get back so I can organize the music and burn some new CDs.”
“I’m ready,” he said. Then he looked at his mom again. “How are we paying for all this?”
“Just put it on your card and I’ll pay you back.”
When they got outside, they found their father and younger brothers watching a tractor trailer trying to back up the driveway.
“What the heck is that?” Gabe asked.
“It’s a porta-potty,” Asher said excitedly. “The whole trailer is a big fancy bathroom!”
“What those Democrats won’t think of,” Noah said, shaking his head.
The next morning, Laney felt as if her head had barely hit the pillow when her alarm clock went off. Without opening her eyes, she reached over and clumsily tried to find the snooze button but ended up knocking over a glass of water. “Great,” she grumbled, opening her eyes, slamming the clock, and getting up to find a towel.
Hearing the commotion, Noah rolled over. “Are we getting up?”
“Yup,” she said sleepily. “It’s corn-husking-cobbler-baking day.”
By nine a.m. everyone was up, fed, and given their assignments: Gabe and E were setting up tables and hanging Christmas lights; Ben, Seth, and Asher were seated in lawn chairs, husking the corn that Micah and Beryl had brought down from New Hampshire the night before; and Noah was helping Laney assemble six large peach cobblers in new pans lined up on the kitchen counter. “These peaches are amazing,” he said, popping a slice into his mouth.
“No more,” Laney said as she spread the batter in the bottom of the trays. “Or we won’t have enough.”
Noah nodded, and when she wasn’t looking, he popped another in his mouth.
“I saw that!”
He laughed. “You do have eyes in the back of your head.”
“Hello! Is this where the wedding is?” a cheerful voice called. The next moment, Micah and Beryl—looking healthy and tan from her tanning visits—followed by E and Gabe came through the door. Their arms were full of vases and votives and Charlotte was carrying a pretty gift bag.
“This is the place!” Laney said with a smile.
“Where should we put these?” Micah asked, glancing around the kitchen.
“Wherever you can find a spot,” Laney answered.
They set them down in the only empty spot—on the floor in the corner—and then Micah, E, and Gabe all reached into the bowl of peaches. “I’m not going to have enough,” Laney warned, eyeing them.
“The kitchen looks beautiful,” Beryl exclaimed, and then spied the jam jars decorated with red-and-white-checked fabric over their lids and tied with white ribbons. “And these look lovely!”
Laney looked up and smiled. “I thought that fabric would go with the sunflowers.”
Beryl nodded. “I made labels for the jars, and they have sunflowers on them too.”
“Perfect!” Laney said.
As she said this, Micah knelt down next to six-year-old Charlotte and whispered something in her ear. Charlotte looked shyly at Laney and then walked over, holding out the gift bag.
“What’s this?” Laney said, leaning down and putting her hands on her knees.
“It’s a present,” Charlotte said.
“Thank you,” Laney replied softly. “Do you want to help me open it?”
Charlotte nodded and reached into the bag. She pulled out a candle, and Laney looked at the label and pulled off the top to smell it. “Mmm . . . summer cotton,” she said, holding it out for Charlotte to smell too. Charlotte smiled and nodded approvingly and then looked up at Micah who motioned that there was more in the bag. Charlotte reached in again, pulled out two envelopes, and handed them to Laney.
Laney opened the bigger envelope first and slid out a gift certificate that had been made on a computer. It was decorated with paw prints and a silhouette of a boy playing tug-of-war with a puppy, and it said: Good for One Weekend of Boy and Dog Sitting! “What’s this for?” she asked with a puzzled expression.
“Keep going,” Micah said, nodding to the other envelope.
Obediently, Laney opened the other envelope. It was a note from Beryl and Micah, thanking her for hosting their wedding, and in a small blue envelope tucked inside, was a gift card for the Century House on Nantucket. “Oh, my goodness,” Laney said, looking up in surprise. She frowned. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know we didn’t have to,” Micah said. “We wanted to.”
Laney gave them hugs, and Beryl whispered, “We really can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re very welcome,” Laney said. “But you still didn’t have to. Thank you though. It’s very generous . . . too generous.” She eyed Noah. “Did you know about this?” she asked.
Noah just grinned and shrugged innocently.