“Okay, please hold these…yes…and then I’ll grab a few of those…thank you! Straighten up, Stephen, I can barely see the colors in the fabric!” Edna Petunia shouted from across the aisle in the mercantile.

It had been two weeks since Stephen had expressed his intention to marry Hope, and Edna Petunia still hadn’t allowed him to propose to her yet. He regretted his decision to allow Edna Petunia to plan the wedding. He’d had no idea how overboard she would go.

Every waking hour that Stephen wasn’t scheduled at work, he spent with Hope’s adoptive mother—at the mercantile, the church, or any number of other locations where Edna Petunia had arranged wedding-related appointments. Stephen had lost track of all the hats, dresses, shoes, and jewelry Edna Petunia had purchased.

When he’d expressed his concern to Cletus, the older man had only laughed and patted him on the back. “Let Edna Petunia be Edna Petunia. It makes her so happy.”

Each time Stephen mentioned that he felt it was time to propose to Hope, Edna Petunia talked him out of it, saying she needed a little more time. But Stephen was growing restless. It had been two weeks since he and Hope had last worked together, and each night, he fell asleep imagining what it would be like to touch and kiss her again. They had seen each other in church on Sunday, but hadn’t gotten a chance to talk afterwards because the Harvey family didn’t stay after the service.

Now, Stephen was in the middle of the mercantile for the second time that day, laden with bags, boxes, and yards upon yards of lace. He struggled to keep up with Edna Petunia’s pace. She was truly in excellent shape for a woman in her seventies.

“What are you standing there for? We’ve got a lot more to do today!” Edna Petunia barked.

Stephen craned his head to see around all the lace. Edna Petunia was headed for the door. “Don’t we need to pay for all this?”

Ruby, seated at the front of the store by the cash register, smiled and shook her head. “I’ve added it to Edna Petunia and Cletus’s account.” As Stephen struggled to make his way to the front of the store, Ruby stood up and held the door open for him. “Good luck!” Ruby called after Stephen as he trailed after Edna Petunia. She shook her head. He must be truly heartsick for Hope to put up with all this.

Edna Petunia’s next stop was the ice cream parlor. She had convinced the owner to bake a special wedding cake for Hope and Stephen, and she had asked that he prepare a cake now so she would know what it tasted like.

Stephen poked his head out from under the lace and looked at his future mother-in-law. “Edna Petunia, I have a question. Hope told me that you’re a terrific baker. Why aren’t you planning to make the wedding cake yourself?”

Edna Petunia laughed. “That may be true, but this is one of my bastard’s wedding days! I don’t want to be in the kitchen fussing over a cake. On this wedding, I’m relaxed!”

If this is relaxed, Stephen thought, what is she like when she’s not relaxed?

The owner of the ice cream parlor, Victor, came out to greet Edna Petunia. Victor beamed. “Edna Petunia! It is a delight to see you. We are so excited to make a cake for Hope and her fiancé.”

“I’m here!” Stephen shouted from beneath the boxes.

Victor looked startled. “Oh my! I didn’t see you there. Hello, son.” Victor offered a hand, and Stephen stuck his right hand out, balancing everything in his left hand. The tower of wedding finery swayed and swayed until Victor helped catch some of it. “Let’s put these down at one of the tables!” Victor and Stephen set all of the boxes, bags, and spools of fabric down on one of the tables.

Edna Petunia admired the rows of ice cream flavors in small barrels. “You know, I wouldn’t mind a little chocolate ice cream before we taste your cakes, Victor!”

Victor smiled widely and went behind the counter to scoop a small dish of ice cream each for Edna Petunia and Stephen.

Edna Petunia dug a peppermint stick out of her bodice and put it on top of the ice cream. “Mm!” Edna Petunia smacked her lips. “Okay, now I’m ready for the cake!”

“I’ll be right back.” Victor walked to the back of the parlor and disappeared into the kitchen.

Stephen took a small bite of ice cream. He had to admit, it was delicious. But he was exhausted and sore from lugging Edna Petunia’s purchases all over town. “Edna Petunia?”

Edna Petunia continued to spoon her ice cream into her mouth. It took her a few moments to realize Stephen was trying to get her attention. “What is it?”

Stephen took a deep breath. “You keep telling me that it’s too soon to propose to Hope. I want to respect you and Cletus’s wishes. But I’m getting impatient. If not now, when will be the right time?”

Edna Petunia grinned at the younger man. He was so earnest! She could tell how much he was in love with Hope, and that made her happy. All she wanted for her bastards was for them to be healthy and happy. She decided to let him in on her secret plan. “In a few weeks, we have the big church dinner coming up. Have you heard about that?”

Stephen looked confused. “What does that have to do with Hope and me?”

“I’m going to decorate the church for it so it looks very festive. With lace and ribbons and anything you might use for a special event—like a wedding. That evening, when Hope arrives at the church, I’ll have everything set up for the wedding. You’ll propose, she’ll accept, and then you’ll walk down the aisle!” Edna Petunia clapped her hands together with glee.

Stephen frowned. “But she won’t be wearing a wedding dress. How will that work?”

Edna Petunia waved her hands. “Don’t worry, Stephen. I’ve thought of everything…”

Stephen didn’t understand and wanted to ask more questions, but Victor came back and triumphantly placed a small, ivory-colored cake in front of them. Frosting in the shape of roses covered the top of the cake. “Now, this is just a small cake to demonstrate. The actual wedding cake will be much bigger!”

Edna Petunia nodded approvingly. “This looks wonderful! Let’s dig in!”

Stephen declined a piece of cake after his dish of ice cream, but did think it looked rather tasty. He longed to be able to tell Hope about the details of their upcoming wedding. He didn’t know what to do. It was clearly very important to Edna Petunia to handle things her way.

Edna Petunia sighed. “Victor, you are a sinfully good baker! If we both weren’t already married, I might have made eyes at you.”

Victor blushed.

Stephen sighed. It was going to be another long day of wedding planning, and there was no end in sight.

* * *

When Hope arrived home from work that evening, she saw Edna Petunia stitching yards and yards of white fabric together. “Are you making curtains?” Hope called as she walked into the formal parlor. Although the girls usually didn’t go into the formal parlor unless invited, Hope thought she’d see if Edna Petunia wanted company.

Hope was dreadfully bored after a slow day in the clinic. There had only been two patients, and though she enjoyed talking to Dr. Harvey, she missed Stephen. She had so many things she wanted to talk to him about, and church wasn’t a good opportunity to do so.

Edna Petunia jumped up and began stuffing the fabric behind her on the sofa. “Hope! I didn’t hear you come in!”

“Do you need help?” Hope asked.

Edna Petunia thought quickly. “No, no. Why don’t you go in the kitchen and help your sisters get ready for dinner? Yes, that’s a good idea!”

Hope frowned. “It’s not my turn to help with dinner. If you want me to stay here with you while you work on your curtains, I can.” She began to sit down on the sofa next to Edna Petunia, but her adoptive mother stood up and pushed her toward the door. Hope realized that the older woman was surprisingly strong.

“No, no, I don’t want to trouble you. You go…go read a book! Take a walk! You bastards need more fresh air, I just know it!” Edna Petunia called.

Hope sighed. “All right.” She thought for a moment that Edna Petunia was acting strangely, and then she realized that it would be more unusual if Edna Petunia wasn’t acting strangely.

Hope walked into the informal parlor next. This was the room where she and her sisters liked to spend time after work and chores. Theresa was working on a long, lacy piece of fabric.

“What’s that?” Hope asked curiously. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a wedding veil!”

Theresa looked at Hope with an expression of terror. She quickly stuffed the lace into a small box and slammed the lid shut. “It’s nothing!”

“Theresa, you can tell me. You’re not getting married, are you?” Hope teased.

Theresa flushed bright red. “No…no one’s getting married!”

Hope decided to give Theresa some privacy. She walked toward the kitchen, where she saw Minnie and Alice examining something in a small box.

“It’s so beautiful!” Alice exclaimed.

“I heard it’s from his mother,” Minnie said dreamily.

“Whose mother? I want to see!” Hope called as she walked up to her sisters.

Alice covered her hand with her mouth. “Hope!”

Minnie snapped the lid shut on the small box and hid it behind her back. “It’s not your turn to help with dinner.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Hope replied, looking from sister to sister. “What were you two looking at?”

Minnie looked at Alice nervously. “Nothing.”

“You’re holding something behind your back, Minnie,” Hope said. It was plain as day.

“N-no I’m not,” Minnie stammered.

“Fine. I give up. If you want to keep secrets, that’s fine with me. I’ll be in my room!” Hope flung her arms in the air and rushed up the stairs. It was official—her entire family was behaving strangely, even for them.