A Groom wirh a View

Prologue

    “ Do you know Livvy Thatcher?“ Jane Jeffry asked her best friend Shelley Nowack.
    “Let me in out of the cold and I’ll tell you,“ Shelley said.
    Shelley had run over to Jane’s house from her own, which was next door. She hadn’t bothered to put on a coat for such a short jaunt and was already freezing. She stepped into Jane’s warm kitchen and shivered dramatically. “I’ve lived in the Chicago area all my life,“ Shelley griped, “and every January I ask myself why a sane person would stay here on purpose. It’s not a cruel accident of fate. I can laugh off fate. It’s a deliberately stupid choice.“
    “I’m glad you feel that way,“ Jane said, “because I want to talk about April.“
    “You didn’t invite me over to discuss taxes, did you?“ Shelley asked, frowning.
    “No! I’d never talk to you about anything to do with the I.R.S. It makes the veins in your forehead bulge, which isn’t pretty. So, do you know Livvy Thatcher?“
    “Not if I fell over her. Any relation to Margaret?”
    Jane poured Shelley a big mug of hot coffee and led the way to the living room where piles of magazines and library books were stacked all over the floor. “Not so you’d notice.“
    “Good Lord, Jane, it looks like your bookshelves exploded! What is all this stuff? Wedding magazines? You didn’t suddenly change your mind about marrying Mel, did you?“
    “Nope, we agreed we’re better off not even living together. This is to do with Livvy Thatcher. She was at the neighborhood Christmas cookie exchange I had here last month. Another neighbor dragged her along.“
    “Youngish? Tall? Bland-looking but awfully well made up?“ Shelley asked, pulling up her mental inventory of the guests.
    “Right. She called me yesterday. Asked if she could drop by and talk something over with me. I was afraid she was going to try to sell me something, to tell the truth, but I let her come over anyway. Chalk it up to January boredom.“
    “So what did she sell you?“
    “Nothing. She said she’d been really impressed with my party. How well-planned and pleasant it was and how I managed to carry it off during a busy season without looking frazzled.“
    “She didn’t say that. You’re just bragging,“ Shelley said, flipping through a magazine and making a moue of distaste over a particularly ugly gown.
    “She did, too. Word for word. Cross my heart. Then she told me that she’s getting married in April and wants me to help her plan the wedding.”
    Shelley glanced up. “You? Plan a wedding? What do you know about weddings?“
    “I had one of my own once, you know. That’s how I ended up with three kids.“
    “But you didn’t even plan that one, I’ll bet. The wedding, not the kids. Your mother did. Right?”
    “Yes, but I was there,“ Jane said.
    “Jane, a wedding is a huge headache. Why would you help with one for a perfect stranger?“
    “Money,“ Jane said. “And to see if I can.“
    “She’s paying you?“
    “Lots,“ Jane said, rubbing her hands together.
    “You don’t need money,“ Shelley persisted.
    “I don’t desperately need money, but it can’t hurt. Another mysterious piece of machinery fell out of the bottom of my station wagon yesterday. I’m going to have to replace it soon.
    “I really can’t believe you’re seriously considering it.“
    “I am. The week after New Year’s kind of got to me,“ Jane admitted.
    “How so?“
    “After two weeks of being exhaustingly busy, I took down the decorations, the kids went back to school, and after sleeping it all off, I was so bored that I actually contemplated cleaning the basement.“
    “That’s scary!“ Shelley said.
    “I’ve got one kid in college. Two of them will be home by four o’clock. But in another year and a half, only one will be home. And a couple years after that, none will be here every day.“
    “So marry Mel then,“ Shelley said. “Or work on that endless book you’re writing.“
    “I hope you’re just playing devil’s advocate,“ Jane said.
    “Hmmm. I guess I am,“ Shelley admitted. “I’ve given the same thing some serious thought from time to time lately. But planning a wedding! Ye gods, Jane. I wonder if you’ve ever really been around a bride.“
    “Oh, yes. A few relatives. And some of them got pretty nutsy. But this is different. Livvy’s one of those overachieving yuppies. She pretty much runs her father’s business and just wants a fabulous wedding—only because