Bride & Groom

it. Rita is such a devoted friend, as well as a person of excellent taste who will see that everything is just so.
 
With great love,
 
Gabrielle
 
 
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subj: Re: No time at all!
 
Hi Gabrielle,
 
Ceci and Rita are planning what they promise will be a simple and small shower, but I am delighted that you will be here for it. I am also delighted that Twila and North have accepted the wedding invitation. He is a remarkable dog—a successful show dog and a great working dog. Buck will enjoy meeting both North and Twila—in that order! But Twila is crazy about North and won't mind.
 
We are spending our honeymoon in Paris, and that's that.
 
The atmosphere generated by the murders is in jarring contrast to what seems, by comparison, our frivolous preoccupation with the festivities. Ordinary shops, including my local pharmacy and the neighborhood convenience stores, are suddenly stocking personal alarm devices, flashlights, noxious sprays, outside floodlights, and even baseball bats. After dusk, it's rare to see a woman outdoors alone. I wish I could report that Kevin Dennehy offered the hope of a rapid end to this grim period of fearfulness, but he does not, in part, I suspect, because the investigation is in the manicured hands of the District Attorney, the state police, and so forth instead of in his capable, beefy paws. Please remember not to tell Buck that I knew Bonny Carr.
 
I can hardly wait to see you!
 
Love,
 
Holly
P.S. Tell Buck that my wedding gown does have pockets.
 
 
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subj: Dinner?
 
Hi Holly,
Mac and I wonder whether you and Steve would care to join us for dinner a week from today, on Saturday, the twenty-first. Olivia and her husband, John, will be with us, as will Ian and perhaps a few others. Ian will probably be persuaded to treat us to some live music. How fearfully Jane Austen we are! But we will be quite informal. If you are free, would seven suit you?
 
Best,
 
Judith
 
 
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subj: Re: Dinner?
 
Hi Judith,
Steve and I would be delighted to have dinner on the twenty-first. Many thanks for thinking of us. We'll be there at seven. What would you like us to contribute? Salad? Dessert? Wine?
 
Olivia gave us some of Ian's CDs. We are thrilled that he has agreed to do the music for our wedding. The more Jane Austen, the better!
 
Best,
Holly
 
 
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subj: Repeat!
 
Buck,
I do not believe in interfering in other people's marriages, especially yours, but I feel compelled to repeat what I just said to you on the phone, namely, that if you want to go to mushing boot camp, fine! And I am happy to have Rowdy and Kimi accompany you. They will have lots of fun. The same cannot be said of Gabrielle. I wish that you had not signed her up without letting her know what to expect. It is your responsibility, and not mine, to inform her of the realities of camp! She needs to understand that mushing is mushing and that boot camp is boot camp! Please have her call Twila Baker!
 
Love,
Holly
     

CHAPTER 23
     
    On Saturday night, Steve and I had an early dinner at a new restaurant in Newton called Nuages, which means, as I translated for Steve, Clouds. His French still hadn’t progressed beyond the statement that his wife didn’t like the heat.
    “Actually,” I reminded him as we drove to Nuages, “when you’re its source, your wife-to-be likes the heat just fine.”
    We were trying out Nuages in the hope that it would be a suitable place for our rehearsal dinner. Because Althea tired easily, we wanted a restaurant close to Ceci’s house on Norwood Hill. Nuages was a five-minute drive from there. Our investigation was a great success. The food proved to be not only delicious but more substantial than the restaurant’s name suggested; because I’m half malamute, I object to light fare, and I absolutely hate small portions. The decor, atmosphere, and menu at Nuages, while unpretentious, were trendy enough to make us feel that we were getting married in style. By the end of the meal, we’d agreed that this was the right place, and before leaving, we talked with the manager and reserved tables for Saturday. September 28.
    If all had gone according to plan, we’d then have returned home to spend an hour or two poring over our guides to Paris and