Marriage Can Be Murder -- Every Wife Has A Story (A Carol and Jim Andrews Baby Boomer Mystery) Read Free

mother-daughter heart-to-heart about the coming nuptials, without my husband rolling his eyes at me and saying I was interfering.
    “Surprise, Mom,” said Jenny, giving me a peck on the cheek. “I don’t have a class to teach until eleven this morning, so I had time to stop at The Paperback Cafe and pick up some fresh pastries.” She moved a plate of warm goodies in my direction.
    Ignoring the fact that the waistband on my favorite sweatpants felt tighter than the last time I’d worn them, I gave in and snagged one. Jenny hopped off her stool and poured me a cup of coffee.
    “Where’s your father?” I asked. “He didn’t mention anything about leaving the house early today.”
    “He was here when I arrived,” Jenny said. “But I wanted to talk to you alone. I hinted that it might be a good time to take Lucy and Ethel for a long walk. I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings.”
    I stiffened. “Everything ok, sweetie?”
    “Fine, Mom. Really. But I wanted to talk to you about the wedding.” “Fabulous,” I said. “Because I wanted to talk to you about it, too.
    I’ve been looking at bridal magazines, and it’s never too soon to start shopping for a dress. And, of course, we have to find a place on Nantucket to have the ceremony. And the reception. There’s so much to do.”
    “There’s too much to do,” Jenny said. “I’m feeling overwhelmed. Mark and I are getting married on Nantucket because it’s such a special place for us, but none of us live there. We can’t make it work without help.
    “So, we’ve decided to hire a professional wedding planner.”
    At my stricken look, Jenny hastened to add, “You’ll still be involved, Mom. I couldn’t do any of this without you. But you understand that, because of the distance, we really need someone who knows all the ins and outs of doing a wedding on Nantucket.”
    I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Good old Mom wasn’t good enough to help plan a wedding for her only daughter. No wonder she wanted to talk to me alone.
    Jenny nudged a full-color brochure in my direction. “The wedding planning company we’ve picked is called Cinderella Weddings. Their slogan is, ‘You find Prince Charming, and we’ll take care of everything else.’ Isn’t that perfect? I always wanted a fairytale wedding.”
    “I want that for you, too,” I said. And mentally slapped myself.
    This is Jenny and Mark’s wedding, and they’re in charge. Not you, Carol. And Jenny still wants you to be involved in the planning.
    Just not as much as you expected.
    “Did you talk to Dad about this?” I asked, breaking off a small smidge of pastry to go with my coffee. Anticipating the question from Jim, I continued, “How much does a wedding planner charge?” And who’s going to pay for this?
    I didn’t really say the last part, of course.
    “This was all Mark’s idea,” Jenny said. “He could see that the wedding details were starting to overwhelm me. He’s so good to me.” She stopped and got that love-struck look so common among brides-to-be.
    “He went online and found Cinderella Weddings. It’s a national company that plans destination weddings. One of the sites the company specializes in is Nantucket. And the best part is, they’re doing a big bridal show at Westfair Country Club in two weeks, and we can all go. Won’t that be fun?”
    I brightened immediately. “You mean, a show where people get to meet florists and caterers, and see sample wedding gowns? I would love to go. But I’m not so sure about Dad. It isn’t really his ‘thing.’ ”
    Jenny laughed. “It isn’t really Mark’s ‘thing,’ either. But I convinced him. And promised him that Dad would hang out with him, to keep him from getting too bored.”
    “The promise of sampling free food might be an incentive for your father,” I said. “That, and wanting to make you happy, of course. Maybe if he goes to the bridal show, he’ll be more enthused about your being married on Nantucket