Early the next morning, Kana stopped by for me. He'd offered to drive Rob to the station, and I'd asked to come along to get just a little more time with him before he left. Both of them were thrilled by my news, of course, and Rob said he thought Cam was all right—meaning he approved of him. I promised to call our parents that evening to give them the news, and asked him to be sure they'd be around to get the call since I'd have to use the phone at town hall.

After Kana and I got back, I hurried through my chores and errands so I could meet Cam at the café. When we told Howard and Laney, they were positively over the moon. Laney jumped on me, giving me a huge hug as she squealed with excitement, and Howard immediately started coming up with all kinds of wild, extravagant plans for our wedding. Cam and I looked at each other in mock dismay as he enthusiastically rattled off one crazy idea after another.

Laney intercepted our look, however, and immediately reined her father in. "Hold on just a minute, Dad!" she exclaimed, affectionately patting him on his shoulder. "I think Alice might like to plan her own wedding herself!" She turned to us with a smile, saying, "Dad and I would be delighted to take care of the food and the cake, of course—if you would like, that is. Just let us know what you want!"

I hugged them both, grateful not just for their offer but also for their joy in our engagement. I knew they considered Cam to be family, and when we announced our engagement, they happily opened their arms wide to include me in their little family circle.

Afterwards, we returned to my house. I made some tea for us, and we settled down to make some plans—not just for our wedding, but also for our life together afterwards.

"I've almost finished restoring this farm as much as I intend to," I said as I set a plate of food at each of our places and sat down, "at least for the time being. But I'm not quite there. I might be able to finish before the winter snows begin, but if not, then I'll try to have it completed by the end of the year, depending on the weather. Will you mind living here in Konohana in the meantime? I know it means having to travel farther to and from your shop, but hopefully it will be for just a little while. Then we can move to Bluebell to stay."

"Well, of course, I've never lived here before... I'd never even been here to visit until you moved here. I have to say, though, that it's much nicer than I'd always envisioned growing up. I still like Bluebell the best, but Konohana's not so bad."

"And when would you want to have the wedding? I want to invite both villages, as I've grown close to many of my neighbors here, too."

"How about in a month?"

"Hmm, that's not much time for all the preparations," I said, looking up at him with a slight frown as I pondered his suggestion.

"I know, but we don't have to have an elaborate wedding, do we? And... well, maybe I'm just being selfish, but... I've waiting so long for you already, I don't want to wait a minute longer than necessary."

I smiled and reached for his hand. "No, we don't. I'd rather not, anyway. A big fancy event would just seem so out of place here. I'd much rather something more simple. Kind of like that party we had when the tunnel reopened, only with a wedding ceremony first."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Cam exclaimed with a laugh.

"See? We're already acting like an old married couple," I teased. "Although... I'm worried about the weather. It rains a lot this time of the year, and I'd hate to be rained out of my own wedding."

"What if we held it in the town hall?"

"Hmmm... that's not a bad idea. We could have the ceremony in one hall, and the reception in the other. That would not only include both villages, but also make setting up a lot easier. Maybe have the ceremony here in Konohana and the reception in Bluebell, since the Bluebell town hall is close to Howard's?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Then I'll talk to both mayors about it, and see if they approve. I wonder if either of them can do the ceremony?" I wondered.

"Oh, hey, that's right—you probably haven't heard yet. Some priest of the Harvest Goddess heard about the old church on the edge of Bluebell and came to see it while you were gone. He fell in love with it and wants to restore it, so he's moving here. I seem to remember Rutger telling Howard that he'd be back in a couple of weeks, and that was about a week ago. I guess the church needs some repairs before it's usable, but even so, I bet he could still do the ceremony. If you want, that is?"

"That would be perfect! I'll have to keep an eye out for him, and see if he's willing. What about a honeymoon? Should we take one? There's the farm... and I'm only just back from vacation...."

"Of course we should. I don't want you getting up to muck the barn early in the morning after our wedding night—I want you snug in bed with me! Where would you like to go?"

I laughed and said, "Someplace warm! Even though the weather wasn't all that warm most of the time on my vacation, it was still a shock to come back to the chilly fall air here in the mountains. I still feel cold all the time. Seriously though, how would you feel about going to my hometown for a honeymoon? It's nowhere especially exciting, but...."

"I'd like that. I'd love to see where you grew up, all your old haunts, that sort of thing. Do you want to pick a place and make reservations? Or do you want me to do it and surprise you?"

"I like surprises! You can ask my mother for recommendations, if you want some guidance."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do you want to try to spend the wedding night there, too? Or go the next day?"

"Definitely the next day. It's a bit far to go at the end of a long day, and besides, the trains don't run that late. How long do you want to plan to be gone? Two days? Three?"

He looked at me as if I was crazy. "Two days? I was thinking two weeks! I want as much time alone with you as I can get before we have to settle down into our routine."

"Two weeks?" I exclaimed. "Well, that would be nice, though it might be hard to find someone to take care of my farm for me for so long. Rob will be in college, so he can't do it. Maybe Kana can take care of my animals... and maybe Reina would see to my fields? So how about if we leave Sunday and come back Thursday the week after? That's a week and a half, and you'd have Friday to get settled in here before you go back to work Saturday."

"I guess that sounds good to me. So it's a date, then," he agreed with a smile as he gave my hand a squeeze. "By the way, I'd like to do the flowers, even if it is my own wedding. I particularly want to design your bouquet. Do you mind?"

"I'd love that, if you think you'll have the time for it. I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather have arrange my bridal flowers," I said with a smile.

"I'll make the time, one way or another. Just let me know what colors you want and leave the rest to me."

"I hadn't thought about that yet," I mused. "I think... I think I'd really like ivory and pale peach for my colors. What do you think?"

"I think that would be beautiful, sweet, and innocent—just like you," he said, smiling as my cheeks turned bright pink.

Afterwards, he returned to Bluebell to start planning the flowers, and I went to talk with Ina and Rutger. They happily agreed to my plan of splitting the wedding between the two town halls, and confirmed that the date we wanted was available in both towns. After that was settled, I found Laney and asked her to come with me to Eileen's.

We found the carpenter just outside her house, taking inventory of her stock of materials. She invited us in for some tea and freshly baked blueberry scones. While we waited on the kettle, I told Eileen my good news and showed her the beautiful sapphire ring Cam had given me. She was so excited, she started bouncing up and down like a bunny, her wavy hair bobbing as she squealed, "I can't believe it! You're getting married! I'm sooo happy, happy, happy!"

She started the tea brewing and split the scones, spreading them generously with honey butter. We sat down, and while we sipped and nibbled, I explained the reason for meeting with them. "Cam doesn't want a long engagement...."

"Can't say I blame him, he wants to be sure you don't get away after all his waiting!" Eileen interrupted with a giggle and a wink. Laney and I laughed, too, then I continued.

"Anyway... so we're planning to get married Saturday a month from tomorrow. That means I don't have a lot of time, even though we want a fairly simple wedding. We're going to have the ceremony in the Konohana town hall, then have the reception here in the Bluebell town hall. That'll make it easier for you and Howard to get the food set up, won't it?" I said, looking at Laney.

"Much easier!" she agreed emphatically as she smiled.

"Anyway, we're inviting everyone from both towns, as well as my family and a few others from out of town. I haven't yet talked to Cam about who he wants as his groomsmen, but I think if we're keeping things simple, two men and two bridesmaids should be enough, plus a flower girl and a ring-bearer. And if you're willing, I'd like you to be my bridesmaids!"

Eileen squealed with glee again, while Laney just clasped her hands and looked thrilled. "Of course I am!" they replied in unison, then looked at each other and giggled.

"Then how about we go do some dress shopping Monday? Do you think Ash could drive us to the station to catch the 9:15, and pick us up again in the afternoon?"

" Probably—I'll ask him and let you know. This is going to be so fun!" Laney enthused.

We spent nearly an hour afterwards talking about the wedding: colors, dresses, flowers, the cake, and all the other details that have fascinated young brides-to-be and their dearest friends for generations.

I looked at the clock some time later and exclaimed "Wow, just look at the time! I've got run—I have so much work to do! And that isn't even counting the wedding!"

After I finished planting my fall crops, I hurried to Yun's tea shop to ask if Ying could be my flower girl. Yun readily agreed, though she declined my invitation to take her shopping with us. "I'm very sorry, Alice," she said, shaking her head sadly. "Ying is still far too delicate for the city air, even just for a day."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'd hoped she'd be well enough to come with us. But if you give me her measurements, I can at least look for a dress and shoes for her. Will that be okay?"

"Oh, certainly, certainly! Now why don't you go tell her your news in person? I believe she's playing just outside."

Ying was overjoyed when I asked her. "May I really?" she asked in her sweet, tiny voice. "Will I get to wear a pretty dress?"

"I'll find the prettiest dress for you to wear, I promise," I assured her with a smile. She flung her arms around my neck and whispered a thank you to me, catching me completely off guard. I gave her a cautious hug, then I headed back to my farm to finish my chores and call my parents.

My brother answered the phone, and hurried to get my parents. With both of them listening, I told them my news, then held the phone away from my ear while my mother shrieked with excitement for two or three minutes straight. I told them when we wanted to have it, and although they were surprised at how short our engagement would be, they were nevertheless thrilled for me. I arranged for Mom to meet us Monday for some bridal shopping, then settled down to tell them all about my life there on the mountain in general and Cam in particular. It had been far too long since I'd really caught up with my parents.

Monday morning I rose bright and early in order to be ready on time. Ash had readily agreed to drive us, and said he'd come by around eight. I hurried through my farm work, cramming toast into my mouth and gulping tea while I watered my crops. When I was done, I rushed off to shower and change into nicer clothes. I was just pulling my boots on when I heard the sound of a horse and cart coming down the drive. I grabbed my cardigan and ran out the door, and we headed off to the station.

The nearest town to the two villages was Rosevale, a little over an hour's ride on the train each way. It was 10:30 when we stepped off the train onto the platform in downtown, and my mother was standing there, eagerly watching for me. After a brief but ecstatic reunion, we got right down to business. Rosevale wasn't a large town, but it was large enough to boast two bridal boutiques as well as a few other clothing stores.

At noon, we went to lunch at a cute little tea shop, where we sat and talked and laughed as we sipped tea and ate fancy little sandwiches and salads and finished off with desserts chosen from a selection of cakes and tarts. We finished shopping a little after three in the afternoon and parted ways with Mom, making it to the station just in time to catch the train back to where Ash was waiting patiently.

We'd had a successful outing, and on the train we pored over our purchases, oblivious to the smiles of curious fellow-travelers listening in on our raptures. I'd been taken with a delicate ivory gown, with a layer of embroidered chiffon over the bodice and crystal pleated chiffon over the skirt. Eileen and Laney had agreed on a dress in a soft peach blush that had a bodice similar in style to mine, but with a full tea-length skirt. And Ying's little dress was the same soft shade of blush, but her little dress had tiers of chiffon and a cluster of chiffon roses at the waist.

Ash dropped me off at the farm at nearly 5:30. I invited everyone in for tea, but Ash and Laney said they needed to hurry back to help out at their homes, and Eileen asked for a raincheck—she had a client coming over at seven, and she needed to eat a quick dinner and get ready. So I dropped my packages on my sofa, changed into my work clothes, and went out to do my evening chores.

Afterwards, I headed over to Yun's to give Ying her flower girl outfit. It was well worth all the trouble of trying to find something just perfect when I saw the look on her face as she admired the clothes. She looked positively captivated as she tentatively reached a tiny fingertip out to touch the soft fabric and roses, and when I pulled out a pair of little ballet flat with matching fabric roses and a precious little basket wrapped in layers of ivory chiffon, she looked as though she was in heaven.

I was so tired that I decided I really didn't have the energy to cook for just myself, so I grabbed some takeout from the tea house before heading back to my farm. I missed Cam terribly, as I always did on Mondays when he was away the entire day. I understood why he needed to go, but nevertheless I missed him—and I couldn't wait until the day when we wouldn't need to be apart anymore.