I straightened my jacket and went out onto the terrace.

Part Seven: The Arbor

She was standing just inside the doorway at the top of the garden steps, out of sight of the seated guests, with her mother beside her and the photographer crouched down doing something with the hem.

She looked beautiful.

I am not going to pretend she didn’t.

The string quartet — two women from the Springs Philharmonic, hired for four hours — had started the piece that came before the processional.