“I like the basic lines, but these puffy sleeves are atrocious. These gathers in the back over the butt, ack. And we can’t have a train—this thing is long and heavy and I’m not dragging it through the sand. The deep cowl neckline and bodice—nice. I think I want about four yards of satin removed from this thing.”

“Little cap sleeves, gathers smoothed and no train but maybe three inches longer in the back than in the front and maybe some lace appliqué right under the bust,” Ginger suggested. “But not an empire waist—that’s too sixteenth century. Fitted, sliding right down your hips. Some seed pearls around this stunning décolletage would be nice. You’re not showing yet so it should be sleek. Simple, clean, brilliant white satin, smooth lines. A couple of small flowers in your hair.”

Everyone just stared at her.

“What?” she said. “Just an idea...”

“Perfect.” Grace looked at Gwen. “Can you do that?”

“I don’t know,” the older woman said. “It terrifies me. This is a designer gown!”

“I can do it,” Ginger said. “I sew. But I don’t have a machine with me or any supplies. I didn’t even bring a pair of scissors—and this fabric would need especially sharp scissors. I’m just not set up for it...”

“I’ll fix you up,” Gwen said. “I’m a quilter, I have everything and what I don’t have we can buy. We can do it at my house and I’ll help with the handwork. Oh, my God, it will be beautiful! But I’m not cutting it, not me! I think that dress must have cost a million dollars!”

“For all I know...” Grace muttered. “Ginger, please be sure the front door to the store is locked.”

“It’s locked,” she said.

Iris and Gwen helped Grace out of the dress. “Are you sure? Are you willing to alter it?”

“I’m sure I can do it,” Ginger said. “Are you sure you trust me with it?”

“You may have saved my life—again.”

“But your mother may not recognize it with all those changes,” Ginger pointed out. “She’ll recognize that beautiful cowl neckline but nothing else.”

“That’s not the most important thing,” Grace said. “If I can swear to her it’s her dress, that’s all that matters.”

“Good then,” Ginger said. “We’ll save and preserve the removed pieces so your daughter can use them someday. And we’ll need an industrial-strength steamer—no iron is getting near that fabric.”

“Anything you need.” Grace got into her jeans and shirt. “I have to get out to the house. A nurse is meeting me there at nine—she’s going to take care of mother during the day. Peyton and Scott recommended her. Another woman is coming at three—she could be an evening and weekend nurse if we need her. We don’t need round-the-clock coverage yet but Peyton says there’s an excellent agency with lots of good part-timers when we do have a need.

“Troy’s parents will be here on Wednesday and his brother, sister and her family arrive on Thursday.” She stopped dressing and stood stone still. “I’m sorry, Ginger. It’s going to be madness.”

Ginger smiled despite her nerves. “It’s going to be beautiful. Try not to worry.”

School was out. Troy was around to make sure his family had everything they needed and Iris was off for the summer and offered to help in the flower shop. Ginger and Iris wanted the wedding flowers to be perfect. And, as if having an important wedding wasn’t a big enough issue with Ginger, the dress was top priority.

“It will be such an intimate event,” Ginger said.

“There is no such thing on the beach,” Iris said. “Trust me, I’ve lived here all my life. If they marry on the beach, everyone will know about it and they’ll either be invited, come even if they’re not invited or be hurt that they weren’t invited. I warned Grace—she’s going to have to tell Carrie and Rawley to be prepared to cater to a crowd. God, I hope the weather holds...”

“What happens if it doesn’t?” Ginger asked.

“They get married in the living room and depending on the weather, food is served on the deck or in the foyer.”

“Oh, my,” Ginger said.

“It’ll hold,” Iris said, tenderly placing the dress in the large hang-up bag.

The week started out crazy and definitely didn’t ease up, but Ginger was so happy to have something new to talk to Matt about that she didn’t care. She explained all the excitement and complications of the week, how every hand was needed to make this happen quickly so Troy’s family could meet Grace’s family before health issues got in the way or, God forbid, Grace was as ripe as a melon!

“You’re on speaker,” she told Matt. “No one’s here at the moment, but you’re on speaker because I’m sewing seed pearls around the neckline of this dress. The dress lives with Gwen during the day and then after dinner I bring it home so I can look it over, fit it to Grace and do a little handwork at night.”

“You must be exhausted,” he said.

“Not yet, but I’m working on it. I just want this wedding to be wonderful for Grace. And if you could have seen my hand tremble as I was about to take the scissors to this one-of-a-kind gown... I tried not to let it show I was scared to death. But it’s going to be beautiful.”

“You’re full of surprises.”

“Tell me everything you did this week,” she said. “While I go blind on these itty-bitty pearls, tell me everything.”

“I don’t want you to fall asleep while you’re supposed to be sewing.”

“Tell me,” she said.

“It’s June, the farm is stable. We aerate, irrigate, spray for bugs here and there. George has turned out the lambs, Paco is watching for potato worms and other pests. We make our own compost and it’s a double-edged sword—we don’t run the risk of transplanting pests from commercial products but sometimes we create a haven for our own pests because we stay away from the chemicals that will kill them. Our potatoes are well-known for being big, healthy and tasty. During summer, we mind the pears and potatoes, we have a small cherry orchard, some apple trees. We’re watching the crops. George has needed a hand with the lambs—a little docking and castrating.”