Sally's Secret

Chapter 37

Maria didn't have to contend with the headaches of managing all the crazy wedding details because Sally and Lady Penelope handled everything. She did watch Sally closely to make sure the extra work wasn't compromising her health, but Sally was remarkably un-stressed about it all. Maria quietly took Scott aside and recommended he invite a plus-one. He'd have to stand with his grandma for all the wedding pictures, but he might like having a dinner and dance partner for the reception.

Although Maria was mostly staying out of it, she was aware of bit of kerfluffle going on among the bridesmaids over their dresses. It seems she gave them a little too much freedom and they all had very different ideas of what they wanted to wear. Brains solved the dilemma with a brilliant idea how to keep them all happy and still have some semblance of coordination. He decided to harmonise the print of the fabric instead of colours or style of clothing. He encouraged the women to dictate their own styles and let them choose their colour preference from a fabric Maria chose specifically because that print had the most background colours available. Ridley chose a cobalt blue, Lady Penelope chose a deep blood red that was almost burgundy, Kayo chose a dark teal, and Sally chose a dark purple. Their personal colour choices were the background to a Hawaiian print that was similar to Maria's graduation dress. They all had bamboo, ferns, and a scant smattering of plumeria flowers printed in ivory on their chosen backgrounds so they would all look like a coherent group despite all wanting different dress styles and colours.

Maria's bridal gown would be made of the same print, just done with an ivory on white, so it was very subtle. Brains had magnanimously offered to make her bridal gown as well. As if he didn't have enough on his plate already. Maria told him her dress didn't matter that much, so he could just do whatever he felt best. She trusted him implicitly after the diving suit from Heaven. The only thing she requested was long sleeves to hide the hexagon brands and the wrist scars. It wasn't like she had even the slightest chance of being the most beautiful woman there, so no point trying to out-do the bridesmaids. Let them shine all they wanted; she was getting Virgil.

All the Tracy men would have black trousers and white jackets for the wedding, with solid cummerbunds, pocket squares, and bow ties to match their ladies: teal for Alan, deep red for Gordon, cobalt blue for John, dark purple for Scott, and white for Virgil. Parker and Brains would have black jackets, black trousers, and silver satin bow ties, pocket squares, and cummerbunds.

Sally brought two old wedding bands down to breakfast one morning. "Virgil, Maria, these were mine and my husband's. I'd like to give them to you, since Scott is inheriting your mother's and father's rings."

Maria gasped. "Oh Sally, that's very generous, but I love my sharks." She leaned into Virgil and made a point of admiring the engagement ring on her hand. "Maybe you should save them for Gordon, John, or Alan."

"Well, I do want Grandpa Tracy's ring," Virgil said. "How about you wear the sharks on your right hand and wear a band that matches mine on your left? The sharks are barely engagement-worthy."

"I beg to differ. They're awesome. But I can wear them on my right if you want to match. I didn't think you'd want to wear a ring at all, since you work with your hands so much."

"I couldn't wear a college ring, or anything bulky like that, but a simple band like this will fit under my gloves just fine."

Maria nodded. "I guess we accept, then, Sally. Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome, but I think it's time you stopped calling me Sally, dear. You're family now."

Maria took the rings and hugged her. "Thank you, Grandma Tracy," she whispered as they embraced.