After the wedding, everyone gathered at the reception hall. The room was completely captivating—dimly lit and romantic. There was a full buffet, cakes, a band, and a dance floor.
A few minutes later, the POstables and Hasletts were seated at a round table covered by a white tablecloth and decorated with tulle and flower arrangements similar to those in the sanctuary. They were enjoying food from the buffet when the newlyweds approached. The men stood as the young couple sat down, Ellis helping Victoria with her cumbersome dress.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Marble," Oliver told them, with an ear-to-ear grin.
"You make a beautiful couple," Rita complimented them.
"Yes," Shane agreed. "And the ceremony was very lovely."
"Thank you," Victoria said graciously. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I don't know where to begin. I owe each of you a debt of gratitude."
"You don't owe us anything, Mrs. Marble," Oliver told her.
"As much as I love—and I mean, love—the sound of that, please call me Tori," she responded, grinning.
They all laughed and Ellis kissed his new bride quickly on the cheek.
"I just—I don't know where to begin. Ellis didn't mention any of this, so I've been completely surprised today, by everything."
"I requested that of him," Shane informed her. "We wanted you to have this as a wedding day gift—one that you will always remember."
"Oh, I won't forget this, for sure," Tori spoke softly, trying to hold back the tears. "I, uh, I had a really hard time after Daddy died. I felt like I had lost myself, you know? I pushed through college but stayed in my little corner, detached from people as much as possible. Then when I graduated nursing school, I worked for a few months and found this position as a traveling nurse. I felt like it was perfect—no strings attached, just work a couple months here and then move there. I didn't have to worry about losing anyone because I didn't have anyone. But I knew it really wasn't curing the grief that I felt. Then I met Ellis, and he—well, he slowly but surely started to bring me around."
"Very slowly," Ellis interjected, and they chuckled again.
"Yeah, at a snail's pace." She grinned. "Ellis brought me back to church again. After a while, I finally agreed to marry him, but I wanted to elope. I thought it might make missing my Daddy a little less painful."
"But you didn't tell me that," Ellis whispered in shock.
"I know. And it's okay. This is what was meant to be. I am surrounded by family and love and I now have restored hope and faith—all the things that my Daddy always told me really mattered."
She paused and looked at the Hasletts, tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for running away. You were always there for me, and I don't know—it was just easier to disconnect myself from everyone. I do love you both, so much."
"Aww, honey, we love you too," Clarice consoled her. "I'm just so glad that these wonderful people found out about your wedding just in time and let me know about it. I was worried how you would feel about us 'crashing' your wedding." Clarice laughed a little.
Tori looked confused. "But you're not 'crashing' our wedding. I sent you an invitation."
Clarice seemed relieved. "Oh? I never got it."
The POstables exchanged thoughtful glances.
"Tori," Shane spoke up. "How many invitations did you happen to send out to the Colorado area?"
"Only the one—to Nana and Pop," Tori replied. "I don't really have any connections out that way any more."
"Ahhh," Oliver expressed, pulling the ripped and mangled envelope with the photo card out of his pocket. "By process of elimination, it has been determined that this correspondence was originally intended to be delivered to Mr. and Mrs. Dalbert Haslett. We are terribly sorry, but it seems that it somehow ended up in the possession of a canine and run over by a sedan a couple of times."
"But not necessarily in that order," Norman pointed out.
"That is true," Oliver agreed with a shrug of his shoulders. He handed the envelope to Clarice.
"Oh, my goodness!" Tori exclaimed. "I have a few extras, Nana. I'll be happy to replace that one."
Clarice beamed with relief as Oliver handed her the ripped and mangled invitation.
"So you're telling me, that in the middle of this baby book investigation, our wedding invitation somehow ended up in your Dead Letter Office?" Ellis asked, incredulous. "That's bizarre."
"That's divine delivery," Oliver corrected him.
The couples around the table smiled at Oliver's summation, as the newlyweds were called to the floor for their first dance.