Grace was already waiting in front of the house when Sara pulled up on Saturday morning. When she turned off the engine, her father came out. Sara lowered the passenger window and greeted him "Hello Danny".
"Hi Sara. Have fun shopping, monkey, "he said to his daughter, who looked at him suspiciously and then quickly ran to the car.
"What's wrong with him?", she asked as Sara drove off.
"Why?"
"When he came home yesterday, he was totally lost in thought. And now he greets you. And he smiles. And you're on first name base now. Do I have to understand that?"
"As you like. We had a conversation yesterday and clarified a few things."
"Ahaa ..."
"But that's not that important either. I thought a little bit about what kind of dress we could choose for you. The flower girls wear light blue."
"I take everything but pink. "
"No, that doesn't fit. Neither on the occasion nor on the environment. Let's see."
They drove together to the shop where Sara had ordered her wedding dress. There she had three clothes in different shades of blue put away for Grace. The girl let out a whoop of joy as they were led into the dressing room. "Sara, they are awesome. I would wear all three. How did you do this?"
"It's called knowledge of human nature," Sara said with a smile. "That's my job. Just try them on and I'll tell you which one is my favorite. And then we'll see if we agree."
"Okay."

The sales assistant helped Grace in all three dresses one after the other and she turned in front of the mirror like a little girl in a princess costume. It was a pleasure to watch her.
"So what do you think?", she finally asked when Grace was back in the bathrobe the sales assistant had given her.
"What is your favorite?"
"I'll tell you then."
Grace grimaced. "I like the darkest one best, the one with the ruffled front and the narrow glitter belt. The one with the tip is nice, but it doesn't really suit me. And the third is too short, it would Danno get freaking out. "
"Okay. Then I can tell you the dark one is also my favourite. The shape is very similar to my dress. Just a little shorter and colored. Now put it on again so that she can do the fitting."
"Really? But..."
"Go on," Sara laughed and gave her a pat.
"Crazy!" Grace squeaked. She hopped up and down like a rubber ball, but then kept silent until the dress was removed.
When she was back in her own clothes, she ran up to Sara and hugged her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. That's great. And that I can be a bridesmaid. And everything. I was really scared, Danno forbids me because he doesn't like you. But whatever you said yesterday seemed to have really helped. "
Sara thanked the saleswoman, then made their way outside. As she walked, she said, "You know, Grace, when you're concerned about someone, sometimes you can be too hard and rude to someone you consider a threat. You can't blame him for that. We have clarified that and now we're good."
"Okay. Do you actually know that it is really fascinating to watch you drive a car? "
Sara opened the car. "Fascinating?"
"Yes. Some women can hardly manage it at all and you do it all with your hands. Don't you ever get confused?"
"It would be pretty dangerous if I got confused. It is a matter of concentration. At the beginning nobody was allowed to speak to me while driving, conversations were impossible. In the meantime, I can even make calls using voice control. I've been driving like this for a long time now."
"Right. Skill comes with practice. My grandma always always says that. It's kind of stupid, but it's also true. "

XXXXXXXX

After Sara's return from Coronado, the last few weeks flew by. Her threat had worked, the carpet had been replaced with laminate on her next working day.
A few days before the wedding, Mary flew in from Los Angeles with Joan to help Sara with the final preparations. They had rented tents, a big one for the party and a smaller one, in which Sara would change. In the middle between the tents, which were set up directly on the beach, the place was created where they would be married under a flower arch among their friends. They had obtained permission to put a makeshift gangplank in the sand to reduce the risk of falling for Sara.
Sara went to the office for the last time three days before the wedding. In the evening, she and Steve turned into the driveway to the house one after the other and met at the front door, where they greeted each other with a hug and an intimate kiss.
"Did I tell you today that I love you?" Steve asked, hugging her.
"Yes. But that was far too long ago."
"Okay. I love you, Sara, "he said softly and kissed her on the top of the head. A melodious ringtone came from the pocket of her jacket. Steve released her so that she could get the cell phone out.
"This is Liam," she explained and answered: "Hello?"
Only sobs sounded from the phone. "Hello?" Sara repeated. "Zoe, is that you?"
"I'm so sorry, Aunt Sara. It's all so terrible."
"Nothing is so terrible that you have to cry like that, honey. Put your daddy on the phone."
She felt Steve's confused look on herself and turned the speaker on.
"Hi, Sara?"
"Hello, Liam. What is wrong with our sunshine? She sounds terrible. What is she so sorry for?"
"Unfortunately there is no good news, Sara. We can not come."
"Oh, why is that?" Sara asked, trying not to let her disappointment sound up to much.
"Zoe fell off the balance beam in physical education this morning and broke her foot. The doctor in the hospital has issued a flight ban."
"Oh no! What a pity."
"Yes, that's a real shame. We would have liked to visit you in Hawaii. I know that this is all pretty bad, now you also lack the bridesman. And for God's sake you shouldn't postpone everything. That even impossible."
"No, almost everything is ready. The tents will be set up in the morning. Then we have to come up with something. But we will definitely make up for the visit. The next vacation is sure to come and by then Zoe will be allowed to travel again. Put her over to me, please."
She could hear someone blowing her nose in the background, then her niece answered. "Aunt Sara?"
"Sweetie, I know, this really sucks. But I'm making a suggestion. I'll send your dress to you, then you can put it on for the summer party at school, right? "
"That would be great. And you are certainly not angry with me? "
"Absolutely not. That was an accident, things like that happen. Sure it's a shame you can't come, but we'll send you pictures, right? "
"Yes, thank you, Aunt Sara."
"Get well soon, Zoe."
"Thank you."
"And greet your daddy," Sara asked.
"I do!" her niece replied and hung up.

During the conversation, she and Steve had sat on the sofa, now they looked at each other sadly. "And now?" Sara finally asked. "Zoe's absence as a flower girl is still manageable, but what am I gonna do without a bridesman?"
"Hm. You don't necessarily need a marriage witness. And bridesman? Can you think of someone else who could take on the task? Or..."
"I know what you want to ask. I don't know if I can make it over the planks safely. Don't get me wrong, the idea was brilliant. But I don't think of it as a pleasant idea to fall in front of the whole audience. "
"You won't, I have complete confidence in you, Sara. Do you think I haven't noticed you doubled your training workload since the beginning of the year? Sometimes I was really afraid that you would push it too hard. Sara, I love you the way you are. You don't have to do a triathlon for me, you just have to be there. That is completely enough for me ", assured Steve and looked into his fiancee's eyes.
Finally Sara nodded. "Okay."
"You can do it. Definitely."
"Thanks, Steve. I don't know how to tell you how much this backing means to me. I love you too."
Instead of an answer, he pulled her into his arms, looked her in the eyes, and kissed her lovingly.