Harry phoned from Japan on the dot of 6pm, and did as he'd been told, showering his Auntie with love and compliments as he did so. It had the desired effect, although Miranda pretended to be still weighing up her answer until the very end of the conversation.

"We'll have to consult Emily and Serena of course," she said, "and you must do all the negotiating with the Inn keepers, and deal with the paperwork up in Provincetown. But I am sure you and Hannah between you are more than capable. We could probably fit you in at 11 am, if the Registrar can get there earlier."

"Miranda, we will love you for ever. Hannah was genuinely distraught last night when it sounded as though we couldn't join in and get married as well on your day. Don't worry about any extra work. We'll fly home early and sort everything out. Hannah will call her Mom right now."

"Yes, and her father. Poor Richard will have a stressful day parting with his two youngest daughters both at once. But I'm sure they will be delighted to know you are coming back to the States to live. Andy and I are certainly. We must start looking out an apartment for you here in New York."

So things settled down in the new reality. The following evening Miranda received a call from her Italian friend Sophia, who surprised her by saying she had brought her mother back to the States to live with her and her family in Queens. *

"She's a new woman, Miranda, you wouldn't recognise her now! And it was all down to you. I'll never thank you enough for insisting I go to visit her in Perugia. The doctors here say they are sure it wasn't the pneumonia which nearly killed her, but the sadness of being so lonely. My kids are already getting to know her and love having their Nonna with them."

"What about Spiv? What does he think?"

"Oh, he is happy. She knows how to charm her son-in-law. Anyway they don't see a lot of each other. He is out most of the time in the restaurant."

"Any chance of you making it to our wedding?"

"My friend, I think of nothing else. Spiv won't be able to get away, but would you mind if I brought Mama instead? We've never been to a gay wedding. I told her about you and Andy, and she says she wants to see such a thing before she dies! Oh, and you know you met my cousin's son in Assisi?"

"Yes, the helpful young man who guided us round the basilicas." **

"Well, he had the cheek to apply to Versace on the back of your afternoon with him, and mentioned you, and they are offering him an interview to be taken on as an intern for the summer before he goes off to fashion college. He is ecstatic!"

"Good. Maybe he'll be a name to follow in the future. He was certainly enthusiastic about fashion."

Andy and Miranda were able to ease back into normal home life after the first tumultuous few days which had just passed, and for the rest of the week, everything seemed calm. Andrea though was hatching a secret plot to surprise Miranda with a wedding night to remember.

She decided they should just escape somewhere completely quiet, and negotiated with Geoff and Cindy that they would take the twins home with them after the wedding reception and let them get to know their little brother. Cindy said they were going to call him Spencer, after her grandfather, and Edgar, after Geoff's father. She had begun to heal and feel less sore, and said all was well up in Boston. Of course they'd love to have the girls for the weekend. They were expecting to do it, anyway.

Andrea then began researching forest lodges up north of Cape Cod, and found a wonderful spot two hours' drive away. It was a guest lodge, high up in the hills towards Maine, with spectacular views, and individual chalets, all luxuriously appointed, with their own hot-tubs and saunas. It was also at the end of a long private road, so their privacy would be assured. After watching a promotional video, and talking at length to the owner-manager, she booked them both in for Saturday and Sunday nights. But she didn't want any more misunderstandings or mess-ups, so she told Miranda,

"I'm keeping it a secret where we're going, but I've sorted something for us as a mini-honeymoon after our wedding day. So don't you go and do the same!"

Miranda, whose mind had in fact been travelling in exactly the same direction, nodded, and said, "I'm intrigued. No clues then?"

"No, except you won't need your Jimmy Choos."

"Oh God, I knew it. We'll be hiking the Appalachian Trail!"

"Not quite, don't worry. But I'm telling you nothing more. It's my treat, and I think you'll be happy."

Miranda pulled her close and lightly kissed Andy's nose. "Even if we share a pup tent on the wet grass I'll be happy. In fact you had better bring a strong rope to tie me down to earth. If you are crazy enough to say "I do" to me I'll be so happy I'll be floating off the ground by at least twenty feet."

This little thought reminded Andy. "Oh yes, that's another big job for our list. We said we'd write each other's vows, didn't we?"

"I thought we were joking."

"Yes we were, but wouldn't it be a lovely thing to do? Let's do it, tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow. Tonight I want to enjoy making love to my mistress before she settles down and becomes my wife."

"Oh do you? And what if your mistress isn't in the mood tonight?"

"Then I will woo her with kisses sweeter than wine."

"Will you? And if that doesn't work?"

"Then I will tickle her until she submits."

Andrea held up her head in the way Miranda found irresistible, and gave a little grin.

"O.K. I give in. But no tickling, I beg you, please."

And they went up to bed, with one aim in mind, and it wasn't to fall straight to sleep.

It was the following morning when they were both sucking their pencils, so to speak, and working on the perfect wedding vows they'd like each other to make. Suddenly the front door-bell rang, and they heard Cara go down to answer it. Andy's ears pricked up, as she heard the immediate sound of strong women's laughter, and Lee's unmistakable Californian accent ring out.

Both she and Miranda stood up and went to meet their surprise visitors. Lee and Gloria, Miranda's oldest American friends, stood on the doorstep, large as life and characteristically cheerful. Each carried a large flat parcel.

"Well, look what the westerlies have blown in! Come on in! Wonderful to see you both, but why didn't you call to warn us. We could have been out!"

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise. And this is kind of spontaneous. We are going up to Maine for two weeks before your wedding, and wanted to bring you these, before you start getting inundated with wedding gifts and a houseful of visitors."

They put down what were obviously heavy packages on the hall carpet. Gloria, who was a very handsome woman in her late sixties, came forward with her shock of dark grey curly hair and kissed Miranda warmly.

Andy was suddenly struck with acute shyness, and a horrible stab of jealousy, as she remembered Miranda's confession in Italy, that she and Gloria had been lovers for the first three years she had lived in New York back in the 1970s. But then Gloria turned to her as well, and swept her up into such a strong bear-hug it was hard to resist. Her head, if not her heart, told her she and Miranda were now simply good friends.

Lee, Gloria's rather older partner, put her cane to one side so she also could hug them both. She held Andrea's chin for a moment, and turned her face to the light. "Good. I think I caught that wonderful profile O.K. How are you bearing up sweetie? Not too exhausted looking after our Miranda yet?"

"Stop tempting her to have second thoughts, Lee!" said Miranda sternly. "We were actually writing our wedding vows when you arrived. Come through to the kitchen and have a coffee. You must be exhausted flying in from LA. Do you want to stay here for a few days before going north?"

"No, darling. We actually arrived last night and booked into a hotel out by the airport. But we can stay for lunch, or take you both out if you like."

Cara had already made a fresh pot of coffee and was laying out cups. They all sat round the kitchen table and enjoyed the brew. It was five months since they had last met, and Miranda noticed that Lee was still having real trouble with her hip.

"Haven't you booked in for an operation to replace it yet, like you promised? Andy's Momma was brave and went through with it, and now she's walking without pain. She's the same age as you."

"I keep telling her", said Gloria. "She's just in a funk about it. But it's getting seriously annoying now. We have a boat moored at Newport Beach marina, and Lee used to love skippering it out to Catalina and back, but she can't even get aboard any longer."

"I know! I know! Stop bullying me. It's not the hip that's the main problem though. The arthritis has got into my hands, and I can't move my fingers like I used to do, so my painting is getting frustratingly bad. I shall end up like Renoir if I'm not careful. He was so crippled with arthritis in his last years he could scarcely hold a brush."

Lee, as Andy knew, was one of the best-respected artists on the West Coast.

"Are those packages, what I think they might be?" she asked. "Have you finished my portrait?"

"I have, honey. I'm sorry it has taken so long, but I've done a little something extra for you both as well. Would you like to see?"

"Oh yes! Of course. Shall I fetch them?"

The older women both nodded, and Andy went back to the hall to bring the parcels in. After finding a pair of skissors and much tearing of brown paper and tapes, then carefully unwrapping the inner protection of corrugated paper, Andy and Gloria between them revealed the first picture, and stood it up facing the window.

It was based on the portfolio of photos which Lee had taken while they were in California in January. But she had worked her magic on the digital imagery and created a luminous portrait which somehow changed its expression and the look in the sitter's eyes as the light fell onto it from different angles. Even Andy could see that it made her look almost ethereal, not a straightforward girl from Ohio at all, but some sort of elusive spirit.

It might not be how she saw herself, but it went much deeper, also making her much more beautiful than she would have given herself credit for. It was conveyed a sense of feminine power.

She was very grateful that Lee hadn't used the full body naked shots. This was a head and shoulders portrait, with the gentle five months' worth of her hair's re-growth from the previous September's total loss, now turning in to a curly bob, tucked back behind her ears.

"Oh", she breathed. "Can that be me? It's wonderful!"

She turned to Miranda, who was staring at the portrait with wide eyes, almost navy-blue in their intensity. She didn't need to ask what she thought. The woman looked hypnotised.

Then she said, "Oh Lee, thank you so much. It's Andrea, completely and transformatively. It's how she speaks to my heart. Only you could have captured her spirit so perfectly. You are a genius. This will go straight over the fireplace in our main room."

Gloria beamed, as proud as she always was of her life-partner and lover's skill as a portraitist. "But wait until you see our second gift to you. This is for your wedding present! Here!" And she began to undo the wrapping on the second painting.

When it emerged, both Miranda and Andy gasped with delighted surprise. It was a life-size portrait of them together. Miranda had her arms round Andy from behind and was kissing her ear. It was intimate, gentle and loving, but had their likenesses to a tee. Andy was looking sideways up at Miranda adoringly, and they were obviously lost in their own little world.

The colours of misty pinks and pale blues of the background also complemented the tones in the first portrait, and the two pieces were framed as a pair. They could hang next to each other in perfect harmony.

"Well. I'm speechless. How did you get this so perfect? We never sat for you together," said Miranda.

Lee replied, smiling," I took some pictures at your birthday party, while we were sitting at the table with Amelia. Andy was just wishing you Happy Birthday, before you cut the cake."

Andy was amused to hear Momma called Amelia, almost for the first time in her life, but she knew she, Lee and Gloria had become friends at the birthday party, and they had invited her to stay with them up in their Maine house by the sea after the wedding. For a woman who had barely left Ohio in eighty-four years, it would be quite an excitement.

"It tells the viewer something very important," Andy said, considering the painting. "That Miranda and I love each other. Anyone looking at it could be in no doubt. It's the perfect wedding present. Thank you Lee, so much!"

"My complete pleasure, honey. I am proud of these portraits. I think they are the best I've done in several years. And I was egotistical enough to want to bring them to you myself, to see your reaction."

The paintings were then taken up to the big drawing room on the second floor, and placed close to where they would be professionally hung. Miranda had seen how painful Lee found it to walk, so suggested she send out for lunch from her favorite restaurant which they could enjoy quietly at home, and in the end that is what they did.

Gloria began to tell Andy stories about Miranda as a young woman, and her curiosity to find out every possible snippet of information about her beloved, overcame her jealousy about how Gloria had got to know her so well. They all chatted happily for an hour or more after lunch, then the Californian ladies said they really should be leaving. They were half way out of the door, when Miranda suddenly remembered.

"Oh Gloria dear, in Rome and again in Venice, we met up with an old friend of yours."

"Who could that be?" Gloria looked a little non-plussed.

"She said you went back a long way. She was a musicologist, from Ireland."

"Sorry, it doesn't ring any bells."

Miranda turned to Andy. "What was her name, the person who was researching Monteverdi?"

"Maggie McIntyre."

"Yes, that was it! Maggie McIntyre."

Gloria looked dumb-founded. "But that's quite impossible!"

"Why?"

"It just is. Maggie McIntyre disappeared from my life a long time ago."

"Well this person was very much in the present. She knew us both as well and seemed to recognise us. I assumed you must have told her all about Andy and me".

"No, Miranda, darling. When I said Maggie disappeared, I meant it. You see I killed her off."

"What?! I don't understand! You can't tell me that you killed someone without explaining."

Gloria rolled her eyes in bewildered frustration.

"Well, I invented her in the first place, and then I killed her off."

"Huh?"

"Maggie was just a creation of my own imagination. When I was younger I tried my hand at novel writing, and made up this character, an academic who liked to travel, and who solved mysteries. She was Irish, yes?"

"Yeah . . . yes, but?"

"Well, the books sold, but not very well, and in the end I gave up and concentrated on journalism. Maggie existed no-where but inside my head. I named her after Maggie Tulliver, the girl from the 'Mill on the Floss'."

"But this is crazy. We both met her!" Andy chipped in. "She wrote us a note to our hotel. She gave us a flyer for an actual concert. She showed us round a church in Venice!"

"Then it must have been someone who read my story fifteen years ago, and was pretending to be my old character. Whatever explanation can there be?"

"Well, none, I suppose." Miranda clung to her own front door to retain a sense of reality.

"And she gave you no hint of where she lived, no phone number?"

"No."

"Well I think you were simply the victims of a gentle prank. When I get home, I'll send you a copy of one of the Maggie McIntyre novels I wrote. Then you will see I'm telling the truth."

"Darling Gloria, I don't doubt what you say for a moment. But it is so mysterious."

"Just someone's idea of a joke. Let's discuss this again some time if you like, but for now, we all have lots more immediate things to concern us. Au revoir, both of you! We'll see you at the wedding!"

"Goodbye, and thank you again for the lovely paintings. Andy and I are going to treasure them for ever!"

When the ladies had left, Miranda and Andy gaped at each other and exchanged looks of complete puzzlement.

"Curiouser and curiouser," quoted Andy from 'Alice in Wonderland.'

"Ditto", murmured Miranda, quoting from 'Alice through the Looking Glass'.
Then she shook her head. "Maybe Gloria's right, telling us not to worry. Let's concentrate on something we can understand. I have decided what I want you to promise me in our vows, and I want to write it down before I forget!"

But Gloria's weird explanation had quietly really shaken them both. If fictional characters could somehow turn into real people, what did that say about the meaning of existence? And who was the woman they had met in Italy, if not Gloria's invented sleuth? It was all very odd, very odd indeed, and it would need sorting out, but maybe not right now.

*As told in 'Who do you think you are?'
** As told in 'Miranda's enchanted April'
***As told in 'Miranda's Birthday.'