Wedding Day minus one.

'Good gracious,' says Malcolm, in the hope that Harry will leave it at that when the two of them are standing by the window. Beyond which a wall of crates and boxes are stacked on the patio. In complete contrast to Harry whose comment had been to suggest that he's just discovered that Juliet Shaw has been added to the guest list. Neither of them having being provided with an explanation from Graham, other than to say they were to leave them alone.

There the observations end but not the hope from Malcolm who having received a call from Graham before he had put his plan into action asking if it fell within the bounds of not making a fuss, to which he had had responded by saying that he thought they would love it, wants to change the subject. That and he knows that to enact said plan, Graham and Sally have enlisted the help of Pat the postman and several members of his extended family.

Any further contemplations as to what or might not be in the boxes comes to a halt when Ruth, Caroline and Jacob, who is spending the day with them because mummy and Graham are busy, or as a distraction depending whether you are the organisers or the couple in question, come back in from the garden where they have been having a conversation which amongst other things has included the not so contentious subject of Ruth's plants arriving two days after the wedding and as she and Malcolm have been invited to stay on, that she is looking forward to getting her hands in the soil again.

Which allows Malcolm to say, 'I'll put the kettle on,' who as well as being Graham's confidant has been enlisted to make the speech – Graham's exact words having been, 'nobody knows Dad and Ruth as well as you do,' which is without doubt true. But how best to set the tone is something he has been struggling with until he sees the look which passes between Harry and Ruth. A conversation without words, he thinks with a sigh of relief is the perfect way to describe the couple who are less than a day away from what has been so long in the making.

'It was Sally who persuaded us to talk to the vicar,' Ruth tells them, when Malcolm reappears with a fresh pot of tea and they settle themselves around the fire, in answer to Caroline's question as to why in church rather than a Register Office?

'The church is in the village and from the first day we arrived here we were made to feel welcome. But what really convinced us was that unlike the Register Office in Norwich where every wedding is the same and on a conveyor belt one after the other, Chris the vicar made the valid point that apart from the vows which every couple makes, the rest of the service can be as formal or informal as we want it to be.'

'Any clues?' asks Malcolm, guessing they have chosen somewhere in between the two.

'Only that I'll be wearing a suit,' Harry tells him. A reminder of the conversation in an altogether different church on the day that Ruth had said yes.

.

Less than half a mile away and with the vicar's make yourself at home attitude in full swing given that it is only a day away, Graham and Sally are taking a break from what for them is a first in that they are enjoying coffee and biscuits in the vicarage kitchen with Pat. The man who without his help the reception which is being planned would be – well less memorable, given that they like Malcolm want Harry and Ruth to have a never to be forgotten day.

Only for Pat to say, 'hear me out and then tell me what you think before you pass judgement because I've come up with an alternative plan to simplify things without ruining the element of surprise.'

'As long as it can still be completed within the time available which as Malcolm is picking them up at just gone one and taking into account the length of the service, the photographs and the drive home, means we'll all be back by two thirty or three at the latest,' says Graham, who is up for simplification.

'And the food's still arriving just after they leave?'

'One thirty on the dot.'

'Then how about this and feel free to say no if you think I'm speaking out of turn, but rather than go home once we've wrestled with the awning, sorted out the heaters, the lights and the music, what would you say to Becky and I changing into something appropriate and serving the food when the time comes?'

Having thanked Pat for coming up with an idea which means that he and Sally will be free to enjoy themselves rather than play host and hostess, they head back to the house to pick up Jacob who when they had explained that getting married to someone meant that you loved them and wanted to spend the rest of your life with them, had replied like me and Harry. Which had earned him not only a hug from the couple in question but a part to play in the service. A part that they have left until now to practice however much times it takes.

Which means that they are more than relieved to find that the conversation has veered away from what might or might be in the boxes and instead hear Harry asking Malcolm and Caroline if they fancy going for a walk?'

A walk that they themselves decline and Jacob accepts without argument with the promise of fish and chips.

.

'Quite a day,' says Harry, when the sound of Malcolm's car disappears into nothing and for the first time in what feels like hours he and Ruth are finally on their own. His suit and her dress hanging side by side, the only outward sign that they are getting married.

'I'm ready for bed I don't know about you, but since we're not likely to get much time on our own tomorrow either and I'm hoping you won't bite my head off for asking this, but what did you do on the day before you married Jane?' asks Ruth.

'I went to work which as you can imagine went down like the proverbial lead balloon. But nothing you ever ask will see me biting your head off as you put it, so why the question?'

'Curiosity I suppose. Graham answering Jacob's question as to why people get married. I mean Jane's his mother and always will be.'

'Yes, she is, but Graham's chosen to live here close to us rather than stay in London. And he made that decision before he met Sally and Jacob. Which for someone who even as a young child never said anything without considering the impact it would have on those who were listening, I think was his way of saying that he sees in us the assurance that there are happy endings to be had, no matter how long or rocky the road is to get there. Now didn't you say something about bed?'

.

Unlike Harry and Ruth who fall asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow, Malcolm although tired and having said goodnight to Caroline, now finds himself sitting in the lounge bar of the Pig and Whistle with Harry's daughter. That he had no idea she was coming to the wedding or does Graham apparently, he accepts as her wanting to surprise her father.

That is until she says, 'I'm on a guilt trip or that's how it feels and I need someone to talk to.'

Wanting to suggest that they have this chat over breakfast, ceases to become an option when she adds, 'the last time I rang Dad, he said he was in a bad place. I assumed it had something to do with work, but we got cut off before he explained and I know I should have called him back, but I was in the middle of an assignment with a deadline and I knew if something bad had happened to him that someone would let me know. Then out of the blue I got a message from Graham to say that Dad had retired and was getting married to Ruth, who he described as lovely. I mean Graham and Dad have been at odds for ever and the thought that Dad would ever get married again when he was married to his job was the last thing I expected. I feel as though I've walked into some sort of fantasy Malcolm that I don't know how to deal with.'

'Can I give you some advice?'

'Of course.'

'Based on what I know about the content of tomorrow's service and that your dad has no idea you're here, never mind will be in the congregation, rather than distract him or spoil the element of what I know will be a lovely surprise once we go back outside, I suggest you sit on the far side of Caroline. That and make sure you have a hankie, because believe me you are going to need it.'

'And my other questions?'

'Are ones that only your dad and Ruth can answer.'