“Yes. I want to try to call Vicki again.”
Margaret reached for my arm. “Let me clean the suite where you were staying. That way if your friend can make it, the room’s ready. If there are others, it won’t take much to make the other rooms presentable.”
I wasn’t sure what made me think about it. “What is on the third floor?” Before she answered, I added, “I’ve looked up there. It just seems empty.”
Margaret feigned a smile. “A single man with too much space. I think he forgets it’s even there. I haven’t been up there in years.” She took a breath. “Now, I’ll get to your old suite.”
“You’ve already done so much.”
“Tell me,” she said, tilting her head, “do you have anything planned for next Saturday? What about the marriage license?”
“Nothing planned, not even a Wisconsin license. There is one for Illinois…”
“Did you know that Wisconsin has a six-day waiting period?”
“Shit.” I looked at my watch. “Today’s Friday. Do you know when the courthouse closes?”
“Honestly, I bet Donovan can get an exemption.”
She was probably right that he could. However, in my head, “simple” meant by the rules and without fanfare, no string pulling and no calls to make sure an old license was still valid.
“Maybe we have time,” I said, opening one of the boxes we just stacked. “My birth certificate is in one of these.”
She reached for another box. “Will I know it? Is there an envelope?”
“It’s in a folder with my passport. I was supposed to be on my way back from Europe right now.”
“A quick afternoon trip to Ashland’s courthouse is almost as fun.”
I pulled the folder out from the box I’d recently closed. “Here it is.”
“Go,” she said. “Tell your fiancé that you need to get to town.”
When I opened the bedroom door, I paused. “Thank you, Margaret, for everything.”
“Is the wedding a secret, or can I tell my mother?”
“Since she’s invited, you can tell her.”
“What about food and decorations?”
I shook my head. “Nothing planned. I want it simple.”
“Let me rephrase,” she said with a grin. “Would you give Mom and I the honor of preparing the cabin and some refreshments?”
“Isn’t your mom busy with cooking for us and the new security team?”
“Is she busy? Yes, and she loves to feel useful.”
“Okay, then yes. Thank you.”
“Go,” she said, “the courthouse closes at four-thirty.”
I stopped after a few steps in the hallway and ran back to the closet. “Boots. I need my boots.”
Margaret laughed.
“I know, I’m scattered.”