Of course that didn’t happen, at least not right away. There was a television interview, a champagne celebration in Sally’s dining room, and congratulations from the other contestants. Michelle and Ross sat on either side of her, fending off the questions that she couldn’t handle, and gradually, very gradually, Hannah began to relax and actually enjoy all the fuss. There was only one little fly in the ointment, one pesky problem left unsolved. She still didn’t know who had killed Chef Duquesne, and she desperately wanted to solve the case so that she could put it off her to-do list and truly enjoy her special Food Channel honeymoon with Ross.
Chapter Thirty
It hit her with the force of a grand piano dropping from the top of a tall building. Ross liked red wine. Were they serving it on the tables at the wedding reception? Since she hadn’t been part of the planning, she didn’t know. She had to call her mother right away.
Delores answered the phone on the second ring. “I have a question, Mother,” Hannah said. “Will there be red wine on the tables at the wedding reception?”
“Of course, dear. We’ll have a bottle of red and a bottle of white for each table.”
“Good!” Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. “I just remembered that Ross likes red wine. Do you know which wines you’ll be serving?”
“No, dear. I left that up to Sally. She’s an expert when it comes to wines.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mother. I just thought I’d check.”
“Just a minute, Hannah. Would you like me to get a special bottle of red wine for the bridal table? I could call Sally and ask her what she recommends.”
“That’s okay. I’ll do it. I need to talk to her anyway. Thank you, Mother. I’ll see you at the church.”
“All right, dear. The girls are at the church right now with your wedding clothes. They’re going to get everything arranged so all you’ll have to do is get dressed and look beautiful.”
“Fat chance!” Hannah said, and then she winced. “Sorry, Mother. The words just popped right out. What I meant was that I don’t think anything could make me look beautiful, but I promise you that I’ll look as good as I can.”
“You’ll be beautiful, dear. You’re already beautiful, even though you don’t seem to know it.”
Tears sprang to Hannah’s eyes. Her mother had never said anything like that to her before. “Thank you, Mother. I love you and I’ll see you later.”
The moment she’d hung up the phone, she reached for a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. Her mother was being unusually sweet, and Hannah wasn’t quite sure how to deal with that. Instead of attempting to figure it out, she decided to run out to the Lake Eden Inn and ask Sally’s advice about a truly special bottle of red wine for Ross. She had plenty of time to talk to Dick and Sally in person. Her wedding was at eight-thirty that evening, and it was only a few minutes past five in the afternoon. There was nothing, absolutely nothing she had to do to get ready. She’d already taken a shower, carefully protecting the elaborate hairstyle that Bertie had fashioned for her. That meant her hair was perfect and she needed to do nothing with it before the wedding. Her sisters had picked up her bridal gown, and she would go to the church to get dressed with their help. Right now, she was wearing clean jeans and her favorite sweatshirt, and she could stay in her comfortable clothing until it was time for Andrea and Michelle to help her put on her wedding finery. Staying here at the condo was boring. Moishe was already gone. Norman had picked him up earlier this afternoon so that he could run off some energy by racing around Norman’s house with Cuddles.
Did she have everything she’d need for her wedding? Hannah glanced around her condo. She didn’t need any extra clothing or toiletries. Her sisters had taken care of all that. And why in the world did she feel like crying as she took one last walk through the condo?
“Bridal nerves,” Hannah said out loud. It was a simple case of anxiety before the wedding. She remembered how nervous her mother had gotten before her marriage to Doc. Delores had been a bundle of nerves, and it had taken chocolate to calm her. Even Doc, who wasn’t convinced that the endorphins in chocolate made a difference, had agreed that if eating chocolate worked to make his bride-to-be less nervous, he was definitely in favor of doing it.
Hannah hurried to the kitchen, ripped the top off a bag of chocolate chips, shook out a handful, and popped them into her mouth. It was a bit too late to start counting calories. Today was her wedding day and she intended to enjoy it to the fullest.