Our story thus far: Marissa Fairbanks and Garner Lewis were getting married, after months of preparation and help from Charles Crafton and Alina Stanton.
The church was beautiful, everyone said, decked out in chrysanthemums and roses. But the bride was even more beautiful, they murmured, as she walked down the aisle on her father's arm, resplendent in the dress Alina Stanton had made.
Charles hardly noticed Marissa though -- he was too busy staring at Alina. She was lovely - her red-gold hair piled atop her head, the green bridesmaid dresses she had created and was wearing accentuating her eyes and pretty face.
He hardly noticed the ceremony, but clapped in the appropriate places, knelt when he was supposed to and handed over the rings when it was time.
He suddenly realized he wanted to marry Alina, despite all the hassles of a wedding, decided he wanted to give them both a day like this one. He looked over at her and smiled, and she smiled back.
"That was beautiful, wasn't it?" Alina murmured as he drove her home. She was tired from the festivities, and Charles couldn't say he blamed her. She had even convinced him to dance, so he had danced with her, with his mother, and lastly with a beaming Marissa, who whispered how she couldn't have done it without him.
He had even managed to give a reasonably good toast to the happiness of the bride and groom, to the delight of everyone attending.
As if reading his mind, Alina said quietly, "Your toast was also beautiful. I'm so glad we met, even if we did have to crash into each other."
He chuckled quietly, agreeing that while a car accident was not the best way to meet someone, it had certainly worked for them.
"Yes, it sure did," she said dreamily as he dropped her at her door.
Charles was totally, irrevocably, completely, happily in love. He decided unequivocally that he did want to marry Alina, and enlisted the help of Agnes and his mother.
"Charles," Agnes said, "what you need to do is something along the lines of what Garner did for Marissa, but something original."
Agnes handed him files on some new cases, then laughed.
"And if I think of something original, I'll be sure to let you know!"
He took to haunting jewelry shops on his lunch hour, searching for just the perfect diamond and the most beautiful settings. The proprietors learned to either look glum and shake their heads no, or beam and pull out the newest selection.
He had finally narrowed his choices down to two, so was completely caught off guard when Alina called, her voice thick with tears.
"Alina, what is it?" he asked. He had never heard her this way.
"Charles, can you come see me? I think this had better be done in person."
"Alina, what is it?" he asked again. As in all panic situations, he tended to say the same thing over and over again.
