We got to the point where people were asking me what to do, and I said “nothing” because we had lots of well-meaning helpers now and just needed to hustle through the remaining tasks. Mary finally came to me and asked if we were going to make it. Without looking at my watch I told her to look at the buffet line and said, ‘Yes. We are pretty much done. What I am focusing on now is garnishes and making things look nice. The line is organized in a logical way for people to serve themselves. We have all the required utensils. The tables are set. The hot food is hot, the cold food is cold, the drinks are ready to be served. We have an experienced bartender and I can help with mixed drinks too. By the way, all the food is very high quality and all that was missing was people. We have more people offering to help now than we need. Relax, food is not going to be a problem; forget the food and focus on fun.”

“Mary smiled and said, ‘Have I thanked you yet?’ ‘Yes, you thanked me,’ I said, ‘and so has every person who’s arrived here in the past 2 hours.’

People were arriving in numbers now, oblivious to what had transpired with the catering, and finding seats at the tables. The DJ was set up and all was as it should be.

The father of the bride came in and looked extremely concerned as he walked up to me. ‘Are you the one they say set all this up?’ he asked.

‘Yes sir, I am,’ I replied.

‘Thank you,’ he said, and shook my hand. I washed my hands and got back to work garnishing the trays. I was making radish and tomato rosettes with orange and lemon peel flower rings.

Needless to say, I was the most popular person at the wedding. I got to dance with the bride, and my date was thanked by everyone there and acknowledged by the DJ. It really felt good helping Mary, Linda and of course Susan.”

Ann just smiled at me and said, “That is the sweetest story ever. So, do you like to cook?”

“Yes, of course. If you play your cards right I can see a homemade meal for two in the future.” I said. “The problem will be that I’ll cook for two but the result will feed about 20 people”

She laughed and we got up to go. I was relieved that it seemed to be a nice evening and all indications were that there might be another date for us in the future.

We stopped by her place to meet her dog Ellie, a black and white collie mix, who was very affectionate and knew several tricks. I dropped Ann off at her car and kissed her good night and we each headed home.