They both dissolved into laughter, the sound mixing with the clinking of cups and the distant call of gulls from the harbor.
"Speaking of plans," Nadine said, tapping a perfectly manicured nail against her folder, "let me update you. I've confirmed the flowers - white peonies instead of the blue hydrangeas your mother wanted, though I added some sea lavender to satisfy Marianne’s insistence on a more traditional island feel."
"Thank God for that,” Jess said. "Left to her own devices, everything would be formal arrangements in silver vases."
"The Harbor House is decorated and ready for Wednesday’s rehearsal dinner - sunset views, string lights in the old oak trees. And the ballroom terrace will be glorious for the ceremony of course,” Nadine flipped a page in her planner. "Though I’ve talked to them about wind contingency just in case. April can be … unpredictable.”
A server approached their table, a young woman with sun-freckled cheeks who couldn't be more than eighteen. Nadine smiled up at her. "We'd like two almond croissants, please. With beach plum preserves on the side, not spread on the croissants. And no butter." Her tone was friendly but specific, leaving no room for misinterpretation. "And could we get a pot of tea also? Earl Grey, with the milk separate."
The server nodded, jotting down the precise order. Jess bit back a smile, recognizing her old friend’s lifelong approach to food and pretty much everything else - exactly as she wanted it, no deviations.
"Some things really do never change," Jess said after the server departed. “Kind of like how you used to order at Scoops. 'One chocolate, one coffee, in a cup, with the cone on top, broken in half...'"
"'...and three cherries, not two,'" Nadine finished. She shrugged. ”I like what I like. Is that a crime?"
"It's one of the best things about you." Jess reached across the table and squeezed her friend's hand. "Seriously, thank you for handling all this, especially when I know I haven’t been as zoomed in as you’d like. I'd be lost without you."
Nadine waved away the gratitude. "Please. Planning is my love language. Between the kids' activities and Scott's social calendar, I live and die by my schedule." She flipped another page in the planner. "Now, let's talk seating arrangements. Your mom sent over the finalized guest list, and I've done a preliminary chart based on family connections, but need you to properly review the friend groups, Julian’s in particular.“
For the next twenty minutes, they discussed the intricate politics of wedding seating - who couldn’t be trusted too near the open bar, which of her mother’s friends needed to be placed front and center, whether Julian's colleagues should be seated far from the band.
A comfortable silence fell between them, broken only by the distant clatter of dishes from inside the café and the gentle splash of waves against the harbor wall.
Jess watched as Nadine twisted her wedding band, a simple platinum circle that caught the morning light.
“How's Scott?" she asked. "Still the island's hottest MD?”
Something flickered across Nadine's face - so brief Jess might have imagined it if she hadn't known her friend for all of her thirty-three years. "He's good. Busy with the practice. The boys keep us on our toes of course.” She smiled, but it was the same one Jess recognized from their high school yearbook photos - practiced, camera-ready, revealing little. Nadine glanced down at the ring once more before deliberately placing both hands on the table, palms flat. “Twelve years in August believe it or not. We were just babies, really.“
"Gosh, that makes me feel so ancient!” Jess laughed. “That was such a great wedding. A lot to live up to.”
Their croissants arrived, perfectly golden and flaking at the edges, accompanied by a small pot of deep purple preserves that caught the sunlight like stained glass. Jess spread a generous amount on her first bite, closing her eyes as the sweet-tart flavor bloomed on her tongue.
"Oh wow," she moaned. "I forgot what real food tastes like."
"From Cisco Farms," Nadine explained. "Sasha makes it in small batches - and uses less sugar than most recipes so you can really taste the fruit."
They ate in appreciative silence for a moment, the only sound the occasional clink of forks against china and the distant splash of water against the harbor wall.
Nadine turned to a new page in her planner. “So let's talk about your bachelorette evening. I was thinking something simple but special for the four of us - spa day, dinner at The Wauwinet maybe, then drinks at The Chicken Box for old times' sake?”
The other two members of the bridal party yet to arrive on the island were Megan Levy, Jess’s best friend from New York, and her old college roommate, Sloane Carter, now living in San Diego.
Like Nadine, these women were deeply important to Jess at pivotal times in her life, and even though they didn’t know each other that well, she couldn’t imagine not having them all together by her side as she walked up the aisle.
“Sounds perfect. Gosh," Jess laughed. "Remember sneaking into The Box senior year with those terrible fake IDs?"
"The ones Finn Calder made on his computer that fell apart when they got damp from the rain?" Nadine shook her head. "We were so obvious. They only let us in because Logan charmed them.”
"The island connection," Jess agreed, though her heart skipped a little at the mention of Logan Calder, her island first love. "It's both the best and worst thing about Nantucket."
Nadine took a sip of her latte, watching Jess over the rim of her cup. "So I hear Julian’s now arriving Wednesday, instead of on today’s ferry?”
"Yes," Jess confirmed with a shrug. "He's flying in straight from Tokyo instead. Some big merger that couldn't wait."
"Cutting it close," Nadine observed, wincing a little. “I guess that's the price of success.”
Something in her tone made Jess look up, but Nadine's expression revealed nothing beyond mild annoyance as she made another note in her planner.
