Page 108 of Life, Love and the Pursuit of Happiness

“What a load of hooey!”

“I think I’m in love.”

Sally laughed.

Delilah walked away while the two continued to banter. Sally wouldn’t be able to resist a man like Kevin. Wait until she heard about his dead wife. She’d be down for the count within a day—a week, max.

And then Merrill showed up, and this whole press conference thingee could get underway. He saw her and smiled.

Oddly, that smile calmed her down, and she knew everything was going to be all right.

Making his way toward her, Merrill was stopped by several people who had something they wanted to talk to him about, including Matt Holter, who had him sign some papers, as well. She wasn’t sure if they were the same ones that she’d signed or something else.

Merrill looked so good, and thankfully was dressed more in line with what he’d asked her to wear. A black suit with a white dress shirt and tie. Very, very nice!

“Been shopping?” she asked.

“Yep. Like it?” He did a silly little runway spin to show off his outfit.

“Of course.”

“You look good, too,” he said, and leaned down for a quick kiss. “I have plans for that dress, later.”

“I bet you do.”

“You smell good, too. Is that an Avon product?”

“No, it’s Ivory Soap.”

“My new favorite.”

“How are Maggie and my grandmother?”

“Unbelievable! I’ll tell you about it later. My parents have been transformed. Suffice it to say, those two are miracle workers.”

Whaaat?

But Mayor Doreen was already up on the dais, announcing the beginning of the press conference. For the next hour or so, the team, along with the mayor, all sitting on the dais, gave presentations on their discovery and what would come next, taking questions at the end. Delilah managed to stay off to the side with Gabe and Harry, although when it came time for pictures, they joined the others.

It was actually a fun event. Serious stuff when Bonita and Adam gave a history of the Falcon and how it ended up at the bottom of the ocean, but much laughter when they talked about the expedition, including the surfeit of spiny lobsters. Finally, Merrill said that the press conference was over, that they would pose for some photos, and in the coming weeks would be available for more interviews, including some special events at the same time as the Lollypalooza over Labor Day weekend. Apparently, the author of a book on shipwrecks, including the Falcon, would be doing a book signing then.

Mayor Doreen said, “Thank you all for coming, but we need you to clear the property, except for those invited. We have another event about to take place.”

“What event?” one of the reporters asked.

“A wedding,” the mayor announced with a big smile, but then said, “Oops!” when she noticed the wince on Merrill’s face.

Merrill looked at Delilah.

She looked at him, puzzled. But then, she understood.

He wouldn’t.

“You wouldn’t!” she exclaimed.

And how could he, anyhow? A secret wedding? Ridiculous! People needed marriage licenses and stuff, didn’t they?

Suddenly the papers she’d signed and the priest in vestments began to make sense. And somehow all the chairs had been arranged so that there was a center aisle. Stu and Barb were unrolling a runner from a huge bolt of white fabric down the center from the end of the room to the dais. A florist was coming in with baskets of flowers, pink and white roses. The table on the dais was being made into an altar with candelabra and a gold ciborium, which held communion hosts in a Catholic Church. Off to the side, the band was tuning up with that famous shag dance song, “Carolina Girls,” which was a must-have anywhere along the beaches, from the Outer Banks to Myrtle Beach. On the other side, bell choirs from both Our Lady by the Sea and St. Andrew’s were setting up for some kind of performance.