SCENE 2: THE REHEARSAL

TWO WEEKS LATER...

Sara and James had planned their wedding in the cute Gold Rush town of Marburg. It's a cute town in the Sierra foothills, built on either side of a rushing mountain river. The town is very green, with fresh mountain air and bright sunlight in the summertime. It's filled with cute Victorians painted in vivid yellows and pinks and in pastel corals and blues. Altogether it's a beautiful place for a wedding.

The wedding is taking place at a large Victorian B&B called the Murrieta Gardens. As the name implies, the Murrieta has an expansive back garden--several gardens, it feels like, because there are winding grass areas and nooks and crannies to get hidden in. The kids coming for the wedding will have a ball. As part of the bridal party, but the only male bridesmaid, you've got a room to yourself at the Murrieta--the rest of the brides"maids" and grooms"men" (like James' sisters) are staying there as well.

Sara and James had rented a suite at a different B&B nearby—a bright and sunny Victorian—but for now only Sara is staying in it. James is being traditional about things, after all. James's family owns a small vacation home in Marburg—a ranch house that had been partitioned and added to haphazardly, so to accommodate the needs of several families there at once—and he'll be staying there till the wedding. The ranch house is also where the reception dinner will be, later tonight.

Because the weather report looks good, Sara is having you set up for the wedding already. She has always been the go-getter of the two of them. With a drawing, she directs the basics. For the altar, at the foot of a large Jeffrey's pine, there will be a low platform and a dais. The platform needs bunting and to be garlanded with flowers. Because the women are wearing heels, the area leading to the altar needs to be checked for divots and rocks, and small amounts of garden soil raked into any divots. There are rows of chairs to put in place. There's a tent to put up, where the food will go.

People are arriving and as they get settled, Sara has assigned them to tasks. Of course, the work will stop once the minister arrives to walk through the ceremony with everyone. For now there's work to do.