Chapter 210 Alice

• Charlie wanted to come up for the wedding, and Kip kindly offered to fly her up on his plane, so we all go and pick her up mid-morning. She’s super excited to be here, and she loved the plane flight, and took full advantage of Immi’s offer of a glass of champagne and chocolate cake on the way. She’s thrilled to see Kip, and when I show her my bracelet, she gives me a big hug and whispers, “I love it. You’re so lucky.”
• The weather does indeed clear up by midday, and we all arrive for the wedding just before one-thirty. Gina has chosen to get married at a church in the small village where her Maori fiancé is from, about ten minutes north of Gisborne. Kip parks the car and retrieves the wheelchair, and I help Mum into it. He locks the car, and I push Mum up the slope toward the church.
• She was too excited to nap at lunchtime, and as a result I can see she’s a little tired, but she pins a bright smile on her face that lasts until we get to the church entrance. My uncle, Don, is there to greet us. He gives us an apologetic smile. “I’m really sorry,” he says, “there’s no room for the wheelchair in the aisles because of all the flowers. We’ll have to put you at the back.”