Chapter 24

Since we were in Vancouver, we took the time to meet with our Canadian lawyer and talk about Jennifer’s financial affairs. We also took the time to do some sightseeing and enjoy some of the city’s attractions. When we were on the train, an idea came to me and I did some searching to see if we could locate one of those big tents that caterers erect at fancy outdoor events.

I had wondered how we’d deal with things at the wedding if the weather turned nasty and thought that having one of these tents would solve the problem. I reasoned that we could make it available to the community on the main island once we were done with it.

“Jennifer, I wonder if we could get a big marquee type tent so that we can be prepared if it rains on our wedding day. Once we’re done with it, we could give it to the community for their use.” Jennifer smiled and agreed that it was a good idea. “Maybe we could ask Elizabeth and Helen if they’d look after it for the community,” she said. “That’s a good idea,” I said. “If we did that, perhaps we should ask anyone that uses the tent to pay a small fee so that it isn’t a burden for Elizabeth and Helen.”

We continued our discussions and finally decided to have a chat with the elders to get their take on the idea and to make sure that the ladies were comfortable with the idea as well. Regardless of what happened to the tent after the wedding, we needed to make sure we had one available for the big day. After some searching, we located a supplier where we purchased a tent complete with side walls and a storage container and got them to ship it to us as soon as possible.

Finally, with all our business in Vancouver completed, we were looking forward to being home. Tomorrow we’d get on the plane for the trip home.

Ah to be home again! The last leg of the trip from Vancouver back to our little island was uneventful and while we’d really enjoyed our trip, we were oh so glad to be home again. We’d let Faye (our ‘cabin sitter’) know when we’d be home and she was all packed and ready to go back to the main island. Maggie and Ralph let us know how upset they were for us abandoning them but that only lasted for about half a minute and a few hugs for Ralph and ear scratches for Maggie and all was back to normal.

While we were gone, most of the furniture we’d ordered for the new house had arrived and had been unpacked and set up in the house – perhaps not exactly where we wanted it but we could rearrange it later.

That evening, as we sat on the veranda of the cabin, I could see that Jennifer had that ‘far away’ look on her face. I waited, knowing she’d tell me what she was thinking about when she was ready.

Suddenly she came back from wherever her mind had taken her and looked at me. “What are you looking at?” she asked.

I smiled. “I love the look on your face when you’re dreaming about something.”

Jennifer smiled and came over and climbed onto my lap for a cuddle. “I was thinking over the things that have happened the last two weeks and marvelling at how things worked out. I knew you’d said that Mary, Don and the rest would accept us with open arms and they did. Based upon what Martin had said, I was pretty sure things would go well with my dad’s family – and they did. What surprised me was how accepting my mom’s family was. I guess learning the titles in Urdu was the right thing to do.”