Sometimes April worried that she’d been built without some fundamental piece that everyone else had that just let them deal. Even her mother, who got involved in every lefty cause she could, seemed to be able to shake it all off at the end of the day and enjoy life. But the evil in the world, everywhere you looked, was always on April’s mind.

She had once joked about how it was illegal to buy liquor in Massachusetts on Sundays or on holidays, so her Irish relatives would always stock up beforehand. (Right before Independence Day each year, Celia said, her grandfather would announce, “If you want to have a great Fourth, buy a fifth on the third!”)

This was something Sally hadn’t realized about weddings until she started planning one – no matter how simple, they were never just about the bride and groom. Those in attendance who were in love felt all the happier, their love strengthened by being in the presence of a new, hopeful marriage. For those who hadn’t been lucky in love, a wedding was like a bad paper cut – annoying and painful and impossible to ignore.