Joyce resumes writing after a break and explains that Joanna's wedding preparations have taken over her time. She has been busy with practical arrangements such as the florist, cake, dress and even a nail bar visit, but the process has also led to repeated arguments with Joanna over almost every detail, from music to planning. Joyce recognizes that their usual differences have been sharpened by the wedding.

Joyce then recalls the first argument, which began almost as soon as Joanna and Paul announced their engagement. Joyce, thrilled by the news and pleased that Paul seems kind and dependable, asked about the size of the wedding and reacted badly when Joanna said she wanted it to be small. Joyce's comments about Joanna being an older bride and her wish for a grander, more traditional celebration escalated the tension, and Joanna tried to keep her temper under control in front of Paul.

When Paul briefly leaves to make tea, the argument becomes more direct. Joanna tells Joyce that she wants a simple wedding with love rather than fuss, while Joyce keeps pushing for the larger wedding she had always imagined for her only child. Joyce realizes she is being unreasonable because she has been dreaming about Joanna's wedding for years, partly because her own wedding to Gerry had been loving but modest due to lack of money.

Joyce shares that memory with Joanna, and the conflict softens when Joanna says she keeps imagining Gerry walking her down the aisle. Both women cry for Gerry, and Paul's awkwardly gentle return with tea helps break the tension. Joyce then understands that what matters is not the scale of the ceremony but Joanna's happiness and Paul's goodness, and mother and daughter reconcile.

After that, the planning becomes easier. Joyce tells Joanna that Elizabeth, Ron and Ibrahim will understand not being invited to a small wedding, only for Joanna to reveal that they are invited and that her idea of a small wedding is about two hundred guests. Joyce is delighted to discover that Joanna's “small” wedding is effectively the large celebration Joyce had wanted, though Joanna still limits Joyce's attempts to add even more guests.

By the end of the chapter, Joyce has laid out her wedding clothes, arranged transport and accepted that the ceremony will be at a beautiful country house rather than in a church. She looks ahead to becoming Paul's mother-in-law and notices that she will be seated next to Paul's widowed father, Archie. With trouble absent and love scarce in her life lately, Joyce ends hopeful for the wedding and for whatever new connection tomorrow might bring.