Monday (the 30th)
Remembering what day it was, Shane panicked and headed out to the sorting floor to retrieve an item scheduled for auction, a wedding dress which she subsequently tried on in the DLO. When Oliver happened upon her in the dress, they have a moment, during which Shane discovered a letter hidden in a pocket.
Rita and Norman utilized one of Norman’s many cousin connections to secure another florist, during the appointment we learned more about the recent loss of Rita’s mother during a spelunking excursion. Back at the office, Norman and Oliver utilized the lab to analyze the damaged box in which the dress was packed, noting the commemorative stamps honoring courageous women. In the office, Rita revealed to Shane her inability to locate Norman’s grandmother, Ardis, despite her best efforts. As they conversed, Rita stumbled upon initials belonging to a well-known local dress designer, Evelyn Rose,providing them a solid lead in delivering the dress. |
Oliver and Shane visited the Brown Palace to see if they could track down the mother/daughter tea connoisseurs hinted at in the letter. During tea they met a Mr. Frye, who, upon realizing Oliver’s affinity for tea, offered his assistance. Also a topic of discussion was Oliver’s cluelessness about Bachelor parties, forcing Shane to call on reinforcements. On her own mission, Shane also enlisted the man at the front desk to help track down Norman’s grandmother in time for the wedding.
Staging an intervention, Shane and Joe convinced Oliver to allow their help planning the Bachelor party. Joe and Oliver regaled Shane with a family story that resulted in the tradition of an O’Toole man wearing a green tie when they propose. Interestingly, we find that Holly proposed to Oliver, so he has yet to fulfill the family tradition himself. Before the night was over, Shane, Oliver, Rita and Norman met Bill at the farm, where he gifted Rita and Norman with a canoe. Immediately following, Norman alerted Oliver that he didn’t know how to swim. |
Tuesday
First thing, Shane, Oliver, Rita and Norman returned to the Brown Palace, where Mr. Frye remembered Anneliese and her daughter. He described a woman who regaled her attentive daughter with tales of heroism in which she was the main character, and which her daughter recorded. Suddenly Rita had an epiphany, and her idea led them to a best-selling author, Jessica Gordon, who would be signing books the following day. |
At the farm, Joe and Bill shared a moment remembering Sunny, during which Joe offered Bill support. Shane arrived asking them to build one more wedding gift.
Wednesday
The POstables visited Jessica during her book signing, where they heard the whole story about her mother. Jessica also revealed she married only five months before. She also shared that after not hearing from her mother for years, letters began to come back in again after she wrote her first book. In them, Jessica's mother indicated it was still not safe for her to come home. Feeling for her, Shane offered to find her mother. Back at the office, Oliver confronted Shane about her decision, only for Shane to present a plausible theory that Jessica's mother may have already returned home and be closer than they realized. |
Thursday
Later, Shane informed Rita she had a surprise for her and Norman, but it required missing the post-spa portion of their Girls’ Night Out.
Norman’s surprise party became even more of a surprise when his grandmother, Ardis, made a surprise appearance over Skype thanks to Shane’s sleuthing, and help from Bill and Joe. Ardis insisted on meeting everyone, and when she met Bill, it is discovered that she and Sunny actually knew each other as old weaving buddies. Remembering Sunny’s unfinished blanket, Bill enlisted Ardis’ help.
Ramon took the opportunity to teach Norman some dance steps ahead of the wedding. Meanwhile, Oliver’s distracted nature caused his father to confront him about it. They picked up the conversation post-party, only to have it interrupted by Ardis’ surprise wedding gift for Norman and Rita, a donation to the O’Toole Foundation to be used as a scholarship fund for students of postal history. |
Annaliese revealed to Shane and Rita her story of mental illness and struggle to get help and start over. Stable and living in a therapeutic community, she was hesitant to reunite with her daughter, but Shane and Rita convinced her otherwise.
Friday
Bill got weaving lessons from Ardis over video chat to finish the marriage blanket Sunny was working on before she passed so it would be ready for Rita’s wedding. Anneliese and Jessica reunited for tea at the Brown Palace, where Jessica was waiting in the wedding dress so her mother could finally see it. Norman and Rita got bad news about a skunk invasion at their wedding venue. Oliver said “I love you” to Shane, a moment interrupted by Norman and Rita’s emerging crisis. |
Saturday
At the barn, Norman and Rita prepared to wed. Norman and Oliver shared a private moment and a hug before Papa O’Toole arrived with Oliver’s Tux jacket, with the green tie covertly tucked in the pocket, “just in case.” Bill spent a private moment and hug with his daughter before Shane arrived with her flowers and they shared a special moment, too. |
Later that evening, Oliver proposed to Shane using the O’Toole green tie tradition, resulting in a sweet moment after which they kissed.
Back inside the barn, Shane, Oliver, Rita and Norman celebrate with a heartfelt toast, and a dance to end the evening and begin the next chapter of their lives.
And that, friends, is To The Altar. Don't forget to check out the music and review posted earlier this week!
Ordered,
~C