Corrina,
What a wonderful ending.
I loved every minute of this story; it made me laugh, it made me cry, and it helped me through some difficult times. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Re: Sam and Ellen's wedding. If you had told us from the start that it was Sam and Ellen's wedding, we would have had no context, no understanding of how they came together or why. Given we were so involved in a very *alive* Lois's point of view, it would have seemed cold, heartless, and, quite frankly, a bit bizarre. Plus, it would have spoiled the surprise ending!
On the other hand, if you had not alluded to it at all, you'd have run the risk of having the ending appear contrived. We needed to know that this wedding was part of your vision of the story as a whole, not something you tacked on at the end.
You came up with, IMHO, a brilliant means of solving this dilemma.
