The engagement party was going to be held on a Saturday. My father, Laura and I flew up to Philadelphia on a Friday evening. We had reservations at the same hotel where the engagement party was going to be held. After we got unpacked and were situated in our rooms, we met Ilka in the hotel restaurant and had dinner. Of course, Laura remembered Ilka as an actress and stage manager for several college productions. Laura was impressed by the fact that Ilka was now a dentist. My father told Ilka that she was now considered his daughter, the one that he never had. I could tell that my father’s comment pleased her.
The engagement party was held the next day at six o’clock. Ilka and her mother and father arrived early. We gathered at the hotel bar. Ilka’s father and mine hit it off immediately.
