“Well, that narrows it down. I’ll be on the lookout.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

I watched her get her purse and put on lipstick. “What kind of luncheon are you going to?”

“An Angel Sighting Society lunch at the club.”

“Well, have a good time.”

“I will.”

As soon as the back door closed, I went into the den, lay down on the sofa, and pulled the afghan over me. As I was sinking into deep sleep, the question flitted through my mind, an angel-sighting luncheon?

Muffin, Haley’s cat, woke me up about an hour later kneading the afghan and purring. I rubbed between her ears, and she stretched out beside me.

“Your mama sent her love,” I told her. “She’ll be home in a couple of months.”

Muffin purred louder.

“We saw our first-ever white Christmas.”

Muffin drooled.

“Your grandpapa says one is enough.” I snuggled deeper under the afghan and smiled, thinking of Fred struggling through Warsaw’s snow, swearing that we had all lost our minds, that he had seen on CNN that it was sixty-five degrees in Birmingham. He had enjoyed seeing Haley, though, enjoyed seeing how happy she was with Philip. And Fred was back at his beloved Metal Fab today, jet-lagged, but at home. And probably a little disappointed that the metal-fabricating industry had survived for two weeks without him.

I was trying to decide whether to go back to sleep or get up and put the clothes in the dryer when the phone rang.

“Did I wake you up, Aunt Pat? You sound sleepy.”

“No, hon. Muffin did that about two minutes ago. How are you feeling?”

Debbie, Mary Alice’s middle child, the outcome (as I had just learned) of the march of one of the elder Philip Nachman’s saints, is eight months pregnant. Having been there three times myself, I knew my question was dumb.

“Better than I felt with Fay and May at this stage. Remember how I had to have help getting up out of a chair?”

Debbie’s twins, Fay and May, are almost three. Not interested in marriage, but very interested in motherhood, she had opted for the UAB sperm bank. Then, last year, she had met Henry Lamont and married him with a speed that surprised us all. Now she was expecting David Anthony Lamont in a month.

“I remember.” I pushed the afghan back and sat up. Muffin jumped down disapprovingly and headed for the kitchen.

“Well, when I talked to you yesterday, I forgot to tell you that Pukey Lukey has been trying for several days to get hold of you or Mama. When he kept getting your answering machine, he called me and asked where you were.”