I was having my second cup of coffee when I remembered Luke and reached for the phone. There was still no answer at either number. I dialed Mary Alice.

“Maybe they’ve gone skiing,” she said.

“Skiing? Have you lost your mind? They’re both in their sixties and have lived in Mississippi all their lives.”

“You don’t have to ski to go skiing. You sit in the lodge and drink hot rum and watch the ambulances go by.”

“You can do that in the bar of the Holiday Inn across from University Hospital.”

“Not the same ambiance. Everybody wouldn’t have on the pretty ski outfits.”

“Well, I doubt seriously that Luke and Virginia are sitting in a ski lodge drinking hot rum and watching ambulances.”

“I don’t know why not. At Debbie’s wedding they were both crocked.”

“I’m hanging up,” I said.

“Wait. You know that red velvet bag I gave you to put in your purse when we came through customs? The one I told you to guard?”

“The one with your pearls in it?”

“Yes. That one. I’ll be over in a little while to get it. Guard it.”

“I’ll get Fred’s old BB gun out. How come you didn’t get it yesterday if it’s so precious?”

“I forgot it.”

This time I did hang up. I put on a pair of jeans, a turtleneck, and an old flannel shirt of Fred’s and took Woofer for his walk. As we opened the gate, I could see Mitzi Phizer sitting in her new sunroom reading the paper. She and her husband, Arthur, our longtime neighbors, had gone through some terrible problems back in the fall. It was good to see her there; it was good to see her wave at us.

The air was so crisp you could taste it. Warsaw, in spite of the cold and snow, had had the underlying smell of diesel fumes and coal fires. Fred was right. It was good that home was this particularly beautiful place.

We turned the corner and I could see the statue of Vulcan, the huge iron god of the forge that overlooks all of Birmingham. The sun was glinting off his big bare butt. Oh, yes. I was home.

I was waiting happily for Woofer to check out a telephone pole when a black Lincoln pulled up and stopped. I thought for a second that it was someone wanting directions, but when the window slid open, Pukey Lukey said, “Hey, Patricia Anne.”

The sun was so bright, I couldn’t see him well. I leaned through the window.

“Hey. What are you doing here? Debbie said you wanted to get in touch with us. I’ve been trying to call you.”