"Didn't you tell me Mary Alice promised old Philip to raise Debbie as a Jew?" Fred asked. "I wouldn't exactly call this place a temple. Maybe a cathedral."

The "old" Philip that Fred was referring to was Debbie's father, Mary Alice's second husband. He was also the uncle of "young" Philip Nachman, his namesake, who had given the bride away. "She said she forgot to," I explained.

"She forgot to?" Fred laughed, really laughed, was still laughing as we went out the church door. And I realized I hadn't heard that deep chuckling laugh of his in quite some time. A pinprick of worry tingled for a second. But only for a second, as we were caught up in the crowd of friends and relatives that milled around the front of the church.

"Patricia Anne!" Pukey Lukey hugged me. He is a distinguished-looking multi-millionaire insurance executive in his sixties. He is married to a lovely woman and is the father of a member of the House of Representatives. In short, he has led an exemplary life, been a shining star in the family pantheon. Mary Alice still hates him.

"There was puke in his eyelashes!" she says. "It's one thing to be car sick, but he just exploded. Ruined every vacation we ever went on."

Sister remembers these early excursions to the beach better than I do. I like Luke, though I tend to keep my distance—just in case.

"Luke," I said, moving back, "how nice to see you. I know Sister will be thrilled you're here."

He looked pleased. I think he still harbors the hope that Mary Alice will forgive him some day. After all, it has been sixty years.

Luke shook hands with Fred, and I hugged his wife Virginia.

"Such a beautiful wedding," she said. "Minnie says it's the prettiest one he's ever seen."

Minnie is Virginia's nickname for Luke. She confessed to Sister and me at another family celebration where she had singularly downed a bottle of Gallo Rhine that it was short for "Minute Man." A confession that brought pure joy to Sister's heart. Poor Luke.

"It was beautiful," I agreed.

"And Haley looked like a doll. And Freddie and Alan were so handsome."

I beamed. My children might not be in the House of Representatives, but they are, indeed, very nice, beautiful people.

"And the flowers were gorgeous. That pink! And Debbie's dress was fantastic. And the groom is so cute I could eat him with a spoon."

I cast an appraising eye at Virginia, who kept on babbling. She had started her celebrating early, I realized.

"Patricia Anne!" My friend Bonnie Blue Butler had worked her way through the crowd. "Wasn't that some wedding?"

I agreed that it was and introduced her to Luke and Virginia.

"You're from Columbus, aren't you?" she said, shaking Luke's hand. "Mary Alice talks about you all the time."

Luke looked pleased. "That's nice to hear."

"Does anybody need a ride to the reception?" Virginia asked.