"No!" we chorused.

"We need to go on ahead because we can't stay long."

"We'll see you there," I said.

"Pukey Lukey is a fine-looking fellow." Bonnie Blue watched them walking away.

"He's nice, too. I'm just glad he doesn't live closer to Sister. She'll never forgive him." We thought about that a minute. "She still hasn't forgiven me for losing her Shirley Temple doll." We thought about that a minute, too. "Fifty-five years."

"You want to ride with us to the reception, Bonnie Blue?" Fred asked. "We'll bring you back here."

"Sure."

"I'll go get the car. You ladies have on heels."

"That's a fine-looking gentleman, too," Bonnie Blue said as Fred left. I couldn't have agreed more. At sixty-three, Fred still has a young man's walk. I pushed my bifocals down and watched him. Nice!

The crowd was in no hurry to disperse. A warm March sun made it pleasant to stand in front of the church and chat. No doubt about it, Debbie had lucked out on the weather for her wedding day. In March, anything can happen weatherwise in Alabama. And usually does. Birmingham's only recorded blizzard roared through several years ago on March 13, leaving eighteen inches of snow and 500,000 traumatized people, most of whom had never seen more than a dusting of snow in their whole lives. But today was glorious. Happy the bride the sun shines on.

"You look mighty festive," I told Bonnie Blue.

"Big, Bold, and Beautiful Shoppe," she said. "Look at this." She turned so I could see the back of the cream-colored suit. The jacket was cut in a modified "V" in the back, and the skirt had a long kick pleat that mirrored the "V" of the jacket.

"Snazzy," I said.

"Slimming."

"Good-looking."

"Thanks." Bonnie Blue grinned at me. "I like your outfit, too. I trust they didn't charge you full price for something that little."

"A bundle," I admitted.

Several people called hello or stopped to speak. Traffic was inching by, but the sun felt warm and I was in no hurry to leave. Bonnie Blue yawned.

"My feelings exactly," I said. "I didn't sleep much last night. We didn't get back from the rehearsal party until after twelve and then I couldn't go to sleep."

"But we got them married."

"We sure did."

Bonnie Blue Butler is one of my favorite people. I first met her at the Skoot 'n Boot, a country-western bar that Sister bought, swearing it was a wise investment, since line dancing was the hottest thing since the jitterbug. Bonnie Blue was working there, running the place actually. The first time I saw her, I remember thinking she and Mary Alice looked like each other's negative. The same size, the same way of walking, the same mannerisms. They even carried identical purses. But Bonnie Blue was about fifteen years younger and her skin was a beautiful coppery chocolate.