Grace and Velma were not bosom buddies, though they had come to know each other fairly well and liked each other, especially since the December weddings. Grace, Hannah, and Amelia had been supportive of the five Covington women as they coped with the dumbfounding news that they were not legally married, after assuming, for forty years, that they were.

This information had come to light when Grace helped young pastor Denny Ledbetter clean out the attic of the church. Letters discovered there stated that a pastor who had been hired and had served for a brief time forty years earlier had not been ordained. The man had had the temerity to marry five couples prior to being found out and dismissed.

What astounded and angered them more was the fact that the deceased chairman of the Church Board had concealed this information. Yellowed papers hidden in a box and uncovered by Grace and Pastor Denny revealed this information and wreaked havoc in the lives of the Herrills, the Craines, and three McCorkle couples. Traumatized, jolted from complacency by this wrenching news, the couples had chosen to remarry in five sequential ceremonies on Christmas Eve. In a race against time, the ladies had stepped in and spearheaded the drive to paint and clean the church, while offering emotional support to the families involved.

“I’ll be happy to have lunch with you, Velma. What time?” Grace asked.

“Say, twelve-thirty. I’m in Asheville running errands. Meet me at the Chinese restaurant in Weaverville?”

“That’s fine. See you there.”

Dressed in casual slacks and a lavender-and-white pinstriped shirt, Velma sat in a booth sipping iced tea. Grace slipped into the seat across the table.

“It’s good to see you, Grace. We live so close, and the days fly by so fast, everyone’s so busy. Seems like the older one gets, the faster time goes. Remember when you were young and couldn’t wait to get older? I remember being seventeen and thinking I’d never get out of high school. Lord, I just couldn’t wait to get out of there.” Velma’s voice trailed off.

A waiter stood at their table. Grace ordered hot tea, and they indicated that they would have the buffet. For a time they ate in silence, and Grace wondered if she should tell Velma about Zachary’s return. She might as well. There were no secrets in Covington. “Can you imagine…,” she began.

A light flared in Velma’s eyes. “You know about it, then? No, I cannot imagine. Why, Grace, she’s got to be at least twenty years his senior.”

“What are you talking about? Who’s twenty years whose senior?”

“Why, May McCorkle, of course.”

“May McCorkle? What about May?”