We made it to the table, which everyone complimented, and sat down to eat. I had plated the steaks and potatoes in the kitchen and brought the salad bowl to the table. Everything smelled delicious and it was. There wasn’t a lot of chitchat because we were all busy eating, but as Suzanne finished her steak she said, “I’d like to propose a toast to the Queen Bee.”

She stood and raised her glass and walked around the table to Momma’s side. She placed her glass on the table and reached into her pocket, producing a small velvet sack.

“I bought champagne for a very special reason,” she said and sort of dropped to one knee with a small grunt, hanging on to the arm of Momma’s chair. “This will make it official.” Out came a beautiful diamond ring, and she put it on Momma’s finger. “Katherine Jensen, will you make me the happiest person alive and say yes?”

Momma’s eyes filled with tears and she blurted her response.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Momma got up, helped Suzanne up, and they hugged. We all clapped and cheered. Archie and Ted got up and shook Suzanne’s hand and kissed Momma’s cheek.

“I’ll get the champagne!” I said and hurried to the kitchen.

Ted followed me. I reached in the refrigerator, took out the bottle, and handed it to him.

“I’ll definitely break something with an exploding cork.”

“I’ve got it.” He easily removed the cork with the smallest pop. “Isn’t that something? Your Momma and—was it Sue?”

“Suzanne,” I said.

“Well, whatever. Still. There’s nothing like love.”

“Yeah, I think I just found that out. I mean, really found it out. Sort of.”

“You are the one, you know,” he said.

It was a reference to the lyrics of “Night and Day,” or so I thought.

“I love Cole Porter, too, and Ella? Wow, what a voice!”

“No, I mean you and me. This is it.”

“Oh, that! Oh, yeah, I know that. But they’re waiting for champagne.”

“Don’t steal your momma’s night. But soon?”

“Yeah, sure, big shot. We’ll see,” I said and hoped he meant it.

We stole a quick kiss, then went back to the dining room and poured champagne. I put on George Gershwin’s Great Hits and the first song to play was “Love Is Here to Stay.”

There was more toasting and lots of good wishes. The rest of the evening was spent, as it should have been, in a beautiful and prolonged dream about love and happiness.

Finally, Leslie said, “I’m going to walk Archie home.”

We all knew what that meant.

“Thank you for a wonderful night,” Archie said. “And congratulations.”

“You’re welcome,” Momma said, grinning like an eighteen-year-old blushing bride. “I’m going to help my fiancé clean the kitchen.”