“You do rock that old-time pageboy look, and your hair has gotten so long it will still be brushing the back of your neck. Is that what you’re wanting?”

“Yes,” Melissa said, and relaxed into the chair.

It was after eleven thirty when Melissa left the beauty shop, her hair elegant and her nails done.

She smelled fried ham and biscuits when she walked in and guessed Sully had gone to Granny’s for some of Mercy’s biscuits.

“I hope you saved me one,” she said as she walked into the kitchen.

Marc got up and greeted her with a quick kiss, but it was Sully who pulled out a chair. “Here, sweetheart, sit down. I’ll get a plate and some iced tea for you.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Your hair is beautiful,” Marc said. “Are you nervous?”

“Not about getting married,” she said.

Sully brought her a paper napkin, a paper plate, and a glass of sweet tea, then pushed a platter of ham biscuits toward her.

“These are the best biscuits I ever ate in my life,” Marc said.

“We know,” Melissa said. “Mercy Pittman is one of the gems in Blessings.” She took one from the platter and took a bite. “Umm, nothing better than honey-cured ham on a buttermilk biscuit.”

“Is that a Southern thing?” Marc asked.

Still chewing, Melissa gave him a thumbs-up and nodded.

She ate with an eye on the clock, listening to father and son trading stories and remarking on similar likes and dislikes.

Then all of a sudden the time was upon them, and Melissa was running up the stairs to get her suitcase and the two garment bags, one with her wedding dress and the other with the clothes she was wearing to Savannah for their overnight honeymoon.

Sully carried it all down for her, and she came down with her purse over her shoulder and her veil on a hanger covered in a clear plastic bag.

Marc followed them out.

“Are you sure you have everything?” Sully asked.

“Both garment bags, one suitcase, and my veil. Yes,” she said, and took the keys he dropped in her hand. She waved at Marc, then put her hand behind Sully’s neck and kissed him senseless. “See you at the altar!” she said, and then she was gone.

“You are so done for,” Marc said.

“Yes, and thank you for calling that to my attention,” Sully said as they went back inside.

* * *

Melissa was driving to the church with her heart pounding, excited and a little bit anxious that she might have forgotten something important.

She arrived at the church and then parked at the back so she and Sully wouldn’t get caught up in other traffic. Before she could get out, she was swarmed by a host of friends from church who carried everything inside and escorted her to one of the classrooms that had been set aside for them to use.

“Is Lovey here yet?” she asked.

“She just got here and is in the adjoining classroom getting ready. Ruby is doing her hair, and Mabel Jean is doing her nails.”