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"Yes, and with his wife Leanna."

"Oh." She was silent a long moment. I expected she would say she couldn't attend now, but she surprised me. "Well, I'll deal with it."

"And Grant?"

"Heil have no choice." she said with surprising assurance. "What's the other revelation? The famous second shoe?"

"I'm pregnant?"

"What? Pregnant? But how... can you be pregnant?"

"Yes. Mother. I can and I am," I said. laughing.

"Oh," she said, her smile fading.

"What's the matter? Will it bring more disgrace or something?"

"No, no." she said, shaking her head. "That's the last thing I fear about it."

"Then what?"

"Don't you realize what this means?"

"Well, I know what I realize. What do you realize?"

"I'll be a grandmother." she said. "I'm too young to be a grandmother,'" she wailed.

We stared at each other.

And then we laughed,

And laughed until she hugged me tightly.

I felt her tears on my face when she kissed my cheek.

They were already mixing with my own.

Epilogue

.

My wedding was a great success, in a large part

due to Austin's mother's enthusiasm. She was, as he described, a real Southern lady who in many ways reminded me of Grandmother Hudson. Her name was Belva Ann Clarke and her attention to detail was impressive. She had an arch of white and pink roses created for us in the church and one of Austin's little nieces was the most adorable flower girl. Belva Ann took care of the printing of the cards and arranged for the ushers at the church.

My mother helped me choose my wedding dress and then decided she wanted to work with the caterers to do the reception. There was such a storm of excitement around me because of the speed with which everything had to be done that I found myself spinning with new information and decisions every day.

Mother and Belva Ann got along famously. They both possessed a reverence for those small details that made an occasion like this extra special. They marched up and down the hallways together, thinking of things to do to dress up the house for the reception. On and on it went, a discussion about forks and spoons, napkins, colors, ribbons and even festive balloons to be hung on the trees and bushes. Austin and I soon felt like outsiders, observing someone else's marriage. When they were gone for the day, he performed imitations of both of them.

"Now let's see, should we use the hand-painted imported porcelain dishes or the everyday china, and what about the champagne Glasses? Isn't it uncouth to use those plastic things, even though more and more people today are doing so for receptions like this? Do you favor bright red napkins? I just hate paper napkins. We need at least cotton ones, don't you agree?"

Sometimes, he was so accurate, he had me bent over with laughter.

"Now you see why we should have eloped." I teased Austin.

"But they're having so much fun," he said. "Of course, we could let them do it all and then not show up. We'll get on a cruise or something and leave a note behind."

"And be responsible for a two suicides? No thank you." I said.