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I hated him for being so in love with her.

It came time for little Troy to produce the

wedding ring. In his excitement, he rushed to bring it

out of his pocket and dropped it. The tiny clang

seemed to echo through the great entry hall and

everyone in the audience gasped simultaneously so

that it sounded like a giant intake of breath. I saw that

Troy was about to cry, but Tony picked up the ring

quickly and gave it to him to hand it back. Momma

flashed a look of anger and then quickly reverted to

her smile.

The rings were presented, the final words were

said, and the minister pronounced them man and wife.

They kissed and the audience cheered. Momma threw

her enormous bouquet at the bridesmaids and it fell

right into the hands of Nancy Kinney, the most homely looking of all the bridesmaids. Then she and Tony made their way back through the appreciative

crowd of guests and the reception began.

I brought punch and hors d'oeuvres to Grandma

Jana, who sat in the music room and greeted people.

Troy remained close to me most of the time, a little

scared by the crowd and the activity. Two

photographers wandered through the house taking

pictures for the wedding album. A number were taken

of Troy and me standing together, both of us looking

wide-eyed and uncomfortable, me still clinging to my

bouquet of sweetheart roses.

Soon after, the great banquet hall was opened

and the guests were drawn in by the music of the

orchestra. When most everyone was in the room, the

conductor stopped his orchestra and went to the