and nephew getting married.” Mary Alice chomped down on her sandwich. “I hope they’ve found Sunshine by then.”
“I hope so, too,” Haley agreed. “Maybe Ray will be home by then and they can come to the wedding.”
I was eating supper with two absolute dingbats. How much sense did it take to add up a dead body, a missing girl, and a bloody nightgown to realize you were probably going to be minus a wedding guest on Saturday?
“My niece and nephew married. That’s nice. I’ll bet that doesn’t happen often,” Sister said.
“Depends on which part of the state you live in.” I got up and poured each of us more tea. Actually, Dr. Philip Nachman, an ENT, ear, nose, and throat specialist, was the nephew of Mary Alice’s second husband, Philip Nachman. He and Haley had met at their cousin Debbie’s wedding where Dr. Philip (the nephew, the uncle having long been dead) had given the bride away. “It’s just downright cozy,” Mary Alice says. Most people find it confusing.
The phone rang and I answered it.
“Hey, Aunt Pat. Have you met my Sunshine yet?” Ray sounded as if he were in the next room.
“I have, and she’s darling. Here’s your mother, honey.” I handed the phone to Mary Alice quick as a hot potato and walked toward the bedroom. I didn’t want to hear this conversation. In a moment, Haley followed me.
“You’ve had a god-awful day, haven’t you, Mama?”
“Pretty bad.”
We sat on the bed and looked at each other.
“Maybe you and Papa can come over for Christmas. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I think it snows a lot in Warsaw.”
I swallowed hard. “What are you wearing Saturday?”
“My peach linen suit, I think.”
She wouldn’t make it to the courthouse without it being so wrinkled it’d look like she’d slept in it. But I just nodded. I wondered if Mary Alice was telling Ray everything that had happened or was sparing him some of the details.
“Haley,” I said, “I think Sunshine’s dead.”
“I know,” she said.
We were sitting on the bed holding hands when Mary Alice came to the door. “It’s a twenty-hourflight,” she said. “He’ll be here tomorrow.” She sat down on the bed beside us. “He sounded upset.”
“Did you by any chance mention the bloody nightgown?”
Sister nodded.
“That just might have done it then.”
“I guess so.” Mary Alice took Haley’s other hand. “What are you wearing Saturday?”
“My peach linen suit.”
“Well, put it on in the restroom at the courthouse and don’t sit down or you’ll look all wrinkled in your pictures.”
“We hadn’t planned on any pictures. Maybe Papa can bring his camera.”
“You have to have wedding pictures.” Mary Alice patted Haley’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
Haley looked up and started to say something, but Mary Alice was on a roll.
“And I think you ought to change the time to noon. That way I could give you a wedding luncheon, maybe at the Tutwiler.”
“Ten o’clock was the only time the judge could work us in on Saturday.”
“Then we’ll make it a champagne breakfast. That’ll be nice, too. And you’ll have to have a wedding cake. Two tiers so you can freeze the top one.”
Haley turned and looked at me. I smiled innocently. I’ve lived with Sister a lot longer than she has.
“I declare,” Sister said, mulling over wedding plans and suddenly remembering something that might interfere. “I hope Sunshine’s all right.”
So did I. I could hear Meemaw declaring, “ She’s my heart. Always has been .” I could only imagine her pain. It made my worry over being separated from Haley for six months seem trivial.
Still talking wedding, Mary Alice and Haley left about nine o’clock. They were hardly out of the house when the phone rang. Probably Fred again. Dammit, he shouldn’t be working these long hours. The whole point of merging his Metal Fab with a large Atlanta firm had been to make his job easier. I picked up the phone
“I hope so, too,” Haley agreed. “Maybe Ray will be home by then and they can come to the wedding.”
I was eating supper with two absolute dingbats. How much sense did it take to add up a dead body, a missing girl, and a bloody nightgown to realize you were probably going to be minus a wedding guest on Saturday?
“My niece and nephew married. That’s nice. I’ll bet that doesn’t happen often,” Sister said.
“Depends on which part of the state you live in.” I got up and poured each of us more tea. Actually, Dr. Philip Nachman, an ENT, ear, nose, and throat specialist, was the nephew of Mary Alice’s second husband, Philip Nachman. He and Haley had met at their cousin Debbie’s wedding where Dr. Philip (the nephew, the uncle having long been dead) had given the bride away. “It’s just downright cozy,” Mary Alice says. Most people find it confusing.
The phone rang and I answered it.
“Hey, Aunt Pat. Have you met my Sunshine yet?” Ray sounded as if he were in the next room.
“I have, and she’s darling. Here’s your mother, honey.” I handed the phone to Mary Alice quick as a hot potato and walked toward the bedroom. I didn’t want to hear this conversation. In a moment, Haley followed me.
“You’ve had a god-awful day, haven’t you, Mama?”
“Pretty bad.”
We sat on the bed and looked at each other.
“Maybe you and Papa can come over for Christmas. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I think it snows a lot in Warsaw.”
I swallowed hard. “What are you wearing Saturday?”
“My peach linen suit, I think.”
She wouldn’t make it to the courthouse without it being so wrinkled it’d look like she’d slept in it. But I just nodded. I wondered if Mary Alice was telling Ray everything that had happened or was sparing him some of the details.
“Haley,” I said, “I think Sunshine’s dead.”
“I know,” she said.
We were sitting on the bed holding hands when Mary Alice came to the door. “It’s a twenty-hourflight,” she said. “He’ll be here tomorrow.” She sat down on the bed beside us. “He sounded upset.”
“Did you by any chance mention the bloody nightgown?”
Sister nodded.
“That just might have done it then.”
“I guess so.” Mary Alice took Haley’s other hand. “What are you wearing Saturday?”
“My peach linen suit.”
“Well, put it on in the restroom at the courthouse and don’t sit down or you’ll look all wrinkled in your pictures.”
“We hadn’t planned on any pictures. Maybe Papa can bring his camera.”
“You have to have wedding pictures.” Mary Alice patted Haley’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
Haley looked up and started to say something, but Mary Alice was on a roll.
“And I think you ought to change the time to noon. That way I could give you a wedding luncheon, maybe at the Tutwiler.”
“Ten o’clock was the only time the judge could work us in on Saturday.”
“Then we’ll make it a champagne breakfast. That’ll be nice, too. And you’ll have to have a wedding cake. Two tiers so you can freeze the top one.”
Haley turned and looked at me. I smiled innocently. I’ve lived with Sister a lot longer than she has.
“I declare,” Sister said, mulling over wedding plans and suddenly remembering something that might interfere. “I hope Sunshine’s all right.”
So did I. I could hear Meemaw declaring, “ She’s my heart. Always has been .” I could only imagine her pain. It made my worry over being separated from Haley for six months seem trivial.
Still talking wedding, Mary Alice and Haley left about nine o’clock. They were hardly out of the house when the phone rang. Probably Fred again. Dammit, he shouldn’t be working these long hours. The whole point of merging his Metal Fab with a large Atlanta firm had been to make his job easier. I picked up the phone
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