Marina pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth and closed her eyes to keep her tears in. She got up from the floor, walked over to the bed and pulled on a pair of pedal pushers and a blouse.

Looking at Louise while she zipped and buttoned, Marina said, “You know, Louise, I know you had a shitty marriage, and I’m very sorry about that, but you don’t know anything about my life, really. So I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t assume that you do.” And she left the room.

The music wafting from the radio was too soft to cover the discomfort that the brief confrontation left floating in the air, and it wasn’t loud enough to mask the silence left by none of them knowing what to say.

Liddy looked at Louise and saw the dismay on her face.

“Boy, that went sour quickly. Did I just cause a wreck?” asked Louise. “That was not my intention.”

“Louie, go talk to her,” said Liddy.

Louise got dressed and left to find Marina. Liddy, Joy Lynn and Calli sat quietly listening to the radio until they heard James Lee babbling on the other side of the door.

It was well after dinner time when Mariana and Louise returned to the house. And the sister-friends all walked down to the river and sat under the big oak tree. Not since the WASP were disbanded had they all together shared their pain of losing their Army wings. And not since Bet’s death, had they laughed and cried together about their little redheaded fly girl. And then, until the sun came up, they emptied out their hearts to one another of everything else.

No matter the life, it has pain and much of it finds a place to hide that is deep and sometimes forgotten. The women opened up all those places in their hearts and scrubbed them out. It left them feeling light and free. Everything had been taken off and they were still wrapped up in love.

The girls went back to the house as the sun came up and tiptoed to the kitchen and ate fried biscuits and ham. The morsels were layered with some jelly and washed down with iced glasses of day-old coffee, and then they went upstairs and slept. Early afternoon, they were woken with the rattle and roll of the trucks that pulled up between the house and the river. A crew unloaded a big party tent, tables and chairs. Uncle Geoffrey directed the whole production, and it was best to stay out of the way. So the girls dressed and drove into Atlanta to take in a movie and watch Marina shop.


The morning of the wedding the girls woke Joy Lynn when they flopped on her bed with a basket full of warm Beignets. They climbed under the covers with the bride-to-be and let the crumbs fall in the hills and valleys of the bedding.

Alan had flown in the night before and snuck out to the house in the morning. Liddy ran down the stairs to greet him and jumped into his arms with her friends peeping through the windows, but she didn’t care. She pushed him back into his car and stole him away. Her friends would have to wait for their up-close inspection. Liddy had Alan drive to where the river trickled into a little creek, and they picked out a big smooth-run boulder and set their feet to soak.

“I’ve got good news, and I have bad news. Which do you want first?” asked Alan.

“I want the good news. You can keep the bad news.”

“Okay, good news first,” Alan took both of Liddy’s hands in his. “My birthday is next month.”

“Yes, I know that, but it’s very subtle of you to remind me that way.”

“Well, I never know if you’re paying attention. You’re always so chatty all over the place.” Alan raised his eyebrows with accusation.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll try to rein myself in.” Liddy pushed him and he grabbed her around the waist to keep from sliding into the water.

“Okay, now the bad news,” said Alan.

“I told you, you keep the bad news.”

“Sorry, babe, it’s not bad news to me. I couldn’t keep something that doesn’t belong to me.”

“Alright, go ahead, spit it out.”

“My parents are throwing me a party.”

Liddy sighed and wrapped her arms around her head.

Alan peeled Liddy out of her cocoon. “It’s my 30th. It’s a big deal to them.”

“You’re killing me here. Did you tell them I was going to be there?”

“My mother asked, actually.”

“Did she? She asked like, ‘Will Liddy be there, wouldn’t that be nice?’ Or was it, ‘Will Lidia be there, or have you dumped that broad yet?’”

“I can’t be sure, but I’m thinking optimistically—somewhere in the middle maybe.” Liddy punched him in the shoulder. “Ow.” Alan rubbed his arm. “Hey, you’ve got to understand my mother. If she is really against something, she completely ignores it, like it doesn’t exist.”

Liddy looked out of the corner of her eye and rubbed her chin. “Ignored, not existing, both appealing options here.”


By three o’clock that afternoon the church was full and the girls were pulling up to the curb in a rented limousine. Joy Lynn’s long white satin dress had three wide folds of fabric that wrapped her shoulders, and her torso was snug under a smooth casing of satin that flowed tight and straight in a long run down her tall frame. Marina had swept Joy Lynn’s hair back in her trademark swirl, and neatly tucked tiny white flowers here and there. The bride looked like a fairytale dream.

When Liddy saw the tension on Joy Lynn’s face and then noticed her hands trembling, she reached over and weighted them down with hers. “You okay, honey?” Joy Lynn nodded, but it was the first time Liddy had seen nerves on the Southern beauty or heard her speechless, and she hoped Joy Lynn really was okay.

When they were lined up in the foyer, the bridesmaids were handed their bouquets and then Joy Lynn’s big, strapping cousins escorted them down the aisle. None of the wedding party wore a stitch of cotton candy chiffon. The Southern guests were another story—there, the hair was high, the hats were big, and the dresses were so sweet and full you could smell the sugar.

At the front of the church the girls left their escorts and Marina led Calli, Louise and Liddy to the bride’s side of the platform. They took their places on the steps and then stood in their sky blue satin dresses like angels guarding the gates of heaven.

When the first note of Here Comes the Bride was played on the organ, Liddy was looking at Alan in the pews and he was smiling at her with his whole face. On her daddy’s arm, Joy Lynn came floating down the aisle. Phillip’s smile was as big as Alan’s, and Liddy couldn’t decide who looked happier.

Her Navy pilot groom took Joy Lynn’s hand and guided her up the stairs where the preacher was waiting. Phillip never took his eyes off of his bride and he had her full attention. The couple towered over the little roly-poly preacher—you wouldn’t have known he was standing there if you hadn’t heard his voice. His drawl was so heavy that the yanks in the crowd couldn’t understand a word that was being said behind the happy couple. Marina started giggling, which got the other bridesmaids giggling so hard that their bouquets shook and lost some blooms.

After Joy Lynn and Phillip were pronounced man and wife, they kissed for a good-long-time and then walked down the stairs and down the aisle. Liddy looked at Alan as the wedding party followed the couple out of the church and was happy to be sharing this day with him.

Carla Vanell was among the guests, as were many of the ‘retired’ WASPs, including Jenna who was with her husband, Major Ellis Charles. Liddy hadn’t seen Jenna since they had said goodbye at New Castle. A few letters had been exchanged that were heavy with the sorrow of losing their wings. Then, when Ellis was stationed back in the states, and Liddy was trying to make a life, the letters were clouds that kept growing darker. When she saw them sitting together, it brought back a flash of Reid and it swayed Liddy for a moment, but she thought of Alan and kept walking.

The wedding reception was held on the lawn between the big house and the Hoochee-Coochee River as Marina called it. A glowing white tent had been erected and Geoffrey had it draped with white satin and garlands of laurel and magnolia leaves. The garlands were trimmed with white roses and white magnolia blossoms. In the center, a dance floor of white oak planks had been laid and sanded.

The band was playing when the guests arrived from the church, and the floor filled immediately. The music didn’t stop unless a toast was being made, or the cake was being cut. Even then, the twelve piece band tooted and hit a rim to emphasize the high points.

Two decadent buffets lined the ends of the tent and both were piled high with Southern delicacies like mounds of marinated mussels, crayfish pie and little fried cakes made with everything from crab to black-eyed peas. Drinks with names like Savannah Knee Knockers and Tizzy Dizzies were served off of pretty silver trays, and champagne was passed for the toasts.

Soon after the guests had arrived, Joy Lynn’s daddy took to the floor with a full glass and choked out a tribute to his oldest daughter, “To my baby girl, I wish ya’all the happiness the good Lord can rain down from heaven, I love ya’, dahlin’.” And then he looked straight at Phillip and said, “Welcome to the family, Son. They’s uh mess uh eyes uh watchin’ ya’ boy, keep the view rosy and sweet for my baby now, ya hear.” And then he flashed a big grin at Phillip who looked like someone was tugging on his crotch. The big man raised his glass to finish, “To Lieutenant and Mrs. Phillip R. Mason, live happy and love big.”

The tent filled with cheers and the sound of glass clinking, and Daddy Calbert walked to the newlyweds’ table and gave his daughter a great big hug. And with his Big Daddy smile, he squeezed his son-in-law’s hand long and firm. Then he smacked the side of his shoulder, and Phillip winced.