Was That The Little Girl...

So while my friends were at the Canes home opener, Wifey and I went to my friend Steve the Crazy Cop's daughter Erin's wedding.

D2 and Erin were inseparable from kindergarten through about the 4th grade. They grew apart, but I kept my relationship with Steve. Like me, he keeps his friends forever -- his closest buddies are cops he's worked with since '83, when he joined the Department, as well as high school friends from the 70s.

We had to be at the Temple at 5, and we arrived on time, and then...waited. We just sat around for about an hour -- no one was sure why -- but the bride and groom just mingled in the sanctuary with us. I greeted Erin -- a lovely young woman -- and I told her intended how lucky he was. He agreed.

They met working at a deli, and the Rabbi used that as an excuse for a slew of deli puns: "David mustered the courage to ask her out," and eventually her feelings played "ketchup," resulting in a "love sandwich." Many groaned -- I loved it.

After the ceremony, everyone packed into a small room -- there were probably 200 guests, and the space was meant for 100. John and I went to the car -- Steve had brought his private stash of Tito's, Jamison's, and wine -- which proved smart. The bar had brands of booze I hadn't heard of -- and there was only one bartender. So John and I poured our own.

The speeches were moving. One transgender guest, who Erin had met at Killian High, spoke of how he was homeless and Erin and her man, David, took him in -- and now they (I'm pronoun woke) are doing great.

Steve's ex came up to his date, and thanked her for "doing what she did -- so know I have a man who truly loves me." It was a nice touch of telenovela drama -- Ruth just smiled.

Steve had told me the party's budget, and it is about 1/5 of D2's wedding budget. I saw why -- huge lines waiting for food, no real service , no real DJ -- just a guy who was sort of the MC. The truth is, if you want to treat your guests royally, you have to pay huge prices.

But the warmth and happiness was there. I had a long talk with the groom's brother -- he is a teacher at Bet Shira School. His Dad is Cuban Catholic, but converted before the sons were married. Mom is a garden variety Jewish American woman. Classic Miami...

On the way out, I wandered up to the Gables cops who were providing security, and got to use the classic line from our old law school Dean and Torts Professor, Claude Sowle: "Hello officer. I'm MUCH too drunk to walk - I'm going to have to DRIVE home."  They saw Wifey was sober, and so laughed. Then I thanked them for keeping us safe -- even though there were at least 15 Miami Dade cops in attendance, and any bad guys would have picked the wrong event...

So a little girl I knew when she was 5 is all grown, and now with her life partner. Sunrise, sunset indeed...