Benjamin Church came to the Grange Hall expecting to meet someone else, but then the girl in the red dress looked across the dance floor and smiled . . .

Passing through Perfect is a heart-wrenching Southern family saga that starts on the night Benjamin falls madly in love with Delia. Once he tastes the sweetness of her kiss, he envisions them spending the rest of their life together.

He doesn't stop to consider that her daddy is a learned Pastor, and her mama a woman with a college degree; he knows only that she sets his heart to racing. When he touches his mouth to hers he forgets the hardships of being a sharecropper, forgets what is like to work from dawn 'til dark, and forgets that nothing in Grinder's Corner ever really changes.

Benjamin's only thoughts are about lying together every night, sitting side by side on the front porch, and raising a family. Yes, he knew there'd be heartaches, it was to be expected; but he never imagined such a tragedy would befall their family.

Bette Lee Crosby