Wedding Bell Blues

by Heather Graham Pozzessere

  She woke with a start. It was still the middle of the night. She rose and hurried into the kitchen, where she made a cup of tea.

  As she sat sipping it, she realized that she had never remarried because she had not met anyone who could make her feel the way that Brendan did.

  But it was always so painful when they were together! Their tempers flared, and their words were bitter. But there was so much more, so much they never said. The words wouldn’t come, so the bitterness remained.

  She stayed awake for a while, then she made herself go back to bed.

  The next day was insane from start to finish.

  She had work to do, and more. After work she had to check dinner arrangements with Gram, then they had to check on the cake.

  Next she had to meet with Barbara, and they went from shop to shop to shop trying to find the perfect gown.

  At the sixth place, they found it at last.

  The gown was stunning. The satin bodice and lowcut back were enhanced by a soft mesh that covered Barbara’s back and collarbone, ending in a slim row of pearls below her throat. A small teardrop pearl sat where the satin met the gauze at the cleft of her breasts.

  The train was exquisite, long, beaded and sequined. And the gown fit Barbara perfectly.

  “It’s stunning!” Kaitlin told her. Watching Barbara, she felt tears well in her eyes. Her cousin was so beautiful. And she had waited so long to be a bride.

  “Will Joe like it?” Barbara asked anxiously.

  “He’ll love it!” Kaitlin promised her. “Oh, Barbara! It’s perfect!”

  So Barbara left a down payment on the gown, and then they looked at dresses for the bridesmaids, deciding on black and white gowns. They were wonderful, too, with black velvet bodices and beautiful white skirts.

  That done, they went and had dinner and a drink. Barbara had a champagne cocktail, and Kaitlin carefully chose a white wine spritzer. She was relieved that Barbara didn’t mention Brendan.

  By the time Kaitlin reached home, she was too tired to think, or even to dream.

  The next afternoon her parents arrived. She picked them up at the airport, and as soon as she saw them, she was besieged with guilt.

  They were wonderful. Her mother was a younger version of Gram, an older version of herself. She had flawless skin and beautiful blue eyes, and though she looked like a woman of fifty, she was a very, very lovely fifty. She was dressed smartly, and she walked with her arm linked through Kaitlin’s father’s.

  Her dad was great, too. A very tall, gray-haired man with steely gray eyes and strong, handsome features.

  They’d been married since they were twenty, and they had obviously never fallen out of love. Kaitlin was an only child simply because there hadn’t been any others, even though her mother would have liked a houseful. She was the one object of their affection, and they were very loving, yet careful never to smother her.

  They deserve so much more than I give them! Kaitlin thought. And having located them in the crowd, she suddenly tore through the mob to reach them.

  “Mom! Dad!” She hugged them both enthusiastically, not at all sure why her eyes were suddenly so wet.

  “Kaitlin!” Her mother hugged her, then she was in her father’s arms. He held her very close, then he released her slowly.

  “Sweetheart, it’s so good to see you!”

  She nodded. “Let’s get out of here. It’s a zoo!”

  She linked arms with them both and led them to her car. She chatted all the while about the wedding plans, and her mother told her who was going to be able to make it down.

  “Donna wanted to come, and so did Patrick.” Patrick was Donna’s older brother. “But Patrick’s wife is having a baby, and she hasn’t been very well, so she’s been in and out of the hospital. Donna’s been taking care of Brandy, and they didn’t make up that saying about the terrible twos for nothing!”

  Kaitlin felt a pang of guilt. She was supposed to be helping Donna, and she hadn’t even known that Donna was taking care of her nephew. “Maybe I can help when I come up next week,” she said.

  “Don’t miss your train, young lady,” her father warned her.

  She smiled. “I won’t, Dad. I promise.”

  “It’s too bad you don’t like to fly,” he said.

  “I hate to fly—unless I absolutely have to,” she admitted.

  “Maybe it’s good for you to take trains, anyway,” her father said shrewdly. “You relax a bit, at least.”

  Her mother frowned slightly, warning her dad not to tread on her private concerns. “So tell me about Mr. Rosen!” she said.

  Kaitlin smiled and did so. They reached her car and drove to her house, and the conversation didn’t lull once. Once they arrived, Kaitlin heated some soup she had made, while her mother and father settled into the guest room. Her dad was the first one into the kitchen. He tasted the soup, winked and told her it was terrific.

  “So how is everything with you?” he asked her.

  “Great, Dad. The agency is really holding its own.”

  “I’m proud of you, you know.”

  She hugged him again just because she loved him so much. She knew it was hard for him that she lived fifteen hundred miles away from home.

  “I’ve spent my whole life being proud of you, you know,” she told him.

  “Thanks,” he said huskily. He leaned against the counter and asked about her work.

  She told him that they’d just brought in a really big account. She didn’t tell him that she’d participated in her own commercial. With Brendan.

  He listened, commenting on her minor problems. Then he asked her, “What about you?”

  “About me?”

  “Are you happy, Kaitlin?”

  “Oh! Well, of course, I’m happy.”

  “Are you seeing anyone?”

  She turned to the soup. “I’ve been really busy lately.”

  “You’re not seeing anyone at all?”

  It was her mother’s dismayed voice that she heard, and she turned and smiled. “Mom, I do see people. Really.”

  “Will we meet anyone at Gram’s wedding?” she asked anxiously.

  Now it was her father’s turn to frown at her mother, who ignored him.

  “Well, not at Gram’s wedding.” They were both staring at her. “I’ve been so busy. I’m her maid of honor, you know, Mom.” They were still staring at her. “I won’t be there alone. I couldn’t really bring anyone because…well, she asked Brendan. So I thought that I really should let him escort me.”

  Her father’s jaw dropped; her mother beamed. “Brendan? I knew that he’d be Bill’s best man, but he’s here? Now? And we’ll see him at Gram’s wedding?”

  Kaitlin wondered with a certain annoyance if her parents weren’t more excited about seeing Brendan than they were about seeing their own daughter.

  Then she felt guilty.

  She turned to the soup again. Damn you, Brendan! she thought furiously. Then she realized in a small panic that she needed to call him and let him know that she needed a date after all.

  Whatever had possessed her to say anything to her parents? It had been the way they looked at her, so anxiously….

  She managed to steer the conversation away from him during dinner. And at least her parents made it an early night.

  As soon as they were in bed, she closed herself into her own room. She called information, only to learn that Brendan’s number was unlisted. Then she swallowed hard, bit the proverbial bullet and called Joe.

  She ignored the curious tone of his voice, got Brendan’s number and called him quickly, before she could chicken out.

  He took forever to answer! She closed her eyes and wondered what he was doing. His apartment might well be an impressive bachelor pad, with a Jacuzzi on the balcony. And he might already be working on a date. She’d be dark. Very dark, and very sexy…

  “Hello?”

  She moistened her lips. She couldn’t speak.

  “Hello?” he repeated with an
noyance. She knew Brendan; he wouldn’t stay on the line long. Her fingers wound around the phone cord. “Brendan, it’s me. Kaitlin. O’Herlihy,” she added inanely, and winced.

  “O’Herlihy, eh?” he said, and she heard a trace of amusement in his tone. “And what can I do for you, Ms. O’Herlihy?”

  “I need you. I mean, I don’t need you. I want you—no, no, that’s not what I mean.”

  “Just what do you mean?”

  “I’ve changed my mind. About the wedding. Gram’s. That is, if you haven’t already gotten another date.”

  He was silent for so long that she began to wish she had never called. She was ready to slam the receiver down when she heard him speak again, his voice husky and deep.

  “No, I haven’t made any other arrangements. I’d be delighted to escort you, Ms. O’Herlihy. What time shall you require my services?”

  Chapter 7

  It was really a beautiful wedding.

  Gram and Al Rosen were married beneath a flowered trellis in a courtyard. It was a simple ceremony, but the two of them had written their own vows, which were very traditional. They promised to love, honor and cherish each other for all the time that God should grant them, until death should them part.

  Standing by her grandmother’s side, Kaitlin felt tears welling in her eyes. She thought honesty was the only thing that mattered between two people. Gram and Al were both so sure of what they were doing. And their love was evident to everyone present.

  For a small wedding, it was a surprisingly large affair. Donna and her brother hadn’t been able to make it, but their folks were there. All four of Gram’s daughters—Maeve, Kaitlin’s mother; Margaret, Donna’s mother; Bede, Barbara’s mother; and Siobhan, their youngest sister—were there. Gram’s sons, Galen and Michael, were there, too, with their wives. And there were seven cousins, counting her and Barbara—Michael, Jeremy, Joshua, Liam and Catherine Mary. Al Rosen had a big family, too, and many of them were in attendance. And then there were Gram’s and Mr. Rosen’s friends, the oldest and spryest gentleman being an old friend of Al’s father, a Timothy Tyron.

  After the bride and groom had been on the dance floor for a few minutes, Al’s best man, his son Jacob, brought Kaitlin out to the floor. Then everyone joined in, and Brendan cut in on Jacob to take Kaitlin into his arms.

  “How are you holding up?” he asked her.

  “Fine, thanks.”

  “Your parents look good.”

  She nodded.

  “They’re beaming at us.”

  “They like to believe in miracles.”

  He grinned. “It hurt like hell to call me, huh?”

  “It wasn’t easy,” she admitted. And it hadn’t gotten any easier. Her parents had been glad to see Brendan, and she’d discovered that even her mother and father had seen him occasionally over the years without mentioning the fact to her. And he looked great. He had picked her up in a blue suit with very thin pinstripes and a handsome vest. The magnificent cut of the suit enhanced his hard physique, his muscled shoulders, his lean hips. And he smelled great, too. She hated it when he was this appealing. It was hard enough to be with him to begin with. They had grown so far apart, yet so many thing felt so familiar.

  “It’s a beautiful wedding,” he murmured softly. “Your grandmother is a very classy lady.”

  Kaitlin had to smile. “She is.”

  “She’s in love with him. She’s going through the paces, but you can tell that the music, the trappings, none of that really matters. He’s the only thing that matters to her.”

  She looked at him. Was he implying again that all she had ever wanted were the trappings?

  “Brendan, don’t—”

  “You know, I still remember meeting you. Seeing your eyes. The challenge, the determination. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything as beautiful, as captivating, as your face.”

  His eyes were on her, and his body was close, brushing hers, hot against hers, as they moved. She wanted to tear herself away; she was breathless and afraid. There was too much history between them. He had not only broken her heart, he had stamped on it. And then he had humiliated her. If only he wasn’t looking at her so…

  The song was over, but they were still standing there in each other’s arms. Then the band began to play something else, and Brendan moved to the faster tempo. As Kaitlin followed his lead, she realized that a majority of her family was watching her. And she knew that they were all thinking she had been a fool, that it was her fault she was no longer married to Brendan O’Herlihy.

  “Remember the good old days, Kaitlin?” he asked lightly.

  “I remember that you left me,” she told him defensively.

  He shook his head. “I never left you.”

  “You ran off and joined the Navy. I call that leaving me.”

  “I thought you wanted to be with someone else.”

  Then her father was there, cutting in on Brendan, and she was swept away again. She tried to smile, tried to act delighted, tried to chat and laugh. But she knew she was failing dismally, and her father knew, too, but he didn’t let on.

  “Brendan looks good,” he told her.

  “Brendan always looks good,” she said wearily. “And he’s smart, and he’s successful, and I was the biggest fool on earth to file those papers.”

  Her dad frowned. “Kaitlin, what—”

  “I can tell. I can see it in everyone’s eyes. I come out the heavy.”

  “Honey, there is no heavy in a situation like that.”

  “Dad, no one could understand. No one who didn’t know him like I did. Sean died, and a piece of Brendan died, too. He was there after that, but he was never with me.”

  “Kaitlin, no one is blaming you.”

  “I wish he’d fall on his face.”

  Her dad laughed. “That’s bitter. It doesn’t sound like you.”

  “Well, I am bitter.” She was silent for a minute. “I don’t really want anything bad to happen to him. I just want all his hair to fall out and his weight to balloon. Maybe a blackened tooth or two would help.”

  Her father laughed and swung her around. “Sounds to me like you’re still in love.”

  She shook her head vehemently. “No, Dad, never. It hurts too much.”

  He was serious. “Remember Sean, honey? I do. And that was something that he always saw. There has to be discord for us to know harmony. Pain so we can feel pleasure. Tragedy so there can be comedy.”

  “I remember Sean,” she murmured. He had been right, of course. But he had never warned her that the pain could go on for years and years and years.

  Then Al Rosen cut in, and her father had no choice but to release her.

  Then she was needed by the maître d’. There were too many people for the present seating arrangements. Desperate, she rearranged everything, careful not to offend Mr. Rosen’s family or her own.

  By the time she finished, she felt exhausted, frazzled. And when she came out, she found out that she had forgotten about one very major guest—Al’s rabbi. She hurried back and started over. Thank God for the band. They kept playing and playing.

  Finally things were set and the guests could pick up their table numbers.

  She danced with her uncles and with her cousins. And with her new step-grandfather. Even when the meal was served, she barely saw Brendan.

  Then the band struck up again, and she had a moment to herself when she leaned against the wall and fanned herself, laughing as Gram tossed her bouquet—and Barbara caught it. Then Al Rosen slipped off Gram’s garter and managed to toss it to Joe, who made quite a production of getting it onto Barbara’s leg.

  Then there was more dancing. From her vantage point Kaitlin could see that Timothy Tyron was keeping pace with all the activity. He was definitely in the swing of things. He didn’t care whether the band was playing the hora or a waltz or an Irish jig, he was right in the middle of it.

  After a while she was called into the bride’s room, because the gifts were overflowing t
he tables that had been set up for them. While she was looking for a busboy to help her carry things to various cars, she suddenly heard a loud scream, then numerous shouts and absolute chaos.

  She came running out and saw a large crowd around the dance floor.

  “An ambulance!” someone shouted.

  “It’s been called!”

  Then another voice, smooth and authoritative, warned everyone to get back. Kaitlin didn’t know what was going on, but her heart was in her throat.

  Gram!

  Where was her grandmother? She wanted to worry about Al Rosen, but she couldn’t change the fact that she had been blessed with a grandmother for thirty years, and Al was still a stranger.

  “What’s happened?” she shouted.

  Then an arm slipped through hers. Her father was at her side, and she looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. “Gram!”

  He shook his head. She could hear the ambulance siren wailing. “Gram is fine,” her father told her. “It’s that nice old Timothy Tyron. I think he danced a bit too much.”

  “Oh!” she cried.

  Then the ambulance was there, and the paramedics were coming through, carrying a stretcher.

  Yet even as they did, Timothy Tyron was opening his eyes, his hand held by none other than Brendan O’Herlihy. Then the crowd closed in again, cheering and applauding as Timothy was helped onto the stretcher. He was still gripping Brendan’s hand, and Al was walking at his other side. “It was that last hora, I think,” Timothy said.

  “You’ll be up and about soon,” Al promised him.

  Timothy grinned and closed his eyes while the paramedics managed to get an oxygen mask on him. Then Kaitlin stared after the stretcher and the departing backs of Al, Brendan and the attendants.

  “What happened?” she whispered.

  Her cousin Michael was behind her. “He fainted, I think. It’s a good thing Brendan was around, or the old guy might have breathed his last.”

  “Brendan!” Kaitlin exclaimed.

  “Somehow Timothy stopped breathing, but Brendan got him started again.”