The Ghostly Hideaway (24 page)

They received coffee pots, can openers, electric
blankets, sheets, towel sets, dishes, pots, pans, and silverware.
There was a laundry basket with detergents, fabric softeners,
bleach, and every other kind of cleaning supply imaginable. They
opened gifts of canned vegetables, fruits, meats, coffee, tea, and
all kinds of staples. They found boxed pasta, bread mixes, macaroni
and cheese, sacks of sugar, flour, meal and more. Chrissy declared
they wouldn’t need to buy anything else for at least six
months.

Grandma Keara had made them a crocheted bedspread
and an Irish blessing she had cross-stitched that would hang over
the door.

There were so many other things, they were scarcely
able to believe their eyes. Almost the last gift she opened was
from Grandmother Lydia. Chrissy was totally entranced. The recipe
book that Lydia had worked on continually from the day Johnny and
Chrissy had set their wedding date was a treasure for sure. It was
passed around the room and all the ladies declared their envy of
Chrissy at having such an heirloom and the recipes all sounded
delicious.

Finally, the last package had been opened, or at
least, so they thought. Then Kathleen handed her a package she had
kept hidden.

“This is from your maid of honor, Chrissy. May you
have many happy years together." When she opened it, she found a
very flimsy, diaphanous gown and peignoir.

“Okay, Chrissy, model it for us,” Grandpa Patrick
yelled above the catcalls and ooohs and aaahs. Of course, as they
intended, Chrissy and Johnny were both embarrassed to tears,
almost. However, it was a beautiful set and the bride and groom
were both looking forward to the following evening when she would
wear it—at least for a few minutes.

***

February fourteenth dawned cold and clear.
Excitement filled the air and Chrissy and Johnny both admitted to
nerves as raw as hamburger meat.

Penny started the day in a tizzy; she suddenly
remembered Chrissy had to have something old, something new,
something borrowed and something blue. Grandma Keara had taken care
of the “something old” the evening before. She had given Chrissy a
beautiful Irish linen handkerchief she had carried at her own
wedding when she and Grandpa Patrick had married back in 1955. It
had also been carried by her grandmother at her wedding when she
married Christopher O’Hurley. In the corner of the snowy white
handkerchief was a perfect “O” complete with the apostrophe
embroidered in royal blue floss.

Now for “something new." She had just bought a new
pair of pantyhose. That should take care of that. Grandpa Wroe had
the answer to “something borrowed." Grandma Marcie had had a
beautiful diamond and pearl wristwatch that he told Chrissy he
would like her to wear for the wedding; but he didn’t really want
to part with it permanently just yet. So that could be something
borrowed. Now, all she needed was something blue. At her own
wedding, Penny had worn a blue garter. Chrissy could wear that. She
had bought a maroon garter to match her colors; but she could wear
two of them. She could tell Johnny to throw the maroon one and
Chrissy could give the blue one back to her. That would take care
of it. Alright!

Even the ghosts ‘slammed’ their approval. Someone
wanted to know why a door would be slamming three times in a row.
Penny had to explain again about the ghosts and their
manifestations. Everyone was intrigued with the idea.

Genevieve showed up as Chrissy was getting dressed
and gave her a small square box.

“What’s this, Aunt Genny? You and Uncle Jack gave me
a beautiful set of silverware last night.”

“I didn’t have enough money to get your mother
anything especially nice for her wedding, so this is sort of a
‘make-up gift.’ Any way I wanted to get something personally for
you. The silverware was for both of you for your home.”

Inside the box, Chrissy found earrings that matched
her necklace Johnny had given her for Christmas. She hadn’t had
anything that nice to wear and she had about decided to leave her
ears unadorned; but these were just what she needed.

“Oh, Aunt Genny, thank you so much! They’re just
perfect; that’s what they are—absolutely perfect. I’m so nervous,
though, you’ll probably have to put them on for me, please.”

It was the ideal finishing touch and everyone
insisted she was the most beautiful bride they had ever seen.

Johnny actually got tears in his eyes when he saw
her walking down the aisle toward him on her father’s arm.

“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
Bro. Mosser asked.

“Her mother and I do,” Ed answered, according to
tradition and the rehearsal.

“So do we,” Andy and Candy answered, too.

There were amused murmurs from the congregation
before the ceremony continued. They had decided to do the “unity
candle’ rite and while Flora Mae sang, “Wind Beneath My Wings” each
of the mothers, Penny and Janet, came forward and lit the candle on
each side of the middle one. Then the bride and groom took another
candle each and taking flame from the ones their mothers had lit,
together they lit the center one signifying the union of the two
families. It was a beautiful ceremony and everything did go
well.

After it was over, it was picture time. The
photographer got pictures of all the families and every aspect of
the wedding itself, including the kiss after Bro. Mosser pronounced
them husband and wife.

The reception went well, too, and more gifts needed
to be opened from friends and other well-wishers. Several of the
friends and neighbors from Fairmont, North Carolina came and, of
course, they brought gifts. The Tinsleys, Sheriff Lampton and his
family and several others of their acquaintances from the
surrounding area came to wish them well. Chrissy still found it
very difficult to relax. She kept thinking:
It’s over now; we
got through it. There’s nothing to be nervous about, now. Relax,
darn it! But in a few hours, we’ll be taking off for Ireland—on an
airplane. I’ve never flown before; will I get airsick? Did I put
the Dramamine pills in my purse? I’m Johnny’s wife, now. I’m Mrs.
Christina O’Reilly. Why can’t I relax?

The next announcement didn’t help her nerves a
bit.

“It’s time for Johnny and Chrissy’s first dance as a
married couple. Everyone join in after they’ve had the spotlight
for a few bars." Sean started the CD player and the strains of the
“Anniversary Dance” began. Johnny took Chrissy tenderly in his arms
and waltzed her around the room. Then her father cut in and Johnny
danced with Penny. Bruce cut in and Johnny danced with his mother.
Finally, everyone was dancing and changing partners until every
person at the reception was exhausted.

Next came the toasts. Several of the Irish toasts
had the whole group in tears from laughing so hard. It was a truly
fabulous time.

“What time does your plane leave, Johnny?” one of
his uncles asked.

“Take-off is scheduled for five o’clock in the
morning,” Johnny answered.

“Which means you’ll need to be there by four. If
you’re going to get any—sleep, that is,—you’d better get going.
You’re staying at the Executive Inn Rivermont, right?”

“Yes, and you’re right. We had better get going. Our
bags are in the car.”

“Yes, and thank you, again, to all of you for
everything. Grandpa Fred, here’s your watch back and it is
beautiful. Thank you for letting me wear it.”

“You’re more than welcome, Chrissy. Give an old man
a kiss and you and Johnny come out to California and see us.”

They said good-bye to their parents and the rest of
their grandparents. Lydia cried like a baby when they left but she
managed to wait until they were out of sight. She loved those two
as if they were her own.

While they were being pelted with birdseed (they had
opted for birdseed rather than rice because of the danger rice
posed to the birds) Grandmother had handed Chrissy an envelope and
kissed her again. When they had driven out of sight, Chrissy opened
the envelope. It contained Five thousand dollars in travelers’
checks and a note. The note read:

*

My darling granddaughter, Chrissy,

You can't possibly know how much you mean to me. You
literally gave me back my life and I can never repay you for that.
The money is a small token of my love and it is for you. Do what
you want to with it. It is yours.

One other gift I have for you. I didn’t
want to give it to you in front of all the others because some of
them may have thought—well never mind about that. When you return,
the thirteen crystal, Christmas angels will be at the trailer
waiting for you. Don’t fuss at me. I want you to have them, use
them and enjoy them. Will you do that for me, please?

I love you, Chrissy.

Grandmother

*

As they pulled out of the parking lot with the rows
and rows of tin cans rattling behind them, the sun was settling in
the west and their future looked bright ahead.

Chrissy couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Exactly
one year ago today, she had become Mrs. Johnny O’Reilly. They had
come home from their honeymoon in Ireland and had been blissfully
happy in their trailer home. But now, their home was under
construction. The frame was all up and they were ready to put it
under roof. They had designed the house themselves, deciding where
each room would go and how large or small it would be. They had
planned the location of each window and door and exactly how they
would be positioned.

One of the things they had planned first was a
built-in hutch with lights in it and red velvet at the back. It
would house the Christmas napkin holders and centerpiece that was
indeed waiting for her when they got home from Ireland. The solid
glass front would show them off spectacularly. Chrissy knew the
crystal pieces would always be one of the most prized of her
possessions.

In the bottom of that hutch she planned to put her
picture albums—the one with all her wedding pictures in it and the
other one with all the pictures they had taken in Ireland on their
honeymoon. Oh, that had been such a glorious time! She could still
almost see the hillsides covered with pink and purple heather
blooms. You could almost believe the legends they told of how
beautifully the tiny little bell-blooms would ring when the fairies
breathed on them. She had half expected to see a leprechaun pop out
from behind a tree and tell her where his pot o’ gold was hidden.
Of course, the pictures they took on Galway Bay didn’t half do it
justice but in her mind’s eye, she could still see the molten gold
of the moon as it disappeared beneath the shimmering waves of the
bay.

Going through the castle there at Athenry, you could
hardly keep from expecting a knight in shining armor to come riding
in to rescue a damsel in distress. For sure, Johnny was her ‘knight
in shining armor.’ He seemed to make it his purpose in life to
fulfill her every wish and dream—the same way he had started doing
when she and her family had first run out of gas near the big old
house that had since become her family’s home.

Now, tonight she had the opportunity to make one of
Johnny’s dreams come true. Of course, she would have to wait until
Ramon went to bed. He usually retired fairly early, though. He
didn’t seem to sleep too well; Chrissy had heard him moving around
quite a lot during the night. She had seen him turning quickly to
look behind him several times as if he were afraid of being
attacked from behind or something. He was a good worker, though, or
at least that’s what Johnny and her dad had told her.

Ed had hired Ramon while Chrissy and Johnny were out
of the country. Ed had needed someone to help him and Ramon needed
a job badly. Ed had checked Ramon’s credentials and confirmed that
he had his green card and was a legal resident. Ed had interviewed
several applicants for the job and, in the end, he had chosen
Ramon.

“Why…..you choose me?" His accent was bad but he
knew enough English to make himself understood most of the
time.

“Well, it’s like this, Mr. Mendez,” he told him
trying to be honest with him. “Of all the workers I talked to most
of them had holes in the seat of their britches. You had holes in
the knees of your jeans. I figured that meant you spent time on
your knees either working or praying. Either way, I didn’t think I
could go wrong hiring you.”

Ramon Mendez had smiled, shrugged, and gone back to
work.

That evening, when Johnny and Ramon came in from
working on the house, Chrissy had supper ready for the three of
them. She had used her cookbook Grandmother Lydia had made for her
and made one of her salmon loaf recipes. After he added a half a
cup of hot sauce to his portion, Ramon declared it delicious.
Johnny liked it, too, but without the extra hot sauce.

When Ramon bid them goodnight, Chrissy did make
Johnny’s dreams come true and then she told him the good news.

“In about seven months, Sweetheart, you’re going to
be a father.”