Gerard and Maureen's wedding

When I was about 10 or 11, Gerard brought home a girlfriend named Maureen. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and I liked her instantly. She was from California, and in my young mind, I figured that since movie stars lived in California, all women from there must be beautiful. I thought she was much prettier than any movie star I'd ever seen on TV or in any magazine. She was very tan, and again in my childish way, I decided it was because she was from California, where it's always warm. She was very friendly, funny, and really nice to us. Maureen and I were in awe of her. Gerard always seemed to be in a good mood, and he brought her around quite often, much to our delight.

Soon, it was announced that Gerard and Maureen were going to get married, and we were invited to the wedding. We were so excited! I was 11, going on 12 when they got married, and starting to develop romantic notions about pretty much everything. I was in 6th grade, and had a huge crush on a boy in my class named Joey. I also had a huge crush on Shawn Cassidy.  A wedding was pretty much at the top of the list for romantic notions for me, and I couldn't have been more happy to be a part of it all. I worried that we wouldn't have been allowed to go. It was so exciting that Gerard was getting married. Gran was very excited about the wedding, and went into the city to buy a dress for the occasion. On the morning of the wedding, We all took turns having baths and getting ready. Gran laid out some new dresses for Maureen and I, and we combed and combed our hair till it shone. New tights and our best shoes. I was disappointed in the dresses. They weren't very pretty or stylish, and the fabric was stiff and it itched. They were nearly identical, and not very festive, but we wouldn't have dared complain; we knew better than that by now. The dress was gathered at the neckline and elasticized, and also gathered at the waist and elasticized, and it kept riding up. It was unbearably itchy, but when it rode up, it almost gave the illusion that I had boobs. I was absolutely frantic to have boobs. Most of the girls in my class had started wearing a bra, and several of the girls actually HAD boobs already, so I was waiting impatiently for mine to arrive. It seemed as if Maureen's were starting to develop already, and I was insanely jealous. I was tired of looking like a little boy. That's why I grew my hair out long, after pleading with Gran to let me do so. She finally relented, although she said that she could still cut my hair if I wanted. I assured her that I really did want to grow it long, and that I'd take care not to let it get tangled and messy looking. I hated Gran's home hair cuts; it always looked terrible and crooked, and I always looked like a boy. Little did I know, I'd have a very long wait for my bustline to arrive.

Soon we were on our way, and went to the wedding ceremony at a nearby church, and afterward, went to the reception. I thought Maureen looked like a princess, she was so beautiful. She didn't wear a veil, she wore a very pretty white hat with a small veil attached. Her dress was gorgeous, and the photographer took pictures constantly, of everyone there. The music was playing, and there were people everywhere. I struggled to overcome my shyness while being introduced to people. There were SO MANY people! Mia and Alison arrived, and we joyfully ran over to them. Alison was one of my very favorite "cousins" besides Seamus and Erich. She was quite a bit younger than I was, but she was funny and smart, and extremely sweet. I always had fun with her, and Maureen got along well with Mia, her sister. When I saw the beautiful dresses they had on, I wanted to shrink into a corner. I didn't want to feel ungrateful for the "new" clothes, but why couldn't we ever have anything pretty and new? These were obviously hand-me-downs, and not from Mia and Alison, either. Rosemary, their mother, had exquisite taste in clothes. We loved getting their hand-me-downs. Alison asked if I wanted to try a "Shirley Temple" and I asked what it was. She said it was a drink, and we went up to the bar and asked the bartender for our Shirley Temples. We were handed the most beautiful and delicious drink I think I'd ever tasted, and we sat at a table and drank them down. We ate, danced, mingled, and I must have drank seven of those Shirley Temples. They had cherries in them! They were delicious, and the bartender gave us as many as we wanted!

Later on, everyone lined up on the dance floor to do a dance called "The Hustle". I had no idea what I was doing, but I tried to just follow what everyone else did. It was so much fun. I was having such a great time. Gran was over in a corner talking to some women I didn't know, and since she'd had wine, she was in a great mood, even when I went up and told her about the Shirley Temple drinks. She said, "Don't have too many of them, you'll get sick." I said, "I won't!", and skipped off. Then I promptly went up to the bar and ordered another one. The hall where the wedding was held had mirrors from floor to ceiling, even in the bathrooms. I'd never seen a place so grand, and there were chandeliers everywhere. This was a very fancy wedding. Maureen and I met Maureen's (Gerard's new wife) sister from California, and she wasn't much older than we were. She was really nice, and talked with us for a long time. We all danced together and had fun. I really don't remember where my brothers were during this wedding, but I know they were there. I remember Harlan dancing on the dance floor, and thinking he looked so cute in his little white shirt and dress pants.

We had so much fun, and it went on for a really long time, but soon Gran told us it was time to leave. We wanted to stay longer, but didn't dare argue. The boys fell asleep on the way home, and Gran came into our room that night to say goodnight. We thanked her for letting us go to the wedding, that it was a lot of fun, and we were glad Gerard had married Maureen. I think Gran may have still been a bit tipsy, because she was in a very, very good mood. She never even said a cross word to us that day. We loved it when Gran drank. It didn't happen nearly often enough, as far as we were concerned. She actually praised us and said we were very well behaved at the wedding. We were gobsmacked.

A few months later, Maureen invited us to have a sleepover at her and Gerard's new apartment, along with Mia and Alison. Gerard wouldn't be home that night, so it was just us girls. We were so excited!! Maureen and I rarely got to go anywhere without the boys, so this would be great! And we could stay up late and not have Gran come in and spank us if we were talking too long. We arrived at Maureen and Gerard's house, and admired how nicely it was decorated. She had plants everywhere in pretty macrame hangers. She cooked dinner, and it was so delicious, some sort of chicken dish with a gravy sauce and pasta on the side. I'd never had anything like it. She was a really good cook, I thought. We ate, and watched TV, and eventually it got late and we all went to bed. Alison and I were on the pull-out couch, and Maureen, Mia and Maureen were in the bedroom. We all giggled and talked late into the night, and soon I got sleepy and anxious. I started getting scared that we were talking too long, and even though Gran wasn't there, I wanted to go to sleep, because I was afraid not to. Maureen and Mia continued giggling, and teasing, and soon Alison and I got irritated with them and told them we wanted to go to sleep. They continued giggling and talking, and Maureen called out, "HELLO??" I laughed in spite of my irritation; Gerard's new wife was so funny. Soon after, Alison fell asleep. After a while, everyone fell asleep, and I laid there unable to sleep. I felt weird because I was the only one awake. I must have fallen asleep, because next thing I remember, Maureen was up and in the kitchen making us breakfast. I felt badly for being so irritated the night before. Maureen teased me about it, but not in a mean way. I decided I loved Gerard's new wife. When she teased, it made me want to laugh, not cry. I credit a lot of my sense of humor to her. She actually taught me how to have one. I was an overly sensitive kid, who got my feelings hurt very easily. She helped me get over that, or at least taught me the difference between kind teasing and mean teasing, that not everything is said with the intention to hurt. I'm grateful for that.