Mary and Alvin Ch. 17

"I think I'd really like to learn to sail," he said.

"Well, step up for lesson one," Alvin replied. Robby took the wheel and Alvin instructed him on steering the boat. Carmella joined them, beaming with pride at her boyfriend.

"Anytime you want to come up and go sailing, I am happy to take you out, and I am sure Mary would be thrilled to have you visit."

"I think we will take you up on that," Carmella said.

Alvin scanned the water ahead then took the wheel from Robby. He banked slightly to port, slowing the boat.

"Don't be obvious, but take a look off the starboard side," he said. Robby and Carmella looked in different directions.

"Starboard is right," Alvin said.

Robby peered at the water for a moment, then said, under his breath, "Is that a fin?"

"Blue shark, about a ten footer, I'd guess. Thought I'd show you, but I don't want to scare the kids."

"Yeah, good idea," Carmella said, "but how cool."

Alvin veered away from the shark and kept turning until he lost the wind. He kicked on the motor and aimed the boat back toward Londonderry harbor. Robby steered for a while and Carmella climbed up on the bow and stood, holding the forestay rigging, her hair blowing in the wind. I could like having these folks in my family, Alvin thought, as he looked back and forth between the two of them. I could like having more little ones around as well.

***

Mary sat on the couch with her feet on the coffee table, sipping an iced tea. Her mother sat beside her, with Angus asleep in her lap. Beth was napping in the camper, while Steve and Cindy were taking a stroll down to the pond.

A car door slammed outside. Mary was eager to hear about how the sail with the kids had gone, but when the front door opened, it was Charlotte who entered.

"Jeezum crow," she said, "Who the fuck parked this battleship out here?" She saw Jean on the couch and stopped short. "Oh, uh, hi,"

Mary tried to stifle her laugh. "Mom, this is Charlotte."

Charlotte crossed the room and shook Jean's hand. "Nice to meet you," she said. She turned to Mary. "Come on you, get up."

Mary stood and Charlotte wrapped her arms around her and shook her from side to side.

"Oh, I can't wait for tomorrow!" she said. "I've been practicing the song. Christ, I hope Uncle Tim has."

She flopped in the rocking chair. "Where's Dad?"

"He took all my nieces and nephew out on the boat. So...you didn't bring Scott?"

"Scott is not worthy of inclusion in such an auspicious occasion."

"I'm sorry, honey."

Charlotte shrugged, then looked at Jean. "I am notorious for my bad luck with men."

"Well, you are a lovely young lady," Jean said, "I am sure you'll find the right one eventually."

"Oh, well, thanks. Maybe I expect too much."

A car pulled into the driveway and they heard the sounds of happy children. They all went out to the dooryard as Alvin and Dan were getting out of the car. Morgan ran towards Jean.

"Gramma, Gramma," she shouted, "I steered the boat."

Mary kissed Alvin on the cheek. "How did it go?"

"Went great." He kissed Charlotte. "Honey, you think you can bring your car down to the wharf and help me tote back the rest?"

"Sure," Charlotte said. When she and Alvin had both driven off, Jean looked at Mary.

"You know why she can't find the right guy, don't you?" Jean asked.

"No, Mom, what do you mean?"

"She can't find one that lives up to her father."

When Alvin and Charlotte had ferried Robby and Carmella and the rest of the children back to the house, Alvin and Dan went down to the grove and started building a fire. Meanwhile, Mary and Jean patted out hamburgers and Charlotte made a big green salad. Steve lugged out a cooler full of beer and sodas and Cindy and Beth got the kids corralled and cleaned up.

As they all trooped down to the grove, they heard a car horn blasting, and turned to see Jennifer and Danni turning into the driveway. Danni was not finished parking when Jennifer jumped out and ran over, throwing her arms around Mary and almost knocking her down.

"We've got news!" she exclaimed. "I can't tell you, though, you have to wait for Danni."

Danni soon joined them, and they all walked down to the grove, Jennifer and Danni introducing themselves to the Winslows as they went.

"So, this is where the ceremony will take place?" Jean asked. The grove was gloomy in the late afternoon shadows.

"Yes," Mary said. "Wait until you see it earlier in the day, when the sun shines in. And the lilacs are in bloom now. It's really beautiful.

Dan was stoking the bonfire while Alvin got the grill ready for cooking.

"Alvin and his brother built a little stage that will set right over the fire pit," Mary explained, "Then the guests can be on all sides during the ceremony."

Alvin started to put hamburger patties on the grill, but Beth and Cindy pushed him away, taking over the task.

"The groom shouldn't be doing the work," Cindy said, patting him on the back.

"I won't argue with that," he said. He went to Mary, took her by the hand and led her into the trees, away from her family. They ducked behind one of the sprawling lilac bushes and kissed.

"So how was your shopping day?" he asked.

"It was fun. Well, I think Stevie regretted tagging along, but the rest of us had fun. We had lunch at that new Thai place. We have to go down there, it was really good."

"Robby and Carmella said they'd like to come back sometime and do some sailing. They really took to it."

"How were the kids?"

"Other than the occasional dive bombing sea gull, everything was fine. Saw a passel of seals out at the point, they got a kick out of that."

They returned to the grove and Cindy handed them each a hamburger on a plate. Mary took some salad, Alvin grabbed a handful of potato chips, and they joined the rest of the family around the fire.

When they had finished eating, Jennifer stood up. "Could I have your attention," she called, clapping her hands together. Everyone quieted down and she gestured for Danni to stand and join her. Danni got up, looked at her feet for a moment, then raised her head and, grinning broadly, announced, "I have an interview with the county sheriff on Monday."

Alvin and Mary and Charlotte cheered, but Mary's family looked puzzled. "Is that a good thing?" Cindy asked.

Danni frowned for a second, then said, "Oh, no, it's for a job."

"Deputy Danielle Ortega!" Jennifer shouted.

"Just twenty hours a week for now, but I would get the next full time vacancy."

"Alright," Jennifer said, "Let's celebrate with marshmallows!" She led the children over to the picnic table and set each one of them up with a skewer of marshmallow. Before long, they were a happy, sticky mess.

"I think we better get them cleaned up and ready for bed," Cindy said. She and Cindy and Jean escorted the children up to the house.

"Could just hose them down, I suppose," Alvin said.

"It's a wonder we survived," Charlotte joked.

When the children were tucked in, the women came back down and joined the others around the fire.

"Is this when we all sit around and tell sweet but slightly embarrassing stories about the bride and groom?" Charlotte asked.

Everyone chuckled, but Jennifer shook her head. "No," she said, "I want to say something serious." She looked around at Mary's family members. "I want to tell you about my Dad. I came out to him when I was fourteen."

"You didn't come out, you got caught," Charlotte interjected.

"At least I didn't drop a pack of condoms on the floor in the hall for him to find," Jennifer jibed back. Everyone laughed, and Jean spoke up. "Dan did that, too," she said, to more laughter.

"Now, come on, I am being serious," Jennifer said, grinning. "I just want to say that my Dad, when he found out I was gay, decided that the best way to deal with the situation was to take me to get ice cream.That's the kind of guy he is."

Everyone murmured their approval, but then grew silent. After a moment, Danni spoke.

"I have a story..."

"Go ahead, honey," Mary prompted.

Danni looked at Mary's family while she spoke. "For those who don't know, I come from a very conservative Sephardic family. So, I was not as blessed as Jen was. When Jen and I knew we were serious, I knew I had to tell them. It was a disaster. I have been estranged from them ever since."

"Oh, I am so sorry," Jean said.

"Thank you. Well, the first Christmas we were together, I was very depressed. Jen asked me to come home with her for the holidays, but I refused. I didn't believe I'd be welcome, and really, I was just wallowing in self pity. We had kind of a fight about it, but I stayed in the dorm and Jen went home."

Jennifer reached over and squeezed her hand.

"On Christmas Eve it was about ten degrees out, and snow was swirling around. I went to the cafeteria and it was closed because almost everyone had gone home. So I walked to the variety store and bought a soda and a sandwich for my lunch and a can of soup to warm up later. I went back to the room and I had only been there for a minute when there was a knock on the door."

She looked at Alvin as she continued.

"There was a man standing there. I had never seen him before." She paused for a second, then said, "He told me he was Jen's father and that he had come to bring me home."

Mary looked at her mother and saw that she was sobbing.

"And the way he said it, it was clear what he meant. That he wasn't bringing me to his home or to Jennifer's home. He meant that he was bringing me to mine."

Alvin stood and went to her. She rose and he hugged her tight. When they separated, Danni leaned down and kissed Mary's cheek, then sat down.

"I want to tell a story about my sister," Steve said. His voice was slightly slurred from the beer. "Now, I mean this in a nice way, but Mary was kind of a goody two shoes. Always a go getter, never in any trouble."

"You wouldn't know it now," Charlotte joked.

Steve gave a little laugh, but continued. "But then, when she was about eleven, twelve? Something like that, she took dance lessons. She was good too. I never told you Mary, but Mom would drag me along sometimes to your dance recitals and I always fussed but I always loved to watch you."

"Thank you, Stevie."

"Yeah, well. Anyway, but Mary started coming home from school late every Tuesday, I think it was. And I remember my father asking her why she was late, and she'd give him some lame excuse. At first, he would shrug it off, but when it was week after week, he got worried and he'd question her more, and she'd still have a lame excuse, but no matter how much he questioned her, she wouldn't budge, she was sticking to her story. So one night, we were already at the dinner table when she came home. And she sat down and my father said, 'Mary, I want to know where you are going after school. I haven't spanked you since you were about five, but if I don't get the truth, you are going over my knee.' And Mary just looked at him and said she couldn't tell him."

"Brave girl," Carmella said. Mary blushed.

"Well, that took Dad back, he didn't know what to do. He told her he would give her once more chance, but if she was late again, she'd be punished. Then, the next week, he followed her home from school."

He paused, looked around the circle of faces, then at Mary. "There was a girl who lived a couple blocks away from us. What we'd call special needs kid now, I think. Katy, I think was her name."

"Kaylee," Mary said quietly.

"Right, Kaylee. Well, every Monday, Mary went to her dance class. And every Tuesday on the way home from school, she would stop at Kaylee's house and teach her the dance moves she had learned that week."

Alvin put his arm around Mary and pulled her close, kissing her head.

"That's who you are marrying, Alvin, I hope to hell you appreciate what you're getting."

"I do, Steve."

"We asked her why she wouldn't tell us," Jean said, "She said that Kaylee wanted to keep it a secret because she was afraid the other kids at school would make fun of her if they found out."

It was silent around the fire for a few minutes, then Carmella said, "Sounds like the two of you are a pretty good match."

"Big day tomorrow, honey," Cindy said to Steve, "maybe we ought to call it a night."

"I suppose so," Steve said. He tilted a bit when he stood up. "Let me say good night to my baby sister."

Mary stood and they hugged. "I love you so much, Mary," he muttered.

"I love you, too, Stevie."

Cindy took him by the arm and guided him out of the grove.

"He always gets a little maudlin," Dan said, "and he worries about you all the time."

"He had to be the man of the family when he was still just a kid," Alvin said, "I know what that's like."

"Well, okay, this is supposed to be a happy occasion," Charlotte said, getting up and stretching. She dug in her bag and came up with a bottle of tequila and a stack of small paper cups. "We need to make some toasts." She handed out the cups and went around the circle filling them.

"Okay," she said, holding the bottle over her head, "Who's first?"

Robby stood up and raised his cup. "To Alvin and Mary!" Everyone cheered and drank, and Charlotte took the bottle around again.

"To Deputy Danni!" Charlotte shouted, to another round of cheers.

"The Faulkners and the Winslows, coast to fucking coast," Jennifer toasted.

"The great state of Maine," Dan chimed in. "Dirigo!" Charlotte shouted as she tipped her glass.

Mary stood up and held out her hands, gesturing for calm. When they all grew quiet, she spoke. "I think this should be the last toast. I don't want you all hung over tomorrow."

Everyone laughed. Mary held out her hand to Alvin. He rose beside her.

"I love you all, every one of you, and I am overwhelmed to have you all here with Alvin and I. I could toast you, each and every one, but I will just raise my cup and say..."

She paused and everyone stood. She looked around, into the eyes of each person, then lifted her cup high and said, "To love."

***

Mary and her mother sat on the bed, holding hands.

Jean brushed a loose strand of Mary's hair off her face. "My little girl, such a beautiful bride."

"You're sure it was okay to wear white at a second wedding?"

"Honey, you weren't a virgin the first time."

Jean went to the window. "People are arriving," she said, "There's an old man seems to have brought his dog."

Mary looked over her mother's shoulder. "Oh, that's Uncle Harry and Fang."

"Fang?"

"He's a good dog. Uncle Harry, well, he's a bit odd."

They watched the guests crossing the pasture to the grove. Mary checked the clock. "It's almost time," she said. Jean hugged her and kissed her cheek, and the two of them went downstairs.

The other members of Mary's processional were waiting in the kitchen; her brothers, Jennifer, and Alvin's niece Rachel and nephew Theo.

"Is everybody ready?" Mary asked.

"Wow, you look beautiful," Steve said.

Jennifer gave Mary a hug and a kiss on the cheek and handed her the bridal bouquet. Each of her brothers stepped up to her and kissed her.

Rachel and Theo stood off to the side. Mary went to them and put her hands on their shoulders. "Thank you guys for being in my wedding. Are you ready to go?"

Rachel held up her basket, and Theo, his ring pillow.

"Great. Theo, Steve will give you the rings when we get down to the grove, okay?" The boy nodded, and Mary ran her hand through his hair. "Well, then, let's go do this."

The bridal party walked across the pasture to the grove. When they reached the opening between the trees Mary saw Alvin, standing with Mayor Trundy on the low platform, and felt a catch in her breath. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo. Charlotte and Tim stood a few feet to one side, holding their guitars. She felt a hand on her back and turned to her mother.

"I love you, Mom. I wish Daddy was here."

"He is, honey." She kissed her daughter, then walked down the aisle to one of the chairs at the front of the crowd. As she came forward, Charlotte and Tim began strumming their guitars.

Steve took one of Mary's arms and Dan took the other. "Ready?" Steve asked. Mary nodded and touched Rachel's shoulder. "Okay, honey, go ahead," she told the girl.

Rachel began to move slowly, deliberately, down the aisle. With each step, she raised a handful of rose petals from her basket and cast them before her. When she had gotten a half dozen steps ahead, Mary and her brothers followed. Theo counted off his steps behind them, carefully balancing the ring pillow on his outstretched arms. Robby and Jennifer brought up the rear of the procession together.

All heads turned toward Mary as she walked down the aisle. Alvin stood on the platform and watched her. She looked up and their eyes met. She tilted her head slightly to one side and smiled. For a moment he felt lightheaded and thought his knees might give out. Rachel reached the platform and carefully spread the last of her petals before it. She stepped to the side, in front of Alvin. He reached down and stroked her hair. She looked up at him and he saw that her eyes were wet. He smiled at her and whispered, "Good job, sweetie." She smiled back at him through her tears.

Mary reached the little stage and, as her brothers helped her up, Charlotte began to sing, in her high, breathy voice.

Let your song be sung

If you listen you can hear the silence say

When you think you're done, you've just begun

Love is bigger than anything in it's way

She repeated the line and Tim joined his voice to hers.

Love is bigger than anything in it's way

On the third refrain Mary heard other voices join in and looked at the gathering of family and friends. Jennifer and Danni were singing, and Carmella and Beth. Even Bob Michaud had self consciously raised his voice. She looked down and saw Theo, shouting the lyrics at the top of his voice.

Love is bigger than anything in it's way

The entire crowd sang together on the fourth refrain, and as Charlotte and Tim played their outro, many of them sang it one more time, some breaking into laughter when they realized that the music had stopped before they did.

For a moment, the only sound in the grove was the peeping of chickadees in the pines. The air was filled with the scent of lilacs. Mayor Trundy stepped forward, buttoning his suit coat over his expansive belly. Alvin saw the strain in the fabric and hoped the button wouldn't pop in the midst of the ceremony.

"Good afternoon, folks," the mayor began. His voice was a deep baritone with a strong Down East accent. "Thank you for coming out today." He looked at Alvin and grinned. "I worked with Jack Faulkner summertimes when I was in high school and Alvin was just a young fella getting underfoot. And I just want to say, Alvin, your Dad would be proud of you today."

He patted Alvin's arm, then turned to Mary. "Now I haven't known Mary long, but I want to tell you folks we are awful glad to have all the new folks from the bank come to town. And right here," he said, pointing back and forth between Mary and Alvin, "we see how both the locals and the folks from away can get along."

"Quit campaigning, Virg," Tim said, to laughs from the assemblage.

"Alright," the mayor said, laughing at himself, "Alvin, come ahead now."

Alvin took his vows from his pocket, but he did not look at the paper.

"Mary..." he found that he had to swallow hard before he could speak. "Mary, you have brought love and joy into my life in a way I would not think was possible. I promise you, I vow to you, that I will return it to you will all my might, from this moment until my dying breath. Whatever the future might bring, there will never be another day when you do not know that you are loved."

He nodded at Theo, and the boy held the ring pillow high. Alvin took the smaller of the two gold bands.