Mother of the Bride (41 page)

‘Imagine! By this time tomorrow, you'll be a married woman.' Helen laughed.

Amy was nervous about the wedding, but she couldn't wait to be Daniel's wife, and for the two of them to build a life and home together.

They all tucked into the fish of the day. The plaice was served
with a tangy lemon butter sauce, on a bed of greens, with Harvey's renowned sauté potatoes.

Amy and Ciara ordered the luscious-sounding chocolate dessert.

‘I have to fit into that purple dress tomorrow,' bemoaned Jess, begging Amy to keep the bowl away from her. Jess was so proud of the fact that she'd had to have the dress taken in because she'd lost so much weight.

Back at home, Amy had a host of things to do, and taking out her Filofax checked that she hadn't forgotten any of them. Daniel had collected their wedding rings from the jewellers earlier on. She had packed all her clothes for the honeymoon, and printed out three copies of their flight itinerary and hotel bookings. She rattled her brain to see if there was anything else she needed to do.

Her aunts Sinead and Mary arrived at the house with their presents, dying to see how everyone was doing, just as Fran and Katie from next door called, too. Amy was embarrassed by all the wonderful gifts she was receiving, and opened a file on the computer to make sure that she remembered exactly who had given what! She thanked everyone, and Helen whooshed them all outside to the garden, to sit in the sun. Amy took Saoirse, Katie's little girl, up on her knee, wondering how long it would be till she and Dan had a baby. Tara and Sarah and Aisling called quickly to wish her well, too. Ciara and Helen made pot after pot of coffee and tea as the visitors kept coming.

Helen had made a big chicken casserole for dinner, and when all the friends and relations had left, they finally got a chance to sit down and relax. Paddy opened some wine, and Ronan had a load of Coronas on ice in the fridge, Krista slicing up limes to put in their glasses. They sat in the kitchen laughing and chatting as Ronan got out his guitar and played some of their favourite songs. Everyone sang along.

It was long after midnight when they finally got to bed. Amy
fell asleep in her old room with her pink quilt, school photos, and posters of all her favourite bands and rock stars around her.

Dan had phoned her to say goodnight. He'd gone out to dinner with his parents and then down to Mackey's, their local, to have a few beers with his brothers and his dad. They laughed, comparing each other's time-warp bedrooms.

‘I swear that there is a poster of Zig and Zag still on my wall,' he confessed.

‘I have Riverdance!'

It seemed strange to be apart, and Amy cherished the sound of his voice and breathing as they both finally said goodnight.

‘I'll see you tomorrow,' he promised.

Amy closed her eyes, thinking of Dan as she fell asleep.

Helen O'Connor woke early to the sound of soft rain pattering on the roof.

‘Oh no, don't let the day be wet!' she pleaded, glancing outside as the rain fell on the flowers and shrubs. The sky was cloudy and dull, but looked like it might clear later. Paddy was still asleep, and she got up and went downstairs. She still couldn't believe it! Today was Amy's wedding day! The day their little girl would walk up the aisle to marry the man she loved. Helen put on breakfast. The full works: cereal, then rashers and sausages and pudding and tomato. Creamy scrambled eggs done the way Amy liked them, and fresh brown bread.

Fran phoned her, all bright and breezy, to check that she was up and to wish everyone luck.

‘Enjoy it, Helen! Being the Mother of the Bride is great fun. You'll have a wonderful day, and remember: if you need anything I'm here.'

‘I'll see you in the church,' laughed Helen.

Ronan and Paddy surfaced first, lured by the smell of the bacon cooking, then one by one the girls joined them.

‘Today's the day!' sang Amy, kissing Helen as she whisked the
eggs and put on some toast. ‘I have a present for you and Dad.' She grinned, pulling a wrapped package from behind her. ‘Open it.'

Paddy undid the paper and took the silver-framed photo out of the bubble wrap. Helen fought back the tears as soon as she saw the photo. It had been taken during a glorious summer holiday in Brittas Bay, and was of Paddy and herself lifting Amy up out of the waves when she was about five years old.

‘You've been such great parents! I just wanted to say thanks,' said Amy softly. ‘I hope that I'll be as good as you are when the time comes, and Dan and I have kids.'

Paddy cleared his throat, and Helen passed him a sheet of kitchen paper to blow his nose on as they all got emotional.

Better to have a bit of a cry now, she thought, rather than later on.

‘Can I have my shower first?' asked Amy. ‘Otherwise Ciara will mess the place and use all the hot water!' Ciara was about to object when she saw that Amy was laughing. Helen smiled, thinking of the constant battles there'd been in the house over showers and hairdryers and clothes whenever the girls were getting ready to go anywhere.

After breakfast Helen went upstairs to get ready, as they had booked the hairdresser's for ten thirty and didn't want to be late. Just as they were about to leave, Carmel Quinn's silver Mercedes pulled into the driveway and she arrived with the bridal bouquet and the two posies for the bridesmaids that she had made.

The flowers were beautiful, and so simple and classic. Pink baby roses for Amy, and a mixture of pink roses and purple flowers with frothy alchemilla for the girls, all tied with ribbon. They looked so professional. Helen couldn't believe how talented Carmel was, and thanked her for all her work.

‘Carmel, they're so pretty. I love them,' thanked Amy.

‘Put them somewhere cool,' she advised. ‘I'm going to the church
now, to check on the flower arrangements. I did them yesterday afternoon, and though I say it myself, they look wonderful. My sister Liz is meeting me there, and we're going to decorate the benches. The car is full of ribbons, it's all so exciting.' She laughed, hugging Amy.

‘How's Dan?' Amy asked.

‘He's counting down the hours, though when I left he was on the Playstation with Dylan.'

The hairdresser's was busy, but they got a huge welcome from Jonathan and all his staff. Jess had got there ahead of them, and was already having her hair washed. Jonathan assigned a stylist to each of them as he took Amy under his wing. Helen had got her highlights done a few days earlier, and just wanted Zoe to blow-dry her hair good and straight, so that it would last all day. The staff chatted about the wedding, everyone laughing and excited.

Lynn was looking after Ciara, and had pinned up part of her hair in a bouffant style at the top of her head, while the rest of her dark hair tumbled around her shoulders.

‘Very sixties,' approved Jonathan as he started to dry and style Amy's light brown hair, pulling the central part back and up in a similar fashion and smoothing the ends before attaching the crystal bow with its simple veil to her head. As he pinned it into place, and checked that it was totally secure, Helen gasped, seeing Amy's face in the mirror. Her daughter looked absolutely beautiful.

Jess looked amazing, too, with her hair lifted in the centre and falling straight to her shoulders. It was a total change, with not a sign of her usual curls!

As they were finishing up Fran and Krista both arrived to get their hair done, everyone chatting about the wedding and wishing Amy well.

Helen made a dash for the car, and parked it up close to the door of the hairdresser's so the girls could avoid the sudden shower of rain.

Amy's friend Susan, a beautician, was doing the make-up for everyone, and was already at the house.

‘I'll get started on you, Amy,' she said, ‘as I know Krista wants to take plenty of photos of you here at home.'

Helen retreated to the kitchen, where she had soup and salad and French bread ready for everyone. Paddy was pacing up and down the hall, nervously going over his speech. He had refused to show it to her, and she hoped that he wasn't getting too stressed and tense about it.

‘Feck it!' screamed Ciara, as she ran upstairs for something. ‘Mum, Barney's after puking in the hall. It's all over the place.'

A quick investigation showed the dog had also repeated the performance behind the couch in the living room, where he had been hiding.

‘Paddy! Paddy, will you deal with that dog?' pleaded Helen. ‘Get the shovel and clean it up before Amy or one of us walks in it. The bottle of Dettol is in the utility room.'

‘Keep him away from upstairs and my dress!' yelled Amy.

Paddy O'Connor put down his newspaper to deal with the problem on hand. That was the end of his kid-glove treatment, he said to himself, as he scooped the offending mess into the bin and washed up and disinfected the areas. The house was gone mad, no wonder the poor dog had got sick. He'd probably been wolfing down leftover sausages and black pudding from breakfast this morning. He wasn't used to so many visitors and so much food, poor devil!

‘Barney! Barney!' he called. ‘Come on, the rain has stopped, let's go for a walk, get you out of here.'

The dog jumped up and down with excitement and Paddy put on his lead and took him down the driveway. Thank heaven they'd organized for Fran's kids to look after Barney while they were at the wedding and overnight down in Wicklow.

‘You'd better behave, Barney!' he warned, heading down to the entrance to their estate.

*  *  *

Susan used a light make-up look for Amy, which accentuated her eyes and gave her skin a golden glow, her lips done in a peachy pink colour. Her eyelashes looked long and upswept as she grinned at herself in the mirror.

‘It looks light and fresh,' explained Susan. ‘But I guarantee that it has staying power.'

An hour later the girls were all made-up, and it was time to get ready. Krista, in a short black dress and a short-sleeved cream shrug, followed everyone around with her camera, as she captured the day.

Looking in the mirror Helen loved the soft grey-blue colours Susan had used on her eyes, the foundation – which evened out all her skin tones – and the brush of blush which seemed to give an extra glow to her face.

Susan had persuaded Ciara to alter her normally heavy kohl-black eye make-up, and instead had given her a sixties style on her eyes with an upswept line of black that made her look sexy and sophisticated.

Jess was thrilled with her look, as she had never got her make-up done professionally before. Susan showed her how to shape her eyes and apply shadow properly, and the right technique to make her narrow lips seem bigger and fuller.

Helen went upstairs to help Amy get dressed. Overawed, she watched as her elder daughter stepped into the exquisite designer wedding dress. It was stunning and fitted perfectly.

‘Oh, Amy love!' Helen couldn't help herself as tears filled her eyes. ‘You look so beautiful.'

‘Mum, don't cry or you'll get me started, and then my make-up will be ruined!' Amy said.

‘I'm fine,' Helen lied, drying her eyes.

Jess and Ciara came in to see the bride, looking like two super-models in their on-the-knee flirty purple dresses and high heels.
Krista snapped away with her expensive digital camera as they all squealed and yelled with excitement when they saw each other.

‘Jess, you look like you've lost stones!' congratulated Helen, noticing how pretty Jess was. Her tummy and legs and shoulders appeared slim and toned in the figure-hugging dress.

‘Thanks, Helen.' Jess smiled, delighted with her new slimmed-down self and the confidence it gave her. ‘It was hard, but it was worth it!'

‘Mum, for heaven's sake, will you get dressed?' warned Amy. ‘You'll have us all late!'

Paddy, back from walking the dog, was dressing in his tuxedo, adjusting his purple-coloured tie in the bedroom.

‘You know, a while ago I didn't think that I would ever see this day,' he admitted, sitting down heavily on the bed. ‘I didn't think that I'd ever get out of hospital, let alone walk my daughter up the aisle at her wedding.'

Helen froze. She knew just how important this day was for him, too.

‘So much has changed over the past few months,' he admitted. ‘It's been bloody awful, but somehow we've got through it.'

Helen came and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him.

‘I knew we would,' she smiled. ‘We're a tough old pair.'

‘Mum!' yelled Ciara. ‘Hurry up! Krista wants a photo of everyone.'

Helen took her dress off the hanger and slipped it on over her expensive new underwear. The colour was amazing, and made her feel vibrant and young. She loved the feel of the silky material on her skin and the shape of it. It was even better on than she remembered. She carefully lifted the fancy little headpiece that she had found in the hat shop in South Anne Street, and put it on her hair, making sure that it was fixed in place properly. Then, after slipping on her expensive Italian shoes, she twirled around for
Paddy to see. The look in his eyes spoke a thousand words as they laughed, and he held her face and kissed her.

‘You're my beautiful girl!'

‘Will you two hurry on!' yelled Ciara. ‘We're all waiting for you.'

Krista wanted to take more photos of the family in the house and on the stairs, and, now that the rain had finally stopped, in the garden.

Helen looked out at the bright–blue clear sky and thanked the Infant of Prague for hearing their prayers as they all trooped out to the back garden. Krista took photos of Amy and her sister and best friend with their bouquets, and Helen with her daughters in front of the roses, and Paddy and Helen with their three children, as poor Barney barked at them from the kitchen.

‘Uncle Tim is outside in the car,' called Ronan.

‘Helen, you'd better go down to the church,' advised Paddy. ‘Everyone should be arriving by now.'