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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Fate / Luck / Serendipity
- Published: 06/27/2023
The Wedding - 2
Born 1947, M, from Oceanside, United StatesThe Wedding
The wedding was planned to take place in January. But then, dad went into assisted living so, Bonnie and I decided to put our wedding plans on hold, at least for a while. Instead, we continued to live as Mr. and Mrs. Cahill, even though, in reality, she was Bonnie Mayfield and I was Richard Cahill.
“Have you two decided on a replacement wedding date yet?” asked my mom, who had stopped by on her way to visit an old childhood friend.
“Please don’t even go there!” I said to her. “Every time the subject of weddings comes up, it seems someone gets sick.” That included mom’s sister, Alice, and two of my friends who were supposed to be my groomsmen. Thinking of my father, I asked mom, “So how is dad doing?” I felt bad that I hadn’t talked to him in a week; extra busy at work.
“He complains the staff won’t let him have his favorite dessert, so I sneak him a bit every once in a while.”
“Mrs. Cahill,” Bonnie said with legitimate concern in her voice, “if anything should happen to your husband, you can always come and stay with us for as long as you want. You know we have that extra bedroom.”
“Oh, I can’t do that, said mom. “That room is your office.” Bonnie was a freelance graphic artist.
“That’s okay,” she replied. “I use a laptop, so I can work from anywhere.”
I wished I had the same freedom. I needed to always be in the office. I was the managing editor of our town’s newspaper.
Mom continued. “You two just live your lives the way you’ve been and don’t worry about your father or me. We’re doing okay, for now.” Of course, that didn’t last long.
After dad died, mom did come to live us, at least temporarily. But she wasn’t quite herself. Something was missing. The only thing that seemed to keep her spirits up, besides her TV shows, was working on her novel. Yeah, believe it or not, after twenty years as a supermarket cashier, she decided to try and write a mystery novel. Surprised the heck out of me! Didn’t know she had the wherewithal.
“You know, there’s a senior enter nearby,” I told her not too long after she moved in. “Why don’t you check it out. You might make some friends, and who knows how many activities they have.”
“No, that’s okay,” she replied, making a face. “I have my novel and my programs to keep me busy.”
So, I decided to check it out for her.
I’ll have to admit, I was impressed. The place was really nice. And I was right. They did have a lot of activities.
While I was being shown around, I stumbled (literally) into a man who looked so much like my father, it practically stopped my heart. His name turned out to be Harry Sterns. I was told that, besides having recently lost his wife, he ran a writers’ group for the residents. Perfect, I thought! But how to get him and mom together? That’s when fate stepped in.
It was a Saturday morning. Mom and I had gone to the local supermarket to get some supplies. As I slowly pushed our cart, letting mom pick out the items she thought we needed, I heard her gasp and felt her grip my wrist.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, glancing sideways. She looked as if she might faint any second.
“Is that a ghost I’m seeing?” she said, gesturing with her head toward the aisle.
When I looked, I saw Harry Sterns pushing his shopping car in our direction. “No, that’s Harry Sterns,” I told her. “He hangs out at the senior center. And yeah, he does look a lot like dad.”
“My God, he sure does!”
When Harry got close, I introduced him to mom. “A pleasure to meet you,” he replied with a slight bow and a decidedly English accent.
“You’re English!” said mom, with a lilt to her voice. She always did love reading British mysteries.
“Yes,” replied Harry. “Born and raised in London, but I’ve been living here in the states for the past ten years.”
“By the way,” I said to mom. “Harry runs a writing group at the senior center.” She looked at me, but I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. So, I asked Harry, “What are you doing here on this fine Saturday morning?”
“The same as you, getting my weekly supplies.”
We continued to talk for another minute or so, then I said to him, “Well it was nice meeting you.”
“And you,” he replied, touching a hand to his head as if he was tipping up an invisible cap.
After we moved on, I noticed my mother looking at me again, which was why I said to her, “I swear, I had no idea he was going to be here.”
“Uh, hu,” she replied, nodding her head, but I bet she thought I had planned for him to show up.
Monday evening, when I arrived home from work, I noticed mom wasn’t sitting in the living room watching “Wheel Of Fortune” as usual.
“Where’s mom?” I asked Bonnie. “Is she upstairs in her room working on her novel?”
“No. She said she wanted to check out the senior center.” I couldn’t help but smile.
“You think she’ll join Harry’s writing group?” My wife asked.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
Not only did mom join his group, she and Harry started dating. Within six months, they announced plans for a wedding. At first, I got all kinds of nervous, but then, guess what? Everyone remained healthy!
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