AFTER STARTING ANEW
Chapter Thirty
December 1936
Jack stood before the antique mirror making the
final adjustments on his tuxedo. As he straightened and pulled his tie and
sleeves into proper alignment, he had a moment to study his slightly distorted
image in the wavy glass. An image that had looked back at him every day for the
last forty-four years. It was hard for him to believe that he was that old or
that so much time had passed since his twin daughters were born. For that was
the reason he wore this fancy outfit today. His daughter Edy was getting
married.
The man who stared back at him had the same
physical build as the person who had delivered his own twin daughters almost
twenty-four years ago. At least that much was recognizable. Looking down at his
slightly roughened hands, he realized that they were the same too. Toughened by
the physical work of his youth and still slightly darkened along the side of
his right index finger from constant sketching with his favorite conte crayon.
But they were the hands that had been the first thing that Edy and Molly had
come in contact with as they were born. The experience of that afternoon alone
had forged a special bond between him and his girls. The face told another
story. The creases in his forehead and the lines around his eyes were all
reminders of the life building experiences he had been through. Each little
mark and shadow telling the stories of tense nights in World War One combat
zones, the hopelessness he had felt after his injuries, and the sleepless
nights he and Rose had shared during the early days of Cora’s illness. And his
eyes? Well, even Ruth had told him that they were much too wise and knowing for
a man of his age. The eager innocence of youth had disappeared from them long
before he was even thirty.
Satisfied with his appearance, and eager for
the task ahead of him, Jack proceeded down the upstairs hallway of the Bennett
home, heading for the sitting room at the front of the house. A room where
another lifetime ago, or so it seemed, Jack had waited with another bride. His
mother-in-law, Ruth.
Edy heard the soft tap at the door, hoping
that it would be her father. Never in her life had she been so nervous or felt
so unsteady. The fluttering and well-meant chatter of her sisters and mother
had done nothing to calm her case of pre-wedding jitters. They had been helpful
with their advice for her hair and makeup, but she had been relieved when they
had departed for downstairs, leaving her to the silence of her own thoughts.
"Come in," she whispered hoarsely.
By now her mouth was so dry that the words seem to stick to her tongue. She
took a deep breath, hoping to see her father’s face peek around the door. A
sigh of relief escaped her when she saw the blond head of Jack and the black
shoulders of his tuxedo enter the room.
Jack stood at the threshold of the room,
finding it almost unbelievable that the lovely young woman before him was his
daughter. Almost overnight, she and her twin sister had changed from leggy
adolescents into studious and serious adults with careers of their own.
Although, he knew that behind the inquiring faces, they were still capable of
plenty of shenanigans. Now today, Edy, his own mother’s namesake, was about to
become a wife herself. As he stood silently for a moment and he admired her, he
said a silent prayer that she would not suffer the pain and misfortune that her
mother and grandmother had known in their lives. Maybe in her lifetime she and
her husband would find a peace and prosperity that Jack’s generation had not
known.
"I’m looking for Edy." Jack’s eyes
danced with merriment as he tried to tease a smile onto Edy’s face. She looked
so tense and worried. Not at all like happy bride. He hoped that his
questioning look of pretending not to recognize her would ease her anxiety.
Edy could not suppress the grin that slowly
eased onto her face. Leave it to her father to know just what to say to put her
at ease. Throughout her childhood, they’d all had a healthy respect for their
father and his often-quick temper. But they had never been afraid of him. He
was a fair man and more than any disagreements, she remembered the laughter and
jokes made at the dinner table and how he had given each of his children a
sense of self-confidence and high self-esteem. She knew that what she needed
right now was one of Jack’s pep talks.
"Oh, gosh, Daddy. I’m a wreck." Edy
blurted out the words, happy to at least be relieved of some the tension she
held inside of her. "Feel my hands. They are like ice." Jack reached
out and clasped her cold hands in his, his mind recalling how often he had
taken hold of the once grubby little fingers when she was small. It seemed as
though Edy and Molly were either digging in the yard or messing with his jars
of paints. They had been regular tomboys when they were growing up. A fair
match for Frank and his own brand of roughhousing. Today however, he held the
soft hand of a lady. He smiled to himself as he saw the carefully painted
fingernails and the small winking diamond of her engagement ring.
"You are going to be fine. Every bride
is nervous when they get married. Why, you don’t remember, I’m sure, but your
grandmother, Ruth, was just as terrified when she married Arthur." Jack
looked into the blue eyes of his daughter; the eyes shaped so much like Rose’s,
yet bearing the color of his own. They were alert and intelligent, kind and yet
playful. A sign of the very unique individual who lived within.
Edy lifted her forehead in question.
"Really? Was Mama scared when you married her?" She knew the story of
the tiny wedding in New York, but until today, she had never imagined the
emotions her parents must have felt.
Jack nodded and explained how both of them
had been nervous in their own way. Until they came together before the
minister. When they had joined hands and looked into each other’s eyes,
everything else was forgotten.
"Is Nils here? Do I look all right? Oh,
Daddy. What if he is not the right one? I mean, maybe I have not known him long
enough."
Jack found it hard to control his laughter at
Edy’s last statement. Not know the guy long enough? They had been dating since
she was a junior in college. Almost three and a half years. He and Rose had
three children by then. "You love him, don’t you?" Jack studied Edy’s
expression as she heard his question. She gazed at him in surprise, as if she
were shocked that he could even ask such a thing.
"Daddy, how can you even wonder about
that? Of course I love him. I’ve never met anyone like him." She let her
eyes rove around the room as she looked for words to describe her
husband-to-be. Edy knew that her family had totally accepted Nils. For behind
that facade of his very scientific mind, he was a warm, fun-loving individual
with a sense of humor that easily matched her father’s. And when she had
traveled to Denmark last summer to meet his family, they in turn had showered
her with old fashioned hospitality, welcoming her not only as a future member
of the family, but as an honored guest in their country. Sadly, they were
unable to make the trip to the wedding, but they had sent telegrams and gifts
and promised a traditional Danish wedding party there for them next spring.
Sensing that she was looking for some words
of encouragement from him, Jack led her to the window seat. He helped her
spread the wide satin gown around her feet. She sat down gracefully, her back
straight and her head held high. Today, she looked more like a princess than a
schoolteacher. Jack joined her, still holding her hand. Her riot of curly hair
was hidden under a cloud of white tulle. She pushed the fingertip veil back
from her face so that she could see him better. When she had taken a deep breath
and sighed deeply, he hoped that at last she was beginning to relax.
"You know, sweetie, you are really the
first woman in the family to marry someone with the approval of their
parents." He stopped when he saw her lean her head to the left, as if she was
puzzled by what he said. Jack nodded his head up and down. "Yes. You see,
I found out that my parents ran away to get married. From some papers that I
found and some things my mother said, I realized that her family pretty much
disowned her after she married my father." Jack bowed his head for a
moment, remembering as a boy the look of sadness on his mother’s face when he
had asked why he had no grandparents. Before his parents had died, he had found
some letters to Maine that had been returned and then a note from his father’s
sister explaining that Edy’s family had felt disgraced at her marrying below
herself and no longer considered her their daughter. After their deaths, he had
come across a few pictures of relatives he had never known. Another silent
testimony to the family estrangement. And Hank’s family had been feuding with
the Hawkinsons over some land for years. They apparently had no use for the
mismatched couple either. For Edy Hawkinson also had been a teacher and Hank
Dawson, a warm, intelligent individual, but one who lacked formal schooling.
When Jack had put the pieces of the puzzle
together, the letters and then the wedding photo of his parents taken in
Boston, he understood what must have happened. It was something he really
didn’t comprehend. He had never seen any couple as in love as his parents. They
shared a zest for living and loving that was unmatched except for that of Rose
and himself. If his grandparents had not understood the attraction that these
two young people had felt for each other, then Jack was almost glad that he had
nothing to do with them. But he had seen the sorrow on his parents' faces many
times at their inability to provide him with an extended family.
"I only wish you could have known my
mother, Edy. She had opinions ahead of her time. Boy, she would have been proud
of you." Jack smiled thoughtfully to himself, grateful for the nurturing
that his mother had provided and recalling the scent of lily-of-the-valley that
followed her wherever she went. Suddenly, Jack realized that he was not
dreaming the smell. It was real, and coming from Edy herself. He wrinkled his
nose and leaned his head back, letting his mind take him back for one moment to
a cozy Wisconsin farmhouse. "How did you know?" Edy eyed her father
curiously.
"What? How did I know what?"
"The lily-of-the-valley. My mother used
to use that."
Edy shrugged her shoulders, amazed at the
coincidence. "Gosh, Daddy. I just love lily-of-the-valley and Gran gave it
to me. She told me that it is nice for weddings. That is pretty funny though,
that I use the same perfume and I have her name."
"You know, I’ve come to believe that
nothing is strange anymore. Fate plays more of a part in our lives than you
think." Jack cocked his head toward the door and heard the soft sound of
violin music coming through the slightly cracked opening. He turned to Edy and
smiled. "I guess it’s time."
"Daddy, you didn’t finish. About the
other brides who didn’t have approval. Tell me quick." She laughed
nervously, eager to meet her groom, yet relishing these final moments as her
father’s little girl.
"Well, you know that your grandma was
not too fond of me early on in our marriage. And that she herself didn’t marry
for exactly the right reasons. Her parents also disapproved of her first husband.
But none of that matters now." His face crinkled into a broad smile,
hoping to put Edy at ease. He held out his hand to help her up and gave her a
reassuring glance. "This is your day. You are a beautiful bride, Edy. Just
enjoy every moment." He paused while he helped straighten her flowing
gown. "Downstairs, your husband-to-be is waiting for you. This is the
starting point for a new life. You are following your heart, following your
love." Jack’s eyes moved in the direction of the door, indicating to Edy
that it was time to go.
Edy felt tears forming in the corners of her
eyes. Now she was feeling a rush of emotions. A bittersweet melancholy at
leaving her family and the delirious happiness of standing at the beginning of her
married life. Her father wore a contented smile on his face that told of his
satisfaction with her choice of a mate. She knew that while she was physically
leaving the nest, she would always be a part of this unusual family. In a few
minutes she would take a new last name and repeat some time-honored words that
would link her forever with one special man. She was marrying the man she
loved, like all of her predecessors. Only this afternoon, a proud and loving
family would stand firmly behind her.
"Ready?" Jack offered her his arm,
knowing that Rose would be having fits is they didn’t start down the stairs
soon.
"Oh, yes...wait." A flustered Edy
put one hand to her forehand and gingerly lifted her billowing skirt with the
other. She glanced quickly back at her father. "My bouquet. I can’t forget
that."
He watched as his daughter dashed to the
corner table, still agile, in spite of being somewhat hampered by her gown.
Jack had to shake his head, thinking back to Ruth’s wedding, when Edy and Molly
had stolen the show in their matching red dresses. He had thought that both of
them had looked like fallen angels that day, when the wreaths of flowers on
their heads were constantly askew. Now, however, as Edy walked toward him, he
chuckled inwardly. Jack suspected that in spite of the elegant gown and
beautifully coifed hair, there was a little bit of Edy that was still capable
of causing mischief. It was a trait that she had inherited from her mother.
Rose could still give him a run for his money with her oft times unpredictable
behavior.
Once again, Jack offered his arm to escort
his daughter down to the wedding. "Ready?" he asked again, knowing
full well that she was the picture of perfection.
She flashed him a radiant smile that was
bright enough to light the dreary December day. "Yes," she sighed
breathlessly. "Ready or not."
Jack opened the heavy oak door and as they
paused on the threshold for a second. He looked at the delicate profile of Edy,
a profile that belied her inner strength. With a thought to how he and Rose
lived their lives, he could not resist one more piece of advice to his
daughter. "Edy?"
She smiled at him, her face now more composed
and relaxed. "Yes, Daddy?"
He patted the top of her right hand. "I
just wanted to tell you, like I’ve always told you…make each day count, Edy.
Make each day count."