Ghost Diaries 1_Gigi's Guardian_Paranormal Romance

by Michele McGrath

  “I think you should plait your hair as Indian women do,” Gigi suggested. “Make a proper job.”

  “I haven’t worn my hair in a plait since school.”

  “You've never worn a sari before and the hairstyle goes with the outfit. I’ll plait it for you.” Gigi brushed Adele’s hair and plaited it. “Your hair isn't really long enough. You’ll have to grow it, if you want to wear it like this again.”

  Some dangly gold earrings and make-up completed the effect. Adele walked slowly down the corridor to the full-length mirror in the bathroom. When she saw herself, she gasped.

  “You're a real Indian princess, except your hair is golden,” Jane told her.

  “I'm not me, am I?”

  “No, but the style suits you.”

  “You're so elegant.”

  After a few careful circuits, Adele said. “Unwind me, please. I want to try on Gigi’s present now.”

  Adele put on the deep blue shalwar kameez, which was encrusted with white and silver embroidery round the neck and sleeves. The other Guardians and I were most impressed. This outfit suited her even better than the sari.

  “This is wonderful. I don’t want to take it off.” Adele stroked the silk lovingly. “I wonder why western fashions are so uncomfortable.”

  “They’re designed by men.”

  “I could live in this. Thank you, girls. I can’t believe I’ll soon be in India, wearing these clothes.” Adele said, reluctantly hanging up her new outfits in her wardrobe.

  “Jenab says that most Indian women wear shalwar kameez for everyday and saris for special occasions or if you go visiting.”

  “That’s sensible. The shalwar kameez is comfortable and the sari is elegant. Maybe I should have been born in India, instead of here.”

  “You’d better beware before you get too carried away. Remember the spirits told you that you’re going to stay there.”

  “Not a chance. This is the trip of a lifetime for me, but not the rest of my life.”

  “Little does she know,” Maude whispered.

  “Isn’t it wonderful?” I said happily. “She’s embarking on a whole new existence.”

  “And a marvellous one at that,” murmured Leilani, “for her and for everybody around her.”

  Maude nodded. “A better life than she ever had in England, just like me. Saint Adele! I shall be sorry to leave her, and we won’t be together much longer now. She’s about to start her journey and she won’t need me anymore.”

  26th July 1968, Friday, London

  / 27th July 1968, Saturday, Kent.

  “Happy the bride that the sun shines on today,” Adele quoted. She raised her face to the bright sunshine on Jane’s wedding day.

  “Here’s the taxi,” Gigi called.

  “Are you nervous?” Adele asked Jane, the focus of all eyes. She was waiting in the hallway, wearing her long satin dress and a filmy white veil. She carried a bouquet of yellow roses in her hand. She looked elegant, just as her mother had done before her.

  “How strange, I’m not nervous at all.”

  “Doesn’t she look beautiful?” Leilani whispered proudly.

  Thelma wiped away a tear. “So silly, but I always cry at weddings,” she said, smiling.

  Adele and Gigi climbed in beside Jane and her father for the short journey. The church was crowded. Tommy, his mother, Jane’s parents and Uncle Hugh were all there. Jane’s tiny first cousins were her flower-girls. Jane had asked Gigi and Adele to be her bridesmaids, but Gigi had giggled and pointed to her bump. Adele begged to be excused because she hated being on show – it reminded her too much of her modelling days. Lots of people from the village came and Finn had been specially invited, provided he didn’t run off with this bride too.

  “Shall I object?” Finn couldn’t help saying at the appropriate place.

  “Don’t you dare!” Gigi giggled and pinched him. “You’ve done enough objecting to last you a lifetime.”

  “What a pity! Interrupting a wedding is such fun. I want to do it again.”

  “Hush!”

  The ceremony ended with no interruptions at all. Bride and groom emerged into the sunlight, as Tommy’s band played the wedding march.

  “It’s much harder than rock n’ roll,” Tommy told Jane. “They had to practise for ages.”

  “And without their lead guitarist too.” Jane raised her face to him for another kiss.

  “So you really are the first bride,” Gigi said to Jane, as she hugged her.

  “Thank goodness you weren't.” Jane smiled over her shoulder at Finn.

  The reception was held in the village hall. The walls had been decorated with red and blue bunting, left over from one of the fetes. The long trestle tables were heaped with sandwiches, cakes and pastries.

  “Your mum’s been busy,” Gigi remarked to Jane, admiring the spread.

  “She had all her friends in the W.I. to help. They do the church suppers, so they’re in practice.”

  Tommy’s band were installed on the platform and played during supper. They had been given strict instructions - no rock n’ roll until later in the evening. The highlight of the celebration, Gigi thought afterwards, was when Tommy rose to sing a ballad he had written for Jane. His voice was true and soared up to the rafters. No wonder ‘The love in her eyes’ became such a hit and made the band’s reputation. We were privileged to hear it for the first time on that summer evening. As the last notes died away, the hall was deathly silent. Then the clapping and cheering started. Tommy had to do three encores and Jane joined him on the final one. I never knew she could sing so beautifully. Their voices blended as if they were meant to be together. Gigi and Adele both had tears in her eyes and we had too.

  “Tommy won't have any difficulty fitting in,” Adele said later on. She watched him chatting happily to a group of white-haired old ladies. They smiled brightly at him, as they sipped their small glasses of sherry.

  All too soon, the time came for Jane and Tommy to leave for their honeymoon. They were going to spend a couple of nights at the seaside. Jane had changed out of her mother’s dress into the short white mini.

  “Have a wonderful time,” said Gigi and Adele, as they hugged her goodbye.

  “I’m going to miss you both,” Jane hugged them back.

  “We’ll see you soon. We have to give Adele a proper send-off, remember?”

  So, pelted with rice and confetti, Jane and Tommy got into their taxi and drove off happily into the night.

  “What a lovely day,” Gigi murmured to Finn, as they waved goodbye.

  “The first of many happy days for them and, if we are as lucky, also for us,” he replied. He kissed her with his fingers firmly crossed.

  30th July 1968, Tuesday evening, London.

  “Why do you keep nagging me to get married?” Gigi asked. “We’re perfectly okay the way we are.”

  “We won’t be in Ireland.” Finn leaned over and gently stroked her bump. “Neither will he. This little one needs a name, preferably mine.”

  “Even if the baby isn’t yours?” Gigi found herself blurting out.

  “We’ve been through this before. It is mine - we’ve already decided! All its brothers and sisters will be too!”

  “You sound as if we’re going to have a football team!”

  “Why not? They can play for Munster. Think of eleven players with the same surname!”

  “Idiot!” Gigi said fondly, stroking his hair. “I’ll tell you how many babies we’ll have, after the first! The human race would have died out long ago, if men had to go through the agony.” She shivered. “What if the baby turns out to be black-haired and the spit of James?” She’s never been able to accept the fact that Finn doesn’t care.

  “Poor thing! My dad is as black as the ace of spades with a beard like a bush! Mum, however, is a redhead. Either colour will be fine.” He gave Gigi a quick hug. “Don’t worry, love. None of us knows who the father is and it doesn’t matter. This is my baby either way, because I’m going
to be the only dad around, looking after both of you.”

  “I’m frightened.”

  “What of? The birth?”

  “All women are afraid the first time. I was thinking, though, you only want to marry me to prove to the world the baby’s yours.”

  “Sometimes I think the reason I love you is because you’re so silly. Who knows besides you and me, James, Adele, Jane and Tommy? None of them will spill the beans, especially James, not after his lucky escape!”

  “Thanks a lot!”

  “Can you imagine James coping with nappies and feeding screaming babies?”

  Gigi giggled. “Not his style.”

  “No. To return to your question, I want to marry you for four good reasons. 1. You won’t be able to get away from me. 2. We’ll all be O'Hallorans, so people will know who’s related to who. 3. To carry on the name… ”

  “O’Halloran? There must be millions of them!”

  “Don’t interrupt me, woman, and 4...”

  “And 4... Your Catholic guilt is coming out!”

  He grinned. “The Christian Brothers tried hard enough to beat it into me! For all those reasons I want to marry you. I'll give you an even better one, if you’ll come to bed with me right now!”

  “Randy sod!” said Gigi as she let him lift her to her feet.

  “I'd like Jane and Adele to be my witnesses at our wedding.” Gigi returned to the subject some time later. “After all, without them, I might be married to James!”

  Finn looked up, startled. “Isn’t Adele leaving for India next month?”

  “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  “Crikey, we’d better get our skates on! I can’t leave here until the results are out, so we can’t marry in Ireland, and you’re a heathen anyway!”

  “Excuse me?”

  “When was the last time you saw the inside of a church?”

  “Jane’s wedding and that was the last time you did too. You needn’t talk!”

  Finn laughed, “Somehow I don’t think Father Jonathan will marry us on those grounds.”

  “Who’s Father Jonathan?”

  “The parish priest at Our Lady’s. I talked to him.”

  “Oh did you? Before you even spoke to me?”

  “I thought I’d better get my facts straight first.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He’d marry us in the vestry, provided you can prove you’re baptised.”

  “I can’t, since Mom has all the documents in Antigua. Now is not a good time to ask her to send them to me.”

  “We'll have to go to a Registry Office then.”

  “Just as long it isn't the same one, as before. Can you imagine what the Registrar would say if I turned up again with you?”

  “She’d probably call the police.”

  “Well, I don’t want to spend my wedding night in gaol.”

  “I can think of better places. I couldn't care less where we get married. I’d even marry you in a chicken coop!”

  “Clot!”

  So the wedding is all set. They’ll marry in London and go back to Ireland once Finn is sure he’s passed his exams. The baby will be born by then. Gigi’s relieved. She wants to have the baby at the hospital where Jane works, so she will have someone with her that she knows. The thought of arriving in Ireland, heavily pregnant, frightens the life out of her. She hasn’t even met Finn’s parents yet. Imagine showing up at their house and immediately giving birth!

  24th August 1968, Saturday,

  Gigi’s second wedding day, London.

  Gigi’s second wedding day couldn’t have been more different from her first.

  “So much for tradition!” said Gigi, as she woke up in Finn’s arms. “Don’t you know it’s unlucky for the groom to see the bride.”

  “Mmm, especially all of her.” Finn contemplated the long naked legs lying over his.

  Gigi seized a red curl and pulled.

  “Ow! Unhand me, woman. What's the time?”

  “Almost nine.”

  “Have we got enough time?”

  “No.”

  “Let’s make some anyway.”

  They emerged later, showered and started to dress.

  “When are your parents arriving?”

  “They came in late yesterday and stayed with my cousin last night. They’re going to meet us at the Registry Office.”

  “I never thought I’d be introduced to my mother-in-law, minutes before I married her son.”

  “You’ll be fine. They’re just happy I’m settling down and I’ve told them all sorts of fibs about you!”

  “What sort of fibs?”

  “You are a nice, quiet, innocent little girl!”

  “You didn’t!”

  “Get your glad rags on and act the part for the day.”

  “How could you possibly describe me like that?”

  Finn grinned. “I only said you were beautiful, I loved you and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  Gigi’s eyes grew misty.

  “Don’t cry! You’ll spoil your war paint!”

  Gigi threw her arms round him and kissed him.

  “I love you, too. I know I do now,” she whispered. “I never truly loved anyone else.”

  Gigi only remembered her wedding day in flashes. She was disgusted when Finn put on a floppy green bow tie. “Those went out with the ark!” she protested.

  “This is a lucky tie. All the men in my family wear it at their weddings. Dad posted it to me as soon as he found out we were getting married.”

  “I thought we weren’t going in for tradition?”

  “There are traditions and traditions. Everyone who's worn this tie has had long and happy marriages. If wearing it increases the odds, why not?”

  “You mystic Celt, you!”

  Gigi had bought another wedding dress. She had to; the first one had been wrecked. She found a coffee-coloured shift, with a high, gathered waist which hid most of her shape. She is still quite small, although she hasn’t got long to go now. She wore a hat with yellow flowers and high-heeled sandals. On the way to the station, Finn stopped at a flower stall and bought her a bunch of peach-coloured roses. When the stallholder found out they were getting married, she tied up the flowers with long white ribbons. Then she tucked a matching rose into Finn’s lapel.

  “You look proper now,” she said. “Good luck to you!”

  This Registry Office wasn’t hidden away in a basement. Marriages, in Finn’s borough, were held in the town hall. The council chamber was all white and gold columns, with tiers of seats surrounding the central table. A vase of roses filled the room with their fragrance. Mary O’Halloran greeted her daughter-in-law-to-be with a huge hug and Dan O’Halloran looked delighted, as he kissed her. No polite pecks on the cheek for this family! Jane came in with Tommy, wearing a brilliant red mini-dress and looking radiantly happy. Adele wore the shalwar kameez Gigi had given her, with white flowers woven into her hair.

  Gigi remembered Finn taking her hand and pushing the ring onto her finger, his hands warm, while hers were frozen. When the Registrar got to the part where she said, “I call upon these people here present…” Gigi’s heart almost stopped. She saw Finn grin but no one stepped out and challenged them, this time.

  “…man and wife.”

  Finn kissed her and his mother cried into her handkerchief. “Tears of joy!” Mary said later, as she kissed the bride again. “May you be as happy with Finn as I have been with his father.”

  So they were married. They went to the local pub and their wedding supper was fish and chips with pints of Guinness.

  “We’ll do things properly when we get you back home,” Mary O’Halloran promised her. “The family wants to welcome you.”

  “Don’t put the poor girl off, Mam! Thank God she can’t leave me now, with such a treat in store for her. All the old aunties and the village gossips...”

  They danced and sang until midnight. Gigi didn't even feel tired when she got home at l
ast. “That’s what I call a wedding,” she said as she kicked off her sandals.

  “Come here!” Finn answered, and the day ended in the way it had begun.

  5th September 1968, Thursday morning, London.

  “Goodbye!

  “Good luck!

  “Send us a postcard!”

  Gigi, Finn, Jane and Tommy stood waving as Adele walked through the departure gate.

  “Goodbye, I love you all. Be happy!” She blew kisses to them and then she turned away quickly, to hide her tears. She had the strangest feeling that she would never see any of them again.

  “She’s right,” Maude said unhappily. “She won’t live long in India, but she'll have enough time to do what she has to do.”

  “I wish you hadn’t told us that. How sad.”

  “She will save hundreds of lives and do so much good. She wouldn’t, if she had stayed in England. She is going to be happy and fulfilled, although she'll always miss her friends.”

  “They are missing her already,” Leilani said, pointing. The four who were left behind were standing together, looking at each other and feeling flat.

  “I can’t believe she’s gone at last,” Jane murmured. “I hope she has the trip of her dreams.”

  “It will be,” agreed Maude softly. “I am sorry to leave her, but my job is done now.”

  “So is mine.” Leilani smiled at Jane.

  “Don’t go yet,” I said, “I'm almost finished too. Only one more thing to happen, then we can return together.”

  “And it’s happening right now!” Thelma pointed at Gigi, who suddenly writhed, holding her stomach tightly.

  “Gigi! Are you okay?” Jane cried.

  Finn caught hold of Gigi and ran his hands over her rippling muscles. “The little blighter’s in a tearing hurry to be born. Run and fetch a taxi or she’s going to give birth in the airport!”

  When the cab driver realised the state Gigi was in, he started to back away. Thelma gave him a hard mental push and he swung the door open.

  “Don’t worry,” Finn told him as they all piled in. “I’m a doctor. She won’t have the baby in here, if you drive fast enough.”