Chapter 19
Winter gradually turned into spring. In March, Matt turned fourteen. That May, he was confirmed and in June, he graduated from middle school.
At each of the events, Joe and Betty helped him celebrate the milestone, as they did for each holiday and milestone in each of the kids’ lives. Joe helped the kids plan surprises for their mother on her birthday, Mother’s Day and other holidays.
Joe had a knack for making each child feel special. At their sporting events, when he was not coaching, he cheered louder than anyone else did. At school plays and at other performances, he clapped louder and longer than anyone else and often, he was the one to lead the standing ovation.
He congratulated them when they got good grades and consoled them when the grades were lower, and helped them to figure what went wrong.
Joe always made the kids feel important and good about themselves. When he coached their teams, he would focus on their strengths and weaknesses, and when his team lost games, he took them out for ice cream or burgers for trying so hard, and he would let the kids discuss what went wrong and what skills needed more practice.
With Mary’s 16th birthday approaching, Joe and Betty were taking care of the last minute details of her surprise sweet-sixteen surprise party. They had rented a ballroom at a local hotel and had invited over two hundred teenagers from her school.
On the invitations, they had requested that as an alternative to presents, they bring non-perishable food items, which would be donated, to a local food pantry. That is what Mary told Joe and her mom that they she wanted for her birthday. All 200 of the teens had sent RSVP’s to Joe’s work address.
When her birthday arrived, Joe told Mary that he was taking her somewhere special that evening for her birthday. Mary was very curious, but she did not ask any more questions.
Betty told her daughter that she had a special day planned for her. First, they went out to a fancy restaurant for a light breakfast. Then, Betty took her to a day spa. Mary got the works. She received a facial, manicure, pedicure, and a massage. Then, they went to a hair stylist, where Mary got her hair done. After that, they went shopping for a new outfit. Mary wore her new outfit out of the store after they had paid for it.
While Mary was putting the dress on, in the dressing room, Betty called Joe and told him that they would arrive in at the ballroom in thirty minutes. Meanwhile, Joe had finished decorating the ballroom with Matt’s help. Joe had thought of everything, from the music and DJ, to the flowers and balloons, to the signs and the food.
All of the guests had arrived a half-hour before Betty and Mary were to be there. They all followed the instructions on the invitations and had each brought generous donations of food for the shelter. There was over a ton of food and they had to pile it up in a corner of the ballroom because there was so much.
Betty told Mary that Joe wanted her to meet him at a restaurant in a nice hotel. When they arrived, Mary still didn’t have any suspicions about the party, and when she and her mom walked into the ballroom, her family and friends all yelled surprise and Happy Birthday.
Mary had the biggest smile on her face and she was overwhelmed. When she saw the pile of food in the corner of the room, she was very pleased and she thanked everybody for their donations to the shelter.
When Joe saw Mary walk in, he was speechless. She looked at least eighteen or nineteen and she was gorgeous.
Mary spent the first half an hour mingling with friends. Then the DJ announced that it was time for the first dance. He asked Mary whom she wanted to dance with.
Mary’s eyes searched around the room until she spotted him. She went up to Joe and asked if he would dance with her. Joe accepted, and as everybody watched, Joe and Mary danced around the ballroom
Mary felt like she was walking on clouds. While they were dancing, Mary thanked him for the party and told him it was the best night of her life. Joe was quiet for a while and then told her; “Mary, you are the most beautiful young lady I have ever met, inside and out. Any guy would fell honored to be with you.” Mary blushed.
Joe had always encouraged her to have a social life and meet guys. Mary did date occasionally, but she never got too serious about any one guy. Deep down, Mary knew that there was only one guy, who would ever make her truly happy, but she knew that it was just a dream.
After the first dance, the party kicked into high gear. Mary danced with over fifty guys that evening. She even danced with her brothers. When she danced with Matt, he told her how beautiful she looked.
Matt had his share of dances as well. Even though he had just graduated from middle school, he looked like he was fifteen or sixteen, and many girls found him attractive and kept asking him to dance.
The hours passed quickly and by one o’clock am, the last of the guests were leaving. Joe had arranged for a truck to pick up the food and deliver it to the shelter the next day. Mary hugged her mother and thanked her for the party, and then Betty took the rest of the family home.
Joe and Mary were alone, except for the DJ. He played one last slow song and Joe and Mary danced around the room, with Mary’s head on Joe’s shoulder and neither of them saying a word.
Mary had strong feelings for Joe, but it would be foolish for her to tell him because he could not possibly be interested in a girl as young as Mary.
Joe was wishing that Mary was a few years older, or that he was a few years younger. He felt something special between Mary and himself.
On the drive home, Mary and Joe listened to music and talked. When they arrived home, Mary looked at Joe and suddenly had a terrified look on her face.
“What’s wrong Mary?” asked Joe. “I forgot all about you, Joe,” she told him, “I forgot to wish you a Happy Birthday.” Joe, just smiled and told her; “Seeing you so happy was the best present I could hope for.”
“Well, Happy Birthday two hours late” said Mary, and she kissed Joe on the cheek and they went into the house. Mary was now sixteen and Joe was twenty.
The next week, Mary started working as a waitress at Francisco’s Restaurant. Joe told her he could get her an interview, but it was up to her from then on.
Mary got the job, and since she now had her driver’s license, she drove Joe’s car or the family van to work. Later that summer, Betty purchased a used car for the family, since they had another driver and in a couple of years, Matt would be driving as well.
Mary loved her job. She was very friendly and efficient. She got many nice tips. She had money to buy her own clothes and other things as well as saving some for college.
Matt was still making money doing yard work around the neighborhood and had Mark and Luke working with him so that he could take care of more yards. Matt was also feeding and walking the neighbor dogs when his neighbors went away for the weekend.
To Love, Honor and Cherish Page 19