by JoAnn Aitken
This year, it was an unusually warm spring. On Saturday of the May 24 weekend, Gordie was invited to visit with a couple of his friends. He had no intention of spending the day around his father and readily agreed.
Soon after he arrived and had a beer in his hand, there was a knock at the back gate. Being closest, Gordie opened the gate and literally stammered a greeting to the prettiest girl he had ever seen. “I’m Theresa,” she laughed. “May I come in?”
Gordie made a quick recovery and brought her into the yard. The four young people socialized under a large umbrella. Gordie could hardly take his eyes off Theresa nor she him.
Theresa thought, He’s so incredibly good-looking. How could I possibly be of interest to him?
Gordie thought, I’m going to marry this girl.
In a while, their friends went into the house, and the smitten pair began to talk. They talked for many hours, into dusk, telling the stories of their lives and the lives of those close to them. Gordie knew that he had to be with her, no matter what the cost. Theresa knew that she would never willingly leave his side.
Once it was dark, Gordie walked Theresa home. No one from her dysfunctional family unit was there; everyone had gone to her grandmother’s farm for the holiday weekend.
When they entered the apartment, Gordie, who had not so much as touched Theresa’s hand during their hours-long conversation, said to her, “Please show me where you sleep.”
She led him to the bedroom and showed him the bed that was hers. “Why do you care?” she asked.
“Because, when I’m not with you, I want to be able to imagine where you are.”
He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply.
“Do you understand that you’re going to be my wife?”
“Yes.”
“Are you on birth control?”
“No.”
“Do you care what happens?”
“No. Do you?”
“No.”
And so they didn’t care all night long.
Gordie got home as the sunrise was a sliver on the horizon. He didn’t want his mother to know that he had spent the night with the girl he was going to bring home for family dinner that afternoon.
He didn’t feel tired. He was exhilarated by the amazing twist of fate. He wasn’t even irritated by the fact that Finn was sitting in the living room with his baby daughter in his arms.
“Good morning, Daddy,” he said quietly. “Why are you up so early?”
“The baby was a bit fussy, so I brought her down here to let your mother rest a little more.”
Gordie sat down beside his father and gave the baby his finger to hold. She seemed to look right back at him and smiled. “She smiled at me, didn’t she?”
“I think she knows you, son. I’ve come to believe she knows many things.”
“It’s not like you to be mystical, Daddy. Aren’t you just being Irish?”
“The world has become more mystical, Gordie. How could I imagine I would have an infant daughter in my fifties?”
And then Gordie said the most loving thing he had said to his father since he was a boy: “You’re a great father,” and touched Finn’s hand. “See you in a while. I’m going to sleep a bit now. I’m bringing someone to dinner today.”
This had never happened before, but Finn maintained a neutral expression.
“See you later,” he said. “And by the way, you smell lovely.” Theresa’s smell was all over him.
“I’ve been trying a new cologne. Seems to be working pretty good,” and he bounded up the stairs two at a time
“What’s going to happen next, my little angel?” Finn whispered to Mary Frances.
That afternoon when Gordie brought Theresa home for Sunday dinner, he thought he would burst with pride. His parents liked her right off. They let her hold Mary Frances. His brothers were jealous. His sisters wanted to know where she had bought the little dress she was wearing and the adorable earrings that matched it. Gordie considered it to be a winning occasion.
When they were leaving, Gordie, his arm around Theresa, blithely announced that they were going to get married. After a startled silence around the table, Molly inquired cheerily, “And when will that be, dears?”
“Next week, I hope,” said foolish Gordie. It got worse. “We’re going to see her grandmother tomorrow to get her permission because Theresa is only sixteen,” he added like a complete idiot. Finn leaned forward, his hand shielding his eyes.
The silence could be cut with a knife. “Well, please don’t do anything without letting us know first,” Molly said pleasantly.
“Okay, Mommy. See you later, everyone.” And so was Theresa introduced to the Gallaghers.
It was customary for the sisters to help Molly clean up after meals and do the dishes. This time, Molly suggested that all the children go about their business and enjoy what was left of the beautiful day. She and Finn would do the chores.
When they were alone, Finn exploded. “How in the hell did we get that boy?”
“You know perfectly well how we got him. And we love him. He’s just impulsive and not very well grounded,” Molly told her husband soothingly.
“We tried our best, Molly. What could we have done differently?”
“There’s no point in that, Finn. All we can do is hope that the grandmother has some common sense. As an aside, I might mention that I was fifteen when you married me, and that turned out quite well, don’t you think?”
“The characters in this piece are completely different, and you know it.”
“Gordie is twenty-one, and there is nothing we can do but hope for the best. He does have a job,” and she smiled sweetly at her husband.
“God, give us strength,” Finn replied.
In the car, Gordie took Theresa’s face in his hands and kissed her over and over. “I wanted to do this the whole time we were in the house,” he said.
“Do you think you should have told them that we’re getting married?” Theresa asked.
“Well, we are, aren’t we?” Gordie looked genuinely concerned.
“Yes, but Gran might not agree right away,” Theresa said. “She is pretty cranky and doesn’t like people much.”
“I’ll make sure she likes me,” Gordie promised. “If she says no, we’ll be engaged until we can make it happen.”
“I love you, Gordie,” she said.
“You’re my girl,” he said and kissed her again.
It was shortly after noon when Gordie and Theresa arrived at Maple Lane Farms. He was somewhat intimidated by the magnificent house and park-like grounds
Theresa had explained that her grandmother drank pretty steadily from noon onwards, so it was best to approach her early. She said that she held her liquor well, not getting especially drunk until late at night. “Just don’t let her smell fear” was Theresa’s advice, only half joking.
Barbara was in the den with her best friend Kim Scott who, Theresa was surprised to see, looked pregnant and was drinking orange juice instead of scotch as was Barbara. Kim left the three alone.
“Gran, this is my boyfriend, Gordie Gallagher. We want to talk to you.”
Barbara noted how very handsome Gordie was and could foresee no good on the horizon. “Talk,” she said.
“Mrs. Campbell, I have only just met Theresa, but I know we are meant to be together forever. We want your permission to marry,” Gordie declared fairly smoothly.
“You are aware that Theresa is sixteen years old and in high school, I expect,” she said to Gordie. “I’m sorry to inform you that I most certainly will not permit her to get married at this point.”
“How old are you, Gordie?”
“Twenty-one, ma’am.”
“Do you have a job?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m a mechanic.”
“My first husband was a mechanic,” she reflected. “Not as good looking as you though. He was a fucking pig.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am,” countered Gordie. “But I’m
not a bad person, and I would do anything in this world for Theresa.”
Barbara took a drink and a lengthy pause. “Theresa, leave Gordie and me alone to see if we can reach some understanding.” Theresa did that.
“Let’s negotiate, Gordie,” Barbara said. "I have a situation you might be able to help me with. Listen carefully.
"My daughter, Caroline, Theresa and her sister Sharon’s mother, has many very serious problems. For the last fifteen years or so, she has been in one institution after another. Nothing seems to make any permanent difference.
"Last fall, she was the best she had been in years. I was so anxious to enroll Theresa in the Hillsdale-Strathroy School in Hamilton for her last year of high school that I made a bad error in judgment. I set Caroline and the girls up in an apartment in Hamilton. I even arranged for a simple job to keep Caroline occupied.
"It was a successful move from the perspective of Theresa’s schooling, but Caroline got into trouble right away. Drinking in sleazy bars, doing drugs, dragging home the biggest pieces of shit she could find. All this in front of the girls. I had to intervene, and I did.
"She’s gone back to Homewood for another dry-out/clean-up stay. And now I’m faced with what to do about the girls. I can’t let them stay alone without an adult.
"I would be willing to propose the following: you move in with the girls. It would be a good opportunity for you and Theresa to actually get to know each other, and if it works out, I might be inclined to allow you to marry when she turns seventeen.
“This arrangement would have to be very discreet. No one other than our families can know. Do you understand? I don’t want to hear from the Children’s Aid Society.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Gordie said. He was starting to feel hopeful.
“My daughter Katharine owns the building, so you will live rent-free. I pay for the utilities and my granddaughters’ schooling. I am their official guardian and am responsible for dealing with all interactions with their schools. You must never forget that the girls’ schooling comes first. Absolutely. All you would be expected to do is put food on the table.”
“That’s more than fair, ma’am.”
“Yes, it is. Your main role will be to keep my girls safe. If any harm comes to either one of them, you will face my fury, and you can’t begin to imagine it. Do you understand?”
“I do, ma’am.”
“You say that you love Theresa. This will be a real chance for you both to find out exactly how you feel. I gather by your expression that you agree to my proposition.”
“Oh, yes, ma’am, and I’m extremely grateful. I swear I won’t let you down, ma’am.”
“You’d better not. So, under the circumstances, I think you should stop calling me ‘ma’am’ and call me Barbara.”
She stood up and put out her hand. He shook it and said, “Thank you, Barbara.” Gordie knew that he had just been offered the deal of his lifetime.
“One last thing. I want to invite your parents out here so that we can meet and talk. Make that happen very soon.”
“Yes, Barbara.”
It was heavenly. Neither Gordie nor Theresa had ever known such happiness. Sharon was at the farm most of the summer, so they had the apartment to themselves. They talked endlessly about their life together and looked excitedly to the future. Theresa was pregnant.
They considered her pregnancy to be proof from a higher power that their destinies were forever intertwined. They were soul mates, and the child was their eternal bond. They believed that the baby was conceived the first time they made love.
Their bliss was somewhat tempered by the prospect of breaking the news to Barbara, so they procrastinated as long as they could.
Theresa and Gordie had spent a September Saturday afternoon at a quarry outside Hamilton with some friends. Gordie had had a few beers and asked Theresa to drive home. With his job, he didn’t dare take a chance and possibly lose his license.
Theresa was an excellent driver, alert and confident. Gordie lounged in the passenger seat and watched her. He asked, “Who taught you to drive?”
“Billy,” she replied. “He taught me to drive around the farm when I was fourteen, and then we went out on the back roads. He’s a great driver, so I was lucky.”
“Tell me about your relationship with Billy,” Gordie said. “I always get the feeling he’s giving me the evil eye when he’s around us.”
“I’m sure you’re imagining it,” Theresa said. “Billy has a lot on his mind right now.” Gordie believed that her hands tightened on the steering wheel. “You know that he’s my first cousin, and we grew up together on the farm.”
“Is that all? Did you have a physical relationship?” Gordie persisted.
In their youthful naiveté, they had made a pact, right at the beginning, that they would always be completely honest with each other and truthfully answer any questions the other might ask.
“Yes, we did. Starting when I was fourteen,” Theresa said.
“What was it like?”
"It was wonderful. Coming from your family, you can’t imagine what it’s like growing up with no hugs or kisses, no displays of affection. Sometimes Gran would pat me, and when Kathy and Eddie came to visit, they gave us many hugs and lots of love, but mainly Sharon and I would hold each other, just for human contact.
"But Billy was selfish, always disappearing, often for days at a time. I knew he was involved in things I shouldn’t know about, and I was sure that included fucking lots of girls. But he did protect me and always used a condom.
"When he took me places like the beach or the drag races, he strutted around like a rooster. He acted like I was a trophy, and I hated that.
"Gran was obsessed with Sharon and I going to school in Hamilton, and Caroline was back from her latest stay in rehab. It was the best condition I’d ever seen her in, I will admit, and Gran wanted to give her the chance to be a mother to her daughters. Everybody thought it was crazy, but Gran was determined.
"I didn’t believe in it, and I was really scared and begged Billy to come with us, to be our protector, but he said no. He was going to Florida to be a bartender or gigolo or drug dealer or whatever. I understood that he needed to get away from the farm, but I didn’t think the Hamilton experiment would last long. And it didn’t.
"Caroline headed straight to the nearest hotel, and so it began. After eight months too terrible to describe, the end came when I got a phone call late at night, telling me to come and get her right away before they called the police. She was giving blowjobs to guys in the washroom. That was just a short while before I met you.
“Gordie, please understand that there are no points of comparison between my relationship with Billy and what’s between you and me.”
“I’m so sorry you had to endure all that, my baby,” Gordie spoke to her from his heart. He loved her so much: the most beautiful girl in the world and her little round tummy which held the child they had made.
Oh, Billy, he thought, you stupid bastard.
Come the beginning of October, Theresa and Gordie had no choice but to tell Barbara about the baby. They stood before her, hand in hand.
Barbara was extremely angry but had to accept that there was nothing she could do. She tore strips off Gordie, blaming him for this turn of events. Finn had never dressed him down so brutally, and he hung his head. Somewhere within him, he knew that she was right and that he should have taken care of Theresa.
Particularly distressing was the fact that the baby’s arrival in the early new year was going to cost Theresa a year in her educational endeavors. As always, Gordie was sorry.
Barbara had become very fond of Gordie and unfortunately remembered every detail of her own youthful errors in judgment. She decided that there was no point in being angry and began to make plans for the wedding, scheduled for Theresa’s seventeenth birthday, December 28.
Their daughter arrived in February. She was a precious bundle, with strawberry blonde hair. They named her Mary Marga
ret – Molly – after her grandmother.
Gordie was absolutely foolish about her. He was a doting father, helping Theresa with all the baby chores. He would change her in the middle of the night and bring her to Theresa in bed. If she fussed, he walked with her, gazing into her little face and telling her Irish stories. Theresa’s heart melted with love for them both.
She and Gordie had never been closer. They believed that they were actually one person.
Theresa was taking a couple of online courses toward her diploma, and Sharon studied obsessively, getting high grades, working toward her dream of starting nursing school next year.
One night, the sisters were working at the table, and Gordie was sitting on the couch holding his baby. “Who’s the best little Molly Muffin in the whole wide world?” he asked her in a teensy tiny voice.
“Honest to God, Gordie,” said Sharon, “I used to think you were cool, but now you’re just nauseating.”
“Muffy,” Gordie said confidentially, “did you know that your Auntie Sharon won a prize for being the meanest in a competition?”
“That wasn’t me, you ass,” Sharon retorted. “It was my cat!”
Theresa burst out laughing. “Children, children,” she said. “I’m trying to work here.” This back and forth went on endlessly.
A few minutes later, Sharon got up to answer the door. It was Gordie’s brother Dennis. “Hello, Sharona,” he said and tousled her hair as if she were a little girl.
“I swear I don’t know which of you two is more annoying,” Sharon said.
“It’s got to be Gordie since you see him all the time,” Dennis suggested.
“Well, you are more lovable,” Sharon admitted. Din looked over her head at Gordie and winked.
“I’ve come to see the queen,” he said, taking Molly from Gordie’s arms.
Later, when Theresa and Gordie were in bed, she said, “What was that look Din gave you tonight?”
Gordie hummed and hawed, “I can’t say.”
“What do you mean you can’t say?” Theresa demanded. “Gordon Finnegan, you tell me right now!”