A May-September Wedding

by Bill Sanderson

  "I know that, sweetie, but it sounds like you need to talk to someone. If I won't do, maybe Phyl will. Or you could call Elaine."

  "Just go away."

  Cal took two deep breaths. "Okay, Beast, I'm heading for the church. See you later."

  There was only a loud humph from behind the closed door.

  Cal had his boots and jacket on when Phyl knocked.

  "How is she?"

  "I don't know. She told me to go away. So I'm going." Cal stood aside while Phyl took off her boots and coat.

  "It's tough playing to a closed door. This sounds more like a Lydia tactic to me."

  "She doesn't do it often, but when she does it's pretty impressive. Usually she's in my face about whatever is bothering her."

  Phyl reached up and patted Cal's cheek in a familiar way. "But if you're right about it being her first period, old man," she changed her voice to mimic teenage angst, "you couldn't possibly understand."

  Cal forced himself not to trap Phyl's hand or return the gesture. He laughed and said, "You sounded just like Elaine did for the last five years she lived at home."

  Phyl turned at the bottom of the stairs, "But I was a teenage girl once. Can't you tell?"

  Cal shook his head and said, "See you in a couple of hours. Your place?"

  "Try there first."

  Cal was out the door when Phyl sat down on the stairs listening for the car to start. She closed her eyes and winced. Had she just been flirting with him? She put her head in her hands. I was flirting with him. I haven't done that in far too long. That was fun. She put on a smile and headed upstairs.

  The driver behind Cal honked as if to ask if he was waiting for a particular shade of green. He drove on, thinking about the latest exchange. Phyl had been flirting with him. And he liked it. One part of his brain said that she wouldn't flirt with him if she wasn't interested in him. Another part said that maybe she was finally looking ahead to a life beyond Harry and using him for practice. He let the two factions fight it out for a while as the 'she's too young for you' impulse refereed.

  He drove to the church listening to the warring voices in his head but coming no nearer to a different conclusion than that she was too young for him. With a sigh he forced himself to remember what he could about Civil Engineering 100 so that he could provide some rational advice.

  Felicity opened the door at the soft knock. "Mum?"

  "Yes, Felicity, it's me."

  Felicity threw open the door and then threw herself on the bed. She was dressed in her pyjamas and her face was splotchy.

  Phyl sat in the chair at the study desk. "How was your day?"

  "Just awful, thanks."

  "Do you want to tell me about it or should I ask Lydia?"

  Felicity looked up in surprise. "You mean Lydia didn't tell you what happened?"

  "Should she have?"

  "Well, I did ask her not to."

  "Well, she kept her word. So, do you want to tell me or do you want me to tell you what your father guessed?"

  Felicity buried her head in her hands. "Dad's guess?" She sighed. "Okay, what did he think happened?"

  Phyl smirked and said, "Well, he knew you weren't kidnapped by aliens because they only do that between midnight and one a.m., so he thinks that you got surprised by your period."

  Felicity allowed herself to slump on the bed and bury her face in the duvet. "How did he guess?"

  Phyl suppressed a full smile. "I think you're forgetting that he lived with your mother for most of her childbearing years and he was around when Elaine started her cycles, too."

  Phyl got up to sit next to Felicity and stroke her back.

  "I know it's a bit scary the first time, and if there were any blood spots on your skirt you probably got some weird looks and maybe some teasing from a couple of the ignorant boys in the class. But Felicity, it's perfectly natural. It one of the first signals that your body is changing from a girl to a woman. Next thing you know, we'll have to go shopping for prom gowns." She felt Felicity stiffen.

  Felicity rolled over to look up at Phyl. "But how can I face the boys tomorrow? Especially Tyler. He was pretty awful about it until the teacher told him to be quiet. I'm sure I ruined my best yellow skirt. The nurse showed me how to put on a pad, but I had to get a pair of underwear from the office and put on my stinky sweats so I could get home. It was so embarrassing."

  Phyl smiled sympathetically. "I'll bet my first time was worse."

  "No way."

  "I'll tell you and let you decide." Phyl leaned forward like she used to when gossiping with her school friends. "You know I like to swim, right?"

  "Well, yeah." Felicity's tone implied that Phyl was mistaking her for an idiot.

  "Well, I had gone about six laps when the lifeguard starts to yell at me to get out of the pool. So I look behind me and there's this thin cloud of blood in the water like I'd cut myself. Then I look down between my legs and my nice white Speedo isn't very white." Phyl could feel herself blushing as she remembered. "Then to top it all off, a couple of the boys started pointing at me as the lifeguard kicked everyone out of the pool while he went to kick the filters up to high for the next hour."

  "What did you do?"

  "I tried to get my mother to take me to a different pool for the rest of the summer, but she refused."

  "Did you stop going?"

  "No, I was back two days later. And it was like nothing happened but I expected someone to say something for weeks. I can't guarantee that people at school won't say anything, though. So, who's story is worse?"

  Felicity, who had been groaning and gasping in sympathy at the right places in the story, said, "I think your story beats mine, but not by much."

  "I agree. Yours is pretty bad." Phyl leaned forward to kiss Felicity on the forehead. "So, are you up to coming over for a while? I have some Haagen-Daaz chocolate mint ice cream I've been saving for a bad day."

  "Okay. Give me a minute to change."

  "How are you fixed for feminine supplies?"

  "I found a couple of leftover pads in Mom's bathroom cabinet."

  "That should do you for today. I'll call your dad to buy some on the way home."

  "I couldn't ask him to do that."

  "He was married for over thirty years, little beast. He's won't be embarrassed to do that for you. And if he is, just count it as him sharing in your pain." Phyl grinned. "See you downstairs in a couple of minutes."

  Cal was measuring the window openings to test for square when his cell phone rang. "You want me to do what?"

  Cal rolled his eyes. "All right. What kind?" Father Gary looked over with a puzzled look on his face.

  "Look, I'm almost finished, I'll call you back when I get to the drug store. Talk to you soon...Bye."

  At Gary's unspoken question he said, in a low voice, "Felicity needs feminine hygiene supplies."

  Gary clapped his hand on Cal's shoulder in sympathy. "Well, at least you've been through it with Elaine and you won't have four teenage daughters at the same time."

  Cal looked at Gary in appreciation. "You have my condolences. Elaine was bad enough."

  "Four at once, with synchronized PMS? And their mother going through menopause? You have no idea."

  "No I just had great piles of stinking boots in the front hall when all the boys' buddies came over to watch Hockey Night in Canada or Sunday football. We had the biggest TV screen in the neighbourhood. And the most snacks." He remembered Brenda's fond exasperation with the crowded house and emptied fridge and her pleasure at spending that time with Elaine when Elaine was between boyfriends.

  Cal dutifully picked up three different varieties of pads for Felicity and Lydia along with a small list of needed staples. He walked in to Phyl's house to see the girls face down in front of the television watching Twilight for the fiftieth time. Felicity waved but returned her attention immediately to the screen.

  Phyl came up behind Cal and said, "There's about forty minutes left in the movie. Do you want to stay for co
ffee?"

  Cal turned around to find himself standing very close to Phyl. He looked into her lovely blues eyes and forgot all about the internal arguments for a while. He put his whole self into returning her smile and said, "I'd love to, thanks."

  In the end, it was Felicity who had to drag her father home.

  "What were you and Phyl talking about, Dad?"

  "Oh, nothing much. Plans for Christmas, that sort thing. I brought up the idea of maybe taking a vacation with all of us at March break. I know that they used to do that with Harry every year."

  Felicity said, "You really like Phyl, don't you? I mean Edward and Bella or Harry and Ginny kind of like."

  Cal stiffened. "I don't see that it's really any of your business."

  "Okay, that answers my question, so where do you want to go for March break?"

  Cal looked at his too perceptive thirteen year old in appreciation. "I was thinking that you and Lydia are real history buffs but all the good Canadian history places are locked up tight in March, so maybe we could spend a week down in Virginia. You know, Colonial Williamsburg, maybe some of the Civil War battlegrounds, the Smithsonian in Washington. I'd like to visit the naval museums at Newport News, but that's optional."

  "Virginia's far enough south that it should feel like spring when we're there, right?"

  "Yeah. I took the older kids when Jeremy was in grade three. Mark thought the aerospace museum was the best and Elaine loved all the quilts at Williamsburg."

  "And David was bored out of his mind and Jeremy asked six million questions and Mom lost it twenty times because you weren't keeping on schedule." Felicity smirked.

  Cal studied his observant daughter again. "And you will love reading all the plaques and irritating all of the Yankees with your Tory views."

  "Oh, yeah." Felicity hugged her father tight. "I hope you can convince Phyl, it sounds great...And Dad..."

  "Yes, beastly?"

  "I'm sorry I was such a pain tonight."

  "You're forgiven. I'm having a hard time thinking about you not being my little girl anymore. Not that I want you to stay that way. As your Mom said many times, we didn't want to raise children, we wanted to raise grown ups. Now, I don't want you to grow up any faster than you need to, but I don't want you to be a kid forever either."

  Felicity tiptoed up to give her father a peck on the cheek. "You're sweet. Good night, Dad."

  Chapter Eight – December

  "Thanks for helping me with Christmas dinner." Cal gave Phyl yet another relieved look as she arranged canapes and hors d'oeuvres on the platters.

  "Thanks for inviting us. Harry's parents are in Florida this year. They came for St Nicholas day to give the kids presents before they went south. Anyway, I always helped Brenda decorate. You know that. She was great at making sure everything was there, but her decorations were ...hmm... a bit too methodical." Phyl shook her head at her late best friend's foibles.

  "She did have a great way with people, though, making certain everyone was comfortable." Cal was staying out of Phyl's way while making sure the drinks were set up properly.

  "Yes. She did. But you aren't bad at that yourself." Phyl caught Cal's glance and held it until she began to blush.

  Cal carried the punch bowl into the dining room. Felicity asked, "Are you sure you don't need our help?"

  Cal looked at the girls, dressed in complementary red and green dresses and said, "There's not enough room in the kitchen for more than two of us." Then he winked at his daughter. "Besides, pretty girls in party dresses shouldn't have to work."

  Lydia, in her emerald green dress, said, in a low tone after he left, "They're at it again. Could you hear them laughing?"

  Felicity rolled her eyes. "And the way they look at each other when they think no one can see it? It's just like that Bonnie Raitt song that Mom use to play all the time."

  The girls were giggling as the doorbell rang. Felicity answered, "Elaine! Come in."

  A visibly pregnant Elaine, Brian and a red wiggly snowsuit that had to be Emily came in the door and stomped the snow from their boots. Elaine looked into the living room and said, "I told you we'd be the first ones here."

  Brian smirked, "Emily won't mind at all. She'll have her Grampa and her two favourite aunts all to herself for a little bit."

  Cal came in to help extricate his granddaughter from her snowsuit and collect a hug from Elaine before scooping Emily up and taking her into the living room.

  Elaine wandered into the kitchen to help. "How are you, Phyl?" Elaine's tone was warm, which aroused Phyl's curiosity.

  "It's a bit strange to be setting this up without your mum on the other side of the table fussing and not hearing Harry and Cal argue over which football game they're going to watch. But other than that..."

  Elaine stepped closer, and asked, a bit nervously, "Is there something going on between you and Dad?" Then seeing Phyl's shuttered reaction, she continued, "I'm sorry Phyl. I've got pregnant head going and I'm blurting things again. Can I start over?"

  Phyl was torn between amusement and annoyance but said, with a hint of a smirk, "Merry Christmas, Elaine, how have you been?"

  Elaine returned the smirk and said, "Merry Christmas to you, Phyl. I've been mostly fine now that I'm past the morning sickness. I want to thank you for all of the support you've given Dad since Mom died. And I've noticed that he seems to think you're pretty special. And now that I've gotten to know you better I understand why Mom and Dad wanted to spend time with you guys." Elaine took a deep breath. "So, if there is anything going on between you, I understand and approve."

  Phyl stood still for a bit and responded, "Well, as fond as I am of Cal, he's said nothing to me. We certainly haven't got anything going on between us." Yet.

  Elaine sat down at a chair with a sigh and started folding napkins. She sighed again and said, "That's too bad. Dad needs someone and you'd be perfect for him, but he's probably hung up on the age difference thing." Elaine snorted. "Well, that's part of why I was so wary of you. I didn't know where to slot you in because all of my parents friends were like, old, and you and Harry weren't. And then I married a younger man..."

  Phyl rolled her eyes and interrupted, "Five years younger isn't anything."

  "You wouldn't think so, but I only know two other couples where the husband is more than a year younger than the wife. I know lots of couples where the husband is older."

  "Twenty-one years?" Phyl was curious.

  "Three or four actually. And if you were looking for someone, Dad would make a good choice. Brian says it makes a difference if the man is divorced or widowed the second time around. Widowers usually make really good husbands if they remarry because they actually want to be married. The divorced guys are often looking to recapture their youth. Kind of like the difference between wanting a cat and wanting a kitten."

  Phyl was puzzled by the analogy. Elaine tried to explain, "There are two types of people who get kittens, the ones who think kittens are cute and the ones who like cats well enough that they enjoy the kitten phase but also enjoy their cat long term. The divorced guys who want really young trophy wives will dump them as soon as they stop being cute."

  "That makes sense. If Cal marries again, it will be because he wants to marry the lucky woman. He's too sensible and honourable to marry just for the honeymoon." Phyl's gaze got a bit vacant as she briefly fantasized about honeymooning with Cal. Elaine politely ignored the wistful look on Phyl's face as she turned her attention back the stack of napkins.

  "How was the drive up, Jeremy?" Cal hugged his youngest son and then Patricia.

  "We didn't drive, Dad. Patty's parents handed us a pair of airline tickets for an early Christmas present. So we had a late supper and presents with her folks last night in Dartmouth and hopped the early flight this morning on Porter."

  Patricia leaned into her husband and said, "And don't bother offering to put us up. I used my reward points to book us into the Chateau Laurier while we're here. But you might have to keep Je
remy company on the twenty-seventh. I've booked a whole day for myself at the spa."

  Elaine looked envious. Cal wisely refrained from saying anything and changed the subject. "How are Mark and his family?"

  "They looked well when we saw them a few weeks ago. They're in Brandon to be with Vivian's folks. I told him he needed to come here but he's still not handling Mom's death very well. They drove, so they may drop in on the way back." Jeremy waited to say more as he caught his dad tracking Phyl's movements as she brought the appetizers out. "Who else is coming?"

  "Aunt Rosalind and Uncle Will both said they'd be coming. David and his gang should be here shortly and Uncle Jack is in the family room letting Emily do chin ups on his beard." He spotted a car in the drive. "I also invited Harry's parents, but they went south to Florida with the rest of the snowbirds."

  "And George is still uncomfortable that his former CO was one of his son's best friends."

  Cal shrugged. "There is that."

  "Are Will and Rosalind still sharing the old farmhouse?" Patricia asked.

  Cal shook his head. "Will should have given up the farm years ago, but he won't. And Rosalind's been taking care of her baby brother since Uncle Brian died twenty years ago ... Anyway we should clear the entrance so that they can join us."

  A wave of cold air accompanied Cal's aunt and uncle into the house. At seventy-five Will was still in good enough shape to put in enough hours to make a go of the old farm. He'd ridden the fad for locally brewed beer to a good profit in recent years alternating barley and soybeans on his three hundred acres of arable near Winchester. Rosalind was still ramrod straight at seventy-nine and made a beeline for Felicity when she got her coat and boots off.

  "Felicity darling, I know that you stopped Highland dance a couple of years ago, so don't worry about another pair of knee socks, but I did knit you something. And I think it will go perfectly with that beautiful red dress." Rosalind moved over to the settee and patted the empty space next to her. "And don't worry Lydia sweetheart, I couldn't forget you."