Chapter 17

"You are very old, Grandmother," Clare said very quietly, as she took Grandmother Katie's hand.

"Yes, Dear. How did you know that?" Katie asked pleasantly.

"We felt it when you entered the room, and when I touched you, I could see that your spirit is very old, much older than your husband's."

"That's remarkable!" Margie said. "And both of you can feel that?"

"Yes, Grandmother. We both detected it. How can your spirit be so old, and yet you look so young?" Cathleen asked quietly.

"We were under a powerful curse for a very long time where our bodies didn't change or alter. We were sixteen for over 160 years before our husband broke the curse," Katie told the girls.

"Yes, we couldn't wait to get pregnant when the curse was lifted," Margie told them. "We had our four daughters less than a year later."

"Oh!" Clare and Cathleen said together, as their eyes lit up. "You were sixteen then when you got pregnant?"

"Well yes, if you don't count the 160 years plus that we spent under the curse. Our bodies were still sixteen," Katie told the O'Toole Sisters who were grinning broadly now.

"Thank you, Grandmothers! We needed to know that," Cathleen told them as the six of them left to inspect the guest rooms.

"And just what was that all about?" Grandfather asked very perceptibly.

"Clare and Cathleen wanted to get pregnant shortly after we rescued them and restored their sight. We persuaded them to wait until they were seventeen," I told him.

"That may all change now," Pat added, but he wasn't grinning at all. In fact, he looked downright unhappy.

"Yes, I know the feeling," Grandfather Mark told him with a hand on his shoulder. "Your Grandmothers were frantic to get pregnant as soon as the curse was lifted. They charted everything and picked a time so they would be out of college for the summer when the babies were born. Lord, those were amazing years!" he told us somewhat wistfully, before asking, "What was that you said about restoring their sight?"

"It's rather complicated, and will take some time to explain, Grandfather," I told him. "They were blind when we rescued them - all four of them. We'll explain later. For now we need a place to stay tonight."

"But that isn't going to address your more pressing problem, which is more than where to spend this night," Grandfather told us. "You will need a place to live - a place of your own."

"Yes, they will, Dad," our Fathers said.

"There are a number of the houses that were built for the Grandchildren that are finished. We have known that they would be getting married and need housing since before they were born, and have prepared for that. I take it that you would prefer houses near your parents?" Grandfather asked, expectantly. Pat and I looked at each other.

"Not too close, although they would have to be on the Moon or Mars to not be too close," Pat said with a huge grin.

"All right. There are two houses next to each other that can be made ready in a day or so. Your Grandmothers, Aunts, and Mothers have haunted the used furniture markets ever since they got married looking for the better quality used furniture that was turned out during the last of the 19th and the early 20th centuries. We have quite a good supply in our warehouse here," Grandfather told us.

"You can look at the houses and check the furniture tomorrow, or whenever you are feeling up to it after the party," Grandfather added with a grin, as our Grandmothers and girlfriends returned.

"Do you sing?" Katie was asking them, as they entered the room.

"We sing for our own enjoyment," Shannon answered cheerfully.

"You must join us then. All of the women of the family sing together, and in various groups. We'll be singing at the party," she told them. "But first you need to eat something," she told all of us, as she led all of us back to the kitchen. As we passed through the formal dining room both Clare and Cathleen became very excited and stopped to gaze at the wallpaper.

"This is a wonderful room, Grandmother," Clare said in admiration.

"Can we have a room similarly decorated when we have a house?" Cathleen asked, as she gazed at the scene depicted by the very old custom wallpaper on the walls of the room.

"I don't know if that is possible, Dear," Katie told her. "This was a special and expensive job when our Grandfather had it done a very long time ago. I don't know if it is possible to get anything similar now, or what it would cost," she finished. Clare and Cathleen looked very disappointed at this answer.

We were sitting in the small dining area in the kitchen after eating when the question came up.

"This party, is it to celebrate someone's birthday?" Sheena asked questioningly.

"Yes, it's Saint Patrick's Day!" Margie answered.

"We don't know this person. Michael's Mother said that he was important to Ireland. Was he a hero, or famous?" Shannon asked.

"You're Irish and don't know about St. Patrick!?" both Grandmothers asked in shocked surprise.

"Grandmother," Pat and I started, and went on to explain the differences between their Reality and ours, at least some of the differences. Our Grandparents were amazed to say the least.

"Well girls, Saint Patrick was very important to Ireland in this Reality, and the Irish and many others still celebrate his birthday over 1400 years after his death," Katie told our girlfriends.

"He must have indeed been an important man then," all four of our women agreed. "And we will be proud to help celebrate his day," Cathleen added.

"We still need to move our things here and to get ready for the party," I reminded the girls.

"We have moved our things here already," Shannon told Pat and me. "But we want to see the clothes that your sisters spoke of, and what is a bubble bath?" she asked.

"Oh, Dear! You'll love bubble baths. All of us do," Margie told our girlfriends.

"We'll see all of you later," my Dad told our Grandparents before turning to us. "Are you ready?" he asked, and we all used the transfer spell to return to my Parents' house. Our Sisters were ready to take charge of our girlfriends when we arrived.

"We'll take them upstairs and get them ready for the party," my Sister, Laura, told us, as our Sisters moved to take charge of our girlfriends.

"It will go faster if we take Pat's Wives over to our house," Pat's Sister, Gail, told the others.

"All right," my Sister, Katie, agreed, "but we need to coordinate what everyone is wearing."

"Yes, we'll be back over here after we get bathed and bring plenty of clothes with us," Pat's Sister, Margie, agreed. Our girlfriends were looking at Pat and me in distress.

"It will be all right," I told Shannon and Clare. "I'll be in my room near you getting ready and moving some things to the guest room at Grandmothers'." Pat was telling his women the same thing.

"All right, if you're sure it's okay," Shannon said very quietly, and I knew that she wasn't entirely comfortable going upstairs with my Sisters. I followed them up stairs and went to my room after seeing that they were comfortable with my Sisters in their room.

My room was just like I had left it except for a little dust that a quick cleaning spell disposed of. I started by packing some clothes and took them to the guest rooms at Grandmothers'. Pat arrived just after I did.

"Which room are we in?" he asked.

"Not sure," I told him, and we went into the first room to check what was there.

"This looks like Sheena and Cathleen's stuff," Pat said looking at what was there.

"Yes. I'll try the other room," I told him and moved over there. Shannon and Clare's things were there, and I left my things there. "Hey Pat," I called then.

"What?" he answered.

"We ought to shower here. The women will be using all of the water at our houses," I told him.

"Yes, that's a good idea. You want to go first?" he asked.

"No, go ahead. I have some other things to do," I told him, and transferred back to my room. I had finished what packing I intended to do, showered at our Grandparent's, and finished dressing in my room when I heard a squabble coming from my Sisters' room. Clare suddenly appeared in my room in a bra and panties. God! She really looked good like that.

"No!" she moaned in distress. "Don't let them put those things on me," she begged, as she moved into my arms.

"What things? What's wrong?" I asked in confusion.

"Cosmetics!" Laura answered, as she came into my room in a robe. "She is afraid of cosmetics."

"WHAT!?" I asked in amazement. "What's wrong with them Clare? Why don't you want to use them? All of my female relatives use them," I pointed out to her.

"Nooo!" Clare moaned in fear. "They are artificial things and are not good for your skin or body," she told me earnestly.

"But none of our women have ever had a problem using them," I tried to convince her.

"Nooo, I can't use them," she insisted. It was right then that Pat and Cathleen appeared in my room. It was getting crowded in here.

"Have you... !!" Pat started, but stopped on looking around. "Yes, I see that you have," he continued in a tired voice.

"It would appear that the O'Toole Sisters have a problem with the use of cosmetics," I said for everyone's benefit.

"They'll look out of place if they don't do something to brighten up their faces," Laura said.

"We understand what you do," Cathleen said very quietly. "We will find a way - a natural way - to do something similar, but we cannot wear your artificial things."

"I don't know what else to do, guys," Laura told us in disgust and disappeared.

"Do not worry," Clare told us. She and Cathleen had been talking quietly. "We will not embarrass you, but we cannot wear those things. Our Magic will show us a way to accomplish the same thing," Clare finished before both girls also vanished leaving Pat and me looking at each other.

"What have we let ourselves in for?" Pat asked.

"I don't know. We'll just have to see," I told him before he returned to his own house.

It was a while later that we were all called downstairs by our Parents who looked ready to leave. We were all there, but Clare.

"Where is the little blond?" Dad asked, noting her absence.

"We don't know," my Sisters answered. "After refusing to use our cosmetics, she hurriedly dressed and then disappeared." I looked over at Shannon for an answer.

"She and Cathleen will be there ... eventually!" she told us. "They are ... working on, or investigating something. They will be able to find Sheena and me."

"All right, if you're sure that they aren't in trouble, we'll leave. The party is being held in the new auditorium building. It has outgrown your Grandmothers' house," Dad told us. We all joined hands and vanished to reappear in the new auditorium. It was the latest building to be added to our growing community.

There were already a number of people there, and the large room had been decorated in green with shamrocks and top-hats. There was a huge 'HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY' sign hanging behind the tables at the end of the room. Apparently the food had already been delivered for there were a number of large covered dishes on the tables, and two kilderkins of O'Connell's Ale were also set up. It looked like this would be a serious celebration. (A kilderkin contains 18 British gallons or 21.6 US gallons) Pat and I looked around and greeted a number of the people present.