Chapter 67: Premarital Craziness

May 5, 1986

Most weekday evenings, when I didn't have to work late, I got home before Inez did. Even if she didn't have a late class, she normally got together with her study partners during the late afternoon and early evening. Jason and Valerie (who had just gotten engaged themselves) continued to be wonderfully accommodating, and gladly went along with Inez's preference not to have any late-night study sessions.

This evening, I arrived home ahead of her as usual, and started to get dinner ready. I never was the world's greatest cook, but I could function in a pinch. I got the grill fired up, got out a couple of steaks that had been marinating, and started to make some homemade French fries. The steaks were cooked through, and the fries were laid out on paper towels to absorb the excess grease, when my sweetie made her way through the front door. She came over and gave me a sweet kiss, but I could tell right away that she wasn't happy.

"What's wrong, angel?" I asked her with concern.

She took me by the hand and led me over to the couch. I sat down alongside her, facing her directly, becoming more and more worried. "One word," she said finally, with a strong tone of distaste. "Victor."

Hearing her mention that name, in that tone of voice, sent a feeling of dread coursing through my veins. She proceeded to elaborate.

"My professor, Dr. Minkus, pulled me aside after class today. You know the project I'm working on with Jason and Valerie. Without going into the details, it's different from the project I was working on with Victor; we're going after an entirely different angle. But since it's the same core population, it's similar in some ways, too. It seems that Victor spoke with Dr. Minkus yesterday. He accused me of taking ideas that he had contributed to the project he and I were working on, and using them in my current project with Jason and Valerie. Of course, that's a crock of shit. But he's demanding credit for that part of our project, and he actually told Dr. Minkus that I need to be disciplined for stealing someone else's ideas. Now, of course he's just striking back at me for what happened earlier. Dr. Minkus told me he needs to check into it, and wants to meet with the four of us – Victor, Jason, Valerie and myself – tomorrow, to discuss the matter."

At first, all I could do was shake my head in disbelief. Then, reality sunk in. Did I really think Victor would just slither away and hide under a rock forever? I chided myself. Inez was in a bind here, and my mind went into overdrive, searching for a solution.

"Can you document your contributions to the project?" I asked her. "If you have any old notes, bring them along when you meet with the professor." Of course, I was grasping at straws here; it was highly unlikely that the notes would have dates on them, and thus, would not really prove anything. "And you should ask Jason and Valerie to bring anything that –"

"They're on their way over here," my fianceé cut in. "I called Valerie right before I left the campus, told her what happened, and she said they would drop everything and come over. First things first, though. We need to get some more food on the table."

With that, we headed for the kitchen. I knew that Jason and Valerie were vegetarians, so I sliced up some more potatoes, and whipped up another batch of fries. Meanwhile, Inez prepared a large salad, more than enough for the four of us. They arrived while we were finishing up, and soon we all were seated around the dinner table. Valerie was the first to touch on the subject that was on all our minds.

"You know, Inez, we were talking about something on the way over. We're sure we discussed the material with Minkus before you even started working with us. There's no way Victor's accusations should hold up."

"That's assuming he remembers the conversation," I pointed out. "Try to document what you can. Get the 'whats' and the 'whens' down on paper. It will at least give you something to fall back on."

Jason produced a pen and a notebook. Throughout dinner and well into the evening, the three of them constructed a timeline, estimating when each particular idea associated with their project had been conceived. But it was just that: an estimate. Jason and Valerie were uncharacteristically serious throughout the process; this made me extremely uneasy. Everything hinged on Dr. Minkus' memory. If he could recall the conversation in question, then Inez was home free. Failing that, however, it would come down to her word against Victor's. And I'd already seen enough evidence of just how treacherously persuasive Victor could be.

May 6, 1986

It was a restless night for both Inez and me. She awoke a couple of times during the night, fidgeting nervously. All I could do was hold her close and whisper that everything would be okay. I dearly hoped that I at least sounded convincing.

"Call me the minute you know something," I told her as I headed out the door in the morning. She assured me that she would.

The workday proceeded excruciatingly slowly. I tried to direct my attention to my work, but I couldn't help staring at the phone every few minutes. I met up with Paul for lunch, and filled him in on what was happening. He could only offer moral support, which I appreciated, but what I really needed was to hear my love's voice on the phone, telling me everything was okay.

It was after two o'clock when the phone rang. "Good news, sweetie," came Inez's blessedly chipper voice. "Dr. Minkus remembered the talk he had with Jason and Valerie. In fact, he documented it himself, with the date and everything. He told us he makes it a habit to do that, solely because of situations like this. It proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the ideas Victor is claiming as his own were in fact conceived by Jason and Valerie before I ever started working with them."

Copious quantities of air burst forth from my lungs as a feeling of relief ran rampant throughout my being. "That's great, angel! What did he say about Victor's bullshit allegations?"

"He gave Victor a stern lecture, right in front of us. He warned him to watch his step, because false accusations of that nature could damage his professional reputation before he even has one."

"Damn! How did Victor respond to that?"

"It was pathetic. He showed Minkus these big puppy-dog eyes, and apologized for his lapse in judgment, which he claimed was caused by the fact that he was so determined to do well in the class."

"That's exactly the same card he tried to play with your uncle ... remember?"

"It didn't work with Tio Raul, and it didn't work with Minkus, either. Hopefully, this will get Victor to back down, and he won't cause me any more trouble."

I wanted to believe that; I really did. However, I had a sense that we would need to travel yet a bit further to approach the outer limits of Victor's assholery.

May 14, 1986

It turned out, sadly, that I was right.

This evening, as I once again strove to apply my mediocre kitchen skills toward the goal of creating a palatable dinner, a visibly upset Inez arrived home. A different emotion was in evidence this time: anger.

"Don't tell me," I said worriedly. "Victor's at it again."

She expressed confirmation with a nod. I could see that she was fighting to maintain her composure, with limited success. "Tell me what happened," I encouraged her softly.

"I was talking with my friend Andrea after class," she began, her voice wavering perceptibly. "She's one of those people who just has to be up on all of the latest gossip. I mean, I like her, but sometimes she's absolutely shameless." Mirroring the sequence from several days ago, Inez once again took my hand and led me to the sofa before continuing.

"She asked me ... if I used to go out with Victor. Right away, I practically yelled out, 'No way!' She then told me that she heard a few rumors. I pressed for more info, but then she got silent all of a sudden. Finally, I dragged it out of her. It seems that a number of our fellow students are under the impression that I used to date Victor, and... " she paused momentarily, as anger induced little furrows to form in her forehead, " ... that he ended it because he found out that I was ... sleeping around."

"What the fuck?" I shouted out, jumping to my feet, enraged. "How could they think something like that – " I said no more, for the culprit here was obvious.

Inez once again took my hand in hers and gently encouraged me to sit down. "There's more," she went on. "Later, I was talking to Dr. Minkus, and the topic came around to the stunt Victor tried to pull, where he accused me of stealing his work. Minkus said to me, 'It's awful when an old flame with a grudge tries to tear someone down with false accusations.' I, of course, immediately set him straight on the 'old flame' point, and reminded him that the sole reason for my requesting different study partners was to distance myself from Victor. A little while later, I ran into Andrea again. After seeing my reaction earlier, she did some digging, and discovered that the source of the rumors was, surprise, surprise, Victor himself. Basically, he's on a mission to trash my reputation."

With that revelation, Angry Pat – kept effectively under wraps for so long in this timeline – finally burst forth unimpeded. "I'm gonna rip off his balls with my bare hands, and shove 'em down his throat!" I roared. I actually began looking around frantically for the car keys, before Inez stopped me by gently taking both of my hands in hers.

"Sweetie," she said to me in a soft tone of voice, "that won't solve anything. Let's think this over with clear heads." Instantly, my rage was blunted. I forced myself to return to the sofa and sat down. With her soothing words, the anger had abruptly retreated, replaced by mere frustration. I said my mental mantra chant: Big Picture, Big Picture.

"I can't bear to think of rumors like that being spread about you," I said quietly.

"I know, honey," said Inez. "I know. And I love you for that." She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a tender kiss. The strength she was demonstrating here was remarkable.

"I have an idea. Let's go over and visit Jason and Valerie," she said.

I nodded in full agreement; she couldn't have come up with a better suggestion. As she picked up the phone to inform her study partners about our plans, I said to her, "Tell them we're bringing the food."

In the company of our two dear friends, a plan was hatched, one making full use of the fact that Jason and Valerie were highly thought of by just about everyone in the psychology department. "I like it," I said. "Except for the fact that I wish I could play a bigger role in it."

"We can handle it, mi amor," said Inez. "I can handle it. Your moral support is all the help I need."

May 16, 1986

Execution of the plan happened two days later. I had to wait until evening to hear the story.

"I think we nipped this one in the bud," said a happy and relieved Inez upon arriving home.

"Tell me what happened."

"Well, you know that Valerie and Jason called for a voluntary, informal group meeting among the students in the graduate psychology department. It was well attended. Guess what? Victor didn't show up. He knew full well what the meeting was about, that lily-livered sack of shit."

"Lily-livered sack of shit," I laughed. "That's a good one. And rather appropriate."

"His not showing up stated our case better than anything we could have said. I did most of the speaking. I told the group that I wanted to address some rumors that had been floating around. I stated that I never dated Victor, and that I've been in a very happy relationship with my fiance for two and a half years, as all my family knows. I told the entire story about what Victor tried to pull last fall, when he was my study partner. And for good measure, I let them in on the fact that he made false accusations against me out of spite, claiming that I stole his ideas. Valerie and Jason backed me up. It's safe to say that Victor's reputation is shot. But you know what? Fuck him. He made his bed, let him lie in it."

I replied by wrapping her up in my arms. "I'm proud of you, angel," I told her. Then, she favored me with a smug smile.

"There's more to the story. Later in the afternoon, I went into the student lounge to get some coffee. Guess who I walked past?"

"Let's see ... the lily-livered sack of shit, in the flesh?"

"The one and only. He looked at me, startled, and actually flinched when he saw me holding a hot cup of coffee."

"Don't tell me you doused him again, " I said with a laugh.

"Nope. I just said to no one in particular, 'Why waste a perfectly good cup of coffee?' Then I took a sip, and walked away, leaving him sitting there."

June 8, 1986

Today, we headed south to pay my parents a Sunday visit. It wasn't long before Eileen persuaded Inez to hit the mall for a little while. I hung out with Mom, Dad and Seamus in the meantime. At one point, Mom got up and went into the kitchen for a minute. She returned holding a medium-sized box. "I wanted to show you this, Pat," she said with a smile. "Look inside, and tell me what you think."

The box, it turned out, was stuffed with wedding invitations, elegantly printed on thick, sturdy beige-colored paper with ruffled edges. I took one out of the box and looked it over. As I read the inscription on the invitation, a strong visual reminder of what would transpire in the very near future, a soft pang of love radiated throughout my being. It was really about to happen.

Javier and Guadalupe Trujillo

Request the honor of your presence

At the marriage of their daughter

Inez Lucia Trujillo

to

Patrick Thomas O'Malley

Son of James and Ruth O'Malley

Saturday, the ninth of August

Nineteen hundred and eighty-six

At five o'clock in the afternoon

St. James Catholic Church

Reception to follow at Cameron Hall

"They're really nice, Mom," I said truthfully.

"I'll show them to Inez when she gets back," said Mom. "They all have to go out in the mail this week. Lupe ordered some in Spanish; she'll be handling those."

With the big day two months away, preparations had begun in earnest. And with each passing day, the scope of the event grew bigger and bigger. The guest list now numbered over two hundred, and seemed to be increasing by the hour. The wedding party would be huge; Inez and I had discussed who to include at great length. On the day we reached the final decision, we got out a pen and paper, and made a list that almost looked like a baseball scorecard.

"Here's what we have so far," Inez had said to me. "Evie is maid of honor, Dave is best man. Bridesmaids are Eileen, Mayra, Lisette, Holly, Annie and Jenny. Groomsmen are Seamus, Paul, Dennis, Derek, and Mike. Which means we need one more male."

A thought struck me. "I know just the guy. And come to think of it, he fits in perfectly with this group."

"Who is he?"

"Vince."

Inez appeared surprised initially, then seemed to warm up to the idea. "Evie will be jumping for joy if you ask him. Not only that, he'll be able to walk in with her at the reception, and we can put Dave with Eileen."

"I have one little concern, though," I put forth. "Right now, Vince might think we're assuming too much if we ask him. It's pretty obvious, to us, which way things are headed with Vince and Evie. We know what happened in another life. But Vince might not know that yet, or he may still be in the process of figuring it out. Hey, you know what? I'm gonna ask him anyway. I like the guy."

"A wedding party of fourteen," laughed Inez. "That's pretty big."

So, we went down the line, asking each one in turn. The two junior members of the contingent, Seamus and Lisette, were both thrilled beyond words at their inclusion. It turned out that both had fervently hoped to be chosen, but neither had expected it. At seventeen, however, we felt that both of them were plenty old enough.

As for Vince, he took my invitation gracefully and in stride. "I'm honored, Pat," he told me over the phone, "and I'm flattered that you chose me."

No sooner had we seemingly settled that matter when Inez thought of something else.

"We're overlooking two people here," she told me in a serious tone of voice. "Jason and Valerie."

I mulled that over, then began to nod slowly. "You're right. The degree of support they've shown us lately has been nothing short of special. They deserve to be in our wedding party."

And with that, fourteen became sixteen. The wedding party was analogous to the wedding itself; growing in size, approaching enormity. I couldn't wait until Inez and I were man and wife, and I was greatly looking forward to sharing the moment with the vast collection of folks who'd graced our lives in so many ways. But at the same time, in some respects I was also looking forward to putting the actual ceremony behind us.

June 16, 1986

Inez, of course, was taking summer classes. This meant that she had to do a constant juggling act with regard to academics and wedding plans. I tried to relieve her of as much wedding-related responsibility as I could. We did, after all, vow to give her academic life utmost priority.

Early in the afternoon, I was sitting at my desk, shuffling through a mound of paperwork. The phone rang.

"Hey, sweetie," came Inez's breathless voice. "You'll never believe what I just heard."

"What?" I queried, curious as all hell.

"Dr. Minkus told me that Victor is dropping out of school. He plans to move to the Boston area."

I gulped in astonishment. "Y-you're kidding," I stammered. "I sure didn't see that coming."

"Me neither. He told Minkus that he intends to transfer into another graduate psychology program, at one of the universities near Boston. He hasn't yet decided which one. Of course, you never know if that asshole is telling the truth. But at the very least, it sounds like he'll be out of the area, not to mention out of my classes. I can't tell you how happy I am about that."

"Me too, angel," I put in right away. "Me too."

July 5, 1986

In the middle of the long Fourth of July weekend, Inez and I finally dealt with a wedding-connected issue we'd been putting off. Namely, musical entertainment during the reception. We had been getting request upon request, especially from out-of-town guests, for the music to come from one particular source.

Everyone, it seemed, wanted Lightning in a Bottle to reunite, and play at the reception.

The comments were quite predictable. "But I never had a chance to see you guys play!" "How can two musicians get married and not provide the music?" "You guys are good! You'll have no trouble getting your form back!"