Chapter 69: The New Normal

October 25, 1986

It would be trite to say that things went back to normal after the wedding and the honeymoon. We certainly settled back into a routine, but things were different now. This was a new normal, a "normal" enhanced with the knowledge that we were living the life we'd dreamed about for so long.

At work, the status quo persisted. I put in my forty-hour weeks, resigning myself to the fact that I'd be working there for a while longer. My investments were certainly paying off, but I wanted a more solid foundation than the one we had right now.

Inez's academic life was becoming less about class work – although she still had plenty of that – and more about research, in preparation for her dissertation. Like the majority of her peers, she had decided to allow her advisor, Dr. Minkus, to choose a dissertation topic for her. She still worked frequently with Jason and Valerie, although individual pursuits were beginning to take precedence over group ones.

It was Saturday, which was Date Night for the two of us. In keeping with the stereotype of the boring married couple, we were parked in front of the television. Of course, it wasn't just any TV program that we were tuned in to. It was Game Six of the World Series, must-see TV for two baseball nuts like my wife and me.

"I don't know who to root for here," laughed Inez. "Is is possible for both teams to lose?" This series featured the New York Mets – hated crosstown rivals of her beloved Yankees – and a team she found even more loathsome, the Yankees' intra-division foe, the Boston Red Sox.

Naturally, I had a different perspective. This was a matchup of the Phillies' division rival, the Mets, against the Red Sox, a completely neutral entity to me. "I know who I'm rooting for!" I exclaimed. "Go Red Sox!" But I know what's gonna happen, I thought.

The Red Sox were ahead in the series, three games to two, and were looking to close things out tonight. The game went into extra innings, and the Red Sox appeared to be in good shape when they pushed a couple of runs across in the top of the tenth inning. Things looked even rosier for the bunch from Boston when the first two Met batters were retired in the bottom of the tenth.

"Well, that's it," groaned Inez. "I'll have to suffer through the freakin' Red Sox winning the World Series."

I offered a tight-lipped smile. Again, I knew what was going to happen, but I hadn't told her. She'd asked me not to. However, she knew me well enough that my Totally Bland look had to be absolutely perfect to work, to keep her from being able to read my expression. And she was improving over time.

"Wait a minute," she said in disbelief. "Don't tell me the Red Sox are gonna blow this!"

I tried to continue to keep a straight face as the Mets came up with three straight singles to pull within a run. They had runners on first and third as Mookie Wilson came to the plate. Wilson fouled off pitch after pitch. Then, a wild pitch allowed the tying run to score, and moved the potential winning run up to second base. What followed was the sequence that will forever live in infamy in the city of Boston. Wilson hit an easy grounder to Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, who took his eye off the ball just long enough to let the ball sneak between his legs. The Mets won the game, and would win Game Seven – and the world championship – the following night.

We were having a lively discussion about the game when the phone rang. "It's kind of late," remarked Inez. "I wonder who that could be?" She picked up the phone, and smiled upon hearing the voice on the other end. "It's Evie," she clarified.

I knew that Evie was spending the weekend in Illinois with Vince. "She forgot that it's an hour later here on the East Coast," I cracked. No sooner had I gotten those words out when Inez let out a scream of joy.

"They're engaged!" she told me excitedly. "Vince just proposed to her!"

It was one of those things where even though I was expecting it to happen, the timing threw me off. Inez chatted with Evie for a few minutes; she of course wanted to hear all the details. "Oh, Ev, of course I will," she said at one point, sounding touched. Finally, she handed the phone over to me.

"Congratulations, Ev. I couldn't be happier for the two of you." I told her.

"Thanks, Pat. We'll talk more in a minute, but right now, I want to hand the phone over to Vince. He wants to talk to you first."

"Hey, Vince," I said to him as soon as soon as he got on the phone. "Congratulations, and like I just told Evie, I'm very happy for you both."

"Thanks, Pat. That means a lot. So ... I have something to ask you. We want to keep our wedding small and intimate. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time at your wedding – more fun that I've ever had at one of those affairs. But keeping it low-key is more our style, and I mean really low-key. Anyway, Evie just asked your wife to be maid of honor."

"I kind of caught that," I laughed, looking at Inez, who was smiling sweetly.

"My brother will be best man," Vince went on. "Beyond them, we're planning to have a very small wedding party. We'll only have one bridesmaid and one groomsman. I have a sister who would feel left out if we didn't pick her as the bridesmaid. So, we decided that the groomsman would come from Evie's side. We talked it over, and we'd like for you to have that honor."

I was not expecting this. They'd chosen me over Evie's two brothers! "I-I am truly honored," I stammered. "Thanks a lot. It really means a lot to me." I paused to reflect once again on just how blessed I was in this timeline. I'd gone from not being invited to their wedding in the other life, to being included in a very select wedding party in this one.

"I have to say that Evie pushed really hard to include you," Vince allowed with a laugh. "But I want you to know that I'm definitely on board with this, and I was from the beginning. We'll be happy and honored to have you and your wife standing with us."

I thanked Vince profusely once again, and he soon returned the phone to Evie.

"There's another thing I want to tell you," she offered. "Yes, we'll be having a small wedding. But we'll be inviting Dave, Eileen and the rest of the gang as well. Hopefully, they won't mind traveling out here."

"Something tells me that won't be a problem," I laughed.

Later, as Inez and I settled onto the sofa as we always did before retiring for the night, a touch of melancholy crept into our mood.

"I'm so happy for them," said my wife in a low voice. "But I'm really gonna miss having her nearby."

"Me too, angel. Me too."

February 23, 1987

The holidays swept right on by almost before we realized it; we celebrated our first Christmas and New Year's as a married couple. Next thing we knew, it was the middle of winter. Life was wonderful, but even so, it was inevitable that bumps in the road would need to be negotiated. Three of them popped up during February.

Evie moved out to Illinois at the beginning of the month. She'd quit her job, and was now looking for work in the Chicago area. I knew what particular entry-level position she'd landed in the other timeline, but she had steadfastly prohibited me from telling her. In fact, we'd adopted this approach for all of the major events in Evie's life. "I want to live my life normally," she'd told me. "Don't tell me any more about my future. You can tell me after the fact whether each life event happened in the other timeline."

As Inez had surmised, it was hard not having Evie close by. We missed the hell out of her. There was, of course, the telephone, which we utilized on almost a daily basis. However, this was long before the advent of cell phones with unlimited long-distance calling. Both of our phone bills were undoubtedly about to go through the roof.

The second bump was something much less predictable: the sudden end of Velvet Thunder, resulting from a very traumatic experience involving my sister.

Velvet Thunder had recruited a new drummer to replace Dave shortly after our wedding. His name was Steve Travers, and he was the same age as me, having graduated from college almost two years ago. He had some kind of menial job in the New Brunswick area. We'd gone to one of their gigs in early December, where we'd met Steve for the first time. He didn't make a particularly strong impression on me, either way, but he did on Inez.

"I don't like him," she declared firmly. "There's something about that guy that gives me the creeps."

Her reservations gained traction when Eileen told us over the holidays that Steve seemed to have taken an interest in her. He'd done nothing overtly, but appeared to want to create situations where the two of them were alone together. Visions of the Victor fiasco flashed through my mind, and I advised Eileen to avoid him at all costs and let the rest of the band know what was going on. Dave, naturally, was beside himself with worry, and wanted to step in. Eileen assured us both that she could handle it. During January, things did in fact ease up, causing us to believe that Eileen had the situation under control.

But in early February, everything came to a head. After a Friday night gig, a slightly intoxicated Steve approached my sister, saying that he was in love with her, and that she needed to dump Dave. Eileen told him in no uncertain terms to buzz off. He wouldn't take no for an answer, and really started to come on to her. Eileen reacted by slapping him across the face, quite justifiably. Upon hearing what had happened, the others rallied around Eileen, and dismissed Steve from the band.

One major problem was solved; however, another had arisen. Velvet Thunder had no drummer. They were forced to prematurely face the same decision Lightning in a Bottle had weighed over two years previously: whether or not to continue on following graduation. With one exception, they opted to concentrate on their careers, and made the call to disband immediately. It wasn't worth the trouble of finding another drummer for a run of a few months.

"You know what, Pat?" my sister said to me, after listening to my concerned big brother spiel. "Maybe that asshole did us all a favor. I've changed my thinking. I feel exactly the same way that you did two years ago. It's time to hang it up. I want to move on to bigger and better things."

"How strongly do the others feel about it?" I asked.

"Well, the guys all agree that they want to quit. But you know Allie. She wants to go solo, and see where it takes her."

The third bump in the road was, in some ways, even more troublesome.

A somewhat flustered Inez greeted me at the door this evening as I arrived home from work. "I just got off the phone with Lisette," she explained. "You won't believe this. Apparently, she's found herself a boyfriend, and it isn't your brother. It's a guy from school."

"Oh, wow," was the only reply I could muster. To myself, I said, Seamus dragged his feet for way too long, and now he's blown it.

"Maybe you should check in with Seamus," advised my wife. I nodded in agreement, and gave him a call.

"Yeah, I know about it," my brother said nonchalantly. "Lisette told me yesterday. She's nuts about the dude. I'm happy for her."

That kind of reply threw me for a loop. "You're cool with this?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be? Like I'm always telling you, we're friends."

I told Inez about Seamus' remarks. Her response was swift and decisive.

"I don't believe him," she put forth.

"I don't, either."

But whether I believed him or not, I had to accept one thing: unless he came clean, it really wasn't any of my business.

May 21, 1987

Today, my kid sister became a college graduate, the proud owner of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education. Her plans were to enter the job market right away and try to find work as an elementary school music teacher. "I'm not ruling out going for a master's degree later, if it will help me find a better job, or a more interesting one. But I'm a little burned out on school right now. Senior year was tough."

She proceeded to elaborate further on her plans. "Since Dave's down there in Penn's graduate program, I might look for a job in the Philly area. I'm thinking about getting licensed in Pennsylvania." Reading between the lines a little, it sure sounded like a cohabitation situation was in the offing. I wondered if Dad and Mom would react the same way they did when Inez and I told them about our plans to live together.

After the ceremony, I had a chance to spend some time with Seamus while everyone else was socializing and taking pictures. He would be graduating from high school in a couple of weeks, and he'd decided to become the third O'Malley sibling to attend Rutgers.

Recently, my brother had been making some choices in his personal life that I found questionable. I wasn't sure how much of it had to do with Lisette, who was still seeing her boyfriend, and had gone to her senior prom with him. Seamus had taken another girl to his own prom – the only time he'd gone out with this particular girl. And therein lay the problem – he was hell-bent on playing the field. To be sure, there's nothing inherently wrong with that, but he was developing a distinct scorecard mentality. In the last three months, he'd dated five or six different girls, and was quite proud of that. He also admitted to sleeping with at least two of them.

Now, I'd been sexually active at that age, so I couldn't very well preach abstinence. But at the same time, I couldn't help but compare Seamus to my counterpart in the other timeline. Senior year of high school was when my bad relationship habits had commenced, and I was never able to fully shake them.

"Please tell me you're using protection," I practically pleaded, taking the safer – and less hypocritical – avenue.

"You betcha," he said with a smug grin. "I wrap it in foil before checking her oil." I didn't laugh; his attitude was way too cavalier for my liking. But we were in far too public of a venue to discuss this thoroughly. I wondered what would happen in the fall, when Seamus would be confronted with the temptations of dorm life. I made a mental note to check in with my brother at every opportunity.

The thing was, Lisette's name didn't come up even once in the conversation.

June 13, 1987

Carol Stream, Illinois

"Evie's life is continuing to proceed as it did in the other timeline," I whispered to Inez, as we waited for the minister to arrive. "Not for us, though. And that's the way it should be." My wife smiled back at me; she was a lovely sight to behold in her light baby blue bridesmaid's dress.

The wedding of Vince and Evie took place outdoors, in a tranquil and somewhat bucolic park not far from Vince's childhood home in this western suburb of Chicago. At first glance, it seemed like a strange setting for a wedding. However, once the ceremony got underway, all on hand viewed it in a much more favorable light. It was perfect.

The entire gang – meaning everyone who had been associated with Lightning in a Bottle – did in fact make the trip out to Illinois. Stella, Evie's mom, gave her daughter away, since Evie's dad had passed away when she was a little girl. Evie looked simply breathtaking in her wedding dress, and Vince looked sharp and distinguished in his tuxedo, as the minister recited the vows which joined them together.

Following the mandatory picture shoot, everyone walked over to the reception venue. That's right, we walked – the building was located at the edge of the park. Inez and I walked along with the bride and groom.

"Hey, Pat," Vince said with a grin. "We need to hit the golf course again. Next time, I'll give you twelve strokes." He laughed the laugh of someone who'd easily won a bet.

"Yesterday gave me all the incentive I need to work on my golf game," I mock-grumbled.

One unexpected but highly welcomed result of the changes in this timeline was that Vince and I were becoming good friends. The previous morning, we'd hit the links while the ladies ran off to take care of a few odds and ends. I was never the world's greatest golfer, and any experience I had went back to my other life. Vince was far superior, and realizing that, he'd given me ten strokes. He kicked my ass anyhow.

The inside of the building where the reception was held was rustic-themed yet elegant. Due to the more modest-sized guest list, the party which followed was smaller in scale than ours had been, and was thus more intimate. This, of course, was no barrier to having a hell of a good time. It wasn't long after they opened up the dance floor when I had a chance to dance with the bride.

"Well, we didn't cry together before your wedding," I pointed out, as Evie laughed. "Seriously, Ev, I wish you and Vince all the happiness that you deserve. And although it's tempting to tell you, 'Don't be a stranger, ' something tells me I don't need to say that."