Chapter 68: Two Weddings, One Honeymoon

August 1, 1986

On the big day – the first one – I took off from work at lunchtime, and picked up Inez after class. We'd be taking my set of wheels to Atlantic City; we elected to leave her car overnight in the spacious, well-lit, secure university parking lot. Time was a bit of a concern; I expected quite a bit of traffic heading for the beach on a summer Friday afternoon. We were lucky that we'd already taken care of a couple of vital issues. First, there was the matter of obtaining a marriage license. Again fortunately for us, this could be handled locally, as the license would be valid anywhere in the state of New Jersey. Following a three-day waiting period, the license was now in our hands. Another vital preliminary – blood tests – had also been completed the previous week, before our decision to elope.

Since we'd be throwing a bash to end all bashes one week and one day from now, we deliberately kept today's events informal and low-key. We didn't even bother getting dressed up, opting for nice casual attire. We told everyone close to us that we wanted to spend an afternoon and evening by ourselves, a small breather aimed at re-charging our batteries. This explanation was accepted at face value; everyone agreed that we deserved that much. All things considered, slipping out of town overnight turned out to be ridiculously easy. Before long, I had us cruising down the Garden State Parkway, marriage license in hand.

"So," Inez asked me, with a coy smile, "when will we observe our wedding anniversary ... August first, or August ninth?"

I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. "Why not both?"

She giggled at my nonchalance. "Both?"

"Sure. We celebrate by ourselves on the first, and with our loved ones on the ninth."

"So, in essence, every year on the first of August we'll repeat the same sneaky act we're pulling right now."

"And won't that be romantic?" I pointed out. She flashed a dazzling smile, obviously walking on air at this point. As was I.

The day after we decided to elope, I'd gone to the library and consulted a telephone directory. I'd found a conveniently-located Justice of the Peace, about twenty minutes outside of the city proper. It was a little after two when we arrived. We produced our marriage license, and explained our unique situation. The clerk smiled, and made a photocopy of the license. She took the photocopy, used some white-out to cover up the date (which had already been filled in), and wrote today's date in its place. She then handed the original back to us, telling us that we could use that one for our church wedding.

I got the impression that our "unique situation" was not really all that unique.

Soon, we were called before the Justice of the Peace. He was a pleasant, older gentleman who spoke for about two minutes about the joy, the challenges, and the responsibilities of married life. He then instructed us to face each other. I looked into the lovely eyes of my bride-to-be, feeling a strong sense of anticipation, yet at the same time aware that we'd be repeating this experience in a much more public setting eight days from now.

The Justice of the Peace recited the traditional marriage vows, and we said our I do's. He pronounced us husband and wife, and told me to kiss the bride. I did so in a tender, tasteful manner. I pulled away, and regarded my new wife, who had tears of joy streaming down her face.

"I love you, always and forever," I said out loud.

"I love you too, honey," she said. "And I think I'll need to save some of these tears for next weekend." She giggled, and I laughed right along with her.

We'd brought along a camera, and the Justice of the Peace offered to snap off a couple of pictures. We, of course, knew we'd have to keep those photos forever hidden from our loved ones.

And just like that, we were lawfully wedded, if not yet in the eyes of the church, nor in the eyes of our families and friends. It could not have been more low-key, and was just what we needed. We knew that this was merely phase one of a two-phase process. Today, we wanted nothing in the way of pomp and circumstance. We knew we'd be getting it in spades in the very near future.

Soon, we were back in my car. My worries about traffic turned out to be quite valid. We encountered near-gridlock as we approached the bridge into Atlantic City. Once we crossed the bridge, the traffic thinned out a bit.

"So, what would you like to do now, Mrs. O'Malley?" I asked my new bride with a grin.

She offered a dreamy expression. "I love hearing you call me that."

Inez had decided to change her name the instant we first addressed the topic. Many women with her professional aspirations might not have done so. "When it comes to things like that, I'm old-fashioned and traditional," she had declared, "and I'm taking your name. End of story. I don't even have to think about it for a second."

I couldn't resist teasing her a little. "You'll have people asking you all the time, 'How did you manage to come by a name like Inez O'Malley?'"

"And I'll welcome that," she smiled. "It will give me the perfect lead-in to talk about my fantastic husband."

We arrived at the hotel/casino where I'd made reservations for the night, the Caesars Boardwalk Regency (which would be renamed Caesars Atlantic City a year from now). As the name suggested, it was located in close proximity to the boardwalk. We decided to check into our room right away. I'd reserved a deluxe ocean view room up on the tenth floor. At that point, we could have decided to hit the beach. We could have gone for a stroll on the boardwalk. We could have headed down into the casino, and gambled the night away.

Of course, we did none of those things.

I unlocked the door to the room, and ceremoniously opened it. I placed our overnight bags just inside the door. Then, at once, I lifted my giggling bride up off her feet and carried her over the threshold. The room was spacious, featuring a king-size bed and reasonably plush furniture. Interestingly, the thick curtains were drawn shut; the light level was fairly low in the room, although with the late afternoon sun shining outside the curtains, it was far from pitch black. I closed the door with my foot as I entered, carrying Inez over to the bed, where I set her down. I leaned in and gave her a tender kiss. She slowly pulled away and smiled.

"Give me a second, okay?" She got up from the bed. Picking up a small hand bag she'd brought with her, she disappeared into the bathroom, winking at me before closing the door.

She actually spent about ten minutes in the bathroom. The anticipation was killing me. Then, the door swung open, and out stepped my angel. She was wearing a sheer, light pink babydoll nightie, matching pink panties trimmed with lace, and nothing else. Neither garment concealed much of anything. I drank in the view of the flawless, glowing copper-hued skin of the woman I loved, sublimely breathtaking there in the dim light. Her unconfined hair hung freely and magnificently. This image of the love of my life would remain burned into my mind for all time.

Taking my hand, she directed me over to the bed. I sat down on the edge, and pulled her into my lap. "I'm all yours, mi amor," she told me simply. "I've been all yours for almost three years, but now, finally, it's official."

She sprawled out supine on the bed. I proceeded to begin the process of unwrapping my wedding present, although I had every intention of taking my own sweet time. Lifting up her nightie, I playfully inserted my tongue into her belly button, causing my ticklish sweetie to erupt in a fit of giggles. But tickling, obviously, was not my primary aim here. I quickly moved on to other pursuits; I directed my oral efforts upward. I pulled the nightie up just far enough to fully expose her breasts. I took one nipple in my mouth, as she cooed softly in deep approval. When I began to work on her other nipple, she started to tug at the buttons of my shirt. I helped her undo them one by one, and once all were unfastened, away went the shirt onto the floor.

Now, as I began to suckle her more vigorously, and my olfactory nerves began to detect evidence of her arousal, my hand began to wander across her panties. I touched her center through the fabric, and was startled by how wet she already was. She replied non-verbally, by attempting to unbuckle my belt. I again helped with this endeavor, and soon my pants had been discarded as well, along with my underwear.

I moved my tongue away from her nipple, and it began to dance along her body. Ever downward it slithered, tasting little beads of feminine sweat that were products of her own burgeoning passion. Its journey concluded at the lace border which separated skin from panty fabric. Time for the wrapping to come off.

I hooked her panties with my index fingers, and slid them over her hips and down her magnificent legs. By now, she was looking at me imploringly. "Do it, mi amor," she practically begged, accentuating her pleading by growling out a few select phrases in Spanish. I considered teasing her a little more. However, her hooded, narrow eyes, combined with the way she was rubbing the inside of her thighs with her hands, told me that my love was well primed for release.

It took only a few licks up and down her slit, and she went meteoric. And per usual, the tears of joy followed immediately after. I doubled my efforts, as I sought another orgasm, and then another.

Now, she was desperately pulling me on top of her. "I want you inside me," she practically demanded. "Now!" Her pink babydoll nightie was still in place; I was more than content to keep it there. I slipped inside her with astonishing ease. As I began to thrust in and out, I ever so briefly mulled something over. It had taken me a second run through life to find out what I really wanted, what I really craved. In my other life, I'd been with many women. Those deeply flawed relationships – which included two failed marriages – had skewed my views in so many ways. In actuality, I'd been trying way too hard, and the frustration had rendered me jaded and shallow. But with Inez, from the beginning of our relationship, everything had been simple and easy. She fit me like a glove, and it hadn't taken me long to realize that I wanted to take hold of her, and never let go. I'd never felt anything like that before.

Maybe there had been a purpose to my being sent back in time, after all.

Before long, I was pouring forth into her womb. I collapsed on top of her, telling her again and again how much I loved her. The sensation was overwhelming; we just laid there, for what seemed be an endless expanse of time, still coupled.

We didn't leave the bed until the next morning. We did manage to get some sleep – but not too much.

As we got ready to check out of the room at about ten a.m., I walked over to the window, and finally opened the curtains. "Damn!" I exclaimed. "This is one hell of a view of the ocean!"

Inez threw her arms around me, and began to giggle uncontrollably.

August 7, 1986

Stage two of our union was now forty-eight hours away. The arrival of out-of-town wedding guests had begun in earnest. Javier and Lupe had flown in on Tuesday, two days ago; naturally, they wanted to stay at our place. Mike, Jenny, and their parents – who seemed to have an aversion to air travel – once again elected to travel from Florida to New Jersey by car. They opted to stay with the Andrades.

Today, there were two other very notable arrivals. I cut out of work at noon – I'd be off until we returned from the honeymoon, using up my entire allotment of vacation time for the rest of the year. Inez and I, along with Javier and Lupe, headed down to my parents' place. There, just in from Indiana, were my Aunt Marge, her husband Ted, and my cousin Jerry, the late addition to our wedding party.

Seeing them was a strange experience. Again, we hadn't seen each other at all in this life. Any memories I had of them went all the way back to my childhood in the other timeline. But here they were, and Inez and I had a nice little chat with my aunt and uncle. As for Jerry? Damn, had Mom ever been right. He was painfully shy, almost to the point of being scared of his own shadow. I wondered how he'd function during the ceremony, and even worse, the reception.

But somehow, Aunt Marge, Uncle Ted and Jerry were upstaged by another of today's arrivals. Namely, Mom's relative from Ireland, Martin Clancy.

Martin was a short, round man with thinning gray hair. Looking at him, you couldn't help but think that if you gave him a green hat and a green jacket to wear, you'd have the stereotypical leprechaun. His jolly demeanor was accentuated with a never-ending twinkle in his eye. "I'm from the hills of County Kerry," he said to us by way of introduction, in a thick brogue. "And I'm sixty-eight years young!"

Aunt Marge, Uncle Ted, and Jerry soon left to run a couple of errands. In the meantime, I struck up a conversation with Martin, and Inez, of course, took to him right away. Shortly, Inez and I offered to pick up some lunch for everyone, for we were all quite hungry. On our way out the door, Martin told me, with an impish grin and a singsong voice, "Ye've got yourself a lovely lassie, Patty-O!" I cast a sideways glance at Inez, who was wearing a bright smile. I also looked at Dave, Eileen and Seamus, who were coming along for the ride, and had caught the exchange. All three wore telling grins. Oh shit, I thought. They'll never let me hear the end of it.

And I was right. No sooner had the five of us packed ourselves into my car when Seamus started clapping me on the back. "Let's go, Patty-O!" he chortled.

"Ever consider changing your last name to 'Furniture', dude?" cracked Dave. The girls were practically dying of laughter.

The wedding rehearsal was held in the early evening. By six o'clock, the entire wedding party had congregated at the O'Malley residence. Our group of twenty-four – the wedding party, both sets of parents, and Raul and Rosie Andrade – headed over to the church in five separate cars. Following the rehearsal, our small throng descended upon a local eatery. The rehearsal dinner was highlighted by the non-stop use of my new moniker, "Patty-O", to the great amusement of all on hand. I laughed along with them, but cautioned everyone to refrain from the wisecracks when Martin was present. I most definitely did not want to offend him.

Late in the evening, our gathering broke up. Inez and I, along with her parents, headed for our place. Today had been an exercise in patience; tomorrow would be even more so.

August 8, 1986

We did manage to sleep in a little, but not too much. By noon, we had dropped off Javier and Lupe at the Andrade house, and once again made our way down the turnpike to my parents' place. The scene at the house was increasingly frantic, as preparations were now in full gear.

The majority of the guests from out of town arrived today. Dad made four trips to and from the airport, dropping off the guests at the hotel. Dave's dad chipped in to help out with this endeavor; he made a couple of runs himself. Seeing them work together in this manner brought to mind a time, a few years ago, when all was not well between the O'Malley and Mancuso families. Thankfully, those days were buried deep in the past.

At around five o'clock, Evie stopped by. That was apparently Inez's cue, for she came over to me and gave me a kiss. "We're going up to our place," she explained, gazing lovingly into my eyes. "The next time you see me, I'll be walking down the aisle in my wedding dress."

"And I'm going with them," declared Eileen. She likewise gave Dave a kiss, telling him she'd see him tomorrow at the church.

With no further embellishment, the ladies were out the door. "We've been abandoned," Dave laughed. "I guess we didn't have any say in the matter."

Mom had left to handle a few last-minute concerns. Dave, Seamus and I were the only ones left in the house. The lack of noise was profound; it was the last thing I'd figured on experiencing at this point in time.

"I'm hungry," I declared. "Let's go out for some grub."

Dave had a suggestion of his own. "Paul's over at his parents' house. Why don't you call him, and ask him to meet us somewhere?"

The three of us met up with Paul at the Ground Round. More "Patty-O" merriment ensued. Seamus, in particular, continued to rag on me. That's when Dave finally stepped in.

"I'll take 'Patty-O' over 'Pookie Bear' any day of the week, sport," he said to my brother with a chortle.

Seamus didn't even blink before firing back. "I'll take both of them over 'Snookums'."

Paul and I looked at each other in bemusement. "Snookums?" I said with a laugh. Apparently, my brother had heard Eileen address Dave with that particular term of endearment. It was the first time I'd heard it, however.

Nonetheless, it become apparent right away that Seamus had scored big time. An embarrassed Dave stuttered and stammered before finally surrendering without a reply. I looked at my brother with newfound respect. He'd managed to put Dave firmly in his place, something that wasn't easy to do.

At this particular point in time, I found myself growing reflective. Here I was, on the last day before my wedding (okay, the second wedding), having dinner with my coming-of-age kid brother, along with my two oldest buddies, going back to my other life. It could not have been more appropriate.

We paid the bill, and then Seamus declared that he wanted to go and hang out with his school friends. We dropped him off at the home of one of his buddies. "So what do we do now?" I said to Dave and Paul.

"I have an idea," Paul put in. "We didn't do a bachelor party, at your suggestion. So, let's go to Atlantic City, and hit the casinos."

I couldn't help but smile a little at the mention of Atlantic City. If only they knew, I thought.

So Atlantic City it was, and I set out in that direction. During the forty-five minute drive, the topic of conversation wound around to Victor. Paul, an engineer by trade, nonetheless had a keen interest in the inner workings of the American justice system. He had become to go-to person in our little group regarding legal matters. He put forth an interesting proposal.

"Inez should consider suing Victor's ass," Paul stated. "It sounds like there were a lot of witnesses, right? What he did was slanderous. Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I'll bet she's on solid ground here. You could clear a nice little sum, and stick it to that asshole, but good."

I'd had similar thoughts, but had dismissed them in short order. I proceeded to tell Paul why. "You're probably right. But remember, Victor's already moved away. He's no longer in the picture. If it were up to me, I'd rather drop the whole thing. Inez's reputation is intact. In fact, some of her peers, and at least one of her professors, told her they admire the way she handled the situation. I'll mention it to Inez, but I'm sure she feels the same way about it as I do." What I didn't say was that my pre-knowledge gave us a degree of financial security that made any potential compensatory windfall less of an issue, and greatly reduced any incentive to litigate.

At the casino, we pretty much stuck to blackjack and poker. The big winner, ironically enough, turned out to be Paul. Dave razzed him pretty good during the drive home. "When we play poker by ourselves, it takes you a fucking half hour to decide what to do every time you're dealt a hand. You didn't have that luxury here, and guess what? You fucking cleaned up anyhow!"

We dropped Paul off at his parents' house. I pulled up into my parents' driveway; Mom and Dad had already turned in for the night, as had Seamus. Dave set out for his place in his own car.

I headed inside. First things first; I called Inez to say goodnight. I told her that I loved her, and that I would see her at the church tomorrow. After I got off the phone, I went right upstairs, for I'd be spending this night alone – in my old bedroom.

I turned off the light, got under the covers, and took stock of my situation. It had been in this room, over six years ago, where I'd first cooked up plans to search the house for clues about the new timeline I'd landed in. Here, one lonely New Year's Eve, I'd shamelessly made out with my sister's best friend. In this room, I'd brought a romantic relationship with Evie to its end, and after a bumpy road for a while, salvaged exactly the kind of lasting friendship I'd been so afraid to lose. And it was here, at the conclusion of the year from hell, where I'd had the watershed heart-to-heart talk with Eileen, the one that had set events into motion which had landed me where I was today.

As I drifted off to a contented slumber, one thought crossed my mind. Never, in either life, had I been more excited and optimistic about the future as I was right now.

August 9, 1986

Early in the afternoon, the groomsmen began to show up. The O'Malley house would be the designated gathering place for the men, while the female members of the bridal party gathered at the Andrade house. Mom had already headed up the turnpike to join the women, while Dad stayed behind. The ladies would have to leave extra early, for they had a one-hour drive to get to the church. We men only had to travel a couple of miles.

Seamus, of course, was already on hand. Dave and Paul, who'd stayed at their respective parents' houses, arrived before any of the others. Dennis and Derek traveled together down the turnpike, and showed up at the same time. Mike arrived along with his parents; Javier had hitched a ride with them. Vince, who'd flown in from Chicago the day before, and had stayed at the hotel, made his appearance. Jason, after dropping Valerie off at the Andrades' place, had made the long drive down; I'd given him directions. Finally, Jerry, along with his mom and dad, arrived from the hotel. I made all the necessary introductions, and made a concerted effort to get Jerry involved in the socializing. I quickly realized just how right Mom had been. Jerry appeared overwhelmed, and I seriously began to wonder if including him in the wedding party had been a mistake.

There was a photographer on hand, but he only took a few pictures here at the house. Of course, there was another photographer up at the Andrades' house, and it stood to reason that he'd be much busier.

We all changed into our formal attire. At around three o'clock, Dad approached me. "I just spoke to your mother," he said, "and the women are piling into their cars right now. They'll be at the church at about four. We should probably head over at around three-thirty. If they get there before us, we'll never hear the end of it."

I rode over to the church in Dave's car, along with Paul and Seamus. Dave steered his car into the parking lot, and slipped the gearshift into park. Looking at me with a grin, he declared, "Let's get this man married."

Well, wait a minute. I already am married, I thought wryly. But the sentiment was appreciated.

Dad quickly directed all of the groomsmen into a small enclosed room in the back of the church. This room existed for the very purpose for which we were using it: to ensure that the bride and groom didn't set eyes on one another prior to their wedding ceremony.

We got wind of the women's arrival, and then something happened I simply wasn't expecting. Javier opened the door, and asked for everyone but me to come outside, to take part in a photo shoot. Following which, the groomsmen would assume their duties as ushers.

I was left there, in a small room, alone with my thoughts.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the moment which lay ahead of me. The love of my life, in a wedding gown I had yet to lay eyes on, walking slowly down the aisle, and meeting me at the front. My reverie, however, was soon interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Pat?" came a female voice from outside.

"Come in," I uttered in reply. Who might that be? I wondered. The answer to that question was soon supplied, and it turned out to be the last person I'd ever have expected.

Evie.

"Now, wait a minute, Ev," I laughed. "Am I supposed to be seeing you before the ceremony itself?"

"You're not supposed to see the bride, " corrected Evie. "I haven't heard any rules of wedding etiquette that say you can't see the maid of honor ahead of time. They're finished with the pictures, and I thought I'd come and keep you company for a few minutes."

"Thanks, Ev. It was getting kind of boring in here by myself." Evie, of course, was all dolled up, wearing her light green bridesmaid's gown in the style the girls had agreed upon ahead of time. Her hair, which usually hung free, was elegantly piled up on top of her head.

Then, Evie surprised me by reaching up and adjusting my bow tie. "Your better half asked me to do that," she explained. "She wanted me to make sure that your tie was straight. She's also worried about you being by yourself."

I broke out in a smile, a smile flush with the love of a newlywed. "That's so Inez," I pointed out. I also realized that Inez knew Evie was paying me this discreet visit, and very likely had orchestrated it herself. It figured that even on an occasion such as this, the two of them were working in tandem, as always.

Suddenly, Evie's mood turned serious.

"I wanted to tell you something, Pat," she began, "and it concerns the estrangement we went through a few years ago."

"No need to go there again, Ev. We've been through this –" She reached up with her finger and shushed me.

"Let me have my say, and I promise I won't bring it up any more. You've had a second chance at life, and let me say you've done an outstanding job with that second chance. Maybe at first you had some struggles, but who wouldn't? It's not like there's an instruction manual to refer to. Now, look at me. I'm very happy with the life I have now. If I had a do-over like yours, there isn't much I'd want to change. But there's one thing that sticks out. If I did have a do-over ... I would never have allowed our estrangement to happen. It's absolutely one of the biggest regrets of my life."

"Maybe there was a benefit to all of that," I assured her. "The time we spent apart, in many ways, helped me to grow up a bit. I made a lot of mistakes, but in the end, it definitely helped me to understand how important you and the rest of my friends are. Maybe this was part of Fate's ... or maybe God's plan for me. We're in a church, right?" I laughed, and she giggled right along with me.

The laughter died down, and she became straight-faced once again. "Another thing I want to mention, regarding that other life of yours. It sure looks like things are headed in the same direction with Vince and me."

"They are?" I replied, raising my eyebrow, wondering if she'd chosen this time and place to make an announcement.

"He hasn't asked me yet," Evie clarified with a smile. "But there's been some signs. And before you ask, if he does end up proposing to me, I'll say yes in a heartbeat."

"How much of that is based on what you know about my other life?"

"I've given a lot of thought to that. You know what? Even if I didn't know about the happy marriage we had in the other timeline, I'd still feel the same way about Vince."

"Good answer," I replied with a nod and a grin.

A wistful expression eased its way across Evie's face. "My point is ... you and I are friends for life. Just like last time, I could be moving out of the area in the near future. Maybe. If it happens ... I won't let a little distance interfere with the wonderful friendship I have with you and your lovely bride. And if in fact there's a wedding out there in Illinois, I want the two of you there, and the rest of the gang, too. In this case, I'm actually getting a do-over, and I'm doing it right this time."

That was music to my ears; I flashed her a grateful smile. "We'll be there. Count on it."

She switched gears again. "But let's talk about you and Inez. You know how much personal investment I've always had in your relationship. I just want to tell you this ... be happy, okay?"

"I plan to."

The normally self-assured Evie gently bit her lower lip in an uncertain, girlish manner that she rarely displayed. "Is it considered bad form for the maid of honor to say 'I love you' to the groom right before the ceremony?"

"Not in this case," I put forth right away. "Love you, too, Ev." She threw her arms around me in a tight embrace.

I guess with all that was going on, the emotional aspect of the situation overwhelmed me a bit. All of a sudden, I broke down, and found myself crying into Evie's shoulder. Almost as quickly, I realized that in mere minutes, the ceremony would be starting. I pulled away and tried to collect myself. I looked at Evie; she also had tears streaming down her face.

She reached into her hand bag and produced a piece of tissue paper, which she used to dab at the corner of my eyes. Then, she realized that there was a much bigger issue. "My makeup!" she shrieked.