On The Other Side

Chapter Thirty: The Past

I pull my Ma’s wedding dress reverently from my trunk, the dress I married Will in, the Irish lace redolent of lavender.

“It’s so pretty, like a princess,” Aggie whispers.

            “This is the dress I married your daidí in.” I close my eyes, remembering the sunshine streaming through the old church windows, the way Will looked all dressed up in his finery. My innocence, thinking that nothing could go wrong, that Will would never be taken from me. “It was a beautiful day, your daidí looked so handsome.”

            Aggie touches the lace with her fingertips, “Are you going to marry Dec in this dress, too?”

          Just then, Miriam and Corky walk through the door. I invited Miriam over to help me decide what to marry Declan in, and Corky to keep Aggie entertained.

        Our wedding is in two weeks, then we’ll all squish into the apartment above the store. And truly, I couldn’t be more excited about it. To be a family, to get out of this foul tenement will be a blessing.

            Miriam eyes the dress I’m holding, “Well this is beautiful, is this what you’ll be wearing?” She holds the dress up to the light, the history wafting off, wrapping it’s arms around me.

            I shrug, “This is what I wore to marry Will. Is it bad luck to wear the same dress twice? It’s the nicest piece of clothing I own.”

            Miriam purses her lips, “How do you feel about changing it a bit? Maybe shortening the sleeves, adding a bit of detail to the neckline?”

            “I feel,” I pause, thinking about changing my mother’s dress, the dress I married my first husband in. “I feel like it would be a good change. I’m not sure my mother would approve but I know Will would.” I smooth a hand over the delicate, old lace, Will’s face dancing across my memories. I smile, tears filling my eyes, “Yes, I thinks it’s a perfect idea.”
 
          A few days later, with my newly sewn wedding dress hanging from a nail in the wall, Aggie, Alex, and I ready ourselves and head to the store. It’s the last week of April, the grass a tender green, the flowers, and trees in bloom. The sky above filled with clouds so white and puffy, you could shoot across the sky on them.

            The new store front window that we installed a few months back after the other was broken to pieces by Matteo’s lacky’s, shines in the morning sun, the hand painted, block letters reading “Kelly’s Grocery and Apothecary.” I smile, brushing my fingers over the words.

            Alex see’s Crag through the window helping a customer, he starts clapping his puggy baby hands, shouting, “Dat, dat,” then out of nowhere, shouts, “Crag, Crag!”

            Aggie looks up at her brother, a big grin lighting her face, “Alex, you did it,” she turns to me, “I’ve been teaching him words for his whole life and he finally did it!”

            I laugh, “His whole life? That’s quite a long time, grá.” I ruffle Aggie’s curls as she tries to get Alex to say ‘Crag’ again.
            We enter the store, the bell above jingling. “Crag, guess what, guess what?” Aggie pauses for a breath, not waiting for Crag to answer, “Alex said your name!” She shouts in satisfaction.

          The customer, an older gentleman, smiles, waving at the children as her departs. Crag sweeps Alex out of my arms, pressing kisses to his soft, dark hair, “Boyo, my ceann beag. I’m so proud.”

            “I’m proud too, Crag, he’s the smartest baby I know,” Aggie crows.

            I look around the store, the shelves clean and orderly, the counters shining, smelling of lemon and beeswax. “Dec’s off helping a Mrs. Herbert this morning, her child’s been burning with fever a couple of days now.” Crag calls from behind the cash counter.