35
Maisie and Alex’s wedding took place on a fine day in July, in St John’s Catholic Church on the Falls Road. Neither the bride nor the groom was from the parish, but given the young couple’s strong relationship with Father MacLaverty, they’d had no difficulty in gaining permission.
The bride looked radiant in a gown of white silk, the fabric acquired by the bride’s resourceful mother from the remains of a parachute mine dropped by the Luftwaffe during what had become known as the Easter Raid.
Maisie had been delighted, as she had been planning to wear a sensible two-piece that she would get good wear out of.
Instead, it would be her going-away outfit.
Both families were well-represented – the bride having a large family, including a baby nephew who behaved remarkably well during the nuptial Mass.
On the groom’s side there were fewer people – his parents and grandfather, plus a few friends.
The hymns had been carefully chosen to appeal to both sides of the church.
Following a wedding breakfast in the parish hall where both families mingled affably, the happy couple left for their honeymoon in the south.
As the train puffed out of Central Station, they looked out on the city from their private compartment in first class, commenting on how damaged it was, but also how remarkable it was that the repairs underway had given everyone a sense of hope and pride.
‘It’s like a new start for Belfast,’ Maisie said, glancing lovingly at her husband. He looked so handsome today in his new suit, fedora hat, and stylish overcoat – like a Hollywood star. She still could not quite believe he had married her.
‘And a new start for us too. Married, honeymoon, a lovely house waiting for us . . .’
‘I know!’ The – to her, enormous – house was now theirs.
It had new glass in the windows and had been cleaned, painted, and prepared throughout.
They had very little furniture – there hadn’t been time to sort everything, given the fact that most joiners were flat out with house repairs, and so local furniture shops just couldn’t get anything made very quickly.
Still, they had a cooker, a tiny second-hand kitchen table and two chairs, a settee in the main living room, and a large and rather comfortable-looking bed in the bedroom.
The rest would have to wait. ‘I totally love our house!’
‘And I totally love you.’ Taking her hand, he stripped off her glove to plant a sensuous kiss in her palm.
She caught her breath. ‘That feels . . . I dunno. Amazing!’
‘Just you wait till tonight!’ he promised, his eyes seeming to darken.
She bit her lip. ‘We’ll finally be able to do all the things we weren’t allowed to do. Feels weird.’
He grinned. ‘It does a bit!’
‘Don’t get me wrong,’ she said earnestly, fearing he had the wrong impression. ‘I’m looking forward to it.’
He laughed out loud at this. ‘Ah, my Maisie. You are the cutest, do you know that?’ He sobered. ‘I am so, so happy that we’re finally married, and that we’ll be together always.’
‘Me too. I love you, Alex. And I always will.’ And as the train steamed on, she knew that no one had ever been so happy as her, nor so blessed.