A/N:
As with most things that I publish this little story fits into my 'The Gods Have Conspired' universe but it can stand just fine on its own.
Needs some work but with my spring break ending I don't know when I'll have time to get back to this so I'm giving you what I've got ^_~
Miriam Lyman heard the wooden floor behind her creak. She put her book aside and turned to look at the little boy she knew she would find, his walk and the sound it made was unmistakable. At five years old Joshua Lyman already swaggered; it was a walk befitting a child who was his family's little prince, spoiled and adored by all.
In his small hands there was a large leather bound book.
"What have you got there, Joshua?"
"It's one of your scrapbooks, Nana," he said, lifting the book higher in order to give his grandmother a better look.
Miriam adjusted her glasses.
"So it is."
Miriam inspected the cover after Josh handed the scrapbook over to her.
"This one starts in 1924, a very memorable year," Miriam told her grandson.
"How long ago was that?" he asked as he clambered up onto the sofa and made himself comfortable beside his grandmother.
"Forty-two years ago."
"That's a really long time ago."
"Are you trying to make me feel old, Joshua?"
Josh's eyes widened and he shook his head, vehemently denying that that had been his intention, his red-brown curls bouncing as he did so.
Miriam smiled at her grandson so that he'd know she had only been teasing. Josh favored his grandmother with a smile of his own, complete with dimples.
"Can we look inside, please?"
"Of course," Miriam answered as she placed the book on her lap and opened it.
On the very first page of the scrapbook there was a large newspaper clipping. The tightly-packed words that covered the clipping looked more difficult than the ones Joanie was teaching Josh to read from "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge"*. Josh was very proud of being able to read what little he could manage thus far and he was hesitant to ask for help. However, his desire to know what the newspaper said outweighed his embarrassment over not being able to read the whole thing by himself.
"Nana, what does that part say?" Josh asked, pointing at the article with the boldest headline that contained some names that were very familiar to Josh.
Miriam placed her finger under the first word so that her grandson would be able to follow her as she read.
"To Wed Tonight
Under a Floral Bell
Miriam Levy to Become
Bride of David Lyman"
"Wed?"
"That means to get married. Wed, like the word wedding."
"They talked about your wedding in the newspaper?"
"That's right," Miriam said, a smile she couldn't contain spreading across her face as she recalled her reaction when she had first seen her wedding announcement printed in the paper. She had been a silly girl then, Miriam thought, at twenty she had been unable to hide her glee when she had noticed that Anna Cockrell, who was the daughter of a former United States Senator and had been Miriam's rival in high school, had her wedding announcement right beside Miriam's and it wasn't even half the size of the announcement for the Levy-Lyman wedding. Miriam had even suspected that Anna's Mr. Coromilas hadn't been interested in women, but she'd known to hold her tongue regarding such matters.
"Groom is a Yale Graduate," she continued.
"Daddy went to Yale," Josh said proudly.
"Who else went to Yale?"
"Grandpa David!"
"Right again," she said as she tweaked his cheek.
"Did Grossvati go to Yale?"
"No, he went to school in Germany."
"Oh," Josh said, his eyebrows lowering as he realized that this should have occurred to him, after all his Grossvati Jacob had told him all about life in Germany. "Keep reading, Nana."
"Members of Two Prominent
Jewish Families to
Embrace Wedlock"
"What does pro-prom'nent mean?"
"Prominent means important."
Josh cocked his head slightly. Importance wasn't an entirely abstract concept to Josh, he certainly couldn't define it himself but he'd heard his parents use it enough that it was beginning to mean something. He'd even heard Joanie use it a few times when she had explained why she practiced on the piano so much.
"It's important Josh, I have to keep practicing so I can get better," he remembered his sister telling him.
Josh turned his head back toward the scrapbook ready to hear more from his grandmother.
"The most pretentious wedding in local Jewish society in years will be that which will take place at 6 o'clock in Lincoln Ballroom in the Taylor Building in Cannon Street, when Miss Miriam Levy, the accomplished and attractive daughter of Matthias and Naomi Levy-"
"That's your mom and dad," Josh declared.
Miriam nodded.
Logic dictated that if Josh's grandmother, Miss Miriam Levy, was the daughter of Matthias and Naomi Levy, then they must be his grandmother's parents. Josh felt that coming to this correct conclusion was quite an accomplishment.
"My mom and dad were also your father's grandparents."
Josh's mouth formed a small 'O'. He had never considered that his father, like Josh himself, had grandparents.
Miriam looked back down at the page.
"'- of 771 Seaview Avenue, and Mr. David Lyman, Esq., son of Nathaniel Meyer Lyman, Esq. and his wife Anna Lyman-'
those are your father's other grandparents, Joshua."
Josh mouthed 'Nathaniel' and 'Anna' as he tried to commit them to memory.
"Now, where were we? Oh yes,
'-and his wife Anna Lyman, of 210 Coleman Street, will be united in marriage with full Jewish ceremonies by Rabbi Wittenstein of the East Washington Avenue synagogue.'"
"Nana, is that the one we go to?"
"Do you mean is that the temple we go to?"
Josh nodded.
"Yes, it is."
"But Nana, that's not our rabbi, we have Rabbi Goldfarb, I remember."
"Rabbi Wittenstein passed away before you were born, Joshua."
"Oh, ok."
And with that Josh added Rabbi Wittenstein to the long list of people that had died long before he'd come into being, individuals who populated the old sepia photographs displayed throughout his grandparent's home as well as the ones tucked away in his grandmother's scrapbooks.
"'The ceremony will be solemnized beneath an immense floral bell, made up of carnations, intertwined with garlands of smilax. The bell stands seven feet in height and has a diameter of over five feet, hanging from a spreading arch of ferns, palms, and other green plants brought about by the horticulturist's art. The floral effects are the creation of Horan, as are also the bouquets carried by the bride, the maid of honor, and the bridesmaids.'"
Miriam turned to look at Josh and noticed that his brow was furrowed.
"We had all sorts of beautiful flowers and plants," she explained. "Some of them were arranged in a bell shape and were hung over the chuppah."
The creases on Josh's small forehead disappeared and Miriam went back to the clipping.
"Attending Miss Levy will be Miss Teresa Scher as maid of honor, and the following bridesmaids: Miss Frances Romm, Margaret Goldstein, Auguste Mendel, Jessie Schwartz, and Anne V. Coene, the latter two cousins of the bride, residing in New York city."
Josh felt a sudden excitement when he heard the words 'New York'. His father worked there and that was where Josh's beloved Mets were from.
"Attending the groom will be his cousin-in-law, Attorney Henry H. Melman, as best man. The ushers will be Attorney Henry Greenstein, Dr. Morris J. Greenstein, Attorney Theodore Steiber, Arthur Gotthilf, and Herman Weitzman, the latter of New Haven, a cousin of the groom."
"What's an attorney?"
"They're lawyers, like your father and your grandfather."
"But Grandpa is a judge," Josh reminded his grandmother.
"He's a judge now, but he was a lawyer first."
"I'm going to be a lawyer too. When I grow up," Josh added.
"I thought you wanted to be a ballerina." Miriam couldn't help herself, she had found it adorable when a four year old Josh would declare to anyone who would listen that he wanted to be a ballerina just like his mother when he grew up. Joanie had finally burst his bubble when she explained what ballerinas where and what they did. Josh's mother had tried to explain that boys could do ballet but from that point on Josh had decided that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps instead.
Sure enough Miriam got a rise out of Josh.
"Nana, I said that when I was four!" said an indignant Josh.
"And that was a very long time ago and you've changed your mind since then."
Josh nodded.
"Alright then, you're going to be a lawyer, just like your great-great-great-great-great grandfather Solomon and all the men that came after him."
Another solemn nod from Josh.
"Now, back to my wedding!
'The bride will be attired in a gown of white satin with a veil of deep Spanish lace and will carry a shower bouquet of bridal roses and white chiffon. The maid of honor will wear white lace over pink silk as will also the bridesmaids. The maid of honor will carry a bouquet of pink carnations and white sweet peas, and the bridesmaids, pink carnations and pink sweet peas."
"That's a lot of flowers," said a wide-eyed Josh as he pictured all the flowers just about everyone seemed to be holding in addition to the flowers that his grandmother had described that had hung over the chuppah.
"There were flowers absolutely everywhere, just perfect for a Spring wedding.
'Many invitations to the wedding have been sent out, and it is anticipated that the guests who are expected not only from this city, but also from New York and various parts of this State, will outnumber any such event held in this city in years.'
It was a very big wedding.
'Following the nuptials, an elaborate wedding breakfast will be spread for the guests, after which the wedding ceremony will be held, continuing till well into the evening, with dancing singing and other diversions agreeable to a hymenal feast.
The bride and groom have not announced their wedding itinerary, but they will take a late train this evening for New York and will be gone for some time. They will be at home to their friends after Aug. 15th at 35 Sanford Avenue.
The contracting parties are well known in this city, coming of prominent Jewish families, the fathers of both the bride and groom being well known attorneys with offices on Main Street. The bride is highly accomplished and a leading Jewish belle of the city. The groom is a graduate of Staples High School in the class of 1915, Harvard University 1920, Yale Law 1923, and served with distinction in the Army from 1917 to 1918.'"
Josh smiled brightly at the mention of Harvard and Yale.
"How about we look at some pictures now," Miriam suggested, knowing full well that some of what she had read had gone over Josh's head, she wouldn't expect many five year olds would understand things like 'nuptials', 'hymenal feast', and 'contracting parties'.
Josh reached across the scrapbook, his hand hovering over the corner, and his brown eyes looked up his grandmother.
"Go ahead, turn the page."
Josh turned the page with uncharacteristic care.
The photograph on the upper left corner immediately caught Josh's eye.
"That's the chuppah with all the flowers," he declared as he traced a small finger over the floral bell.
"Look at the picture below it."
Josh did as he was told.
"Who is that?" Miriam asked, pointing at the man in the center of the photograph.
Josh moved closer to get a better look. There was something very familiar about the man that was flanked by men in suits on either side. The posture, the almost imperceptible smile above a dimpled chin that made him look happy but always so serious, and those bright intelligent eyes-
"That's Grandpa David! How old was he, Nana?"
"Your grandfather was 26 years old."
"How old is Daddy?"
"Your father is 41."
"That's a lot older than 26."
"You know who's about your grandfather's age when he got married?"
"Who?" Josh asked.
"Mrs. Casper."
"Oh," Josh said as he looked back down at the picture and thought of his friend's mother. "Mrs. Casper has Mike and Bobby but Grandpa wasn't even married yet."
"People get married at different ages, sweetheart. I was 20 when I got married, your father was 27 and your mother was 22 when they were married."
"I already knew Daddy is older than Mommy," Josh informed his grandmother.
Josh turned his attention to the photographs on the opposite page, one was of Miriam with her bridal party and the other was of just Miriam, looking out of a window in her parent's home.
"I know who that is, it's you!"
Once more there was the sound of footsteps and Josh immediately knew it was his sister and he shot up from his seat, running over to his sister and taking her by the hand..
"Joanie, come look at Nana!" Josh shouted as he tugged at Joanie's arm. "Look at the pictures from her wedding!"
Joanie humored her little brother and sat beside her grandmother.
Josh remained standing and tapped gently at the page he'd been looking at.
"This is Nana in her wedding dress," he told his sister.
"Oh Nana, you looked so beautiful!" Joanie said as she admired the dress, the fair curls that peeked out from under the Juliet cap that had a long veil attached to it, and the bouquet of flowers in Miriam's hands.
"Tell her about all the flowers," Josh begged as he made his way over to Joanie's side and sat down beside her.
And so Miriam began her tale of the biggest wedding that Westport would see in all of 1924 all over again, with her grandson assisting her.
A/N:
*this is the children's book that Josh discusses with Alberto Fedregotti in "The Indians in the Lobby"
This entire story was inspired by a wedding announcement for a Jewish couple from the 1910s that I found in a Bridgeport, CT newspaper.
What Miriam reads is almost word for word what is in the article with a few alterations here and there to make the announcement fit with my own headcanons/my fic's universe.
An image of the front page where the announcement is located can be found here: (sorry, you'll have to look up this story on AO3 to get the link to the PDF). In Miriam's scrapbook she's only cut out her wedding announcement and the one beside it.