A Wonderful Real Dream
Chapter 5
Catherine watched as her youngest daughter returned through The Great Hall's doors and down the wooden staircase. She watched as Caroline wore a more humble expression and her pace slow as she spotted her at the bottom of the staircase.
Caroline reached out to her mother and hugged and kissed her on the cheek and quietly told her mother that she loved her 'from the bottom of my heart to the tips of my toes.'
Catherine pulled away and said, "I love you, too. Is everything ok?"
Caroline just nodded and excused herself. "I see Uncle Devin and Aunt Jenny over there. I want to go say hello."
Catherine nodded in acquiescence and said, "Ok." She watched her daughter walk away with a questions written all over her face.
Then she watched as Caroline found Devin and Jenny in the crowd and left her to speak with them.
"Caroline is feeling her oats," Vincent whispered as he sneaked behind his wife putting his hand into hers as it lay by her side. Catherine's focus was still riveted on their daughter.
"You know what she did when she came back in, Vincent?" Catherine asked as Vincent released her hand and instead gave a little massage to his wife's shoulders.
"Did she tell you she loved you to the 'tips of her toes'?"
Catherine turned her head and looked up at her husband and said, "She told you the same thing?"
"Yes. I think the last time she uttered those words she was no older than 8."
"I think she stopped telling me a lot younger than that. We've always had a precarious relationship. I mean I love her and I know she loves me, but there's something else between us. I know some mothers and daughters have issues between them, but I think she believes that I want to live vicariously through her. It is almost as if she resents me being her mother and she being the daughter that can go freely out in the world."
"She did tell me during our talk that she feels you expect too much from her."
"I hope you told her that's not why I push. It's not that I expect too much from her. I want her to be happy and do her best. That's all I want her to do. I was hoping she would tell me what would make her happy."
"I think she is giving us a clue by talking to Devin and Heather Marie.
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked as she turned and put her arm around her husband's waist.
"I'll tell you later," Vincent whispered in her ear. "Right now, I want one more dance with my wife before the orchestra has to go to bed."
"What about the cake? Our elder daughter forbad me to touch it until you returned".
Vincent smiled down at Catherine and smiled. He bent down and whispered.
"Dance first, cake later."
With that Vincent whisked his wife away onto the dance floor and they were swept away with many of the other couples as the last waltz was being played by the young orchestra.
Caroline watched her parents as they danced again around the floor in a beautiful waltz. The other inhabitants of the dance floor quickly made way for them. Soon it was only her mom and dad on the floor. She really did love watching her parents together and understood their deep love for one another.
"Aren't they lovely together?" Jenny asked as she patted Caroline's shoulder.
"Yes, they are," Caroline said almost inaudibly and wiped an errant tear from her face. She felt her aunt stroke her shoulder.
Pulling her into a side embrace, Jenny hugged the young woman whom she had known since she was born.
"So, Caroline, I understand you have a plan for after graduation," Aunt Jenny said after the music stopped and Vincent and Catherine had stopped moving with hands clasped together between them staring a no one but themselves. They then kissed in the middle of the dance floor. Jenny waited for Caroline's answer as they waited for Mary Margaret to announce it was bed time for the young musicians. The young musicians including Caroline's niece stood and bowed then began casing up their instruments and proceeded in single file up the stairs to be chaperoned back to their home chambers.
Caroline turned back to Jenny and told her her plan.
Devin, in the meantime, managed to make it across the Great Hall to finally have a conversation with his little brother. He found him standing speaking with his three sons.
"Well, little brother and sons," Devin greeted as Vincent and his nephews brought their attention to the graying well dressed man. They all responded with hugs for their Uncle Devin. Since he had returned when they were little and V.J. not quite born yet, Devin had become a real part of their family. It did help that Uncle Devin had a wife and a gaggle of cousins (all girls except for one) to include into their family circle.
"I understand that congratulations are in order, Jacob. Your mom pointed your fiancee out to me. She's beautiful. If she has any brothers, remember I have two unmarried daughters."
All five men laughed with the younger men rolling their eyes at Devin trying to sell off his unmarried daughters as if it were ancient times.
"Uncle Devin, you are incorrigible! Just because Angelica married right after high school doesn't mean that Miranda and Heather aren't capable of finding their own husbands. However, I know for sure Taylor has a brother around Miranda's age," Jacob joked watching his own father shake his head in disbelief.
Jonathan said, "I see Caroline is finished talking with Aunt Jenny. If you'll excuse me, I need to apologize to my baby sister."
"If you excuse me, I have something I need to work on as well," V.J. said. "It's good to see you Uncle Devin. I will talk to you tomorrow, dad, because I know after this you and mom won't be available the rest of the night."
Vincent blushed and ducked his head. Sometimes it is odd when your children are adults and know what can happen between a husband and wife he thought.
Jacob said, "Please excuse me, too. I see Taylor is hailing me from across the room. Looks like she's needs help with introductions to some of my former Tunnel students."
After Vincent's sons left Devin and Vincent alone, they took a seat at the head table where there was a monumental mess of half eaten food and half empty glasses.
"So, I gather you know what Caroline has in mind after she graduates from law school," Devin said.
"Not in so many words, but I have an idea what my daughter is planning," Vincent remarked.
"When she came back, she headed straight for me. Here's why," Devin said.
"I'm listening. How about I get Catherine and you can tell both of us," Vincent said as he eyed his wife conversing with Jenny, Angela (Devin's wife), and Mary Margaret as they assisted in clearing the tables preparing for the last social event of the night.
"Uh-oh, Angela may be the particular ringleader of that particular little band. She may have already let the cat out of the bag about Caroline."
"Let's find out, shall we?"
Just at that moment, Jonathan and Caroline walked out of the room and away from the little band arm-in-arm instead of joining their relatives at the head table. Soon, Catherine, Angela, but not Mary Margaret nor Jenny joined them all and took seats. Catherine took a chair next to her husband who quickly put his arm around her and rubbed her upper arm. Catherine's hand stroked Vincent's massive thigh lazily.
Naturally, Angela took a seat next to her husband and kissed him. She showed him something on her cell phone which made Devin smile.
Vincent always curious especially about his brother's family asked. "I know this is none of my business but what made you smile?"
"Charlie, he was in the middle of a project at school and just wanted to prove to us why he could not come with us for your celebration. Look," Angela said as she showed the picture of Charlie's charts and graphs on the computer screens at the lab at Syracuse University.
"What is he studying?" Catherine asked.
"Finance of all things," Devin rolled his eyes.
They all shared a laugh because they knew Devin who had worked many occupations in his early life with or without credentials never seemed to find a venture which would yield him an overabundance of wealth. Despite how he was raised poor and in the Tunnels, it never bother Devin. However, Devin did eschew anything that influenced the rich to get richer.
"To Charlie's credit, he is endeavoring to find a way for the poor to actually attain a more even share of the wealth that goes on in the world," said Devin justifying his own disgruntlement at his son's major course of study.
"God bless him for that," Catherine said and poured some wine out of a bottle she had left on the table. They toasted Charlie for his efforts.
Vincent looked at his wife and then over at his brother and sister-in-law and asked, "So what is the big plan that Caroline has after she has graduated from law school?"
Catherine looked away and smiled. "She is enlisting with the Peace Corps or Unicef. Angela told me that she was not sure yet which she wanted to pursue."
Vincent taken aback by his wife's words said, "So she doesn't want to work in one of the funds that you sponsor?"
Devin interjected. "She knows that Angela and I spent some time in the Peace Corps, so Caroline was just cultivating some knowledge about it and our contacts to see if that is a path she wishes to pursue before returning and becoming a fully immersed lawyer in American society."
"We told her we would text her or call her or email her our contacts so she could apply," Angela explained.
Vincent and Catherine were relieved, surprised, and scared all at the same time regarding what Caroline wanted to do. They also thought Caroline's timing of her desires was suspect. Caroline was always the one unpredictable element at any family event. Through the years, it was always at a birthday celebration or Winterfest or other social gathering when Caroline would always turned up concern, made them laugh, or began a conga line to liven up the works. The timing of her antics were always a surprise from her birth to now 21 years of age.
As they continued to sit at the table, Caroline's parents noticed that she had returned with all of her siblings as they helped Mary Margaret carry a massive sheet cake lying on a massive decorative aluminum tray. As the traveling pack of Wells' children came closer, others including all their cousins and close friends joined the caravan finally stopping to lay the massive piece of pastry on the table which Catherine and Angela had quickly cleared on seeing the pack's approach.
Devin, Angela, and the others remaining in the Great Hall shouted "Happy Anniversary!" Those who had drinks in their hands toasted to Vincent and Catherine and wished them well.
Suddenly, Devin raised his voice all at once quieting the din in the room. He focused on Joe, Diana, Jenny, all Vincent and Catherine's children and then his own daughters with his final gaze resting a little longer on his own wife's face.
"Tonight is Vincent and Catherine's night. When we were boys I never envisioned that Vincent would have a wife and children. Of all Vincent's qualities, how to love was by far his best. I was so happy when I realized many years ago tripping into the D.A.'s office pretending to be a lawyer that my special little brother had garnered a love from a woman who is as special as he.
To Catherine, I, besides Father knew what it is to love Vincent. However, your love for my brother knows no bounds and I have to say I am glad it does not. For you are part of him and the best of part of both of you shines in your children.
May you have many more celebrations like this with family surrounding you. I endeavor to still be a part of those family celebrations because nothing is more important than family.
Happy Anniversary! Love you!"
With that, Devin raised his glass and they toasted Vincent and Catherine one more time.
