From Bray to Eternity Page 5

  So far so not so good.

  We then went into the kitchen which was bright and airy. It contained a kitchen table and chairs, a sink unit, cooker and kitchen cabinet. There was also a large bright window at the back wall. This had been built-on to the original house. There was also a door at the left hand side which led out to the backyard, which is where the toilet was situated. As we’d been touring the house, the wife had finished feeding the children, a baby about a year old and a little girl about three. She said we could now have a look at the bedroom. Not wishing to be too intrusive we just stood at the door between the two rooms to view it. It contained a double bed, a cot, a wardrobe, and a fireplace.

  When the viewing had finished, we stood in the hall with Mr. McCauley and he asked us if we were interested. We quite literally did not know what to say. I just looked at Annette and I could see the disappointment in her eyes. Just for something to say I asked how much the house would cost. Mr. McCauley said £1500. I shook my head and said it was too much. We started to leave and McCauley said to wait a minute. He went back into the middle room while we stood in the hall in silence.

  A minute or two later McCauley came back and said they would be willing to take £1300 for the house. He also said they would repair the window in the middle room which we had pointed out would not open. Still we hesitated and said we would have to think about it. McCauley left with us and continued to point out the great value the house was and how convenient it was as it was so near the city. He also mentioned the height of the house which we had noticed before we went in. He said that this was because these houses were meant to be two-storey houses but the builder had gone bust while they were being built and did not finish them and we had the option in the future of opening up a large attic space should we require it later on. We said we would think about it and let him know in a few days.

  We went home quite disappointed that night as we had built our hopes up on getting a house like the one Annette’s work colleague had bought. When Annette told her friend in work the next day he said he had had to do a lot of work to his house when he first bought it and not to be put off by that. He felt that Artisan houses were a good buy but you had to be prepared to do some work on them. We also spoke to Annette’s father, Bill. He was very handy with his hands and he agreed to have a look at it for us.

  We contacted Mr. McCauley again and made arrangements to look at the house once more. When we went with Bill it did not seem quite as bad as we had first thought. Bill pointed out a few things about the house that he thought could be improved upon, one being the entrance from the hall through the bedroom and into the middle room. Putting in a narrow corridor from the entrance hall he felt was the answer to this as the bedroom was quite big. He also felt we could move the outside toilet to the side of the middle room, effectively bringing it inside, although this would further reduce the light in the middle room. It was an option we could try if we wanted an inside toilet. He also noticed the height of the house and said an attic was very feasible. So feeling a bit more assured about the house we discussed it again. We knew that with the date for the wedding approaching fast, we had to make a decision. A new house was out at this point, as we were overstretching ourselves with the wedding and honeymoon in Spain so we decided that if we could get the house for about £1000 we would take it.

  We went back to Mr. McCauley and asked if the sellers would accept £1000. He said he would ask but he did not think so. It was all we could afford, as apart from the purchase price there would also be McCauley’s fee for finding the house, £100, and solicitor’s fees, plus the cost of redecorating and any renovations that had to be carried out. To cut a long story short a price of £1150 was finally agreed. We went to the Building Society for a loan of £1000 which together with what we had managed to save would be just about enough to buy the house, carry out the necessary renovations and cover the fees to McCauley and the solicitors.

  Everything seemed to be falling into place. The wedding was set, the honeymoon, hotel and church were booked and now we had our house or so we thought but a hitch developed shortly before the wedding. We got a letter from the building society stating that they had discovered that Clinches Court, and that included our house, was part of a redevelopment plan for Dublin City. The area was due to be demolished in the near future and as a consequence they would not be loaning us the money to buy the house. This news threw all our plans into disarray and we began to panic a bit. Through our solicitors we asked what could be done. They made enquiries and discovered that the redevelopment plans had been on hold for years and nobody knew when exactly they would be starting. With this information we went back to the building society. We pointed out the new information we had received and pleaded for the loan. Eventually, after what seemed like a lifetime, the Building Society agreed to give us the loan provided we got a guarantee from the City Council that if they redeveloped the area they would compensate us fully for the full market value of the house. Eventually we got this guarantee and got the loan. But things had been delayed so much that there was no possibility of us moving into the house after our honeymoon. Incidentally to this day the area has not been redeveloped and no. 7 Clinches Court is still standing.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Our wedding was a rather small affair for two reasons, one being Bill and Mary wanted to pay for it. We were conscious that they were not exactly flush with money, so we decided to keep it to immediate family and some friends. Also we ourselves did not want a big expensive wedding with lots of people we hardly knew at it. It suited us to keep the numbers down and to only invite people we really wanted there. And that’s how it was, 52 people we wanted to share our wedding day with.

  The day was fine weather wise, a nice warm, sunny September day, soft white puffy clouds drifting through blue skies and not a trace of rain. Very reminiscent of the day we’d met, just over three years before in Bray – the day I won my lotto. It could not have been more perfect. Mother Nature was smiling on us. But then human error intruded.

  The wedding was due to be celebrated after 12 o’clock Mass in the Church of the Assumption in Ballyfermot. But as the Angelus struck I was still in Dominick Street. The car booked to take me, my best man my brother Joe, and my parents, to the church failed to turn up. It was supposed to pick us up at about 11.30, drop us at the church and then go and pick up Annette and her father. 11.30 came and went and there was no sign of the car; twenty to twelve came and went, still no sign of the big white car. Remember back then there were no mobile phones and we did not have a phone in the flat. Indeed I don’t think anyone in the flats had a phone then so there was no way to contact the car rental company.

  At a quarter to twelve I could wait no longer. After taking one last look over the balcony to see if the car was coming I ran down O’Connell Street in my morning suit. I flew into the office of the car company in D’Olier Street to enquire where was my car. They had the time wrong; they thought we wanted the car at 12 o clock in Dominick Street and it was now on its way there, so I had to run back up O’Connell Street. As I entered Granby Lane at the back of the flats the car was there. With great haste and to the cheers of the neighbours we all bundled into the car and headed to Ballyfermot.

  In Ballyfermot panic had also set in. Annette’s mother and the bridesmaids, her four sisters and her friend Mary Abbey, and her brother Liam had left for the church at a quarter to twelve in the bus we had hired to take the guests to Dalkey, in anticipation of the wedding car arriving soon after to pick Annette and her father up. When they arrived at the church they had expected to see the groom waiting expectantly for his bride, but there was no sign of the groom.

  When the 12 o’clock’ bells rang out and there was still no sign of the car carrying the groom they began to get nervous. To help calm the evident tension of the waiting guests Annette’s mother began a decade of the rosary, to pray for divine intervention so that the groom would turn up.

  At approximately 12 15 p.m. their prayers were answer
ed when the white wedding car disgorged an embarrassed groom, best man and their parents, and, without further delay, sped up Le Fanu Road to pick up (according to herself) a completely unperturbed bride. She had no doubt whatsoever her groom would turn up.

  After the delay I wasted no time in taking my place at the altar. After a few minutes I was relieved to hear the organist strike up, Here Comes the Bride. I kept looking straight ahead at the altar as the music was playing, until from the corner of my eye I could see that Bill was beside me. I then turned to my left, he stepped away and I beheld Annette. She looked more beautiful and serene than I had ever seen her look before in my life.

  I reached out my hand to her and we held hands as she smiled into my tear-filled eyes. I don’t remember much about the ceremony except that the priest was very tall and very young.

  After the ceremony was over we had to go “backstage” to sign the register. Then there was the usual photo session outside the church before the guests boarded the specially hired bus to take them to Dalkey.

  Myself and Annette got into the white wedding car to cheers, jeers and sexual advice, from school children coming out of the school across the road. In the car I had a small case containing our passports, plane tickets and money and I put it behind us, between the back seat and the window, but forgot to take it with me when we got out of the car at the hotel in Dalkey. The reception went without a hitch and was enjoyed by all. Even the speeches went down well. However towards the end, when it came time for us to get dressed and leave for the airport, I discovered I did not have the case. At first I did not know where it could be. After a search of the hotel I realized I must have left it in the wedding car. We were able to phone the car company from the hotel and explain what we thought had happened. The car was searched and the case found. We arranged for them to leave it in the Gresham Hotel in O’Connell Street where we picked it up on our way to the airport later that evening.

  We did not head straight to the airport from the Khyber Pass Hotel. We got a taxi to Bray first and had a light meal and a drink in the Bray Head Hotel. It was our first date as a married couple, a few yards from where we had met, just over three years before.

  Our flight left Dublin airport about 10 - 30 that night. All was well until we were about to land at Gerona airport in Northern Spain. There was thick fog covering the airport and as it did not have radar we could not land there. We had to fly on to Barcelona and when we eventually got off the plane in the early hours of the morning we were amazed by the sounds of the crickets and the heat. We then had to wait for our coach to come from Gerona to pick us up to take us to our hotel in Lloret de Mar. We spent the best part of our first night as man and wife sitting in Barcelona airport.

  We did not get to the hotel until about 6 o’clock in the morning. By the time we reached it we were exhausted. We got into bed together for the first time and went to sleep.

  When we woke up at about 10 o’clock the sun was streaming through the window and it felt incredibly hot. Although we were now married and there was no need for any more restraint we did not immediately make love. We did kiss and caress in the bed for a while and for the first time saw each other naked. Annette was beautiful. Her body was slim and so soft to the touch as I ran my hands over the perfect contours of her breast, buttocks and legs. We explored each other for some time, but did not go any further because we could hear the cleaners outside and we were afraid that someone might come in.

  We showered and went down for a late breakfast and were amazed by the array of food available to us. After breakfast we familiarised ourselves with our surroundings. We explored the hotel and discovered the swimming pool which was on the roof, giving spectacular views of the sea and surrounding area. We were not on the sea front but we were only a short walk from it. We could see the sun-kissed water from the roof of the hotel. All this was so new to us, the luxury of the hotel, the spectacular scenery, the constant sunshine and the heat. We were like children let loose in a sweet shop. We wanted to sample everything.

  First on the agenda was the roof-top pool. After we found it we went back to our room, put our bathing suits on and headed back to sunbathe and try out the pool. Despite all the sunshine the water in the pool was freezing and after a quick plunge we found a couple of sun beds close to the poolside bar. We got two Cuba Libres, tasted for the first time, and spent the rest of the morning drenching each other in sun tan lotion and basking in the warm sunshine.

  After a few hours sunbathing and a few more Cuba Libres, we headed back to our room, slightly tipsy from the sun and the alcohol. By then it had been cleaned. The bed was made and the curtains had been closed over against the heat of the sun, so the room was not as warm as it had been earlier. The alcohol must have given me courage. As soon as we were in the room and the door was securely locked I held Annette in my arms and we fell onto the bed, locked in a passionate embrace. This time Annette did not put on the brakes and we attempted to make love for the first time. It was an attempt that did not succeed. As I tried to penetrate Annette, she said she was feeling pain so I stopped and we just lay together, holding each other on top of the bed. We continued kissing and touching each other but we did not try to have intercourse again and very soon fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  Later when we got up we laughed about our failed attempt and Annette said something about how she need not have been so concerned about us having sex before we were married as we probably would not have been able to do it anyway. This was our attitude to sex right from the start; we had a laugh and did not take it all that seriously, our love for each other was more important. That night, after dinner in the hotel we went down the town and Annette discovered a drink she became very fond of, a green-coloured mint liqueur served in a huge brandy-shaped glass, and over the course of the honeymoon she got through one or two of them.

  The spectacle, colour and sounds of the town were all intoxicating to a young couple coming from the relative drabness of Dublin in the 1960s and we were in awe of it all. We stayed out late most nights, dancing in the clubs and bars where there was always music until the small hours of the morning. One club in particular, El Relicaro I think was its name, became a favourite of ours. At a certain time of the night, to the refrain of Al Martino singing Blue Spanish Eyes the roof slid open and a sky full of stars was revealed. To two unsophisticated young Dubliners this was amazing to behold.

  The sea was also a huge attraction for us and we spent a lot of time on the warm sandy beach. Amazingly the sea water was actually warmer than the hotel pool. We really indulged ourselves on our honeymoon, rambling around the old town of Lloret, going on boat trips or lying on the beach by day. Then in the evening we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the pool bar on the roof and after dinner danced until late in the bars and clubs close to the sea. And all the time when we were alone together in our room in the early morning or late at night we were becoming familiar with each other’s body, kissing, caressing, touching and exploring.

  We never did have full intercourse on our honeymoon, but it did not bother us because we knew it would happen in its own good time. And all the bodily familiarity, although we did not know it then, was magnetising our bodies to each other and building the foundations for a life time of great love making which was to last right up to Annette’s passing.

  All too soon the honeymoon was over and it was time to go home, home being a bed-sit on Mountshannon Road, Rialto. We had rented it before we went on honeymoon because our house in Clinches Court was not ready to live in just yet due to the problems we’d had with the proposed redevelopment of the area and getting the guarantee from the council.

  The week after we got home we attended the wedding of Dennis and Rosaleen, our first social event as husband and wife.

  CHAPTER TEN

  A cold, back bedroom and rat-infested kitchen in No. 40 Mountshannon Road became our home for the next four months. It also came with a peeping tom. We were spied on from a house behind our bedroom. We hated that beds
it. It was small, old-fashioned and cold and we spent as little time in it as we could. I was still working in the electrical goods company but Annette had had to give up her job in O’Dea’s when she got married, “as them was the rules.” After I went to work each morning Annette did not waste time in the bedsit, she either went into town or went to her mother’s in Ballyfermot. Luckily this situation did not last too long as she managed to get a job as a cashier with RTV rentals in the State cinema building in Phibsboro. After a while she was moved to their office in O’Connell Street, beside the Savoy Cinema.

  We really only slept in Mountshannon Road. Every night after work I would meet Annette in either my mother’s or in her mother’s in Ballyfermot where we would have a meal. We’d either stay there until it was bedtime or go to the pictures. Most weekends, after a lie-in on Saturday morning, we would go into town for lunch and on Saturday night we usually went dancing, mostly to the Crystal or the Metropole. After another late sleep-in on Sunday which usually included making love, we went to the Green Rooster Restaurant in O’Connell Street for lunch.

  This was the pattern of our life for the duration of the time we were in the bedsit on Mountshannon Road. The peeping tom came to our attention a few days after we moved in. Being young and unconcerned about our surroundings, we left the light on when we were getting ready for bed. There was only net curtains on the window so everything and everyone was clearly visible from outside, a fact of which we were totally oblivious as we were still in honeymoon mode and were in the habit of kissing and cuddling as we prepared for bed.