The Harbour...Chapter 41: What are you doing here?
Because Carolyn’s first marriage had not been a Canonical one (she had not been married in the Church and according to its tenets), she would be able to apply for an annulment.
It would have to be approved by a tribunal, and there were some procedural steps to go through, but Bishop Reece was confident he could get the matter expedited.
Carolyn and Marco had both grown up in the Catholic Church, and their parents attended mass at the Co-Cathedral where they wanted to get married.
The tradition of Sunday service with the family had been an important part of of their upbringing.
Carolyn tried to get the children to service fairly regularly, though as they got older they were becoming more resistant to waking up early on a Sunday.
Neither Kyle nor his parents were particularly religious, but Carolyn believed it important for the children to learn about and honour all aspects of their heritage, and so from time to time she sent them off to synagogue with their cousins, the Goths.
Marco’s Aunt was a nun, but his commitment to attending Church, like many strayed Catholics, involved Christmas and Good Friday service. Anything else was a spur-of-the-moment decision, which left him feeling terribly proud of himself.
His attendance was usually followed by a call to his mother to boast that he had gone to mass.
She would sniff knowingly, and say something to the effect of: “Well, we’ll see how long that lasts.”
Her skepticism was not without merit.
Yet preparing now to marry Carolyn, he suddenly realized that it was incredibly important to him that they get married in the Church. All of the things that he had ‘half heard’ during classes to prepare for First Communion and Confirmation, suddenly flooded his mind and his psyche.
To Catholics, the Sacrament of Marriage was unbreakable, and Marco wanted an unbreakable marriage.
He thanked Bishop Reece profusely as they said goodbye. The Bishop wanted them to attend marriage preparation classes, and understanding their need for privacy agreed to meet just with the two of them, rather than have them go to the group meetings held in the Church hall.
They left the Bishop’s office feeling particularly Catholic. Marco suggested they pop into the Church for a quick prayer of thanks.
Carolyn was amused by his sudden passion for his religion.
Heading back outside, he spotted a donation box, and a board with a hand drawn poster of a meter, showing how much the Church had raised so far toward the $120,000 it needed to repair and refurbish its 19th century bell tower: $14, 375 and counting.
Marco pulled his wallet from his pocket, and fished out a folded chequebook.
“Do you have...”
Carolyn, having anticipating what was coming, had already retrieved a pen from her very organized handbag, and was holding it out to him before he could finish his sentence.
He grinned and using the edge of the table where the donation box sat, he started filling out a cheque.
Carolyn peered over his shoulder.
He made it out to the Co-Cathedral for the Sacred Heart for the full $120, 000, signed it, and with a big smile handed it to her.
“Will you do the honours.”
Smiling back at him, she took the cheque and stuffed it into the wooden box.
He turned and drew him to her, folding his arms around her and kissing her deeply.
“Can we even do that in a Church,” she gasped giggling.
“We just did,” He said, grinning mischievously and leaned in for another.
~~~~~~~~~~
“I’m home Myrtle,” Carolyn sang through the intercom, after dropping her handbag on the little table in the hall.
Carolyn’s heart felt like it was taking flight.
She and Marco had gone to her favourite jeweller Bichara Abourizk, who she had become good friends with over the years of buying, renting and later borrowing pieces for various Simmiewood events.
His son was in the same class at school with Caitlin, and she and his wife went to the same hairdresser.
Bichara only saw clients by appointment, but as ever, dropped everything when Carolyn called. He was delighted with her news, and to meet Marco in person.
They decided to have their wedding rings made. Plain, 24 karat bands with each other’s names engraved on the inside. She hadn’t particularly wanted an engagement ring, but Marco wanted the whole ‘experience’ of being engaged, and pleaded gently with her.
“Even a little one,” he’d asked, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes.
They picked a simple, but almost flawless, emerald-cut, diamond solitaire. Marco spotted it, Carolyn loved it. He stepped to one side to discuss the price with Bichara, while Carolyn rolled her eyes at them. Marco was being so old-fashioned!
She smiled softly as she peered through the thick glass casing at the beautiful pieces, resting on onyx stands, nestled in folds of ivory velvet.
‘I’ll wrangle the price out of Bichara later,’ she said to herself.
She knew Marco was worth much more than she was. He had made several blockbuster movies, co-owned a production company, and as Carolyn understood it, he had several significant real estate investments.
She hadn’t done too badly herself. Her TV series ‘Buddies’ had run for ten years, and had afforded her a comfortable living. Now in syndication, she could easily live off the residuals alone.
She had also made a handful of movies that had done fairly well at the box-office, and made a number of guest appearances on TV shows. She had made safe, long-term investments, the house was paid for, and she and Kyle had set up trust funds for the children.
But having grown up in a large family, she was not inclined to extravagance, and while she liked nice things, she winced at the thought of spending huge amounts of money on more baubles and trinkets when there were children who went to sleep hungry every night.
She made a promise to herself that whenever she found out how much the ring cost, she would donate that amount to a poverty alleviation project.
Bichara sized the engagement ring while they sipped hot, mint tea and he regaled them with stories about his childhood in Beirut.
They had a leisurely lunch with their mothers who peppered them with questions about more grandchildren. Chaya and Maria were both family oriented, and to them there were never enough babies. They pointed out that Carolyn was ‘only’ forty one, and healthy.
“A lot of women are having children in their forties,” they said.
Carolyn and Marco blushed and smiled. They would love it, if it happened they told the delighted mothers.
By time Carolyn parked her car in the carport just after 2:00 o’clock her heart was singing.
Marco had gone to the gym, and the mothers had gone off to a movie matinee together. Carolyn, for her part, tried when she was able, to be at home when the kids were due from school. She liked to know that everyone had made it home in one piece, that they got off to their respective extra curricula activities, and that homework was tended to.
As she moved away from the intercom she heard Myrtle’s voice, through the speaker.
“You have a guest waiting in the living room.”
“Thank yooooou,” Carolyn sang as she rested her sunglasses next to her handbag, and sailed across the foyer to the living room door. It had to be someone she knew well for Myrtle to have let them in and allowed them to wait alone.
She swung the double doors open with anticipation.
Her heart felt as though it dropped into her feet, and the smile froze on her face as she took in the familiar figure standing at the window looking out onto the pool deck.
She clutched the door handle to steady herself.
“What are you doing here?” She rasped.
