Amy checked her lipstick and hair quickly in the car mirror as Dan pulled up outside his parents’ house in the road of sturdy red-bricked Edwardian homes. The Quinns had done well buying the house in Rathgar with its five bedrooms and large garden over twenty-five years ago. It must have been a great place for Dan and his two brothers to grow up.
‘Don’t forget the wine!’ she warned Dan, as she lifted the box of expensive hand-made chocolates she had brought for his mother from the back seat.
Walking up the driveway, she noticed the immaculate lawn skirted by a border of neatly pruned bushes and shrubs. There was a pretty display of snowdrops and spring crocuses pushing through the soil.
‘Dan, do I look OK?’ she asked nervously as they waited at the front door.
‘You look gorgeous,’ he said approvingly, taking in the short cream skirt and jacket and the black tights and leather boots she was wearing.
Amy knew it was stupid to be worrying about her future-in-laws but she couldn’t help herself. Carmel Quinn was the type of person to notice everything and make a comment on it afterwards. She didn’t want to give her mother-in-law-to-be any opportunity to criticize her.
‘Dan, my boy, and Amy, welcome!’ Eddie Quinn enthused, opening the door for them. ‘Carmel’s in the kitchen, cooking, and I’ve just opened a very nice Merlot.’
‘Good timing, then.’ Dan grinned, hugging his dad.
Amy liked seeing how affectionate Dan and his father were with each other. Though Dan might be taller and broader on the shoulders than Eddie they both got on well with people and were slow to let anything or anyone aggravate or annoy them.
Amy hung up her jacket and trooped down through the hall to the large kitchen-cum-dining-area. The huge oak table was set for lunch for seven and Dan’s brother Dylan was sitting in a chair in the window, engrossed in the sports section of the Sunday paper.
‘Hey, Amy!’ he mumbled, barely lifting his head from the page to acknowledge her. His brother Rob gave her a kiss.
‘Amy, dear, you look lovely!’ greeted Carmel, rushing over to hug her.
A waft of Carmel’s strong perfume filled the air as Amy took in Carmel’s immaculately fitted beige trousers, crisp white blouse and pale-pink cashmere cardigan. Her nails and hair and make-up were flawless. Even when cooking she was always perfectly groomed! She often made Amy feel hopelessly untidy.
‘Carmel, the table looks great and the food smells delish.’
‘It’s just Sunday lunch!’ The older woman smiled, as if she was simply used to a certain level of perfection. ‘I’ve done a traditional baked ham with mustard and honey, and a rhubarb crumble for dessert. It’s one of the boy’s favourites.’
‘Amy, here’s a glass of wine!’ insisted Eddie, passing her a glass of red. ‘It’s from a lovely little vineyard Carmel and I visited last year. Liz, will you have another one, too?’ Carmel’s older sister Liz was joining them for lunch. She was about sixty-five and had never married. She had just retired from a job in the Department of Finance and had great plans to travel and see the world. A regular visitor to the house in Orwell Road, she had been a stalwart help to Carmel and Eddie as the boys had grown up. Amy knew that Dan adored his Aunt Liz, and considered her great fun and one of the few people able to manage his mother.
‘Well, I won’t say no to such a lovely vintage.’ Liz laughed as she rinsed spinach leaves at the sink.
‘Thanks.’ Amy smiled, taking a gulp of red wine to fortify her for the next few hours ahead.
The meal had been delicious, Carmel as usual excelling herself. The men’s plates were clear: they had wolfed down every bit of food put in front of them. Amy wished that she had a fraction of Carmel’s talent in the kitchen, and vowed once she was married to sign on for a cookery course.
Liz entertained them with stories of her farewell dinner from the department the week before. ‘Retirement is to be recommended when you are still compos mentis and young enough to enjoy spending your hard-earned pension,’ she joked. ‘I’ve great plans to travel through South America and Cuba, visit a friend of mine in Sydney who has a lovely apartment near the beach, and get my own little place in Dun Laoghaire done up. It’s high time it had an overhaul.’
Amy laughed. Liz was lovely: smaller than her sister, with short blonde hair and a sturdier build. She dressed in denim jeans and jumpers, and wore only a slick of lip gloss and mascara. How could she be so different from Carmel?
‘Mmmm,’ yelled the men appreciatively, as Carmel took the piping-hot dessert from the oven and served it with a big bowl of cream. Amy liked rhubarb crumble, but couldn’t fathom why men adored it so much.
‘Amy, how are the wedding plans coming?’ asked Carmel, finally getting a chance to sit down and relax now the meal was served.
‘Fine, Carmel.’ Amy grinned. ‘I’ve ordered my wedding dress and things are beginning to fall into place.’
‘That’s wonderful.’ Carmel smiled, impressed, when Amy told her that Judith Deveraux had designed her wedding dress. ‘I read about her in Image magazine and she’s considered one of our new talents.’
‘Well, the dress is lovely,’ Amy said, not giving anything away.
‘Tell me, have you and Dan sorted the numbers for the guest list yet?’
Amy threw a glance at Dan, who was busy arguing over the tactics at the last Leinster rugby match with his dad and two brothers. ‘We’re getting there,’ she confided. ‘But trying to decide who to invite and who not to is really hard, so names are coming on and going off the list.’
‘How many are Eddie and I allowed to invite, Amy dear?’ Carmel asked, leaning forward, eager. ‘It’s just that with Eddie’s work and my large social circle, and of course family, the numbers creep up. We have been to a rake of weddings over the past two or three years and would obviously have to repay the invitations. I suppose about ninety or a hundred would do it!’
‘A hundred!’ Amy nearly choked on her crumble. Was Carmel gone stark staring mad! There was no way she was going to be able to let the Quinns invite a hundred people to the wedding. Dan and she had a load of friends and people from work to invite first, and her mum and dad were entitled to have their friends and relations, too. ‘The numbers haven’t been firmed up yet, Carmel, but it certainly won’t be as high as you and Mum being able to have a hundred guests each,’ she said firmly, wishing that Dan would shut up talking about rugby and back her up. ‘We are hoping to keep our numbers at under two hundred guests in total,’ she insisted.
‘But what are we to do?’ demanded Carmel. ‘What are we to tell our friends?’
‘I’m sorry, Carmel, but we can’t invite everyone,’ said Amy, trying to maintain control and not waver under the pressure from Dan’s mother.
‘For heaven’s sake, woman,’ interjected Eddie suddenly. ‘We don’t have to invite the crowd from the golf club, and boring old farts like Peter Andrews and Tadhg Flaherty! Amy and Dan are entitled to have who they want to the wedding, and I’m sure Helen and Paddy have plenty of friends of their own they need to invite.’
‘I’m just saying, Eddie, that there is a certain level we absolutely need.’
‘It’s a wedding!’ he said slowly. ‘Not a fixture on some bloody charity calendar.’
Amy looked at the table. They all knew that Carmel spent a huge amount of her time going to expensive charity lunches and balls. It was her social life.
‘Sorry, Mum, I’ve got to go out and meet a friend,’ excused Dylan, making a quick exit from the table.
Carmel glared at him, annoyed.
‘I’ve to go, too,’ said Rob. ‘I’ve some work to do for tomorrow. Anyway, I’ll leave you to your wedding talk!’
Carmel looked even more displeased as yet another of her off-spring disappeared.
‘Coffee, anybody?’ volunteered Eddie, as he and Dan cleared the dessert bowls from the table.
Amy wished that Dan would suddenly invent some reason for them to retreat, too, but he was oblivious to the atmosphere and was busy packing the dishwasher with his dad.
‘You must be so excited, Amy! It must be fun organizing a wedding.’ Liz smiled at her. ‘I suppose it’s like having a big party with everyone you love coming.’
‘Yes.’ Amy grinned. ‘We hope it’s going to be a great party!’
‘Honestly, Liz,’ interrupted Carmel crossly. ‘A wedding is far more important than some silly party, far more formal. It’s a huge event that needs proper organization to coordinate everything perfectly, so that the day goes smoothly for the bride and groom. It’s probably the biggest event in a family’s life! Don’t you agree, Amy?’
‘I suppose,’ Amy said. Why did Carmel have to make such a big fuss of everything! Already she was beginning to feel overwhelmed by Carmel’s expectations. This was their day, not hers!
‘Carmel, can you imagine the palaver there would be if you were organizing a wedding!’ teased her sister.
Carmel flushed as she took her coffee. ‘Well, I naturally care just as much about my son’s wedding,’ she said stiffly.
‘Mum, give over!’ teased Dan. ‘All I need is a suit and a tie and a good haircut . . . I think once I look presentable Amy will have me!’
Amy laughed aloud, glad that he had broken the tense atmosphere.
‘Just as long as you don’t get another crew cut like you did last summer,’ she teased, remembering how weird Dan had looked: almost bald after a very close shave with a number one blade.
‘Well, I’m looking forward to the big day,’ smiled Liz. ‘It’s lovely to see the two of you so happy together.’
They stayed for another hour. Carmel, like a dog with a bone, kept on and on, trying to find out exactly how many people she and Eddie could invite.
‘Mum, we haven’t even made our own list yet!’ Dan replied, exasperated.
‘Honestly, Carmel, we haven’t,’ added Amy. ‘But Dan and I are hoping that we will personally know everyone who is coming to the wedding. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than having a load of people we don’t know there!’
Carmel gave a harrumph of indignation as she realized that most of her golf-club cronies might not be invited.
‘Very sensible,’ added Eddie. ‘You want to be among friends on a day like that!’
Amy stared into the cold coffee in her cup.
‘Look at the time!’ Dan said suddenly. ‘I’m sorry, but Amy and I have to go. We promised to meet up with Liam later on.’
‘Why you went and picked that fellow Liam as your best man instead of one of your brothers is beyond me!’ interjected Carmel.
‘Liam’s my best friend,’ Dan defended stoutly. ‘We’ve done everything together! Of course I want to have him there with me as my best man! Rob and Dylan are OK about it.’
‘I’m just saying . . .’ Carmel began. ‘He’s a self centred . . .’
Dan grabbed Amy by the hand, and a few minutes later they managed to leave after saying thanks for the lovely lunch. Liz gave Amy a secret thumbs-up sign as they left the house.
‘Wow, that was a bit of an ordeal!’ admitted Amy as she fastened her safety belt.
‘Honest, Mum has overstepped the mark again, giving out about my choice of best man,’ complained Dan as he started the car. ‘She’s always had a thing against Liam! I don’t know why she is always giving out about him.’
Amy disguised a smile; Carmel and herself actually agreed on something!
‘What time are you meeting Liam?’
‘Not till eight o’clock in McDaid’s,’ he confessed.
‘I’ll give it a miss.’ She smiled; she had no intention of ruining her Sunday night by spending it listening to Liam boasting about his state of drunkenness the night before and how many girls he had scored. No, she was happy to curl up alone on the couch and watch an episode of Brides of Franc on the TV with a mug of hot chocolate. ‘But I’d love a bit of a walk to exercise off the crumble before we head home, and maybe your mum is right, we should try and make a start on who we want to invite.’
Dan groaned. They were both dreading the arguments and bargaining that making a list would entail, and consequently had avoided even starting one.
As they were only a few minutes from Bushy Park, they both agreed that fresh air and a walk was definitely needed before they began the momentous task of sorting out the guest list!