Angels in My Hair (14 page)

'That's all right, Elizabeth,' I said as we looked around the
rooms.

'We'll get it looking all right in no time,' Joe said. 'Lots of
scrubbing, strip the wallpaper off the walls, get the lino off the
floor and get the old furniture out.' Joe looked around. 'Maybe
we can save some of the furniture – the kitchen table looks
good and perhaps those armchairs and the chest of drawers.'

The truth is we had no furniture, and very little money to
buy any. We were going to be dependent on what we could
salvage and what old furniture people gave us.

'They'll clean up well and look nearly like new,' Elizabeth
said. 'Please, God, my husband will be able to give you a hand
doing some of the heavy work.'

Before Joe and I could say a word, she rushed out the door
and was gone to find him. We laughed. She was a lovely lady,
a little round lady – that's how I'd describe her. She had a
beautiful smile and the energy I could see around her held a lot
of love and care. She was the salt of the earth.

In no time at all she was back with a tall skinny man with a
very pale complexion and deep lines etched on his face – it was
a face full of character. 'Hello! How are ye?' he said.

'This is my husband, John,' Elizabeth said, as she introduced
us and explained that we were getting married shortly and
would then be moving in.

'Well, Joe, you've a hell of a lot of work to do here,' John
said. 'An awful lot of work!'

'Sure – you're right,' Joe said. 'Let's go around the back and
have a look at the sheds.'

The two of them went out the door and left Elizabeth and I
in the main room. It was quite small, with a fireplace.We went
into the bedroom and had a good look around in there. The
place stank.

'God, look at the curtains. They're mangy,' I said. 'They are
in a terrible state and we don't have money for new curtains.'

'Listen, Lorna, don't worry,' Elizabeth replied, 'I'll take those
curtains down during the week. I have nothing to do at the
moment, and I'll wash them.'

I couldn't believe it, I said, 'God, Elizabeth it's an awful lot
of curtains to wash.'

'I'll wash and iron them and I'll come in and put them back
up on the windows – and while I'm doing that I'll get John to
clean the windows.'

We had a bedroom, a little front room, a little kitchen and
another room, which one could use for a bedroom, but there
was no toilet or bathroom.

'The kitchen is a good size for a young family starting out,'
said Elizabeth, 'but you'd better turn that little bedroom into a
bathroom because you'll need one. You'll probably have
children.'

'Of course we will.' I said with certainty, after all, the Angel
Elijah had told me so. 'But the outdoor loo will have to do for
now. I wonder what sort of condition it is in.'

We went around the back of the house to have a look. It was
completely wild around there; we could hardly see anything
because the hedge was completely overgrown. There were also
grass, weeds, nettles and stinging brambles that came up above
my waist everywhere. We fought our way over to where she
said the loo was.

We could not see Joe or John, but we found the loo. It was
just a loo in a long shed with a door. There was no toilet seat,
but it was usable and it wasn't too bad. I asked Elizabeth about
the building next door to it.

'It's another shed, we have the same next door.

Then we heard Joe and John. 'Don't look into that shed,' Joe
said. That was irresistible, of course. 'Oh, I'll just have a peep,
seeing as you said that.' I peeped in and, of course, it was piled
high as a mountain with all kinds of things. 'What are the other
sheds like?' I asked.

'You wouldn't want to look into them either.' John said.
>'You've got another big shed there and down past that you've
got a piggery – it's a small shed with an outer wall around it
and a gate into a little yard. It would be an ideal place if you
had chickens. They are all full of junk but, sure, I'll give Joe a
hand and we can clear some of it out when he's here next and
burn it.'

'God, John, you are very good to give us a hand,' I said.

John turned around and said, 'Well, we'd better go now,
Elizabeth, and leave the two of you to yourselves.'

As Elizabeth was walking away, she turned around and said,
'Before you go home would you like to come in for a cup of
tea? We'd love to have you.'

'Would you like to do that?' I asked Joe. He nodded, 'We'll
be in, in five or ten minutes; we'll just have a little time looking
around here and sorting out a few things.' So off they went. I
was really so happy and so was Joe. 'Isn't it wonderful that this
house is ours now?We have a lot of work to do but I know we
can do it.'

We went back into the house and Joe reached up and started
to pull bits of the wallpaper off the walls, to see how hard it
would be to strip them. It wasn't too bad. The lino on the floor
was all torn and the two of us started to lift it. We got a shock
because under each layer of lino there was another. Under the
bottom layer, there was a thick layer of newspapers – hundreds
of them all glued together. We looked at each other.

'Let's get something and see if we can move them,' Joe
suggested.

We got a piece of stick and under all those layers of lino and
newspapers were straw and clay. Eventually, under all that,
believe it or not, were floorboards – quite decent ones. We
found out later from Elizabeth that this was done to insulate
the room, to keep the heat in.

We had a lovely cup of tea with Elizabeth and John. She told
me a little about Mrs Costello who used to live there and how
she looked like Mrs Tiggywinkle in the Beatrice Potter story;
with a big hat, a big coat and she always carried a big bag. She
lived on her own and never had any visitors.

John invited Joe to see his house and garden. Looking
through the window at them, I could see angels playing
around them. I smiled.

'You seem so happy, smiling there,' Elizabeth said.

'I am very, very happy,' I replied. It was lovely to be there in
their home, to have a happy family home right next to us, to
see the light around Elizabeth and John. They also had a lovely
little boy; I don't know what age he was, maybe ten.

'Anytime you need us, just give us a call,' Elizabeth offered.
We thanked them and Joe and I left and walked down the road
holding hands.

The following Saturday, Joe brought his mum to the cottage.
I was already there waiting for them. When Joe's mum got out
of the car, she gave us a big hug, looked around and said, 'Oh
my God! From the outside you have a big job on your hands.'
Joe's mum asked him to open the boot of the car; she had
everything needed for cleaning. We carried the whole lot into
the cottage. She walked in.

'Well,' she said, 'This little cottage has the makings of a great
home.'

Over the next two days we did a lot of cleaning. Spending
that time together gave me the chance to really get to know
Joe's mum, and we had great fun together. Those two days
were wonderful and we got an awful lot of work done. Joe's
mum was brilliant. And by the time our wedding came around,
the cottage was habitable – just about.

One morning down in the cloakroom at work, Pauline and I
were chatting about wedding dresses and she asked the
supervisor if it would be possible for us to have a lunch break
together so we could go to the fabric shop. The supervisor
agreed and put us on the same lunch break.

When lunchtime came, Pauline and I went to the canteen,
had a five-minute lunch and headed out to the shops. We
looked at hundreds of dress patterns and rolls and rolls of
fabric. It was very exciting. Eventually, after many lunch
breaks of looking, I found a fabric that I really liked and
which, I felt, would be suitable for a wedding dress – it was
cream with little wine-coloured wildflowers scattered here
and there. Pauline found a beautiful fabric that matched the
flowers on mine. But I didn't buy anything just yet; I knew
Mum would want to come shopping for my wedding dress
with me.

Even with all the time we spent together looking for fabric,
I hadn't told Pauline about the wedding reception being at
home. I dreaded the thought of telling her and the other two
girls. One day, I asked the angels when would be the best time
to tell my friends and they said, 'Right now.'

'You mean now, on our tea break?' I asked.

'Yes!' my angels replied. When I walked into the canteen I
saw Valerie and Mary sitting at our usual table. I went and got
tea and biscuits and joined them. As I sat down, Valerie asked:

'Lorna, we are dying to know where the reception is being
held.' My friends were all smiles and full of excitement.

'It is being held in my parents' house in Leixlip,' I said. I
could see from the expression on their faces that they were
shocked.

'You are joking, Lorna?' Mary said.

'No,' I said. 'I wouldn't joke about something as important as
my wedding day.'

They asked me all kinds of questions then, including why
my mum and Da wanted to have the reception in the house. I
told them it was kind of a custom in my mum's family and that
Mum's heart was set on it. Then they asked who else was
coming to the wedding.

'It's mostly family. My parents and brothers and sisters,
some of my uncles and aunts, Joe's family, of course, you two
and my bridesmaid, Pauline. We'll be about thirty in total for
the meal. Some neighbours are coming to the church.'

A few days later, while I was sitting in the canteen having
lunch with my friends, Val said she had a few suggestions to
make about the wedding reception.

'How about, Lorna, if we all leave after the meal, and go into
Dublin to a pub with music and dancing to celebrate?'

'It's a great idea and I'm sure Joe would agree,' I replied,
'considering that we won't be able to dance in the house. How
are you going to get to the church in Leixlip that morning?' I
asked.

'We are going to meet in Dublin,' Val answered, 'and get the
bus to the church. Let's hope it doesn't rain, because we don't
want to bring coats. And I hope it's not too long a walk to the
church, because we will all be wearing high heels!'

'Two minutes,' I assured them. 'Make sure you are all early.'
They laughed and said they were really looking forward to
their day out.

Later that day, when Pauline was helping me tidy the rails
just before closing time in the fashion department, I said to
her, 'I guess it's time for me to tell you where the wedding
reception will be held.'

'I have already heard from the other girls that it is at your
parents' house,' Pauline said. 'I think that is great.'

I told her it was nice of her to say that.

When I got home from work that night, Mum suggested we
should go shopping for the dress material on my day off, the
next day. I was looking forward to going into town with Mum
and buying the material and pattern for my wedding dress –
even though I had already chosen it and knew exactly what I
would buy. I hadn't, of course, told her this. I knew Mum
would enjoy going around the stores, so I said nothing.

Going in and out of the fabric departments and stores in
Dublin with Mum the next morning was fun, but Mum was
getting a little annoyed because I didn't like anything I saw,
although she saw lots that she thought would be perfect.

'I don't want a traditional dress,' I said to Mum, 'and I
definitely don't want to wear white! There is one more fabric
store, Mum; you brought me to it once, it's down a side street
beside Clerys.'

After a cup of tea, Mum led the way to the fabric store. We
looked at lots of material on big rolls, some standing and some
lying flat on counters.When we came to my chosen one, I said
to Mum, 'I think this material is beautiful, I love the cream
colour and wine wild flowers scattered around it and look, this
one, standing beside it would be perfect for the bridesmaid's
dress.'

'Yes,' Mum nodded. 'It is beautiful. They would go together
very well.' As my mum said those words, angels arrived all
around us. As Mum asked, 'How much does the material cost?'
I nearly burst out laughing because I could hear the angels'
voices, like a chorus, chanting 'No price tag, no price tag'. I
knew the angels had made the price tag disappear.

Mum decided to ask one of the staff the price. All the angels
stopped their activity and waved their hands, indicating 'no'. I
knew then I had to stop Mum, because she was going to think
the material was too expensive and try and get me to buy
something cheaper. This was something I would not allow, but
I didn't want to hurt her either.

'Don't worry, Mum,' I said, 'I am paying for the material and
pattern and all that I will need for the dress. Let's look through
the pattern books.'

The angels took Mum's arm as we walked to the back wall
where all the pattern books were. Mum opened one of the
books and started to look. I suggested that, to save time, I
would look at another one. I must have looked through five
books before I found the pattern I had seen before. I called
Mum over, 'Look, this pattern will suit the material I have
chosen beautifully.'

Mum was very good at making clothes and she knew how to
read the back of the pattern and see how much material I
would need for both dresses. When Mum had finished
calculating the amount of material that was needed, we went
to the counter and I asked the assistant for it. She got the two
rolls of material, laid them on the counter and measured the
material out, yard by yard. It piled up on the counter and the
girl folded it perfectly and put it in a bag. She also put the
patterns and all the trimmings we needed into the bag.

'That's £25.99 in total,' she said.

As I was handing her the money, Mum said she wanted to
pay for the material for my wedding dress. I was pleased by her
offer but said, 'No, Mum. It's too much.' But Mum kept on
insisting, so I let her pay. She seemed very happy and proud as
she handed the assistant the money.We said thank you and as
we were leaving the shop, one of the angels was standing at the
door. I thanked the angel in a whisper, and then we headed
home. As we walked to the bus stop, carrying the bags, I
thanked Mum.

I was like a little child, full of excitement, wanting to show
Joe the material and to bring it over to his mum's house. Then,
that evening Joe's mum said, 'I will have to meet your mother
and father. Will you ask them can they come to dinner on
Sunday?'

When Joe dropped me home that night, I went in the back
door as usual. I was surprised my Mum and Da were still in the
dining room, so I seized the opportunity.

'Hello! I was not expecting to see you up. By the way, Joe's
mum has invited both of you to dinner on Sunday at five
o'clock.'

Mum was not too impressed, but Da said, 'Of course we'll
come. Tell Joe's mum we'll be there at five on Sunday.' I was
delighted and offered to make them a cup of tea. Da refused
and said, 'Go off to bed.' I said goodnight.

The next day after work, I caught the bus to Joe's mum's
house and I told her that my parents would come to dinner on
Sunday. She was delighted, if a little nervous. I know she went
to great trouble to have a perfect dinner that Sunday evening.

When I arrived with my parents for dinner at Joe's, Da
knocked on the door and I was glad to see it was Joe who
answered it. Joe welcomed Mum and Da in and gave me a hug.
We went into the dining room; the table was set for a queen. It
was fabulous. Joe introduced his Mum, his sister Barbara, her
husband and their children. One funny thing happened at the
beginning, though; Barbara kept on insisting Mum take off her
coat and Mum kept saying, 'No, it's fine.'

I pulled Joe out of the room and whispered, 'It's not a coat,
it's a coat-dress. Tell Barbara to stop asking or I will burst out
laughing.'

Joe said he never heard of a coat-dress before, and when he
went back into the dining room, his sister was asking my mum
again, could she take her coat. Joe just interrupted and pulled
out a chair for Mum to sit down.

We had a fabulous dinner of roast beef with roast potatoes,
cabbage and carrot. For dessert we had her wonderful apple
pie and cream. I've never had any apple pie that was better than
hers. Joe's mum had really done us proud, everything went
well.

All through the summer before our marriage, the angels had
been telling me to let Joe know a little about my secret. I told
them many times I was apprehensive. I wanted to be able to
share my secret with someone, and especially Joe, but I was
scared of his reaction – what if he did not believe me?

'You should only share part of your secret,' the angels told
me. 'A little at a time, no more than that. Keep in mind, Lorna,
that you will never be able to share your entire secret; some of
it can never be told. Next time there is a suitable opportunity,
we will help you.'

A few nights later, as Joe was taking me home, he suggested
going for a drive up into the mountains.

'It's going to be a beautiful night,' he said, 'there is a full
moon and hopefully the sky will be full of stars. I know a place
where we can park and have a wonderful view of Dublin and
the sea beyond.'

When we got there, there were lots of other cars. 'Let's go for
a little walk and maybe sit on the wall over there for a little
while,' I said.

The wall was only a pile of scattered rocks, but we sat and
Joe held me in his arms.We kissed and I felt safe. I don't know
how long we sat there, but all of a sudden I noticed the sky was
full of stars. Then some of them seemed to spin and fall and as
they came closer to the earth I saw they were angels. I could
hear the angels say, 'Now is the time to share a little of your
secret with Joe.'

I turned in Joe's arms and said I had something to tell him.
He looked at me and asked was it something to do with the
wedding.

'No,' I said, 'It is actually about me. Let me explain something.
I see things that other people don't normally see.
Sometimes I see angels.'

A look of complete disbelief came over his face. He looked
at me and laughed, 'Lorna, as far as I know only nuns and
priests see angels. This is ridiculous! Ordinary people like you
and I don't see angels.'

I looked at him nervously, this was just as I feared. I silently
called, 'Help!' to the hundreds of angels who were around me.

He gave me a hug and said no more about it.

'Let's go. It's late and we both have work tomorrow.'

The journey home was silent except for a few words. Joe
glanced at me now and then while driving as if to say, 'what
have I got here?'

I was giving out to the angels, saying, 'Joe's not responding
well to this at all.'

When we pulled up outside my house, Joe said, 'Lorna. You
have asked me to believe in something that I haven't ever
thought of before.' But I felt a little bit reassured when he
hugged me and gave me a kiss.

As I walked round to the back door, I was still giving out to
the angels. The angel said, 'Don't worry, Lorna, this is just the
beginning of Joe getting to know you.'

I wondered how I was going to be able to get him to believe
me, but I soon had an opportunity.

Although Joe no longer worked with Da, he sometimes
helped him out in the garage. One Thursday evening as I
finished work, I had a vision – I saw lots of glass, large
windows; light seemed to be shining on them and blocking my
vision, and yet it seemed to be dark. 'What's all this about?' I
asked my angels.

The angels said, 'Tell Joe.'

'I really don't want to,' I replied.

'Remember your vision, Lorna,' the angels said. 'Now do you
see where it is?'

'Yes, it's the garage.'

That evening I told Joe. 'That does not mean anything,' he
replied.

No more was said, but I was worried and I gave out to the
angels again. On Friday, I had the vision again, this time I saw
Joe in a car, as if he was driving it to the pumps for petrol; I saw
men approach the car and Joe wind down the window. Then
the vision was gone.

I told Joe I had the vision again and explained in detail what
I had seen. 'I don't want you getting hurt. It's a warning.'

'I don't believe in that kind of thing,' Joe said. 'Your Da rang
and left me a message, he needs me to work the weekend; the
man who does the night shift has left, so he has no one for
Saturday and Sunday, midnight to seven in the morning shift.'

I had the vision again and I was shown more still. I saw Joe
wind down the window and one of the two men punch him in
the face. Then I saw Joe in the police station, and the police
believed the other men, not Joe. I couldn't make out what it
was all about; I was upset now and giving out to the angels.

'Joe will have a bleeding nose,' the angels said, 'but otherwise
he will be okay. Remember the vision, Lorna; the police may
not believe him, but it will be all sorted out eventually.' After
work I went to Joe's mum's house and Joe and I went for a walk
around the housing estate. I pleaded with Joe to believe me. I
was mad with him. I said, 'Why won't you listen to me?'