Right between Christmas and New Year's, changes took place. My mother's best friend from her childhood moved back to town in the wake of a divorce. She purchased a house on the other side of the block from us, less than a five-minute walk from us. She had three kids. Todd was my age, and would be starting in my grade at my school as soon as the Christmas break was over. He had two sisters, the older of the two, Catherine, a year younger than he like me and my sister, and the youngest, Theresa, a year younger than her.
They got settled in pretty quickly, and all of us kids hit it off right away. Todd and I quickly became best of friends, and his sisters were quickly folded into my sister's little social circle. Todd was, like me, a chess player, and we spent a lot of time hunched over a board. Our moms did things like shopping together, and at least a couple evenings a week both families would have dinner together at one house or another, or go out to eat.
During that Christmas break, no weddings took place. I remember hoping that perhaps my sister and her friends had tired of it, and also hoping that they hadn't! It was a brief casual time for me. Except for church - especially midnight Mass - and Christmas day, I didn't wear a suit and bow tie at all that Christmas break. The first time Todd and his family saw me in a suit and bow tie was the last Sunday before school resumed. The two families went to church together.
"Whoa! Sharp bow tie!" he commented.
"Clip-on?" he asked.
"Hell no!" I said. "I wouldn't be caught dead in a clip-on."
"You'll have to show me how to do that sometime," he said.
"Sure," I said.
After church, back at my house that afternoon, Todd and I were in my room setting up the chessboard on my desk. Todd had worn a suit with a necktie, but both of us had taken off our jackets and were hanging around in our vests and shirtsleeves, me in my bow tie, Todd with his necktie hanging askew. I took one of my bow ties out of my closet and handed it to him.
"Here," I said. "I'll show you how to do this."
Todd removed his necktie. I untied my bow tie. Facing my mirror, I walked him through the process of tying a bow tie, including getting the collar nice and high and tight around the throat. It helped that his shirt was properly sized and well-starched. After four or five frustrating attempts, he finally managed to tie a pretty perfect bow tie.
"Hey!" he said, pleased with himself, "It worked! I'm going to show my mother."
We went downstairs. The moms were in the kitchen, drinking coffee and talking woman stuff.
"Wow!" Todd's mom exclaimed. "You tied that yourself?"
"Yeah he did," I said. "Picked it up pretty quickly."
"Very dressy!" my mother said. "Tomorrow's your first day of school. You should wear that, make a good first impression."
"Sure," I agreed, "want to borrow that?"
"Yeah, absolutely!" said Todd.
We went back upstairs and commenced in our chess game, followed by several others, both of us all buttoned-up and bow tied and staring intently at the chessboard for the next several hours.
The next day, Todd showed up for his first day at our school in a suit and the bow tie I'd loaned him. By the end of that week, his mother had taken him shopping and bought him several of his own bow ties, my mother having told her where she'd gotten mine. I was no longer the only "kid in the bow tie" at school.
I quickly enlisted Todd in the chess team. The games we'd played against each other we'd pretty much split, so he was as good as me, at least. Like me, he was pleased with the "jacket required" opportunity to wear a suit on tournament days. The debate club, too, he joined.
So most days after school would find us at my house or his house, both of us all buttoned-up and bow tied, usually in our vests with our jackets having been removed, knocking out homework, and often playing chess after our scholastic responsibilities had been met. If our families ate dinner together at one house or another, or went out to eat at a restaurant, there we'd be, "the Bow Tied Twins," as our mothers came to call us. Eating out at a restaurant would be more likely on a Sunday afternoon, and for that our jackets would be back on.
During that Christmas break during which Todd and his mother and sisters had moved in, there hadn't been any weddings. If I'd thought about it, I probably would have figured it was only a matter of time. One day after school, both moms were at work. Todd and I and all three sisters stopped by our house for a few, then headed around the block to Todd's house where we'd planned to start our homework. Todd and I were in our suits and bow ties, the sisters were in their school uniforms, consisting of navy blue plaid skirts, white long-sleeved blouses, crossover ties, and navy blue blazers. As we're walking, the older of Todd's two sisters steps up alongside me and takes me by the arm.
"So," she said, "when's our wedding?"
GULP!
My sister giggled.
"Told you about that, did she?" I asked.
"Yes she did!" she replied. "I want to be your bride next time!"
"Ooo! Then me!" chimed in the younger sister.
My sister laughed.
"Wedding?" Todd asked.
So the rest of the way to their house, my sister told him about the weddings. His sisters were enamored of the idea.
"Wow!" Todd said. Later on, once we were at his house and the sisters had left us alone, I clued him in.
"Just to warn you," I said, "it's only a matter of time before it's your turn!"
"My turn for what?" he asked.
"To be a groom!" I said.
"Me?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "You're in a suit and bow tie all the time too. You think the girls are going to let you off the hook?"
GULP! Todd suddenly looked nervous.
He wasn't at any immediate risk. Before Todd had to worry about walking down the aisle to our gazebo, his sisters were intent on having their turns of being my bride. That Friday evening, my sister popped into my room.
"Tomorrow's your wedding day," she said, "you and Catherine, at four!"
The wedding day dawned sunny but chilly. Once breakfast was eaten I went upstairs and showered. It wasn't long thereafter that I was in my navy blue suit and starched white shirt, and about to tie up one of my navy blue bow ties. There was a knock on the door and my mother came in bearing one of her navy blue "fuller, poofier" bow ties.
How does she time this so well? I though to myself.
This was one of those "fuller, poofier" bow tie days that she thought I'd do well to feel even more buttoned-up and formal than I already would, and more self-conscious.
About three o'clock there was another knock on the door and Todd came into my room wearing a suit and bow tie. He'd be functioning as my best man.
"Wow!" he exclaimed, seeing me in the "fuller, poofier" bow tie. "That's a bow tie!"
"My mother's idea," I said, feeling my face flush.
"They're not going to make me wear one of those, are they?" he asked.
"Probably not today," I said, "but eventually, yeah, probably."
"Is it that bad?" I asked. "I know, it's alot of bow at the collar."
"Yeah, definitely that!" he responded. "I'm going to go see what time it is. The wedding's at four, right?"
"Yeah," I said as he exited my bedroom. It wasn't long before he came back in.
"Wow!" he said.
"Wow what?" I asked.
"Your mom was going into your sister's room and I caught a look at Catherine!" he said. "She's wearing a wedding gown!"
"I told you," I said.
"There isn't a veil, too, is there?" he asked. Apparently he'd only glimpsed her in the gown.
"Oooh, yeah, there's a veil!" I said.
"This is, like, for real!" he said.
"Very real!" I confirmed. I knew what was going through his mind, that before long it would be his turn.
They got settled in pretty quickly, and all of us kids hit it off right away. Todd and I quickly became best of friends, and his sisters were quickly folded into my sister's little social circle. Todd was, like me, a chess player, and we spent a lot of time hunched over a board. Our moms did things like shopping together, and at least a couple evenings a week both families would have dinner together at one house or another, or go out to eat.
During that Christmas break, no weddings took place. I remember hoping that perhaps my sister and her friends had tired of it, and also hoping that they hadn't! It was a brief casual time for me. Except for church - especially midnight Mass - and Christmas day, I didn't wear a suit and bow tie at all that Christmas break. The first time Todd and his family saw me in a suit and bow tie was the last Sunday before school resumed. The two families went to church together.
"Whoa! Sharp bow tie!" he commented.
"Clip-on?" he asked.
"Hell no!" I said. "I wouldn't be caught dead in a clip-on."
"You'll have to show me how to do that sometime," he said.
"Sure," I said.
After church, back at my house that afternoon, Todd and I were in my room setting up the chessboard on my desk. Todd had worn a suit with a necktie, but both of us had taken off our jackets and were hanging around in our vests and shirtsleeves, me in my bow tie, Todd with his necktie hanging askew. I took one of my bow ties out of my closet and handed it to him.
"Here," I said. "I'll show you how to do this."
Todd removed his necktie. I untied my bow tie. Facing my mirror, I walked him through the process of tying a bow tie, including getting the collar nice and high and tight around the throat. It helped that his shirt was properly sized and well-starched. After four or five frustrating attempts, he finally managed to tie a pretty perfect bow tie.
"Hey!" he said, pleased with himself, "It worked! I'm going to show my mother."
We went downstairs. The moms were in the kitchen, drinking coffee and talking woman stuff.
"Wow!" Todd's mom exclaimed. "You tied that yourself?"
"Yeah he did," I said. "Picked it up pretty quickly."
"Very dressy!" my mother said. "Tomorrow's your first day of school. You should wear that, make a good first impression."
"Sure," I agreed, "want to borrow that?"
"Yeah, absolutely!" said Todd.
We went back upstairs and commenced in our chess game, followed by several others, both of us all buttoned-up and bow tied and staring intently at the chessboard for the next several hours.
The next day, Todd showed up for his first day at our school in a suit and the bow tie I'd loaned him. By the end of that week, his mother had taken him shopping and bought him several of his own bow ties, my mother having told her where she'd gotten mine. I was no longer the only "kid in the bow tie" at school.
I quickly enlisted Todd in the chess team. The games we'd played against each other we'd pretty much split, so he was as good as me, at least. Like me, he was pleased with the "jacket required" opportunity to wear a suit on tournament days. The debate club, too, he joined.
So most days after school would find us at my house or his house, both of us all buttoned-up and bow tied, usually in our vests with our jackets having been removed, knocking out homework, and often playing chess after our scholastic responsibilities had been met. If our families ate dinner together at one house or another, or went out to eat at a restaurant, there we'd be, "the Bow Tied Twins," as our mothers came to call us. Eating out at a restaurant would be more likely on a Sunday afternoon, and for that our jackets would be back on.
During that Christmas break during which Todd and his mother and sisters had moved in, there hadn't been any weddings. If I'd thought about it, I probably would have figured it was only a matter of time. One day after school, both moms were at work. Todd and I and all three sisters stopped by our house for a few, then headed around the block to Todd's house where we'd planned to start our homework. Todd and I were in our suits and bow ties, the sisters were in their school uniforms, consisting of navy blue plaid skirts, white long-sleeved blouses, crossover ties, and navy blue blazers. As we're walking, the older of Todd's two sisters steps up alongside me and takes me by the arm.
"So," she said, "when's our wedding?"
GULP!
My sister giggled.
"Told you about that, did she?" I asked.
"Yes she did!" she replied. "I want to be your bride next time!"
"Ooo! Then me!" chimed in the younger sister.
My sister laughed.
"Wedding?" Todd asked.
So the rest of the way to their house, my sister told him about the weddings. His sisters were enamored of the idea.
"Wow!" Todd said. Later on, once we were at his house and the sisters had left us alone, I clued him in.
"Just to warn you," I said, "it's only a matter of time before it's your turn!"
"My turn for what?" he asked.
"To be a groom!" I said.
"Me?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "You're in a suit and bow tie all the time too. You think the girls are going to let you off the hook?"
GULP! Todd suddenly looked nervous.
He wasn't at any immediate risk. Before Todd had to worry about walking down the aisle to our gazebo, his sisters were intent on having their turns of being my bride. That Friday evening, my sister popped into my room.
"Tomorrow's your wedding day," she said, "you and Catherine, at four!"
The wedding day dawned sunny but chilly. Once breakfast was eaten I went upstairs and showered. It wasn't long thereafter that I was in my navy blue suit and starched white shirt, and about to tie up one of my navy blue bow ties. There was a knock on the door and my mother came in bearing one of her navy blue "fuller, poofier" bow ties.
How does she time this so well? I though to myself.
This was one of those "fuller, poofier" bow tie days that she thought I'd do well to feel even more buttoned-up and formal than I already would, and more self-conscious.
About three o'clock there was another knock on the door and Todd came into my room wearing a suit and bow tie. He'd be functioning as my best man.
"Wow!" he exclaimed, seeing me in the "fuller, poofier" bow tie. "That's a bow tie!"
"My mother's idea," I said, feeling my face flush.
"They're not going to make me wear one of those, are they?" he asked.
"Probably not today," I said, "but eventually, yeah, probably."
"Is it that bad?" I asked. "I know, it's alot of bow at the collar."
"Yeah, definitely that!" he responded. "I'm going to go see what time it is. The wedding's at four, right?"
"Yeah," I said as he exited my bedroom. It wasn't long before he came back in.
"Wow!" he said.
"Wow what?" I asked.
"Your mom was going into your sister's room and I caught a look at Catherine!" he said. "She's wearing a wedding gown!"
"I told you," I said.
"There isn't a veil, too, is there?" he asked. Apparently he'd only glimpsed her in the gown.
"Oooh, yeah, there's a veil!" I said.
"This is, like, for real!" he said.
"Very real!" I confirmed. I knew what was going through his mind, that before long it would be his turn.