I successfully managed to veto the blue and yellow bridesmaids dresses. I feel however this was a diversionary tactic to call my bluff and keep me off guard. Up to this I had suffered complete failure in my attempts to have a Thomand Park wedding. I was vetoed in my attempts to have the Heineken cup used as the something borrowed (seen as its only on a 12month loan in Donnybrook). I suggested piebald ponies and my uncles kart as the wedding car (I can't repeat the response to that because of the watershed).
So there I was, only days left to go and only for my name on the invite and the wedding booklet there was no O'Brien identity on the wedding day. That was the case anyway, until last week.
I was thwarted in my original attempts at getting a red waistcoat. We arrived down to Limerick to try on the suits. I asked my aunt if they had any red waistcoats. She looked at my mother and said, we do but they are being used at the moment at a wedding in Rathkeele. The look on my mother's face should have told Caroline exactly what that meant. Caroline however was oblivious to my delight, might get away with this yet. Not with my luck I didn't. Now for all the none Limerick people reading this; Caroline proceeded to ask "What is wrong with that?"
Before my aunt even responded my heart sank. My red waistcoat chances were disappearing before my eyes. "Well; There is nothing wrong per say with the waistcoats. The gentleman who ordered them was here for his son's wedding. He arrived in wearing a vest, shorts and a pair of sandals with socks on (note the emphasis here it is not a typo)".
"Nothing wrong with that" I said. "I spent many a summer at home in a vest and shorts. Maybe he had just had surgery for his bunions and couldn't expose his feet to the air."
"Possibly" said my aunt. Then came the killer blow; my aunt proceeded that when she asked him how many waistcoats and what sizes he needed he responded "Well Boss, we nee abou turteen of um. tree dis syze, sex dis size an fore of da begist syze ya ave in the shop". All this with his hands outstretched like a man showing his mates in the pub the size of the fish he caught that morning.
I didn't even wait for Caroline to respond to this. I just jumped in and said "sure we can take a look at what you have in stock" and I ran upstairs to the fitting area. We didn't speak of it again; until last week.
So there I was sitting in my room studying, pining over what could have been. Planning for a day where I will have a waistcoat to match the bride and my groomsmen matching the bridesmaids. A package was delivered to the house with the little bride and groom for the top of the wedding cake. Caroline yelled up to me to come down and see it. Belligerently I yelled down to her "Unless he is wearing a Munster Jersey I don't care what it looks like". Caroline didn't respond, she walked up stairs and put the cake topper on my desk.
The O'Brien Identity has been successful, I got my red waistcoat, well sorta anyway. Up next comes the O'Brien Marriage Supremacy.....
