Maire's Story

Chapter 9 and 10

C H A P T E R   N I N E

StarWood,
Maher Road,
Guilfoyle, Que.
Sept. 29

Dear Timothy: So, I betcha you're wondering what StarWood is, right? Well, it's the name I finally picked for me an' Monique's home! Isn't it just the keenest? Monique left it up to me to find a name an' it was the hardest thing 'til Frank Clarke suggested StarWood. I hope you don't mind that I didn't go with your suggestion; I just knew StarWood was perfect an' Monique agreed. But not everybody thought so. When I announced it during supper at the Old Magic Maple house, Mrs. Adam — your aunt Theresa, I mean — just kinda sniffed an' declared it was "a little strange," especially when I said it was meant to be written with a capital 'W'. Then she said "maybe that fits Monique." At that moment I noticed the other Mrs. Adam gave her this real black look an' that made your aunt stop talking. What was the reason for that, I wonder? I had the hardest time figuring out why I picked that name 'til Monique said maybe it was 'cause Dad had a telescope an' loved to look at the stars. So I guess that must be it.

I included the page from the Chonicle-Telegraph with the picture of me an' my godfather (and your grandfather, though I guess you knew that already). Isn't it a nice photo? Monique was sure surprised to come home from her trip an' find out the paper said I was a heroine. I told her all about what happened an' she said "Well; I go away and you start saving people's lives." I could tell she was proud of me, 'cause she was smiling an' gave me a big hug. It's so nice to live with someone who likes to hug.

Coleen hugs lots, too, an' she gave me one when she saw the picture. I still think if you don't marry the girl you're with now, then you should ask Coleen. I betcha she'd say yes.

There's another nice thing about Coleen; she calls me Sugar! It happened one day after mass, while Monique was away on her art tour. When me an' your grandparents an' Coleen went into the chapel I was feeling kinda sad about Mom an' Dad. Then Father Paquette said some really special things in his sermon about how much God loves us even when we're bad or sad. Well, I started to cry, Timothy, an' I still don't know why. Can you figure it out? I was real quiet about it (or 'quite' as my godmother likes to say), but Coleen was sitting beside me an' saw my eyes getting red. So she slipped a tissue out of her pocket an' into my hand. That was real nice of her, huh? Anyway, I managed to make myself respectable in time for communion.

Afterwards, we were all standing outside an' I was listening in on Pete Mulvey an' Elizabeth Connolly. They were talking about Ginger O'Dea an' how he surprised everybody by going off an' suddenly getting married to a Quebec City lady. Pete was saying why he thought that happened an' Elizabeth was throwing out her opinions. I didn't understand a lot of what they were discussin' an' I didn't get a chance to ask any questions 'cause as soon as they noticed, me they changed the subject. Then, before I had much time to feel disappointed, Coleen came along an' said we should go for a little walk. That was fine with me, so we went over an' sat under one of those big, tall fir trees behind the chapel.

When we were comfortable, Coleen asked why I was crying during the mass. When I couldn't really explain, she asked if it was the sermon. I nodded an' said I was feeling kind-of full up inside over my parents. So we talked awhile about it an' finally I started crying a little an' said, "Nobody calls me Sugar anymore." I don't know why that's important, but it just is. Coleen was so good, Timothy. She pulled me up real close an' rocked me 'til I was okay. Then she asked why Monique didn't — call me Sugar, I mean. I said I didn't know, then Coleen was quiet for a bit; I could tell she was thinking. Then she told me maybe it was 'cause it was Mom an' Dad's pet name an' she didn't think she could just start using it. Remember, she said, Monique and your parents were such good friends, maybe it just hurt to use their nickname. I kinda understood that. An' while I was thinking it over, Coleen said she didn't know my parents very well, an' if it was okay, she'd call me Sugar.