I was intrigued by Perry and Della's conversation at the end of the novel, The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito. What might have happened if Perry hadn't let the subject of marriage drop so easily?
The words in italics are taken directly from the novel.
Mason turned to Della Street. "Know something?"
"What?"
"I bet the preacher would make a reduced rate on marrying three couples instead of two."
She looked at him with wistful tenderness. "Forget it, Chief."
"Why?"
Her eyes looked out over the long reaches of the desert that stretched out far below. "We're happy now," she said. "You can't tell what marriage would do to us. We'd have a home. I'd be a housekeeper. You'd need a new secretary…. You don't want a home. I don't want you to have a new secretary. Right now you're tired. You've been matching wits with a murderer. You feel as though you'd like to marry and settle down. Day after tomorrow you'll be looking for a new case where you can go like mad, skin through by a thousandth of an inch. That's the way you want to be, and that's the way I want you. You'd never settle down and I don't want you to. And besides, Salty couldn't leave the camp all alone tomorrow."
Mason moved to her side, slipped his arm around her shoulders, held her close to him. "I could argue with you about all that," he said softly.
She laughed up at him. "You could argue all right, but even if you could convince me, you couldn't convince you. You know I'm right."
Mason started to say something, then checked himself, tightening the pressure of his arm. They stood in silence, looking out at the desert where varicolored peaks thrust up into the red sunlight.
The crisp morning air awoke Perry Mason to a vague feeling of melancholy. Della Street was still fast asleep, snuggled beside him in her own sleeping bag. Perry gazed around the vacant campsite. Salty, his fiancé Lucille, Dr. Kenward, and the Nurse were already gone. By now, they were probably well on their way to Las Vegas to get married. He gazed down at Della, wishing that she had agreed to elope with him. Damn her logic and honesty. Any other woman would be pressuring him into marriage. He knew that he should be happy. Her refusal to marry him made it clear how completely she loved him. He knew she made a valid argument when she pointed out that he probably wasn't the marrying kind. Nevertheless, he wanted Della Street to be his wife.
Della stirred in her sleep, and Perry Mason couldn't resist her sweet pink lips for another moment. Leaning over, he kissed her tenderly.
"Perry," She purred. She snuggled closer into his embrace and wrapped her arm around his strong chest. Still half asleep, her lips found his again and she kissed him lazily, allowing his mouth to awaken her senses. "I wish we could wake up like this every morning," She said sleepily.
"We could, you know, if we were married," Perry responded softly.
Della recoiled quickly, irritated that he would mention marriage again so soon. Couldn't he see how much the topic pained her? Choosing to avoid another awkward conversation, she decided to make light of his comment. "Darling, don't ruin a perfectly lovely desert morning!"
"You're the one who mentioned how nice it is to wake up together. I was merely stating the obvious, Miss Street."
"Who said I was referring to waking up together? Perhaps I was simply alluding to the glorious sleep you can get in the fresh, clean, desert air."
Perry chuckled and touched her nose tenderly. "My dear Miss Street, you're right about the wonders of sleeping in the wide open spaces of the desert. But to tell you the truth, regardless of where I am, my sleep is always more satisfying when you are sleeping beside me. You can't chide a man for hoping to make it an every-night occurrence."
Della felt a smile creeping across her lips in spite of herself. "Aren't you in a romantic mood this morning, Mr. Mason?" She flirted
"It must be the desert air," he responded warmly as he pulled her in for another kiss. He caressed her face tenderly and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Della. I wish…"
Della interrupted him, hoping to fend off what she knew was coming next. "Perry. I wish you knew how hard this is for me. I… Well… " She struggled to find the words to express herself clearly. "Let's just not forget the conclusion of our conversation last night. You know it's not the best decision for us. Our relationship thrives because we both love excitement. We are both passionate about the work we are doing to help people. If I were to marry you, I'd be forgotten in a lovely house, and I'd be miserable. I'm a working girl. I'm not the housekeeping type."
Della Street tried to force her heart to stop beating so fast. Marrying him wasn't an option, no matter how hard he pursued her. Every morning before she walked into the office, she reminded herself of that simple fact. "It's better this way," she told herself. "He's never going to settle down. He'd grow to resent me for tying him down with a home and children. If I love him, I have to let go of my desire to be his wife. This has to be enough."
Perry pulled Della close to him again. He knew in the very depths of his being that Della Street wanted to be his wife. No matter how many times she refused him, he always saw a brief gleam in her eyes when he mentioned marriage. Her face lit up, and he imagined that she was dreaming of a loving marriage, a happy home, and children- their children. But in the blink of an eye, the gleam would be replaced with a stony determination, and it was hard to imagine that he had even seen it at all. He knew she feared losing him, and for that very reason she refused him. But he suspected if he could somehow prove himself to her, she might change her mind.
"Della, what if I promise you that nothing has to change?" His blue eyes sparkled with sincerity and hope. He saw hope reflected in her eyes, and for a moment, he knew she was considering his words.
She pushed a lock of hair off of his forehead tenderly, and then attempted to steel herself against the love in his eyes. "We've talked about this before, Chief. You told me that I couldn't continue being your secretary if we got married. You said that clients wouldn't approve, and you're right. It wouldn't be professional. I wish you'd just drop the subject. Nothing has changed since yesterday. It isn't going to happen, Chief." She wriggled out of his embrace and climbed out of her sleeping bag, determined to show him that she was serious about ending the discussion. She turned away from him, hiding the tears that threatened to flow freely down her cheeks. She didn't want him to know how much it pained her to refuse him, to close the door on their dreams of legitimizing their relationship and settling down together.
"Della." She could hear the pain in his voice. She slowly turned to face him. He had gotten out of his sleeping bag, his clothes rumpled from sleeping in them all night. But it was the way he was kneeling on one knee that caused Della Street to gasp for air. "Della, come here," he commanded with a voice that seemed to be disengaged from his body.
Della took a tentative step toward him, unable to pull her eyes away from the sight of Perry Mason down on one knee. When she noticed a black velvet box in his hand, she felt light-headed and feared she might faint.
Perry's voice wavered as he began to speak. "Della Street. I have been completely in love with you since you became my secretary 6 years ago. You have totally transformed my life." He paused, struggling to find the words to express the depth of his love for her. "I can't imagine not having you by my side. I know you're afraid that marrying me will change everything, but I'm afraid that not getting married will change everything. I need you, Della. I love you. Please say yes." Perry Mason pushed the black velvet box into her trembling hand as he gazed up at her with hopeful eyes.
Della Street slowly opened the box. Inside was a perfectly round diamond solitaire, tastefully large, but not obscene. Perry had done well. It was a ring she would have chosen herself. The tears were flowing freely now, as her emotions went to war. Della Street knew her willpower was waning. She could feel his eyes on her, waiting expectantly for her answer, but she refused to raise her eyes to his. In her heart, she knew that if she refused him this time, there would be no more talk of marriage. "Yes" was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to give him the one word he longed to hear her say. Instead she completely dissolved into sobs, collapsing onto the sleeping bag in front of the still-kneeling Perry Mason. She buried her head in the pillow, her body shaking with violent sobs.
Perry Mason felt a knife go through his heart at the sight of Della falling apart. "Della, Baby. I didn't mean to make you cry." He rubbed her back tenderly. "Talk to me, honey."
"I c-c-c-can't talk to you! Y-y-y-you had to g-g-g-go and ruin everything!" Della responded into the pillow. "Don't you understand? I c-c-can't m-m-m-marry you, no m-m-m-matter how much I want to!"
"Come here, Della." Perry pulled Della up and wrapped his arms around his still-sobbing secretary. She curled up on his lap and buried her head in his chest.
"You don't have to marry me, Della," Perry whispered soothingly in her ear as he rocked her back and forth, caressing her back. "I don't want to see you so upset. I'm sorry I pushed it. I never should have brought out the ring. I guess I just thought that deep down you wanted to marry me. I thought that perhaps an official proposal might change your mind. We can keep on as we are. I only want you to be happy, Baby."
His kind words broke her heart. Perry Mason continued to rock her back and forth as she soaked his shirt with her tears. After a long time, her crying subsided. "I'm so sorry, Perry," she whispered.
He kissed her soft brown curls.
She pulled back from his chest and ran her long slender hand across his cheek. Her eyes glistened with tears un-spilled. "You are the best man I have ever known. I love you more than I have ever loved any man, and I want to be your wife. But I want to work, Perry. I want to share your adventures, and so I don't think I can marry you."
"Is that the only reason you continue to refuse my proposals?"
"Yes. I want more than anything to marry you," Della answered. "But I care too much about our relationship to throw it away just because 'normal' people get married."
Desperate to find a way to marry her, he made a ludicrous suggestion, knowing full-well that it was a foolish idea. "Della, Let's not tell anyone. Why not get married and keep it a secret? Then you can continue to be my secretary."
"If we're going to keep it a secret, why get married at all, then? We're happy as we are now," Della answered.
"Della, you don't look happy to me," Perry paused to gather his thoughts. "If we got married, it would be our own private covenant. Only we would know, but it would be a symbol of our commitment and love for each other."
"I could still be your secretary?"
"Yes, Della. You could still be my secretary," Perry answered smiling.
"What if someone found out? People are always poking around in your private affairs."
"Always playing devil's advocate, aren't you?" Perry asked.
"It's a logical question."
"Well, we admit the truth, and I say 'to hell with all of you. If you don't like that my secretary is my wife, you can go to another lawyer.'"
"Would you really do that, Perry? Wouldn't you worry that your business would suffer?" Della asked.
"Damn my business. When are you going to realize you are more important to me than anything? I love you, Della Street!"
Overcome with emotion, Della raised eager half-parted lips to his. Her kiss was fervent, demanding, and fiery. As her tongue danced with his, she left him no doubt of her intentions.
Perry Mason pulled away from her fervent kiss after a long moment. "My dear Miss Street, is that a yes?"
"Why yes, Mr. Perry Mason. I'll marry you!" Della Street answered with a sweet smile and a very obvious gleam in her eye.