The past few days had been a blessing. Della and Perry had arrived back at their new home and had spent the days decorating and getting ready for the Christmas holidays. Della had always done her home up with lights and always had a tree. But this house was a special home. It was the home of her and her new husband Perry. It was large and soon there would be a new bundle of joy at their home. This was going to be their first Christmas together and their only Christmas alone.
Della made egg nog and together she and Perry had decorated the tree. The outside was done by a professional. The house looked nice and Della was proud of the way that the neighbors came over and complimented her on the decorations.
Christmas was just ten days away and this was the day of the office Christmas party. Perry always brought the people of the office to the Kavanough and this year was to be no different. Perry prided himself on his generosity and liked it when the ladies of the office opened their yearly Christmas bonus.
Della had been working all day getting things ready for the party and was glad when Lori showed up to help her out. There was more work than she thought and she was glad to have the company.
Darren Goodwin was a man who loved to gaze at the stars. He had a telescope ever since he was nine years old. That year his parents had bought him one for Christmas. He was now able to identify many of the stars and liked to watch them twinkle in the sky.
He had been married for the past three years. Up until last night he had thought that his marriage was a good one. But here just a few days before Christmas his wife had left him a note telling him that she was leaving him for another man. The man that she had left him for had been his co worker Jim Clemmons. Darren had never thought ill of the man and thought that he was a man of pride. But he had been seeing his wife Lydia for about four months according to the note that his wife had left him that morning.
Oh the thoughts that had gone through his mind that day. He had gone from hurt to mad and then hurt again. Lydia had left him and their two small children Ned aged eight and Simon aged six alone without a mother. He had then gone back to angry again. But he now had two boys to take care of and he was going to do the best he could.
Jim and Lydia were going to stay in the city and make their home just three miles away. His wife wanted visitation rights but could not take the children at this time. She had told Darren that he should keep the children and let them stay at the house that they had lived in for the past nine years. Her home was going to be smaller and in a different school zone.
If the three adults kept their heads on straight, Darren was sure that everything would work out all right. Lydia and him had always been good parents and their sons had always come first. Time heals all wounds.
Back at the Mason office things were getting lively. Everyone was excited about the party that night. They would all go home and put on some of their best clothes and head out to a wonderful night of food and dancing. Every year they got a good bonus check and hoped that this year would be no exception.
Della had invited all of the girls from the office to come and see Perry and her new home. She told them to just give them a call and if they were home they would be welcome to come on over. Most of them had gone by the home and had seen how it looked from the outside. The home was large and very nice. They all wished the newlyweds the best as the two of them were such nice people.
The dinner was wonderful and they all partied and enjoyed the night. Each one of them danced with each other and Perry made sure that each and everyone of them got to dance with him. When they were each given the bonus check of one thousand dollars they thanked and hugged both Della and Perry. The night ended at just after one and Perry and Della joined the rest of them in going home.
It was a Friday night and no one would have to be in until Monday. Della went upstairs to get ready for bed while Perry went to the kitchen to get himself a drink. 'Married life is bliss' he thought to himself. As he sipped his drink he smiled at the house that he was standing in. He knew that Della was tired and headed up to the bedroom to be with her. They both crawled into bed at about two am.
Each day was a wonderful new day at the Mason household. Today Della and Perry were going to go over to Lori's house and spend some time together. With the case that they had just had in Massachusetts they had not had a chance to spend an entire day together in months.
When they arrived at the house Mike was out cooking up some steaks. It was a little chilly, but he did not mind. Lori had said that she a hankering for a steak and he was glad to cook it. Mike could not wait for the baby to come. They had finally made it to the twenty-second week and they had been to the doctor's for the ultra sound. They were going to have a little boy in about sixteen weeks now.
They had wanted to tell Della and Perry the news in person. They knew that Paul and Sue were having a girl about a month before their son was due and Della and Perry would find out what they were having soon. Della was about seventeen weeks along and was due to go back to the doctors in three weeks. They would know what they were going to have at that appointment.
As Della and Perry walked into the house, Della was surprised at how large Lori had gotten. In the past week she had really started to show. It might be the clothes she was wearing but you didn't have to ask her if she was pregnant or not all you had to do was to look at her. Della looked down at her tiny little tummy and Perry put his arm around her waist and smiled "you too will start to show soon." and with that he gave her a kiss on the top of the head.
The four of them spent the day playing cards and watching a hockey game. They all ate the steaks and potatoes that Mike and Lori had made them. As she sat in the living room Della for just a second wished that she and Perry could have stayed at this house. The house still felt like it was her home, even though she and her husband had another home. This was Lori and Mike's home and she just had to get used to it.
Next month Sue was going to go out and buy things for the baby's room. Lori and Della could not wait for her baby shower because they both knew that it meant that their baby would be coming soon.
Now Lori and Mike were going to have a baby boy. Della and Perry were so happy to hear about this. They all hugged and kissed each other. "So are you going to make it a junior?" Perry asked them.
That was when Della realized how much her husband wanted to have a little boy. A little boy that could grow up to be Perry Mason Jr. She put her hand on his arm and smiled. He smiled down at her with all the love that those large eyes of his could give.
Mike spoke up and smiled. "Yes we think that there will be a Mike Junior in the house. It is not set in cement yet but I would love to have a Junior. We will see when he comes in April. You and Della will find out next month, correct? If you have a boy is it going to be a Junior?" he asked.
Perry had not really thought about it. But what father would not want a Junior. He looked down at Della and patted her arm "We have not discussed the subject yet. When we find out if we are having a girl or a boy we will then have to decide what to name him or her." he told them with pride.
After a few hours it was time for Della and Perry to leave and go back home. They promised each other that they would not become strangers and gave each other hugs. The family had a good together and they would get together soon Della knew it.
Darren Goodwin was surprised to hear from Jim Clemmons that Sunday. It seemed that he still had that motorcycle that he had offered Darren six months ago. He and Lydia needed the money and he promised that Darren could come over and buy it for just one thousand dollars. The motorcycle was worth at least double that money. Darren did not feel bad about getting the bike for such a low price. The man had stolen his wife.
Lydia had been true to her word and had taken the boys every weekend. She had gone to Ned's Christmas show and was going to be at Simon's. He knew that they did not have much money, so he decided to go over and look the motorcycle over once more.
When he arrived at the small house, he saw Jim outside cleaning the motorcycle up. It seemed to look good and when the engine was started it seemed to run well. He asked if he could take it for a ride and he was handed the keys.
Jim Clemmons thought that Darren would be right back, but he did not return. Simon and Ned were in the house with their mother and he was getting worried. Lydia came out and asked him "Didn't you just tell Darren that he could only take the car out for a short time?"
Jim shook his head. He was a little worried and when he heard sirens he became very worried. Lydia had gone back into the house and he decided to go and see what the sirens were about. He got in his car and as he rounded the corner just two blocks from his home he saw the accident. Darren had slid on a corner it looked like and was being taken into the ambulance.
Jim got out of his car and went right over to the officer that was standing there. He told the officer that this man was his girl friend's ex husband and that he had been trying out the motorcycle.
The officer looked at the man and took out his information. "The ambulance is taking him over to County General, if you want to go get your girl friend and her children, it might be a good idea. It does not look good."
That is when Jim gave Lydia a call and told her what had happened. When he arrived back at the house Lydia and her two boys were outside waiting for him. They rode to the hospital as fast as they could. When they arrived at the emergency room they were asked to take a seat and wait that the doctor was with him then.
The lady at the emergency room was very nice and she asked them to come and take a seat in a private room. Both Jim and Lydia knew that this was bad news but they took Ned and Simon's hands and walk into the room with their heads held high.
Darren had been severely injured and had a skull fracture a partially severed leg and many fractures of the ribs. He had slid several feet before stopping when he hit a stop sign. He had not gained consciousness but there was hope. He was down at x ray having xrays and an MRI. They would come and get them when they had the results.
Everyone sat in the tiny waiting area until the doctor came in. There had been nothing that they could do for poor Darren he had died before he got to the hospital. The paramedics had managed to bring him back but his heart stopped two more times and the last time they had not been able to get his tired heart beating again.
Lydia was heartbroken and her sons just sat there and cried. 'How could this happen? He was just there speaking to her not ten minutes before he left. They were going to the Christmas show the following day.'
Simon did not understand everything but Ned did and he started to cry and cry. Of course the two boys were going to be staying at their house. Lydia would take care of them as she always had.
The next few days were a blur at the house with two boys. They had the wake and the funeral to attend. The police had so many questions about the motorcycle and everything. It seemed as though they were always coming over about something. Lydia was starting to wonder what was going on.
Because Lydia and Jim had little or no money she had gone to see a legal aid worker about her impending divorce. The attorney at the local legal aid office had been very helpful and now she had to call her to stop the proceedings. When Lydia got off the phone she felt a little better. Because nothing had been done as of yet about the custody of her two boys when Darren died she would get full custody.
Carol Jones was sorry to hear about Lydia's husband. She had met with Jim and Lydia a few weeks before and he had seemed to be such a nice person. Lydia was nice also, she just no longer loved her husband. She did love the two boys, though and the two people had acted like adults about the whole situation.
Attorney Jones looked around her office and the stacks of papers that she had to do. She had wanted to become a criminal defense attorney when she had first gotten her license to practice law. She had even met the famous Perry Mason and had spoken to him in length about some of his cases. She thought that she might someday become a criminal attorney but for now she was working legal assistance. It was very low paying and had no benefits, but she did like her job most of the time.
Jim Clemmons was a little worried now. The police had just left once again and this time they had asked him whether or not he was having a problem with the carburetor. They said that it had stuck on Darren that morning and most likely was the cause of the accident. He had never had a problem with the motorcycle before that morning. But that morning when he started the motorcycle up, he had thought that it was running a little rough. That was why he was working on it when Darren got to his house.
It was just a few days before Christmas and the Mason office was busy. This year Christmas fell on Wednesday so Perry had decided to close the office for the week. It was in the middle of the week and many of them had family coming over to their house or they were going to see family in another town. They would have to close Monday and could not open until Friday anyways. This gave Della and Perry time to spend together too.
Della was busy wrapping gifts when Perry and Paul walked through the door that evening. They were all smiles and took a seat in the family room. She knew that they must have been out shopping. It was something that they did once a year together. But she didn't see any packages and she wondered where her husband and Paul had hidden them. She thought that maybe they were hidden at the office.
She kissed her husband as he came into the kitchen "Oh something smells good Della. We are both starved." he told her as he kissed her gently on the top of her head.
"We are having chicken mashed potatoes and peas tonight" she told them with a smile. She knew that was one of Paul's favorite meals and she did not see him at her house enough. Sue had gone off with her sister to do some last minute shopping herself and probably would not be home until after the stores closed.
The two men went into the family room to have a drink and relax. Della loved her kitchen, she could see everything that went on in the family room and her husband and Paul could talk to her. She also could see the television from in there and watch some of her favorite shows.
The dinner among friends was great and Perry could not wait to give Della her present. He had bought her a fur coat, a full length fur coat. He knew that she had always wanted one. He smiled as he thought of how surprised she was going to be when she opened the package. He looked over at his wife and for just a second thought that he could finally see the bump in her stomach that she so desperately wanted to see. He thought to himself 'I hope that she can wear the coat that I bought her. She is starting to show.'
It was great having Paul over for the evening. Sue and Paul were invited the party that they were going to be holding on Monday evening. They had invited Lori and Mike Sue and Paul Dave, Perry's brother and Gerty and her fiancée. They did not want too many people and there were going to be nine of them and that was enough.
Della had been planning the party for weeks and was going to have a caterer come and help her out this time. With the caterer she would not have to keep on getting up to serve people. She also could get dressed up and ready for when the guests arrived. She had bought a dress just especially for the party. When she had gone to buy the dress, she had found out that she was indeed getting a little bump. She did not need maternity clothes, yet, but soon. She had to go up two sized for the dress to fit right. She smiled to herself as she thought of herself big and pregnant.
Perry came into the bedroom to find his wife standing in front of the mirror looking at herself. From the side she actually did look as though she might be pregnant. Della was such a thin person that she was going to show early especially when she had clothes off. He came up to her and kissed her passionately. "My love, you do have a little bump now. I cannot wait for our baby."
"Do you mind if it is a girl? I know that you want a boy, but it might be a girl." Della asked him.
"I do not mind really. Just make him or her healthy. I love the baby already." and with that he put his band on her belly. It was a little belly nothing like what he had. It seemed that every year he gained another ten pounds. Once he was sure that this cigarette thing was over he was going to concentrate on losing weight. It had been four months since he had quit smoking and he nearly never had a craving for one anymore. But now with the holidays there was no way that he could stand to be on a diet.
Monday night came soon enough and the guests came right on time. They liked Gerty's fiancée and Perry was glad to see Dave. He hadn't seen his brother but once since the wedding day. He was going to be staying at their house until the following Saturday. Della was glad that Dave was able to come over. She had offered to have him stay in the pool house but he had opted to stay in the main house with she and Perry.
It was amazing how much chatter goes on between nine friends. They ate a delicious meal and for once no one had to get up and get the food, or check on it. Della did not have to lift a finger, dishes everything was done for her. The kitchen was as clean as she kept it when they left that night. They all went into the family room and visited for a while, but soon it was the women over in one corner and the men in the other.
Della smiled at Perry as she watched him talking to his friends and was glad that he was getting this chance to socialize without having to worry about anything. Christmas was the day after tomorrow and she was going to pick up his special order that she had gotten for him. She had one of the photos of the baby's ultra sound put into a sterling silver picture frame with the engraving baby Mason joining us in May. She hoped that he would like it. The man had everything that anyone could ever want or need.
Back at Lydia and Jim's things were very different. The boys had just lost their dad. When Lydia and Jim had gone to his and the boys rooms to get some of their things in the closet they found the boys presents. Darren had wrapped them and on the cards they said love daddy. She knew that this was going to be tough on the boys but they needed to get one more present from their dad, so she just left the presents alone. The boys were not going to be going back to school until after the winter break. They had just lost their father and they needed time to heal.
Christmas morning was hard for Ned and Simon. They opened their presents from their father first. They had both asked for a Tonka dump truck, and that is what was in their packages. Ned teared up but did not cry and Simon just asked if the present was really from his daddy.
Lydia and Jim felt so sorry for their young sons. Jim knew that he was going to have to step up and be a dad to the two of them . He loved them and Lydia very much and he was determined to do the best that he could.
Della woke up Christmas morning to find Perry already up and getting dressed. He was like a child. He wanted to go downstairs and open presents. Della did not feel right going downstairs in her nightgown so she got dressed and then went downstairs with Perry.
When Della opened the present from Perry she cried. It was a beautiful mink coat and it was floor length. She put it around her and smiled. The coat was tight. 'Yeah' she thought to herself.
Perry panicked 'Was it the wrong size?' he wondered. No Della was just starting to show. Dave smiled at the two love birds that were seated on the divan. He hoped that someday he would meet a girl like Della. Della was pretty kind and completely in love with her husband.
When Perry opened his gift the tears just welled up in his eyes. Della had the baby's ultra sound put into a picture frame. That picture was going to be on his nightstand forever. They kissed and hugged each other and smiled at their little bundle.
Lori and Mike came over for Christmas dinner and everything went wonderful. They sat around the tree and listened and sang some of the Christmas songs. The turkey came out very good and Lori had made an apple pie that was delicious. The day was a complete success.
At the home of Lydia and Jim's the atmosphere was all right. Darren's parents stopped by and gave the boys their presents. They spent some time with the boys and left. The atmosphere at the house was still very somber, and they did not feel much like celebrating.
But everyone managed to get through Christmas and everything looked fine. After everyone left Perry and Della sat down and took a deep breath. They were so happy. Perry put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight to him. "Thank you again for your gift and the wonderful day that we had. This is our first Christmas together as man and wife and I wanted to make it special." he told her as he hugged her even tighter.
"Oh Perry thank you for making my Christmas so special. I love you." she told him and with that they went upstairs to their beds. Dave had retired to his room and as they went by they could hear the television.
It was Thursday the day after Christmas and Lt Tragg was looking at the mechanic's report on the motorcycle that Darren Goodwin had been on. The bike had been tampered with. It was a miracle that Darren hadn't been killed before he did. Not only had someone put sugar in the gas tank, the handlebars had been loosened. Everything pointed to Jim Clemmons. The motorcycle had been in his garage and he had called Darren to his home to try out the motorcycle. The only fingerprints on the motorcycle's were Darren and Jim's. He was going to have to swear out a warrant for the arrest of Jim Clemmons.