Chapter 9

July 4th, 1981

Chicago

Red and Kitty Foreman pulled up to Brooke and Michael Kelso's house in Highland Park. It was a beautiful house with a large front lawn. Red whistled as they pulled into the driveway.

"I wonder who Kelso conned out of this place?" Red asked out loud.

"Red!" Kitty scolded, "This was Brooke's father's house. He passed away last year and left it to Brooke and Betsy. She wrote and told me about it, and wondered if she should sell it and use the money to move closer to her mother, since she's in Phoenix now. Well, I told her that a house this nice with that much room would be a waste on anyone without kids. So she kept it and she and Michael are really happy here, so don't you spoil it!"

Red rolled his eyes and opened the car door. No sooner had he exited than a curly haired moppet ran screaming out the front door "GRANDPA RED!" yelled Betsy, jumping into Red's waiting arms. He adored the little munchkin, and he knew it made Kitty happy to see him act like a good grandpa.

"Hey there, Punchkin!" he greeted her with their special nickname. He'd seen this little tyke hit, and she would be a force to be reckoned with soon.

Brooke came out next, followed closely by Michael, who looked like the earth had just opened up around him. She hugged Kitty and Red, then looking at her gobsmacked husband she rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, he's just found out I'm pregnant again," Brooke smiled with an easy grace and a sweet laugh, "And since he just got Betsy potty-trained I think he's a bit overwhelmed."

"Oh, dear, that's just wonderful!" squealed Kitty, jumping up and down in excitement, "I just knew this house was meant for you two! More rooms means more babies to fill them!"

Kelso snapped to attention, looking frantic, "There are SIX bedrooms, Mrs. Foreman! SIX! I can't have that many… diapers!" he sputtered.

While Red and Brooke laughed, Kitty reached over and patted Kelso on the arm, "Now, Michael, honey, you don't have to have six children! But look how cute you two make them!" and she reached over and snuggled Betsy and pinched her cherub cheeks.

Kelso looked like he was going to faint, so they all decided to go inside for a beer. Just as they were stepping inside a small yellow sports car pulled up to the curb.

"KELSO!" yelled Fez, jumping from the still rolling Triumph Spitfire. He ran to his best friend and jumped on him. "It's been forever, my tall handsome friend!"

"Fez, I didn't know you were coming!" said a delighted Kitty.

"Oh, yes, Miss Kitty. Eric called last week and said it was very important that I be here for the fireworks, and he promised to buy me the giant cotton candy!"

"Ooooo, it sounds like Eric has a big something planned for this weekend," said Kitty. She was curious beyond measure, but soon became distracted by Betsy's demand to go see the ducks in the neighborhood pond.

As she grabbed her granddaughter and headed for the stroller in the hallway, she thought about how nice it was that things were looking up for most of her basement hatchlings. This was what she and Red had wanted so badly, a house to themselves with grandkids to visit and peace and quiet to return to. It seemed like all their hard work was finally paying off.


Evanston

Jackie watched as Amina nervously fidgeted with the hem of her sundress. Her friend looked pale and scared as they left Evanston for Highland Park. She'd told her over and over that the Foremans were amazing people who had kind hearts and would love her. Still, the doe-eyed Bosnian brunette was not reassured. She was convinced that any mother with such a fine son would never think anyone good enough for him.

"Amina, dear," Jackie said, gently pulling her hands away from the nearly torn hem, "You're going to wear a hole in a very inappropriate place on that dress if you don't calm down."

"Lije, what if they hate me?" she whispered fearfully.

Jackie glanced in the rearview mirror to signal to Eric not to turn around or try to interrupt.

"Amina, nobody could dislike you!" Jackie said sincerely, "You make my brother happier than I've ever seen. That's what Kitty and Red will see, and they'll love you for it."

Amina nodded and tried to relax. The trip only took a half hour and soon they were pulling in to the Kelso driveway. Amina smiled at the familiar setting and got ready to meet her boyfriend's parents.

Jackie rang the doorbell and waited for Michael to answer. When the door flung open to reveal Fez, Jackie shrieked with glee and threw her arms around him. She hadn't seen him since New Year's and had missed him terribly. Eric stepped up and hugged Fez and then stepped aside to reveal Amina.

Fez's mouth dropped open. The Amina he saw briefly before passing out at New Year's had been pretty in his memory, but this girl was gorgeous. Her long brunette hair was a lighter shade than Brooke's, and glinted with copper tones. Her skin was fair and she had large brown eyes like a doe. She was taller than Jackie, but not as tall as Donna. She fit comfortably next to Eric and seemed to radiate love and happiness.

"It is so nice to meet you, Amina!" Fez shouted and nearly tackled her with a hug.

Amina laughed good-naturedly and returned Fez's hug, then stepped inside. On the couch, Michael and Red were watching a Cubs game and Brooke was putting lunch on the table. Spotting Amina, Brooke waved and smiled and gestured to the living room.

"What's up Foreman?" Kelso said, not taking his eyes off the TV, "Hey Jackie! Hey Amina!"

Red turned around to see his favorite daughter and pulled a Fez. His mouth hung open at the sight of the pretty girl standing comfortably next to his son. Jackie, noticing Red's reaction, stepped in and said, "Amina, this is Red, mine and Eric's dad. Red, this is Amina, she's a friend of mine and Eric's girlfriend."

Red stood up quickly and walked around the couch to Amina. He smiled at her and said, "It's really nice to meet you, Amina," and held out his hand.

Taking his hand and shaking it firmly, Amina replied, "It is wonderful to meet you too, Mr. Red."

"That's a beautiful accent, Amina! Where are you from?" asked Red, still shaking her hand and smiling.

"She's from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, Pop" said Eric, breaking his dad's eye contact with Amina, "She's at Northwestern studying Economics."

"Smart and beautiful. Well done, son," then, leaving a completely stunned Eric in his wake, he returned to the couch.

"See!" Jackie squealed quietly to Amina, "Told you they'd love you!"

"One so far," whispered Amina, "but I still have not seen his mother!"

Just then, the door opened and Betsy and Kitty came in, both soaked to the bone. Betsy made a beeline dash for Jackie crying, "Aunt Jackie, I fell in da water! Kiki come too!"

Looking curiously at Kitty, Jackie heard her surrogate mother laugh that signature laugh. "Well, a-ha-ha-ha, Betsy wanted to feed the ducks, but I didn't have anything, so she decided to help them find fish to eat! I swear she's twice as fast as Michael and totally fearless! Well, I got her out in 2 seconds, but we're both- " Kitty stopped, having just noticed the fair-skinned beauty next to her son.

"Mom, this is Amina," Eric said, introducing his love, "she's my girlfriend and she's wanted to meet you for a while."

"Oh, dear," said Kitty, and everyone held their breath, "You are just BEAUTIFUL! Well, let me change real quick and then you and I can go to the kitchen and you can tell me all about yourself! A-ha-ha-ha! Oh, I'm just so happy to meet you!" and she ran up, gave Amina a quick kiss on the cheek and dashed upstairs to put on dry clothes.

Jackie watched Amina let out a long sigh. "What's wrong?" Jackie asked.

"Nothing," said Amina, "nothing at all. She acted just like my mama would have. She's perfect!"

Jackie, Brooke, Amina and Kitty all enjoyed lunch together in the kitchen. Amina told Kitty all about her and Eric; how their friendship and instant connection were so obvious. Kitty told Amina she was so happy her son was happy, and Brooke and Jackie each tried to claim credit for bringing them together. Fairly soon, the group decided to make their way to the lake for the fireworks. Brooke packed up some snacks; they'd decided to grill a late dinner afterwards when, hopefully, Betsy had gone to bed. Making their way to the shoreline, Amina and Eric sat down on a blanket to watch to show.

Meanwhile, not too far off, a Cadillac El Dorado was headed towards Highland Park. It's newly crimson-haired driver hell bent on reclaiming what was rightfully hers.


July 4, 1981

Malibu, California

The phone ringing on the bedside table would forever go unanswered. Nobody who lived there would care who called, and after tonight, nobody who would have wanted to call would need to. The answering machine that had been an extravagant Christmas gift picked up on the 3rd ring, startling the lone living occupant.

Beep. "So do I talk now?..What?.. Oh! Hi, this is Midge! Please leave me a message and I'll call you when I get back! Ok, now what do I do? Press what?... Beep.

"Hey Midgey, it's Bob…. Bob Pinciotti. Listen, I know you're probably out late tonight, but when you get a chance, please call me back. I need to talk to you about Donna. I think she's pretty messed up over Eric and I'm worried she'll do something stupid. So, okay-then, bye-bye!"

The man standing next to the machine smiled. He'd been worried when he found "Midge" alone that the trail to "Bob" would be harder to pick up. He should've known she was lying when she said she didn't know anything about him anymore. So, they'd named the little rugrat "Donna". He snorted with laughter. He'd try to remember to pass that information along. Still, two names weren't going to get him very far. He was disappointed that he hadn't been able to get Midge to crack. The Irish broad had been tougher than she looked. He bent down and grabbed the fallen blanket from the floor and tossed it over the bed. If someone came by peeking through windows, the bed would look semi-normal. He was going to need a head start if "Bob" and "Donna" were far from Malibu. He couldn't afford for them to disappear again.

Slowly and methodically he gathered up the towels and stuffed them in a large trash bag. There was a communal dumpster nearby, and he knew trash pickup was tomorrow. Looking down he heaved a half-hearted sigh. She'd been such a beauty! What a damn waste…

Taking care to ensure that no blood spilled from the mat onto the floor, he rolled Midge's body up and prepared to lift it up on his shoulder. It was dark outside, and his van was parked in the garage. He'd have to dispose of it on the road, maybe out in the desert if he was headed to Arizona…

A loud knocking sound at the front door startled him.

"Hello? Midge? Honey, you're late for your shift! Cal sent me by to check on you!"

The man froze. Midge wasn't scheduled to work! He'd been careful to double check that once he saw that Bob wasn't with her. He needed time to get information…

"Midge? Honey, your car is here so I know you're in there! Look, I'm gonna run back and tell Cal I need a few minutes then I'm coming back, okay? If you're stuck in the bathroom again just hang on!"

DAMN! The man tried to think quickly. The restaurant was only a few blocks away. The woman could be back in 10 minutes or less. He had to think fast. Grabbing the bag of towels, he sprinted into the garage and heaved open the doors to the van. Tossing the bag inside he returned to the bedroom to see the mat had unrolled and blood had leaked everywhere. FUCK! Well, he'd just have to make as much progress as he could on the road. Stopping to scoop up every last bit of mail he'd gathered earlier and his case with the photos he'd found, he jumped in the van and gunned the engine. He tore out of the garage in reverse and didn't stop to shut it again. He turned the corner just as he saw a pretty brunette cross the street towards Midge's condo. She hadn't looked up, and hopefully she didn't take any notice of the van slowly leaving the neighborhood. The place would be crawling with police in 10 minutes, he was sure of it.

He decided against phoning anyone back home until he'd formed a new plan. His instructions had been crystal clear- find them, eliminate them, leave no witnesses and no trail. Well, he was certain he'd done that. Now he just needed to find the remaining two…Pinciottis.

After an hour of driving east, the man pulled into a small rest stop. He pulled the mail out and found a plain envelope addressed to Midge from "B. Pinciotti" and a P.O. Box in Point Place, Wisconsin. SHIT! Wisconsin was 2 days of non-stop driving, and even then he didn't have a proper address. Well, it wouldn't be long before the fuzz would be trying to track down Bob too. Once the marshals got wind of this, they could be underground again before he even got close.

He decided to make a bee-line for Wisconsin, hoping against hope that he could corner his quarry before the feds made the connection.


July 4, 1981

Chicago

The happy troupe was encamped on the shoreline, eagerly anticipating the fireworks, when suddenly Betsy shouted, "Where Kiki?!". Everyone turned and looked around, but nobody could see Red or Kitty.

Dammit, thought Eric. He wanted to propose just after the fireworks, and he really wanted his parents to be there for it. He turned to Amina and said, "Wait here, I'm just going to make sure they didn't wander off."

Amina nodded and Eric went to walk the shoreline. First going south, then doubling back north, he returned 20 minutes later with no sign of either of his parents. Exasperated, he flopped down on the towel next to Amina. Why couldn't his timing ever work out?

"Eric, what's wrong?" Amina asked.

"I just really wanted my parents to see… the show," he finished, not wanting to ruin the surprise ahead.

"I know, dušo, but I'm sure they'll be back soon!" she said, soothingly, "and I'm sure they have seen many of these shows before!"

Just then the fireworks began, and everyone was surprised at the amount of light they cast on the beach. They illuminated the shore and the small copse of trees behind them. Eric turned when he heard a rustling noise, and watched amazedly as Red and Kitty stumbled out from the trees! Unbelievable. 35 years and they still sneak off for some hanky-panky. Eric tried to repress a shudder at the thought of his parents "hanky-panky". He looked over and saw Jackie trying desperately not to laugh, while Brooke and Kelso took turns holding their hands over Betsy's ears.

The show was spectacular, and as the final crescendo of sparks faded into the night and the applause died away, Eric put his hand in his pocket to withdraw a small navy blue velvet box. As other beachgoers drifted away to their cars, he looked around at his family. Brooke and Kelso were snuggling Betsy. Fez and Jackie were laughing and commenting on the show. Red and Kitty were holding hands and smiling. This was it. This was the perfect moment.

Amina stood up and reached towards Eric, offering her hand. Eric rolled onto one knee and lightly grasped her fingers. Kissing the top of her hand, he took a deep breath and said,

"Amina, you are the love of my life. I walked a long, dark road to get to you. But, you've been the bright spot through it all. I don't want to walk this road anymore without you.

Hoćeš li se udati za mene?"

Everyone but Jackie stood thunderstruck. Mouths open, they looked from Eric on one knee, to Amina who was standing perfectly still, her skirt fluttering lightly in the warm breeze.

"Of course I will, my love," she said with such emotion that it was hard to hear.

"What did she say?" yelled Fez.

As Eric slipped the ring onto Amina's finger, Jackie leaned over and said, "She said yes, duh!"

Eric stood and hugged Amina tightly, his heart full of happiness. Kitty dashed over, tears spilling everywhere, to hug and congratulate her son and her new daughter-in-law-to-be. Fez, Michael and Brooke cheered loudly, then immediately stopped as they realized Betsy was asleep. Red stood next to Jackie and nudged her softly, "So, kiddo, you have any…prior knowledge of this?"

Jackie gave Red a knowing smile. "Red, I know everything." He grinned and hugged his surrogate daughter. He was a bit worried about how she'd handle the engagement over the next few months. He knew she wasn't remotely over Steven. He hoped, though, that this wouldn't break her resolve. She was doing so well here, away from all of that mess.

Behind the copse of trees, a young woman with red hair stood watching. She watched the entire scene unfold as if in a dream. The ring was enormous. It was twice as big as the one she'd gotten! Bitterly, she watched as Red and Kitty embraced her replacement. Well, she might've been a few minutes too late, but her plan could be improvised. Seeing her competition, Donna was confident she could easily outmaneuver her. And if it came to it, she could physically whoop her as well.

She took a few steps forward. Show time.