Chapter Fourteen
A/N: A very special thank you to Ginger, Xerox, Maddie, Tracy and Teri and the ladies over at I-C for the gentle nudging to include this chapter. Thanks ladies!!!
Charlie adjusted her eyes as the full-on Las Vegas sun hit her face. She strolled briskly past the stand of taxis parked by baggage claim as she headed for the dark sedan parked by itself away from the entrance. When she approached the driver's side window, the tinted window slid down a fraction as Charlie leaned towards the window.
"Do you know where they are?" Charlie asked. The driver nodded. He slid a slip of paper and a manila envelope out the window.
"That's the address of the church. Envelope has pictures of the couple." The man said. Charlie smiled into the window at the man.
"My husband's money pays you well I see." Charlie smirked, "you'll be around won't you?"
"Unless you get yourself into trouble. Then you're on your own lady." The man replied. Charlie gave the man a frosty look as she tucked the items into her purse.
"You just worry about where your retainer is coming from and let me worry about the rest." Charlie said as she strolled off to find a rental car. She smiled to herself as she made her way to the rental car desk. Marriage to an old geezer with several millions hadn't sounded like an appealing prospect to Charlie, but she soon learned it DID have its' advantages. The few millions she'd squirreled away from his bank accounts would help her and Henry start a new life. She would ship Aiden off to boarding school and then they would all live happily ever after.
As soon as she finished tying up the loose ends here in Las Vegas with Henry's little "Betty" problem, she would be completely happy again. Charlie smiled at a skycap as she pulled her sunglasses out of her purse.
Betty smiled to herself as she gazed out the window of her hotel room. The Vegas Strip was already alive with tourists milling around, taking pictures up and down the Strip. Betty gently touched her dress, freshly pressed and waiting for her to slip into. Hilda and Helen were next door still sleeping. Amanda and Christina had gone downstairs to search for breakfast. This was Betty's time to herself. She smiled as she touched the silky white material. She sat down at the vanity as she heard a knock at the door. Thinking it might be her sister or Henry's mother, Betty shouted for them to come in. She heard a woman's voice call "Flower delivery." Betty slowly hobbled into the living room to find her purse and stopped dead.
"Sorry they didn't have any pink Gerber daisies, Betty!" Charlie said, slowly walking towards her. Betty narrowed her eyes at Charlie.
"I'm through playing games with you Charlie, this ends right here. TODAY!" Betty said fiercely.
"You can count on that!" Charlie screamed, lunging for Betty.
Henry smiled as he walked into Neil Cassidy's shop. The interior was softly lit as the conditioned air felt good against the early morning heat in Vegas. Henry smiled as Neil himself came out from the workshop behind a heavy velvet curtain. The two men shook hands as Neil placed the box in Henry's hands.
"My engraver came in special to make these for you Henry. He really worked hard for you." Henry smiled as he opened the box. Henry's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the beautiful pieces of jewelry. Betty's set was a white gold princess cut engagement ring, set with two round and four baguette diamonds. The wedding band was the same polished gold, with two round and six baguette diamonds set in the band. Henry held up her wedding band to the light. Engraved inside were the words:
Mi amor forever, Henry
Henry picked up his own ring, a polished white gold band set with two baguette diamonds. Inside his band read:
Mi Corazon
Henry smiled at Neil warmly.
"These are perfect. They were just what I wanted." Neil smiled back at the young man.
"Well, I sure hope your gal likes them." Neil said shaking Henry's hand.
"She will." Henry assured the older man. After pulling out his emergency credit card and paying for the rings, Henry decided to call his mom and check on how things were going. Just as he went to pull his phone from his pocket it rang. Henry put the ring box in his other pocket as he fumbled for his phone.
"Hello?"
"Henry! It's Hilda. Call my dad and get over here quickly!" Hilda shouted into the phone. Henry grabbed the phone tightly.
"What's wrong…is it my mother? Did something happen to Betty?" Henry asked frantically.
"It's that woman….Charlie. She's in Betty's room. The doors are all locked and I can't get her to answer the door. Henry, I'm scared…what if she hurts Betty any worse than she already is?" Hilda cried.
"Hilda, call your dad and Marc. Have them meet me at your hotel. I'm on my way!" Henry said. He committed the hotel address to memory as he hurriedly flagged down a cab. As he gave the driver the address, he was filled with a white-hot anger. Henry would be damned if Charlie was going to ruin today. He was going to get rid of her once and for all, he thought as the cab sped up the Strip.
Betty circled the room, keeping a close eye on Charlie as she tried not to get cornered. Charlie had already gotten a hold of her hair and had tried to punch her in the face. Betty had quickly ducked and avoided her, but she knew with this cast on that Charlie could outmaneuver her quickly and gain the upper hand. She heard Hilda pounding on the adjoining door and tried to head for it, but Charlie was faster, blocking Betty's attempt to reach her sister.
"Betty, you all right in there?" Hilda asked.
"As good as I can be!" Betty yelled back.
"Papi is on his way Betty. Don't let that little skank corner you!" Hilda yelled through the connecting door.
"Shut up, both of you!" Charlie yelled. Betty tried to hobble around one side of Charlie, then the other. It was no use, Charlie had Betty blocked in her own room. Betty tried once more to move around Charlie, but Charlie grabbed her by the arms as she tried to move past and flung her onto the couch. Betty's cast bumped the coffee table as Charlie pounced on her. Betty tried to sit up as she heard more pounding on the front door as Charlie pinned her against the couch. Charlie punched Betty wherever she could, her words punctuating between blows.
"You…..smack……goody two shoes smack….geeky little doormat…." Charlie ranted, sitting on top of Betty so she couldn't move.
"You…hair pull……really thought you could take him punch away from me?" Charlie asked, "Now you're going to get what you deserve."
"Not before you do!" Betty shouted.
Henry stood on the other side of Betty's door, pounding his fist on the front of it. Ignacio and Marc stood behind him as Christina and Amanda ran up the hallway.
"What the heck is going on?" Christina asked, "I can hear Betty yelling all the way from our room."
"Charlie's in there." Henry said angrily, "She must have had us followed for God knows how long."
"If that young lady hurts my Betty….." Ignacio said. Henry turned to Betty's father.
"I know sir. I'll just stand in line behind you." Henry said. Ignacio smiled at Henry as the Front Desk Manager appeared with a passkey.
"Oh look, here's our knight in shining polyester." Amanda smirked as the manager fitted the key into the lock. The door sprang open and everyone rushed in just as Betty pulled herself up from the couch and drew back her fist, slamming Charlie in the face with a right hook. Charlie screamed as the onlookers gasped at the impact. They heard the sickening crunch of broken bone as Charlie grabbed for her now-broken nose. Betty kicked her onto the floor with her good leg as Ignacio and Hilda grabbed her.
Charlie looked up at Henry from her position on the floor, blood dripping from her nose and her left eye beginning to swell. Henry's eyebrows rose as he surveyed the damage. Betty had quite a right, Henry thought. He turned to see Hilda and Ignacio supporting her as Christina ran to grab her crutches.
"Henry, she broke my nose!" Charlie sobbed. Henry stood over her, anger in his eyes. His words were venomous as he looked down at Charlie.
"Charlie, it's OVER!!!! Get that through your head! I don't ever want to see you again because if I do, I promise you your new husband's ears will be filled full of tales I'm sure you'd rather I never mention. Got it?" Henry said.
Charlie looked at him pitifully, but swallowed and nodded.
Henry crossed the room to Betty and swung her up in his arms. Betty gasped.
"The wedding is still on. Everyone go and get ready." Henry said, "I'm just going to clean the bride up a little so we can make it to the church on time." He turned and carried Betty into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. Ignacio put his arm around Hilda as the Las Vegas police entered the room.
"There's the lady you want officers. The nasty little lying, cheating, 50 cent trashbag." Hilda said as the officers approached Charlie. They slowly brought her to her feet and handcuffed her as she sniffled, blood still seeping from her nose. Hilda, Christina and Amanda glared at her as the officers escorted her away. Christina and Amanda headed back to their room, Christina humming "The Wedding March" as Hilda went to wake up Henry's mother. Everyone had to hustle if they were going to make it on time.
Henry gently wrung out a washcloth, dabbing it on the small cuts on Betty's face. His eyes roamed over her face intently, searching for any sign of something amiss. Charlie hadn't done anything more to Betty but scratch her face in a couple of places, but Henry knew she still had to put on her makeup and knew that she'd want to look her best. He looked deep into her eyes as she sat on the edge of the tub.
"Hey, you ok?" Henry asked, stroking under her chin with his finger. Betty nodded but Henry could see her bottom lip was quivering. He pulled her into his arms and held her, gently whispering into her ear.
"I thought she was going to ruin everything." Betty whispered.
"Not anymore, not ever." Henry promised, "From now on there's only you, me, and Aiden." Henry said as he kissed her forehead. They sat together for a long moment, and then Henry gently untangled himself from her. He smiled his devastatingly handsome smile at her as he stood, pulling her with him.
"So I'll see you at the church, beautiful?" Henry said.
"Yeah." Betty said, "I'll be the one in white down in front." Henry laughed as he turned and headed out of the room. Betty sighed and smiled in the bathroom as she heard the hotel room door close behind Henry.
She was getting married today!!!!!!!!!!
TBC……………………………………