I just got this idea in my head this morning. I know I've seen stories with Perry and his mother, but what about Della and her family? (specifically her Aunt Irene, Uncle Calvin, and cousins Samantha and Grace. All from her Dad's side of the family, her mother walked out on Della and her Dad when she was only a baby.)
"I'm sorry, Miss Street just stepped out for an errand. I'm sure she'll be back soon." Perry apologized when he saw the family walk in.
"It's OK, sir." The man replied as Perry looked up,
Wait. He looks like Della. Perry had seen pictures of Della's father but the man in front of him with a wife and twin daughters that looked to be 10 years younger than Della, couldn't be it. No. Perry shook his head, must be an Uncle or brother.
"I'm… Uncle Calvin!" Perry heard behind the man as Calvin turned around as Della practically ran into his arms,
"Hi, kiddo." Della was crying when the two girls hugged her,
"Hi, girls. My, how you've grown. Hi, Aunt Irene." Perry looked to Della as she smiled sheepishly,
"Chief, this is my Uncle Calvin Street, my Dad's baby brother, Aunt Irene Street, and twin cousins Samantha and Grace Street." Perry's heart doubled over in happiness seeing his secretary so at ease with her family, they'd been working hard lately, and it was starting to show on Della.
"C'mon, Della. We're going out to lunch." The twins called as Della smiled a special smile that caused Perry's heart to flutter when he caught glimpse of it.
"I'll be back in a few hours, Chief!" Della called as Perry replied,
"Don't bother. Take the rest of the day off with your family. Gertie and I can handle things for the rest of the day." Grace happened to see the smile that Della gave Perry as before she turned to walk out,
"You love him don't you?" Grace asked once they sat down to eat as Della blushed,
"Oh, Gracie. We're friends. That's all." Calvin chuckled,
"Oh, that smile I saw tells me otherwise." Della blushed an even deeper crimson,
"Uncle Calvin, I don't want to ruin his practice if the press ever catches wind of us being together romantically." Irene smiled,
"I'm sure he loves you enough that it won't matter." Della shook her head changing the subject,
"So, how's my Dad?"
"Who was all of that?" Paul asked as he walked into Perry's office after seeing Della leave,
"Oh, that was some of her family. Her Uncle Calvin, Aunt Irene, and twin cousins Samantha and Grace." Paul smiled,
"It's been forever since I've seen her that happy." Perry nodded,
"We've heard a lot about her and her father. But not about her mother."
"Your Dad's alright, just still sad about your Ma." Irene said as Della felt herself grow tense. Her Ma had killed herself in a freak accident when Della was 16 and Della couldn't find it in herself to go to the funeral even though her father had tried hard to convince Della to go.
"I know that Daddy had told me that he swore that Ma had changed for the better once he married her and they found out about me. But, when she walked out on us when I was 2 – months old… I couldn't bring myself to forgive her when we met again when I was a freshman in high school." Della said with anger in her voice.
Even though her Ma was long dead, the pain Della felt was still there. Samantha scooted over and hugged her older cousin, who she saw as a sister, as Della hugged back tightly. Once they finished their lunch,
"Where do you want to go?" Della asked with a smile as Grace looked around,
"Are there any interesting art museums around?" Della chuckled as she knew that Gracie was the artist in the family.
Della's family remained in town for the remainder of the week,
"Oh, I wish you could stay longer." Della sighed as she dropped them off at the rental car place near the airport. Calvin pulled Della in for a group hug and when they let go,
"We'll call you once we get home, kiddo. We love you. Stay happy for us." He instructed as Della nodded before they had to leave.
"Bye! Tell Daddy that I love him."
I hope you guys like it. (PS I got my computer today and will more than likely have complete access to it tomorrow.)