Part 13

PMDS

Perry touched his pants pocket to conceal the small gift box before he left the shop. He found Della talking with a man which was her ex, Michael.

"Michael, I told you we are done. There is nothing more that you can say or do." Della explained to him as she crossed her arms over her chest. The ring's reflection against the bright sun temporarily blinded him. He blinked back rapidly so he wouldn't be blinded by the streaks of light.

"So, how long did it take Della? I mean we just broke off our engagement. Look at you. You're sporting a new engagement ring, which you couldn't afford. What kind of lies did you tell him?" Michael angrily approached her as she backed up meeting Perry's broad chest. He placed his arm on her shoulder. Della slightly turned around knowing she wasn't alone now and lifted her head to look up at him. He dropped his arm down from her shoulder to reassure her she was safe.

"Della, what's going on? This guy bothering you again? What does it take for you to leave her alone? You are not a real man because you never treated Della right in the first place. It takes a real man to treat a lady like she deserves, and you are not a real man." Perry stepped in front of Della blocking her view.

"Della is just a broad. They are a dime a dozen, and you are making a fool of yourself for listening to her lies. I can get any dame, and that's just what she is to me." Michael stated to them both while Perry turned his head slightly at the insult he made to his soon-to-be wife.

"Della, did I hear this correctly. He just called you a broad. I find that insulting and rude especially when he's calling my soon-to-be wife names." He chuckled slightly, made up a balled-up fist, and slugged him in the face before he could speak again. Knocking him back on his feet, Michael stumbled for a second, held his jaw and placed his fingers to his mouth to look for any signs of blood. Michael stepped up again towards Perry taking a swing with a fist, but Perry ducked and swung his huge fist into Michael's stomach, and knocked him to the ground. Michael felt the strong blow dealt by Perry, lost his balance and fell to the sidewalk holding his stomach in agony closing his eyes. Perry knelt down, picked him up by his shirt collar, lifting him off the ground, and held him in his strong grasp. The townsfolk took notice of the scuffle happening, and they started to gather.

"Perry, please stop. I think he's had enough." Della nervously said as she watched the people observing the fight.

"I want an apology for his insult right now." Perry's grip never waned as he still had him in a chokehold. Michael's voice was barely audible as he tried to speak. Perry noticed his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, and he loosened his grip on his shirt collar but did not let him go.

"I will not apologize. You don't deserve Della. Sure, you have the looks and money. I can tell by the way you are dressed, the car you drive but all you are doing is using her for your gain. You get a nice-looking girl, treat her right, give her gifts, anything in the world she desires and she's at your beck and call. You want her to serve you until you get tired of her, and you chase after another and then another and so on. The game of it is, women are supposed to serve men, and that my friend is what's going to happen here. Making her your wife doesn't mean anything. She's just a damn broad." Michael barely managed to speak but said his peace.

"Do you have something to say to Della?" Perry narrowed his dark eyes at his enemy then turned to see Della with her hands clenched at her sides joining him.

"Michael, you never treated me with respect, and I don't want you bothering me ever again. I'm going to marry Perry, and there is nothing that you can do about it. If I make the mistake of being his wife then so be it. I love him and he loves me." Della angrily told him.

Perry's strength never wavered as she made her point across to her ex while Perry lowered Michael's feet to the ground towering over him. Perry smoothed Michael's rumpled shirt over with his hands, then knocked him flat out cold on the ground again with his huge fist. Michael was flat on his back again while the crowd cheered. The cop's siren blasted in the foreground as Della took his arm anxiously wanting to leave before he got arrested for the brawl.

"Perry, the cops are coming, let's get out of here!" Della pulled his arm and tugged at him. Perry noticed the siren's kept getting louder as they rounded the corner. Hurrying towards his car, Della slid into her seat and he joined her starting the car and pulling out of the parking space. The cops arrived shortly after Perry and Della quickly departed. The young police officer tended to the injured man on the ground as he began to come too shaking his head out of a fog.

"Are you alright? What happened here? The young officer said.

"It was nothing. It was just a simple disagreement between me and my ex and her new beau," Michael held his stomach then slowly got to his feet as the officer steadied him.

"You sure you don't want to file any charges?"

"No, let her go with her new beau. Time will tell and one day I might just get even." Michael said under his breath so the cop couldn't hear the last line.

Perry drove out of town towards his aunt's house and looked back in his rearview mirror then over at Della. She looked out her car window then back at Perry. He concentrated on the road, and what happened with Michael. As he thought about how he treated Della, his hands clenched the steering wheel then relaxed when he felt her hand on his forearm gently taking his hand in hers.

"Perry, thank you for defending me back there. No one has ever done anything like that for me in a long time." Della murmured not looking at him at first then turned in her seat. He slowed the car but didn't stop it and glanced over at her looking into her eyes before returning his attention to the road.

"Della, you don't need to thank me. If I can't defend you, protect you, and love you, what's the use of me being with you? I love you more than life itself, and I am promising you that I will do just that." Perry squeezed her hand tenderly. Driving another fifteen minutes, they finally reached his aunt's house and was greeted by the dogs again as they barked circling the car.

"Do you want to live dangerously and run for the house with the dogs hot on our heels?" Perry flippantly said to her while they continued barking at them from outside the car.

"I'll take my chances I think the white dog likes me better than you Perry."

"Are you sure she does?"

Della opened her car door and was greeted by the white dog, her tail wagging happily as she sniffed her hands and then her dress, and stepped back so she could exit the car while her partner came over to investigate, sniffing and wagging his big tail and boobed her leg with his nose greeting her too.

"See Perry nothing to be worried about."

"The woman has only been here one day and has a way with animals." Perry said to himself and grinned getting out of the car joining Della, and walked towards the house. Perry knocked on the screen door and heard his aunt scuffling to the door and opened it with a big smile on her face.

"Perry, I'm glad to see you. How are you, Della? I was a little worried when you didn't return last night." Fay escorted them into the house and a sparkle caught her eye that hadn't before.

"I'm doing great, Aunt Fay. We have an announcement to make." Della said eagerly as Perry pulled her towards him.

"What? Don't tell me, you two eloped last night, didn't you?" The older woman couldn't contain her excitement.

"Not exactly. I asked Della to be my wife. We are now officially engaged." Perry beamed while he looked over at her then back at Della, who gazed up at him.

"Oh, that's a very beautiful Della," Fay stared at her ring, took her hand in hers, and examined it carefully before dropping her hand.

"Perry that is wonderful news. I can't wait to tell Sarah." She gushed.

"Perry, is this your last day in town? I thought you were flying back to Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes, I have to get our plane tickets. We're due back in Los Angeles. I didn't forget my chores. I need to finish what I started yesterday." Perry said as if to remind her.

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot your change of fresh clothes is in the bathroom. You'll find them there Perry." She replied.

"Johnny, Derek, and Steven are going to help you out in the field today, Perry. I phoned the brothers last night to make sure they were still coming up to help you." Aunt Fay told him before she retreated into the kitchen.

"Della, I'm going to go into the field gather up the hay bales and put them in the barn. You want to make reservations for our plane tickets?" Perry asked.

"Yes, I can do that," Della replied before he stepped away into the bathroom to change his clothes.

Perry reentered the room finding Della in the kitchen with his aunt again just having small talk and giggling like they were sharing secrets. He paused at the door looking at her, and noticed she had a glow on her face, which he's not seen since last night. Smiling to himself, he reached for the screen door handle and went out the door. Sarah was out in the barn feeding the barn cats as the one mother cat just her kittens. Two black and white, two orange, and one pure white with blue eyes a total of five. The nursing cat purred happily while her kittens nursed. Suddenly hearing a noise, Sarah turned around finding Perry had returned and smiled looking back at him who was somehow different.

"Perry, I'm glad your back. My mother was worried when you didn't return last night, but I told her you were just fine. You probably stayed overnight at Della's, which you did? Didn't you?" She pried with a sly grin on her lips.

"You could say that. Yes. I stayed all night long." Perry flashed a sly grin at her as he walked past her, stepped up on the tractor, and seated himself there.

"Care to share some details, or nothing happened?" She walked up to him batting her eyes at him and teased him as she joined him at the machine where he sat perched.

"Something happened all right, but you'll have to ask Della." He left gave her a glimmer of hope.

"Oh? Well, I'm going to have to get all the steamy details from the source since I am not getting anywhere with you." She huffed and tended to the other animals in the barn before leaving. Perry smiled at his cousin and started the machine and hooked up the hay wagon before he left the building.