In 1974, Peggy and Oliver welcomed their first child. A daughter named Isabel Margaret. Now, they were expecting their second.
Della had taken Violet and Maggie shopping one day. The girls got in the car while Della put the bags in the trunk. It was dark out and all three were ready to go home. "Excuse me," Della heard a voice and looked up. Someone was standing by the front passenger side door.
"Can I help you?"
The person didn't answer. Della suddenly felt a piercing pain in her abdomen. She grabbed her stomach and fell to the ground. The person had run away, so the girls got out of the car, "mom!" they yelled and found her on the sidewalk, bleeding.
"I'm alright," Della said in pain.
"Stay with mom," Maggie told her sister. She ran up to a shop near them that still had a light on. The door was locked and she started banging on it. The man inside didn't seem happy when he opened the door, "my mom was shot. I need to call for help," she said.
The man changed his attitude and quickly took Maggie to the phone. She thanked the man who insisted on locking up and going with her to stay with the three while they waited. Violet was applying pressure to her mother's wound with her hands while trying to keep her awake, "mom, you're going to be okay." She looked up and saw her sister, "Maggie's back."
"An ambulance is on the way," Maggie said. She introduced the man to her sister before kneeling next to her mother. "Help's on the way," she said and took her mother's hand. Maggie looked at her sister, "has she said anything?"
"Not since she told us she was alright."
Maggie turned her attention back to her mother, "mom, mom, I need you to look at me." She watched as her mother weakly turned her head towards her. "Can you say something?"
It took a bit of effort, but Della managed, "love you."
The paramedics arrived and transported the three to the hospital. There, Maggie made the difficult call to her father. "Daddy," she said when he answered.
Perry could hear the emotion in his daughter's voice, "Maggie, where are you?"
"We're at the hospital," she said.
"What happened?" Perry tried to remain calm for his daughter.
"Mom was putting everything in the trunk when someone walked up and shot her."
"Where's she now?"
"In surgery," Maggie said.
"Are you and Violet okay?"
"No, but we weren't hurt."
"We'll be right there," Perry said and hung up. He got the other four children who still lived at home and left for the hospital. He had called Nicky who picked up Peggy to go to the hospital. When Perry and the kids walked into the emergency waiting room, Maggie and Violet ran to their father's arms. "Have you two heard anything?"
"No," Maggie answered.
"The police were here," Violet said, "they took our statements."
"They said we could wait for you, but we wanted to get it over with," Maggie said.
"That's alright," Perry said.
A doctor walked into the room, "for Della Mason," he said.
"I'm her husband," Perry said as he walked up to the man.
"Your wife is stable. She did very well in surgery. There was minimal damage. We removed the bullet and repaired anything that had been damaged. She's going to have some difficulty getting around for a little while. She's in recovery, but a nurse will come and get you as soon as she's in her room."
"Thank you," Perry said.
"Thank you," Maggie and Violet said.
The doctor smiled at them, "Mr. Mason, you and your wife should be proud of these two. They are two very brave young ladies."
Perry smiled at his daughters, "they sure are." The doctor left and everyone took a moment to sit and process everything. Perry had the kids wait in the waiting room near Della's room when he went in. He sat by her bed and took her hand. Perry began to sing to his unconscious wife, "I'll be loving you, always. With a love that's true, always. When the things you plan, need a helping hand. I will understand, always. Always. Days may not be fair, always. That's when I'll be there, always. Not for just an hour. Not for just a day. And not for just a year, but always." The Mason children had cracked the door and were crying as they heard their father sing the very important song. The song that created their family.
Della began to stir. She opened her eyes and saw her husband, "Perry?"
"Hey," he said with a smile.
"What happened?"
"You were shot."
"How did I forget that?"
"The anesthesia probably hasn't completely worn off."
"Are the girls alright?"
"They weren't hurt. They're a bit shaken up."
"Were you singing our song to me?"
"I knew it would wake you up. Would you like to see our brood?"
"They're all here?"
Perry stood and went to open the door. "Careful, kids," Perry said as each one took a turn hugging Della. "You should know that Maggie ran to a store near the car to call for help. The owner was there and helped her before going back to the car and staying with you all until the ambulance arrived."
Della looked at Maggie and reached for her hand. Maggie took it, "thank you, sweetheart."
"Violet applied pressure to your wound with her hands while they waited," Perry added. Maggie stepped aside so Violet could go to her mother. After visiting for a few minutes, the kids left while Perry stayed with his wife. "I wonder why they didn't go after the girls?" Perry questioned. "Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful they weren't hurt, but..."
"I know what you mean," Della said. "It was dark. Maybe the shooter didn't see them."
"Let's hope they didn't."
Della stayed in the hospital for a week. Perry helped his wife into the house where their children were on hand to greet their mother. Della was relieved to be home, but the fact that the shooter was still out there, frightened her. Perry helped his wife get settled on the couch. The woman was still weak and tired easily. "Perry, could you dig my cane out?" Della asked after getting situated.
"Sure," Perry said, "I'll be right back." He went to the attic where he had taken everything his wife had needed when she broke her knee. Perry grabbed the cane and went back downstairs. He propped it against the side table for her.
"Does Tragg have any leads?"
"There are no eyewitnesses and the girls said it was too dark to identify the person."
"I didn't see him either. I just told Tragg the voice sounded like a man's."
"Della, I think Maggie and Violet should stay home for now. Maybe even go to the office with us when you go back to work."
"I agree," Della said, "what about Maureen and Vivi? He could have seen two girls in the backseat and not been able to identify them. He may not know and I can't put them through that. Especially Maureen," Della explained, "she's been through enough."
"I guess the girls are all going with us. They may not be happy about it."
"Jenny might," Della laughed, "it's been a while since there were only two for her to look after."
Perry and Della explained to their daughters what the plan was. While they weren't happy about not being able to go out, they also understood. After what happened to Maureen, the girls took their safety more seriously. Days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and years. The shooter had gotten away. The police weren't giving up. The children returned to school after a month. It took Della, Maggie, and Violet several months to be able to move on without always being in fear.
