Vince and Cassie married the following month. They had an actual wedding that their parents knew about and were present for. Maggie and Richard welcomed their son William. Perry had just met William when he received a phone call from a friend out in Denver. Jordan White was accused of killing David Hall, a famous horror writer. He flew out to talk to the man before asking his wife to join him. "I am not superstitious about flying," Della said after arriving late by train.
"I believe the last time you flew anywhere was back in 1958 when we had to go deal with that issue across the pond. As I recall, you were a nervous wreck the entire flight."
"Perry, Maureen was only a few months old."
"She slept most of the time. When she wasn't sleeping, she was looking out the window."
"Look, I fly when I have to," Della said, "except on Fridays." Perry rolled his eyes and the two went to the courtroom where Perry's client was.
Perry, Della, and Jordan ended up back at the hotel where the murder took place. Perry called Paul to have him fly in and help. Paul met up with the couple the next morning. "Was Maureen mad that we called you away?" Perry asked.
"No," Paul answered, "she's mad at me for agreeing to go."
"Well, you're here, child-free, and she's there with three little girls," Perry said.
"Paybacks are hell," Della said with a smile.
"I'll tell her you said that," Paul said.
"Oh, please do," Della responded. "How are the girls?"
"They're related to Paul Drake Sr. and Perry Mason. How do you think they are?" Della laughed.
"What are you trying to say?" Perry asked.
"They're stubborn and they don't listen. Just like you, just like my father, just like their mother."
"And her mother," Perry added. He handed out assignments and left to meet someone at the victim's home.
After Perry left, Paul noticed a change in his mother-in-law's mood, "something wrong?"
Della looked at the investigator, "you mean besides the murder? Nothing," Della said, "I just stayed up too late reading Hall's book."
"Well, if you decide to tell me the truth, I'm here for you." Paul left to get to work. Della left not long after. That night, a young woman that Paul had run into after arriving, told him that once again, she had seen the painting come to life. Paul pulled the fire alarm to get everyone in one place. Perry talked to the people one by one. Della went back to the room but went searching for Perry after a while. As he began walking to her, the chandelier fell. Della ran to her husband, but he sent her away.
When he walked into their room, she was sitting on the bed, facing the door, crying. Perry sat next to her and put an arm around her, "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't think it was safe for you to be there. I didn't want to risk you getting hurt."
"I know," Della said softly. "That's not the only thing that's been bothering me."
"You can tell me anything, or you can tell me nothing."
"I had to have a second mammogram."
"And?"
"I don't have the results yet, but I'm scared. The only other time I had to have a second mammogram was when I was diagnosed with cancer."
"I'm sure that everything will be alright. You've been in remission for twenty years."
"That doesn't mean that I'm cured. There is no cure."
"Let's go to bed and worry about this when we have to. I'm telling you, you're fine." The couple went to sleep. Perry's friend was acquitted the following day. Perry, Della, and Paul had gone back to the hotel to get their things. Paul had gone to his in-laws' room to help them with their luggage. Right before they left, the phone in the room rang. Della answered it. It was her doctor. After a brief conversation, Della hung up. "Della, are you alright?"
"Yes," she said softly, "I'm really alright."
Perry hugged his wife, "I told you so."
Paul hugged Della after Perry was done, "wait," Della pulled out of the hug. "How did you know?"
"Perry told me. I expressed my concerns to him this morning. I'm glad that you're alright. Now, let's go home before my wife loses her mind."
Perry had convinced his wife to fly home with him and Paul. Della didn't like the flight at all, but it wasn't the worse thing she'd had to deal with. That phone call could have made her life a lot worse. The following month, Vivian gave birth to a baby boy named Derek. The very next day, Kimberly gave birth to a little girl named Tabitha.
Perry had needed another knee surgery. They had thought that the knee could be repaired the last time, but now, it needed to be replaced. He was finishing up his stay at the hospital when a childhood friend of Della's visited. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting the man who was able to take Della Street off of the market. Many had tried before, and all of them failed," Tony Domenico said.
"Took me a while to convince her," Perry said, "a whole six months."
Tony looked at Della, "you promised me some family photos."
Della took a small photo album out of her purse and showed Tony pictures of her children and grandchildren. After a while, Tony left, but not before inviting the couple to have dinner with him and his wife once Perry was released. Unfortunately, Tony's wife was murdered the night after he had visited Della and Perry at the hospital. Tony was arrested and Perry agreed to represent him.
Della had been called as a character witness for Tony. Unfortunately, the prosecutor found out a secret she had never told her husband. That night, their children and grandchildren were supposed to come over for dinner, but Perry and Della had forgotten about that after what had happened in court. They were all in the living room when they heard the couple enter the house. "Perry, please say something," they heard Della beg.
"There's nothing to say."
"I know that you're angry with me."
"I'm not angry. I'm humiliated," he revealed. "I had to find out in court that my wife of thirty-two years had been engaged before meeting me."
In the living room, the others were in shock. "Perry, it was a short engagement and it happened ten years before I met you."
"You still should have told me."
"Why? Why did you need to know that? I didn't marry Michael. I married you. I don't have Michael's last name. I have yours. I didn't have Michael's children. I had your children."
"Why didn't you tell me? There had to have been a reason."
"Why does there have to be a reason? Why can't it just be that you didn't need to know?"
"Della, why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to relive it," she yelled. "He put me down all the time. He kept a close watch on my weight and my appearance. I never did anything without his permission. One weekend, he was away on business. I took the opportunity to run. I hocked the ring and used it to get my first apartment. By the time I'd met you, I had put all of that behind me. I couldn't go back to feeling self-conscious, so I never told you."
Perry walked over and took his wife into his arms, "I'm sorry," he said.
"You didn't do anything."
"I should have known that you had a perfectly good reason. I guess I let what happened in court get to me more than I thought."
"How many questions do you think our children will have?"
"None," Perry said loudly, "because they learn from their father's mistakes."
When the couple walked into the living room, no one said a thing about Della's broken engagement. Instead, they took the time to tell her what a wonderful mother she was.
Once Tony was acquitted, Della took her husband home to take care of him. He still had to recover from his knee surgery. In the meantime, Violet and Jack became first-time parents eleven months after their wedding. They'd welcomed a little girl named Vanessa.
