Chapter 99
Catherine stopped and turned to face him, "Vincent, never be ashamed of protecting someone you love! If I had the means I would have killed them myself and I am sure Devin would have done the same!"
"I just hated for you to see that side of me Catherine. I work so hard to keep that darkness suppressed."
"Vincent, there is darkness in all of us! It is just that we do not have the natural means that you do. Believe me, if I had had a gun that night, I would have shot them!"
"I did not want you to see me as an…animal," he said sadly.
"Vincent you are the most 'human' person that I know. You are beautiful to me just the way you are!" she insisted.
Testing the Bond, Vincent was assured she meant what she said, "Thank you Catherine."
They continued on to the dining hall where they ate with Father and Mary before splitting up to their separate parties.
Earlier, Father had made it very clear to Devin that any bachelor party thrown for Vincent Below would have to be proper.
To which Devin exclaimed, "Boring!"
Father responded with, "Circumspect."
"Boring!"
"Respectful!"
"Boring!"
"Devin, just what kind of party were you thinking of?" Father demanded.
"Oh, a stripper and lots of booze! Do you think we could talk Rebecca into it? She had turned into quite a looker!"
"DEVIN!"
"What? It's true, she has!" When Father was still standing there looking like a heart attack was imminent, Devin relented, "Oh Pops, I was only kidding! I was going to bring down a few bottles of good liquor and have a nice evening of catching up and telling 'Little Vinnie' stories. A moderate amount of drinking supplemented with some treats that William has promised to make."
After much muttering from Father about keeping an eye on the alcohol intake; that was exactly the king of bachelor party they had.
Among his alcohol purchases Devin had also gotten a few bottles of wine that Mary had asked him for to be served at the bridal shower. He had also offered to pop out of any cake they were having and kiss all the ladies, including the bride herself! Mary had shooed him out of her sight after giving him a good scolding.
Both parties went off without a hitch. William's food was great as well as the alcohol. A few of the tunnel ladies were slightly tipsy because wine was such a rarity Below. Not to be out done, however, there were also a good number of tipsy men making their way carefully to their respective chambers.
There was one rather shocking encounter in the passageway near Mary's chamber. However, no one but the two people involved were there to witness it.
Father was carefully making his way back to his chamber, leaning more heavily on his can than usual. Mary was also on her way to bed, holding on to the wall as a steadying influence.
"Mary, my dear, how are you?" Father gushed when he saw her.
"I am fine! I always have been, and it's about time you noticed!" she told him and then quite unexpectedly planted a kiss on his surprised lips before disappearing into her chamber.
Father walked on, muttering, "Well of course she is fine! Doesn't she know that as a doctor I would know if she wasn't fine, and take care of the situation? And why in the world did she kiss me? It's not New Year's Eve or Saint Patrick's Day!"
Vincent and Catherine were not among the tipsy crew, both of them wanted to be sober when they met again after the parties. It had been a surprise to see Jenny at the shower, but Mary had managed to get word to her to come Below as a surprise for Catherine. Jenny had also been invited to spend the night Below if she chose, but she had to be at work early in the morning, so declined the offer.
Devin, however, was one of the ones that had imbibed more than he should. He was still stinging a bit over Jenny's choice of words to describe him and he had let that effect the number of times his hand lifted his glass. Since Vincent was focused on meeting up with Catherine as soon as he could, it was lucky that Pascal had been keeping an eye on Devin. He made sure the inebriated man got safely to a guest chamber, and while Pascal didn't tuck Devin in, he at least took his shoes off when he fell onto the bed and then covered him with a blanket.
Even though Catherine did have to be at work the next day, she and Vincent did still have a pleasant night together.
To be continued….