A little later that afternoon, having finished their shopping trip with their son and having picked up Maggie from her last day at school, Mr. and Mrs. Street came home. Walking into the house, the family heard a most unexpected sound: their eldest daughter, singing loudly and joyously.
"And because these daft and dewey eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes, impossible things are happening every day!"
They hurried to the kitchen, and found Della practically dancing around the room as she mashed potatoes and put the finishing touches on a leg of lamb. To their surprise, she was wearing her best dress. Her brown curls had been brushed out so thoroughly that they shone.
"Della?" the bewildered Mrs. Street asked. When her daughter whirled around, positively beaming, she added, quite baffled, "You seem…rather happy!"
"Indeed, I am quite happy, Mom," Della gushed, smiling at the group before her. "Maggie, how did your algebra test go?"
"Wonderfully! I got a ninety-four percent!" the youngest Street proudly said.
"And, as a result, you are looking at a 'Straight-A' student, Della," their father informed her.
"Congratulations, I knew you could do it!" Della exclaimed, coming over to her sister and wrapping her in a warm hug. "This is probably a good time to mention that I have a big surprise in store for you."
"I know, I can smell it!" Maggie said, glancing over Della's shoulder at all the dishes on the stove and countertop.
"I don't mean your dinner," Della said, releasing her and taking a step back. "We are going to have a visitor tonight, whom I believe will be staying with us for a few days at least…a visitor who I think you will like very much."
Maggie's eyes lit up.
"You've convinced Aunt Marie to let our cousin Laura from Nevada come to California! Della, however, did you manage it? Mom must have told you that Laura and I have been dreaming of spending part of the summer together, but Aunt Marie kept saying that there was no way she was going to let a thirteen-year-old girl take a bus to Treeland by herself and that neither she nor Uncle Tom could take time off from work to drive her up here. What did you say to convince her?"
"I will neither confirm nor deny your suspicions," Della answered, amused. "You will find out who our visitor is soon enough. The only thing I can promise you is that you'll be very happy when they arrive."
"If Laura is coming, we have to get the guest room ready," Mrs. Street said, starting to move towards that part of the house.
"I have already put it in order, Mom," Della said. "I've aired it out, put our best spare towels in the bathroom, and dusted all the furniture."
"You did all that on top of making a four-course dinner?" Mrs. Street exclaimed, impressed. "Della, you must have been simply flying around the house this afternoon to accomplish all that!"
"That's about right," her daughter acknowledged, with a broad smile and a sparkle in her eyes.
"It is wonderful to see you this cheerful, my dear. I was starting to get very worried about you and your moping face. We all were."
Before Della could respond to her mother, a very, very loud whirling noise was heard overhead. The entire house shook.
"What in the world?" Mr. Street exclaimed anxiously, quickly moving towards the back door to ascertain what was happening, his entire family following at his heels.
Walking out onto the back porch cautiously, they saw a helicopter flying overhead at a very low altitude, and dropping lower every second.
"It looks like it is about to land just beyond our horse corral!" Robert cried out in shock. "It must be experiencing mechanical failure, and has to make an emergency landing!"
Della, however, noticed that the machine's descent, while unexpected, seemed far too controlled to be caused by an equipment failure. Instinctively, she glanced at her watch. When she noticed the time, she chuckled under her breath,
"Exactly three hours. I should have known!" More loudly, she added, "On the contrary, Robert, I think that it is landing at its intended destination." As she spoke, the flying machine touched down perfectly on the top of the hill situated right behind the fenced-in area where the horses were grazing.
"Della, our farm is hardly a usual landing ground for helicopters. Robert has a point, there must be something wrong," her father kindly reproved her, staring warily at the unfolding scene on his property, as if he were expecting the conveyance to burst into flames at any moment.
"No, Daddy," Della said firmly. "I believe that our guest has just arrived, and that everything is finally right. Just wait here for a few minutes, and you will see if I am correct!"
Ignoring the fact that her entire family had turned to look at her as if she were a lunatic, Della moved away from them and began to run, as quickly as her legs could carry her, around the horse corral and up the hill. As she did so, the helicopter's hatch opened, and a handsome man dressed in a business suit emerged and jumped out of it, suitcase in hand. Keeping his head low, he dashed a few feet forward until he was clear of the whirling blades. Then, he straightened up, dropped his suitcase, and continued running towards Della. Behind him, the helicopter's hatch closed, and the machine gracefully rose from the grass towards the sky once more, and disappeared over the tops of the trees.
"Perry!" the lady cried out once they were within ten feet of each other.
"My dear Della!" was the response.
For the first time in their long acquaintance, Della could greet him like she wanted to – she dashed into his outstretched arms. She felt them close around her, and then her feet left the ground as he picked her up and swung her round and round. She clung to his neck, burrowing her face in his shoulder. Both were keenly aware that they had almost lost each other due to their unfortunate misunderstanding, and were doubly grateful for this second chance as a result.
After about five rotations, the defense attorney finally set her back down. For a long moment, they simply gazed into each other's eyes, the look between them saying more than words ever could. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Della knew that her shocked family was watching them from the back porch, but that they were too far away to recognize the attorney or to hear what they said to each other. She was also aware that as sharp an observer as Perry would have seen them as well, but from the determination in his face, it was obvious that nothing short of a natural disaster would deter him from his planned course of action.
Indeed, the lawyer took both her hands in his own, and glancing over the beautiful landscape, said,
"Well, this is not The Brown Derby, but these rolling, windswept hills are even prettier, and the magnificent sunset is even more memorable than fireworks. And after all you went through for the last few days, I don't want to leave you in doubt of my intentions for another moment." Dropping down on one knee, Perry reached into his pocket and brought out the sapphire ring which she had seen at his apartment. Holding it out to her, he said, "My darling, you are the first and only woman whom I ever loved. You are the most beautiful, loyal, and intelligent girl whom I have had the pleasure of encountering. You brighten and bring warmth to my world just like the sunshine brightens and warms the earth. I want to be at your side, every day, forevermore, and share with you all the joys and sorrows which life has in store for us. Della Street, will you marry me?"
Her hazel eyes sparkling like stars, Della answered,
"Yes, Perry Mason, I will marry you! I love you so very, very much!"
"Thank you, my sweet!" His voice shook with gratitude.
The attorney slipped the ring upon her finger, and then, standing up, took her head in between his hands. After they had shared another unforgettable look, he bent towards her, and captured her lips with his own.
The kiss was long and sweet. When they finally parted, Perry embraced her and held her for another prolonged moment.
…
At last, Della extricated herself from his arms and turned her mind to more practical matters.
"I was hoping that you could stay a few days?" Her fiancé nodded. "I should like you to get to know my family. In particular, one of them happens to be your second biggest fan."
"Second biggest fan?" Perry asked, amused. "Who is my biggest fan?"
Della stood on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek before answering:
"Me."
Della has just gotten the proposal of her dreams, and Maggie is about to get the celebrity sighting of her dreams!
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