Lucky to be loving you
Chapter 15
Page 43
When Bill went home, he told Molly that it was time to celebrate. He told her they were going to go out to Romano's Restaurant in Brookfield to have a fancy dinner with the works. He wanted to tell her all about the case he and Christopher had been working on together. Before, he couldn't share with her during the investigation, but now he could.
Molly was delighted to go out and wore a beautiful outfit she had just picked out at Dottie's. Rosaleen told her mother she looked lovely and to go out and have a great time. Dottie and Bill sorely needed time together since Bill had been working so intently searching for Melanie.
When they walked inside the restaurant, Molly was impressed with the lovely fountain inside that greeted them in the entranceway with poinsettias all around on the ledge. Bill helped Molly with her coat and handed them to the coat checker. The hostess then led them to a table for two where Bill pulled out the chair for Molly. Handing them the menus, Bill asked for a glass of white wine for both of them. As the hostess left, Molly looked around and was thrilled with the strolling violinist, the fireplace with the nativity set on the mantel, and the flickering candles. In the corner was a Christmas tree with the tinsel reflecting from the glow of the candles and a beautiful silver star on top of the tree.
"Bill darling, this place is exquisite!"
"Enjoy it dear, this night is for us," Bill smiled warmly as he admired Molly. "Pick out whatever entree you want because tonight your husband is in a great mood!"
The waitress brought their glasses of wine and asked if they were ready to order.
Molly was excited to taste their lasagna special, and Bill agreed, "Make that two."
Bill held up his glass and toasted, "To my lovely redhead, may she always be as happy as she is tonight!"
"To my hard-working husband, who treats me like a queen!" Molly replied.
They clinked their glasses and took a sip. The violinist spotted their toast, so he strolled over close to them and played O Sole Meo.
Bill reached over and took Molly's hand, "Molly, I have to tell you why my cousin, Peter has written me."
Bill started from the beginning explaining about why Peter was in prison and the bootlegging operation. During the beginning of the story, they ate their salad and fresh bread, but Molly was fascinated with the case and her eyes were glued to Bill. When the lasagna arrived, he was at the part where they went to talk to Melanie's mother and her brother, and how her brother, Gary said a simple statement about the couple next door to Melanie, "Well, that's what they told you."
"Molly, Christopher and I had all the clues, but we couldn't fit all the pieces together at that point. But, that one statement triggered us to think again. When we started to look for that couple through headquarters' records, they weren't listed in any of the provinces, so we were back to square one."
Molly asked, "So, now that you have that couple in custody and Melanie is at the hospital getting checked out, are you completely done with the case?"
"Yes, my part is done. I will visit Peter tomorrow to give him some peace that Melanie is alive. She didn't look good, Molly. It seems she probably will have more emotional healing then physical for all that she's been through," Bill told her just enough, but he didn't want her to know how awful Melanie looked.
"I'm so happy to know you're done with those mobsters! I worried so much about you. It'll be great to have you home on time for dinner."
"Me too, but Christopher still has his work cut out for him," Bill shook his head.
The waitress came by to clear their table and asked if they wanted dessert.
"Yes, spumoni for both of us please," Bill requested.
"What do you mean? What more does Christopher have to do?" Molly asked crinkling her brows together.
Bill leaned back in his chair and explained, "There's still more to the puzzle, Molly. We know that the Sinclairs, I mean the Francos, didn't kidnap Melanie. They were too elderly. So, when they were being interrogated, they admitted there were two men who went into her house and using the knife that was on the kitchen counter snuck upstairs. Ed didn't know the details, but he told us what he knew."
The waitress brought two dishes of spumoni and left.
Bill took a bite, then cleared his throat, and continued, "Apparently Melanie was blindfolded and dragged out to their automobile. They drove her around all over so she wouldn't know where she was. Ed and Agnes were there when the men brought her."
"Didn't she recognize them?" Molly asked.
"No, Melanie hadn't seen them before because they just arrived the same day. She was kept in the basement so she couldn't see outside. Most of the time she was gagged when they left the house."
"Oh, that poor thing!" Molly felt awful for her. "Didn't Agnes feel sorry for her?"
Bill had to chuckle, "She tried to claim innocence in the whole deal, but she was as cold-hearted as Ed."
"So, now what's going to happen?"
"Well, Christopher is still on the case trying to identify the men who kidnapped Melanie. Ed admitted they all worked for the Salerno brothers, but he says he doesn't know those two. A neighbor down the street, who we talked to, saw them sitting in their automobile with binoculars watching Melanie's house."
"Those rats!" Molly hit the table with her fist. Looking around, she realized she just called attention to herself, so she quickly flashed an alluring smile and winked at Bill then said, "Let's go home, Bill. We still need to celebrate."
Bill cracked a huge grin and pushed his chair back, "Yes, let's go, Red!"
Page 44
Dee had just finished nursing Colleen who was now sleepy, and content nestled in Allie's arms. Allie couldn't stop smiling at her little sister as she cradled her and held her little hand in her own, while gently rocking her in the rocking chair.
"Colleen, you are such a beautiful little girl. I am so lucky to be your big sister! I promise you that I will always be here for you! We have loving parents and the cutest little brother. He will probably grow up to be your biggest tease and your best friend," Allie laughed.
Christopher had romped into bed with his mother and excitedly watched his big sister holding his new little sister. "Ba-ba!" he mumbled trying to say baby."
"Christopher is a big brother now!" Dee told him.
Nathan walked in and teased him, "Who's been sleeping in my bed?"
Christopher began giggling and squirming to hide under the covers.
Nathan pulled back the quilt saying, "There's my boy! Grandma has some breakfast for you!" he said as he swept Christopher up.
Dee gave Nathan a grateful nod as he carried his son on his shoulders to go downstairs to eat breakfast. She watched Colleen sleeping in her sister's arms.
"Honey, you can put her down in her cradle. I think she's going to doze off for a while now with her belly full."
Allie nodded and got up slowly and gently put Colleen down. "I'm going to see if Grandma needs help."
Allie stopped in the doorway and turned back to ask, "Grandpa hasn't seen Colleen yet, has he?"
"No, not yet. After breakfast, I'm sure Grandma will bring him up."
"Or, I could bring her down," Allie suggested.
"Thanks Allie. Let's see what your dad says."
When Allie left, she closed the door behind her. Dee closed her eyes and slid back down grabbing a wink of sleep before Violet would be back to check on her and Colleen.
Violet reported to the infirmary quite tired. Dr. Carson was there checking the schedule and was surprised to see her.
"Violet! The last I heard Dr. Faith told me you called her and that you were checking on Dee Grant. By the look on your face, I think it's safe to assume that you were up delivering a baby. Am I right?"
"Yes! Dee had a beautiful baby girl and both she and her baby were doing just fine when I left."
"That's great news! I bet they're very happy now with another little girl."
"Yes sir. I went straight to bed when I got back home, but I only got a few hours of sleep."
The bell on the door rang and Molly walked in with Dr. Faith. "Good morning" they both said cheerfully.
Faith looked over to Violet and quickly asked, "How did it go with Dee last night?"
Violet filled in Faith and Carson, with Molly right next to them with her ears perked up.
"Wonderful! Another little one joining our town," Faith said joyfully. Giving Violet a hug she suggested, "You should go home and back to bed for a while."
"I can't yet. It's time to make a house call and check on Dee and the baby."
"Go home," Faith reassured Violet, "I'll take care of that. Besides I want to see the baby!"
A minute later, Molly called Bill to tell him the news, but made him promise not to say a word. She didn't want to get in trouble again.
Bill laughed, "I already know. Nathan called Gunther and told him that he and Andy would be in charge today because he would be home with his family. He called me too, to let me know so if Gunther or Andy needed anything, he told them to contact me."
It was early, but Fiona had already received a telephone call from Dottie that her bridal dress had arrived. She grabbed her coat, scarf, and handbag then trotted excitedly to the Apparel Shop.
As she burst through the shop door causing the doorbells to ring with emphasis and startling Dottie causing her to swiftly turn to greet her customer. She saw Fiona standing there grinning from ear to ear.
"Good morning, Dottie! I can't wait to see the gown!"
Dottie laughed, "Dee, I just hung it up. The dress has been in a box for a few days, so it needs to relax first, so the wrinkles fall out."
"I don't need to try it on now, I just want to see it!" Fiona grinned.
"Of course, you do," Dottie nodded as she took Fiona to the changing room.
When Fiona saw her gown hanging from the hook on the back of the door, she held her hands to her face and took in the sight of the exquisite gown. She was speechless.
Dottie spoke up watching Fiona's reaction closely, "I hope this means you like the gown? I still have the train and veil in the other box."
"Oh, it's gorgeous! It doesn't even need a train," Fiona found her voice again.
Dottie was very happy that her friend was so thrilled, "Oh, for heaven's sake, now I can't wait to see you in it. Go ahead and undress, and I'll help you in it."
Fiona's heart seemed to be beating a mile a minute, as she fought with her clothes to come off faster. When she was down to her slip, Dottie carefully took the gown off the hanger and helped Fiona carefully put it on. She didn't have her heels to put on, but she got a look in the mirror, and she was breathless.
Dottie smiled warmly, "Wait until we add the train and veil!"
Page 45
It was a busy morning at Minnie's Cafe. All the ladies, including the Chickadees of course, came for bible study and to make plans for the town Christmas tree caroling.
Minnie called for attention so the chatting would quiet down. "Ladies, I'm sure you all know that Dee just delivered a beautiful baby girl!"
The group began to chatter excitedly so Minnie lost control for a minute, but MaryAnn raised her hand and caught Minnie's attention. "Yes, MaryAnn?" she prompted.
"Well, I just wanted to say that now that Dee is at home with baby Colleen and even though she has help from Emily and Allie, I think we might want to each take a turn bringing over a hot meal," MaryAnn suggested.
Several ladies cheerfully nodded in agreement.
"Great, just let me know if you would like to participate, and I will gladly take care of the schedule," MaryAnn offered.
"Oh, that's such a wonderful offer," Minnie smiled. "Now ladies, we will have a short Bible Study today from the Gospel of Luke followed by our latest update on the Christmas Tree caroling. So, as we do with all our gatherings, we will begin with prayer."
As the women closed their eyes they listened to Minnie's prayer and they all ended together saying, "Amen."
"All right ladies, first things first, you know the routine, help yourself to coffee or tea and if you'd like a muffin there's a plateful ready for your taking."
Fiona was there this morning and she was busy sharing about her wedding dress. "I can't wait to see it once Dottie is finished altering it. It looks so much prettier than it did in the catalog!"
"Did Christy's dress arrive too?" Anne Lipinski asked.
"It should be in any day now," Fiona grinned. "I'll be sure to let her know first thing."
"Well, we all know what's next after Christmas!" Dottie announced.
"Oh! A bridal shower!" Molly clapped.
"Yes! But don't tell her," Dottie teased.
Fiona spoke up, "Ladies please, not to worry. Between James and I we have all we need but thank you."
Molly looked at Dottie and winked as they both grinned.
Minnie directed, "I want you all to open your Bible's to the Gospel of Luke. We will read the first, second, and third chapters together now followed by time for questions and discussion. Then, I want you to read chapters four through eleven at home before we meet next week. This way we can finish our plans for the Christmas tree caroling today. Does that sound good with you?"
No one objected, so as decided, when they finished the three chapters and their brief discussion, Elizabeth took out her paper and led the conversation about the tree lighting.
"Ladies, like last year, we are already practicing for the caroling. Augustus Landis has already practiced with the children until school let out for the Christmas break. Now, with Dee just having her little baby, as Fiona will testify," Elizabeth looked over and exchanged smiles with Fiona, "James is helping with both of the church choirs practicing."
"That's not really required, is it?" Christine asked.
"No, of course not," Elizabeth reassured everyone. "It's mainly for the children to make sure they know the words and melodies. I'm sure everyone here knows the Christmas carols by heart."
"Don't forget the Moretti family will be there too," Theresa added.
Carlotta heard her name, and smiled nodding, "Gino wouldn't miss it for the world. He loves caroling!"
Elizabeth continued, "The children made homemade paper ornaments and we will be decorating the tree with them along with ribbons and pinecones on strings. We also have prayer cards so a family will pick one up and will pray for the family whose name is on the card!"
"Now that's a wonderful new idea!" Mary was pleased.
"What about the Christmas children's pageant?" Rosemary chimed in.
The ladies looked at Rosemary knowing full well that she had already been working with the children from St. James and the Community Church.
"She's been very busy with Lucia at the Valley Voice, but Katie Yost and Debra Blakely have pitched in working with her," Minnie spoke up.
"Yes, thank goodness, they have the stamina to keep going when I am too tired and just want to take care of my children after a long day at work. I'm not as young as I used to be and it's catching up with me," Rosemary sighed.
Minnie patted her arm, "Those young ladies will be a great help, don't you worry."
The morning rushed by and before they knew it, they were ready to go home. When the last lady left, Minnie was happy and content. "Thank you, Lord, you have blessed this town mightily!"