Righteous Obsession (26 page)

Mace and Jake excused themselves and left the room.

“You don’t have to be nervous because they’re going to
fall in love with you just like I did.”

“Maybe I’ll feel more comfortable if you tell me a
little bit about your grandparents.”

Colin thought for a moment.  “Well, Grandpa and
Grandma Scott are pretty blunt.  They get right to the point and they’re not
always very tactful about how they do it.”

“Boy!  That’s the understatement of the century!” 
Liam remarked.

“Grandma used to be on the city council.  In fact, she
was the first woman ever elected from her district and she held that seat until
she decided to retire from politics.  Grandpa worked for IBM until his
retirement so he’s used to wheeling and dealing.”  Colin laughed.  “When we
were kids, we always felt like we had to make an appointment to see them.”

“What about your paternal grandparents?”

Colin smiled and his expression softened.  “They’re
like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.  I’ve always felt closer to
them.  They own a lot of real estate in Berkeley and manage it themselves.  I
used to stay with them while mom and dad were in school.  Grandma would take me
to the park every day, push me on the swings, and buy me ice cream.  Grandpa always
had time to read me a story complete with sound effects.  It didn’t matter one
iota to them that I wasn’t their biological grandchild.”

“And your uncle and aunt?”

“Dick might seem a little stiff until you get to know
him.  He’s a career army officer and his present rank is a major.  He joined
the army after high school and did two tours of Vietnam.  His wife, Lucy is a
real trooper.  She’s had to move all over, sometimes on a month’s notice.  They
have five kids.  My Aunt Angie is dad’s youngest sister.  She’s only twelve
years older than me and she’s a hoot!  She teaches high school and her husband,
Greg, works for a computer company.  They have three kids.”  He chuckled. 
“Believe me I’m just as nervous about meeting all your relatives tomorrow.”

Alethea smiled and squeezed his hand.  “We’ll both do
fine.”

Colin ran his hand through his hair.  “Why don’t I get
showered and we can have lunch.”

“I know a great café that’s not too far from here.” 
Alethea replied.

“Sounds good.”

“We’ll meet you in mom’s suite when you’re done.” 
Liam said.

Colin took a quick shower and dried himself.  He
frowned as he stared at his back. In addition to the almost faded scars from
the scratches Debbie had put on his back, there were new ones which Alethea had
added the other night.  His back was beginning to look as if he’d landed in the
middle of a cat fight!  He got dressed and took the elevator down to the suite
he’d rented for his parents.  Accompanied by McGregor, who was looking much
better, Colin, Alethea, Amanda, and Liam casually strolled down the main street
of the French Quarter.  None of them noticed the car that was following them. 
They had lunch outdoors at one of the small, intimate cafés, which dotted the
Quarter.  They paid no attention to the slender, blond man who seated himself
at a table further behind theirs and pretended to be absorbed in his copy of
the
New Orleans
Times-Picayune.
  Every so often he’d look over
his paper, watching the Matthews party covertly.  An idea of how he could get
to Colin began forming in his mind as he watched them.

By the time they finished lunch, drove to the airport,
parked and found the right gate, the passengers were just beginning to
disembark.  They all scanned the crowds, anxiously looking for any of their
family members.  Again, none of them noticed the slender, blond man who had
followed them inside the airport.  It was Amanda who spotted their family
members’ first.  She stood on her tiptoes, waving frantically.  “Peter, over
here!”

Peter’s face split into a broad smile as he saw his
wife.  He turned to the others and said,

“Follow me.”

Amanda hurried over to him and he wrapped her in a
tight embrace and gave her a passionate kiss.  “God!  I missed you, Mandy!”

“I missed you, too, Peter.”

“Now that’s romantic,” Colin murmured to Alethea.

“Congratulations, Son!”  Peter said, giving Colin a
hug and a kiss.  He did the same for Alethea.  “Welcome to our family,
Alethea.”

She blushed.  “Thank you, Peter.”

Peter gave his youngest son a hug.  “In a few years
we’ll probably be going to your wedding.”

“Anything’s possible, Dad,” Liam replied.

Colin took Alethea’s hand and introduced her to his
family members.

Roger Matthews took Alethea’s hand in his.  “Well,
Beth, I see Colin’s found himself another beauty!”  He was about the same
height as Peter, but rather on the heavy side.  He appeared to be easy-going
and good-spirited.  His laughter was relaxing and unaffected. “All of Colin’s
girlfriends have been real beauties!”

“Don’t mind Roger, Alethea.  He likes to tease,” Beth
Matthews said.  She was a small woman, soft and pretty with silvery hair and
blue eyes.

“We were quite surprised when Colin suddenly called us
and said he was getting married,” Eileen Scott declared bluntly while carefully
studying Alethea.  She was heavyset with fair coloring.

“It’s only because we had no idea he was this serious
about anybody since…” Ted Scott said.  In contrast to his wife, he was tall and
spare with a head of thick silvery hair.

“Well, Grandpa, when you find the right woman, it’s
best to grab her before somebody else does!”  Colin interrupted quickly, giving
Alethea a hug.

“We’ll have to get together for a private chat,” Angie
promised Alethea.  Her husband, Greg, smiled and rolled his eyes affectionately
at his wife’s remark.

“Why don’t we collect your luggage?  I’ve got a
limousine waiting out front and I’ve reserved rooms for you in the hotel we’re
staying at,” Colin explained.  “The wedding rehearsal is at Alethea’s home at
six and I have reservations at Brennan’s for seven-thirty.”

Amanda opted to ride back with her husband and the
rest of the family.  Liam rode back with Colin and Alethea.  Father Michaels
followed the limousine back, wondering all the while what was happening.  Colin
parked his car and then walked Alethea over to hers.  “I’ll see you later
tonight,” He said, giving her a kiss.

“Definitely!” Alethea said as she started her car.

Colin went back inside the hotel and up to his
parent’s suite on the fifth floor.  He was staying temporarily in their suite
until after the wedding.  As he came in, Amanda called his name.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Colin, what are you planning to wear tonight?”

Colin looked blank for a moment than shrugged.  “What
I normally wear, I guess.”

“Which is?”

He went into one of the bedrooms, flipped open his
suitcase and took out a red, band-collar silk shirt and a knee-length black
cloth jacket.  “These and…” He shrugged.  “I guess I’ll wear the slacks we
bought the other day.”

Amanda took the shirt and jacket from him.  “These
look like they could use pressing.”

Peter came into the room.  “Did I miss out on a
shopping spree?”

“I know you’re disappointed,” she teased him.

“We didn’t forget you, Dad,” Liam said.  “We bought
you a
Jerry Garcia
® tie.”

“Yeah. I hear a lot of the “in” Democrats have taken
to wearing them, Dad, so you’ll be right in style!”  Colin added.

“Mom bought a new dress,” Liam continued.  “Wait until
you see her in it, Dad, it’ll knock your socks off!”

Amanda blushed.  “Colin picked it out.”

“Do you think I can get a preview, Mandy?”

Colin caught Liam’s eye and nodded towards the door. 
He called to his parents, “I’m going to lay down for awhile.  If I’m not back
down here by four, would you call my room?”  He gently nudged Liam towards the
door.

“Don’t leave the hotel, you guys, and give yourselves
adequate time to get ready,” Peter called.

Colin and Liam went out into the hallway.  Liam pulled
his arm away from Colin and complained. “Okay!  What was so all-fired important
that you practically dragged me out of there?”

“I think mom and dad wanted to be alone, if you get my
drift.”

Liam looked puzzled for a second then his eyes
widened.  “You mean they’re…Oh!”  He scratched his head.  “I guess we would’ve
been in the way.”

“Slightly,” Colin remarked dryly.

“Well, I guess I’ll call Alison.  I haven’t talked to
her for a couple of days,” Liam decided.

As they got off the elevator on the seventh floor,
they ran into Steve.  “Colin, I’ve got everything arranged as far as announcing
your wedding goes.  I’m going to notify the media first thing Sunday morning because
I don’t want a flap with them like when Jon Bon Jovi got married and his
management wouldn’t officially confirm it.”

“Well, I’ll leave it up to you, Steve.  All we want is
for our wedding to be as private as possible.”

“I don’t see a problem with that.”

“Oh!  By the way, I’d better give you Alethea’s
address while I’m thinking about it.”  He went into his room, scribbled the
address on a piece of hotel stationery and gave it to Steve.

“He glanced at it then folded it and put it into his
pocket.  “You do know that the regular concert schedule is still in force
tomorrow.  The sound checks at three then you guys have a radio interview at
four.”

Colin nodded.  “I know and so does Alethea.”

“Good.”  He shook his head.  “Well, I guess I’d better
go and rest up for the press onslaught I’ll be dealing with for the next couple
of days.”

“Thanks, Steve for all your help with this.”

“That’s what a manager does, Colin.”

Amanda appeared relaxed and cheerful when Colin
returned to his parent’s suite to get ready for the rehearsal and prenuptial
dinner.  Colin smiled to himself.  His parents had always managed to hold on to
a newlywed delight and enjoyment of each other.  He hoped he and Alethea would
be like that after more than twenty-five years.  He took a shower and got
dressed, wincing at how tight his new shoes felt.  He picked up his wallet and
checked to make sure he had his credit card then securely stowed it in an inner
pocket of his jacket.  As he did so, another card fell out of it.  He picked it
up and saw it was the card Detective Madison had given him.  He’d gone over and
over in his mind, but still drew a blank on any new information.  Thinking
about Debbie saddened him.  He’d spoken with Diana yesterday morning and she’d
told him that Debbie’s condition remained unchanged.  She’d also told him about
her mother’s idea about changing Debbie’s therapy.  He’d heard of the cases
Diana mother had mentioned and he hoped it could help Debbie too.  There was a
knock on his door, interrupting his train of thought.

“Colin, are you ready?”  His mother asked.

“I’ll be out in a second, Mom.”  He did a final check
of his appearance then walked into the living room where his parents were
waiting.  “Mom, you look gorgeous!”

“I agree!”  Peter said.  He wore a light gray suit
with a light blue shirt and his new tie.

“You mean for an old lady,” Amanda teased
vivaciously.  She wore a loose sheath dress of royal blue that cinched at her
waist, complimenting her slim waist.  Her eyes sparkled and the color of her
dress deepened them to sapphire.

“Old lady?  Come on, Mom!  You don’t look old enough
to have a kid as old as me,” Colin declared.

“Thank you,” she replied, standing on her tiptoes to
kiss his cheek.  “I’d better go and see what’s holding up Liam.”

“He’s probably fussing with his hair,” Colin joked.

She came back with Liam who was making faces and
pulling on the collar of shirt.  “Geez!  I hope this collar loosens up before
tomorrow!”  He complained.  Like his brother his dress was more formal than usual.

Colin sighed in sympathy.  “I know what you mean. 
I’ve only had these shoes on about ten minutes and they’re already killing my
feet!”

“Do you have a wedding ring for Alethea, Colin?” 
Amanda asked.  “I noticed she isn’t wearing an engagement ring so I wondered.”

Colin looked at her in puzzlement.  “Yes.  It’s in the
hotel safe.  I’ll get it out when we come back.”

Amanda laughed and explained, “The reason I asked is
because when your father and I got married, he’d completely forgotten about a
wedding ring!  We had to borrow your grandmother’s for the actual ceremony,”
she said and touched Peter’s cheek affectionately.

He laughed, too, and confessed, “Well, I was really
nervous!  After all, I was marrying the most beautiful girl on campus,” he
teased, wrapping his arms around Amanda and giving her a kiss.

“We’d better get going before you two decide to get
any more romantic!”  Colin laughed.

“I told everyone we’d meet in the lobby at five-thirty
and it’s just about that now.”  Amanda said.

The rehearsal went smoothly.  Louisa had them run
through it twice to make sure everybody knew when they were coming out, where
they were standing and what they were saying and when.  Afterwards, they went
inside for snacks, drinks, and to get acquainted before leaving for the
restaurant.

Colin observed that his father and Judge LeCarre were
quite friendly, despite their belonging to opposite political parties.

Alethea took Colin’s two grandmothers and his aunt
upstairs to show them her wedding gown.  Louisa and Amanda went with her.

“This is absolutely gorgeous!”  Angie said in awe. 
“How old is it?”

“My great-grandmother wore it for her wedding in
1906.  My grandmother wore it for her wedding and mom and her two sisters all
wore it for theirs.”

“They definitely don’t make wedding gowns like this
anymore,” Grandma Beth said as she carefully examined the lace on the bodice.

“Isn’t it just gorgeous?”  Amanda said.

“And my little girl’s going to wear it tomorrow,”
Louisa said with a suspiciously full voice.

“Mom, you aren’t going to start crying, are you?” 
Alethea asked, giving her mother a hug.

“I can’t help myself when I think about you walking
down the aisle in your great-grandmother’s wedding gown.”

“I love you, Mom,” Alethea said, starting to sniffle,
too.

“We’d better get back downstairs before we all end up
bawling!”  Angie joked.

Dinner was pleasant enough.  Though the food was
excellent, Colin didn’t eat much.  He kept his eye on Peter and Beau.  He
noticed that while they were polite, they remained wary of each other.  His mom
and Louisa, though, had become fast friends and were talking and laughing with
Angie.  Grandpa Ted was in animate conversation with Judge LeCarre and Dick. 
Grandpa Roger was flirting with Vanessa who was chatting with him, Liam,
Grandma Eileen and Greg.  Grandma Beth was conversing with Lucy, Alethea’s
grandmother and her great-aunt, Dorothea.

Alethea, attired in the same dress she’d worn when
he’d come over for dinner, noticed that he wasn’t eating much and squeezed his
hand under the table.  When he looked at her, she asked softly, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.  I guess I’m just not very hungry is all.”

“Nervous?”

He nodded.  “A little.  I just want everything to be
perfect.”

“It will be.”

They left Brennan’s and everybody went back to the
hotel for a nightcap.  It was almost eleven before the party ended.  Judge
LeCarre offered to drive Alethea and Vanessa home.  Colin walked them down to
the lobby.  Alethea kissed Colin goodnight and whispered, “I’ll see you
tomorrow.  Don’t be late.”

“Not a chance!”  He replied.

As Beau and Louisa walked out to their car, Beau
remarked, “Colin certainly doesn’t look like either of his parents.  Is he
adopted?”

Louisa shook her head.  “Alethea told me Colin is his
mother’s child by a previous marriage.  His parents apparently got divorced
before Colin was born and Amanda married Peter when Colin was a baby.”

“Do any of them know anything about the real father?”

“From what Alethea said, I got the impression that
Amanda hasn’t seen him since their divorce and Colin’s never had any contact
with him.”

“Terrific!”  Her husband snorted.  “He could be a
criminal or some other type of low-life, for all we know!”

Louisa sighed.  “Beau, sooner or later, you’re going
to have to accept the fact that Alethea’s going to marry Colin whether you like
it or not.”

On his way back to his parents’ suite, Colin stopped
first to get Alethea’s wedding ring out of the hotel’s safety deposit box.  He
showed it to his parents and Liam when he returned.

“Colin, it’s beautiful!”  Amanda said.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this one,” Peter
remarked.

“I had my favorite jeweler design it specifically for
Alethea because I didn’t want her to have a wedding ring that a thousand other
women had.”  He shut the box and gave it to Liam.  “It’s all yours until
tomorrow.”

“I’ll take good care of it, Colin,” Liam promised.

“I think we’d all better get to bed,” Their mother
suggested, stifling a yawn.  “It’s nearly midnight.”

There was a sudden loud clap of thunder.  Colin peered
out one of the blinds.  “Is it supposed to rain?”

“Yes, and it’s supposed to be cooler tomorrow.”  Peter
answered.

“That would be a relief!”  Colin remarked.  “It’s been
so miserably humid and hot for the last couple of days.”  He glanced at his
watch, still finding it hard to believe that he was getting married in less
than twelve hours.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Amanda woke up a little after five the next morning. 
She kissed Peter then slid out from under his arm.  He stirred but didn’t
waken.  She slipped into her nightgown and drew on her robe then walked over to
the window and peeked outside.  She exhaled in relief to see it wasn’t raining
and looked as if it was shaping up to be a beautiful day.  She left the room,
closing the door quietly behind her.  She could hear the television as she
walked towards the living room and found Colin stretched out on the couch
watching
CNN
.

“Colin, what are you doing up so early?”

Colin looked up in surprise. “Hi, Mom.  The television
didn’t wake you up, did it?”  He sat up, stretched and yawned.

“No,” she replied sitting down beside him.  “How long
have you been awake?”

“About a half-hour.  I couldn’t sleep so I thought if
I got up and channel-surfed for awhile I’d be tired enough to go back to
sleep.”

“Why couldn’t you sleep?  Is there anything you want
to talk about?”  She asked, pushing his hair over his shoulder.

Colin swallowed.  “If this is supposed to be the
happiest day of my life, why do I feel like I have butterflies the size of bats
in my stomach?”

Amanda laughed and patted his hand.  “It’s a perfectly
normal reaction.”

“Did you feel like this?”

“I sure did – both times.”

Colin hit the mute button on the remote and ran his
hands through his hair.  “Mom, what if I’m no good at being married?  I mean I’ve
nearly blown it once already.”

“What do you mean?”

 “It was after a concert recently.  I met this girl
and …” he shrugged.  “Well, Alethea found out about it and I almost lost her.”

“I’m assuming this was a one-time thing?”

“Yes,” Colin whispered.

Amanda put her arm around him and gave him a hug. 
“It’s perfectly normal to have doubts and questions.  After all, getting
married is a big step.”

He took a deep breath.  “Mom, I know that I love
Alethea more than anything and I couldn’t live without her.”

“And that’s the most important thing to know, Colin. 
If you know that much, I’d say you were way ahead of a lot people who get
married.”  She kissed his cheek.  “Why don’t you go back to bed and try to
sleep.  I’ll make sure you’re awake in plenty of time to get ready.”

He nodded.  “Okay.”  He kissed her cheek and got to
his feet.  “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.”  Amanda turned off the television
and returned to the bedroom.  She shrugged off her robe and nightgown then
slipped into bed.

Peter woke up and raised his head.  “Mandy?”

“Sorry,” She whispered.  “I didn’t mean to wake you. 
Go back to sleep.”

“Why were you up?  Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s fine now.  Our son was just having a bad
case of pre-wedding jitters.”

“Is he all right?”

“Yes.  I think he just needed to air what was
bothering him so he could get it straight in his own mind.”

“What was he worried about?”

“Just what everybody worries about.  You know, will I
be a good husband or wife?  I told him it was perfectly normal to have doubts
and questions because it is a big step.  We talked and I convinced him to go
back to bed.”  As she spoke, she ran her toe up and down Peter’s leg.

He rolled over and smiled at her.  “What are you up
to?”

“Well, I thought as long as we’re awake …”

Peter’s hand slid up Amanda’s thigh and he rolled her
over and started to tickle her.  “Peter, don’t!”  She gasped, giggling
helplessly as she tried to avoid his hands.

In the next room, Colin listened to the muffled
giggles coming from the next room.  He smiled and buried his face in his pillow. 
If his and Alethea’s marriage could be even half as happy as theirs; it would
satisfy him.  He rolled over on his back again, biting his lip.  He hadn’t
exactly been completely truthful with his mom.  He worried he might, at some
point do something completely asshole as his biological father had done. 
Neither of his parents was aware he knew they hadn’t told him the whole truth
about his father.  When he was ten, they’d told him that his mother and his
biological father had split up before he was born and he’d taken off for parts
unknown.  That much was true, but what they hadn’t told him was the split
occurred when his father had found out she was pregnant.  He’d found out the
entire story from Grandma Eileen when he was fourteen.  What if his marriage
ran into an unexpected crisis or hit a rocky patch?  Would he bail on Alethea
as his biological father had on his mother?  Maybe, it was in his genes.  “No! 
That’s bullshit!”  He told himself in a severe tone.  “I’m a completely
different person!  Besides, I’m older and I’m definitely more mature and
responsible!”  He pulled the pillow over his head and eventually fell back to
sleep.  He got jarred to consciousness suddenly by someone knocking on his
door.

Amanda knocking on his door and calling, “Colin, are
you awake?”