Righteous Obsession (25 page)

They laughed then Alethea sighed, pushed back the
covers and got out of bed.  “I’d better be getting home.”

“I’ll walk you out.”  Colin said, getting out of bed. 
He quickly pulled on some jeans and a T-shirt then found his athletic shoes. 
Alethea went into the bathroom, dampened a washcloth then ran it over her neck,
arms and breasts.  She came out, gathered up her clothes and got dressed
again.  She stood in front of the mirror, fixed her hair and repaired her
make-up.  She turned to Colin.  “Do I look all right?”

“If you mean do you look like you just had a wild
sexual interlude, I’d have to say yes,” he teased her.  “Other than that you
look gorgeous.”

“You have a one track mind,” she pouted.

“You mean nobody warned you I was a sex fiend!”  He
said, pretending to be aghast.

“I knew that.  Why do you think I’m marrying you?”

They were laughing as they walked outside and over to
Alethea’s car.  Colin opened the door for her then leaned in the window.  “What
are you going to tell your parents if they ask where you’ve been all this
time?”

“I’ll tell them we were discussing our honeymoon,” she
teased.

“I guess, in a manner of speaking we were.”

Alethea pulled Colin close and kissed him. “Thanks for
a lovely evening.”

“We aim to please,” Colin joked.

“And you definitely did!”  She assured him.  “What
time will you be over tomorrow?”

“Around one-thirty.”  He leaned in the window and gave
her a kiss.  “Drive carefully, okay?”

She touched his face.  “I will,” she promised as she
started the car.

Colin watched her until she was out of sight then
tossed his hair over his shoulder, shoved his hands into his pockets and
strolled, at a leisurely pace, back into the hotel.

Neither he nor Alethea had noticed the car parked a
short distance away; its driver slouched so far down that only the top of his
head was visible.  With hatred clouding his every thought, Father Michaels
watched as Colin disappeared inside the hotel again.  “I’m going to make you
suffer so much that you’ll beg me for death!”  He muttered.

“Alethea, please stand still, darling,” Louisa
requested as she buttoned the row of pearl buttons that ran from the neck to
the waist of the wedding gown.  “These pearl buttons and the loops they go
through are very tiny.”

“I’ll say,” Amanda declared.  She was fastening the
buttons on the sleeves of the gown.

Alethea was having the final fitting of her
great-grandmother’s wedding gown.  Originally, it was made of a heavy, stiff
ivory satin, but in the intervening years it had become softer and more fluid. 
The neckline and bodice were fitted and both had an overlay of lace.  Lace
edging decorated the high wedding band collar.  The Basque waistline dipped to
a v-shape in front and flattered Alethea’s slim waist.  The skirt was modestly
full and supported by an antique petticoat whose lace hem was visible at the
bottom of the gown.  The Leg ‘o’ Mutton sleeves were wide and round at her
shoulders and fit snugly on her lower arms and fastened with a row of tiny
pearl buttons at her wrist.  A train, wide, but only about two feet long,
completed the gown.  “What time is it?”  Alethea asked, craning her neck in an
attempt to see the clock on her bedside table.

“It’s eleven-thirty, Alethea.”  Amanda answered.  “You
have plenty of time before Colin arrives,” she laughed.  “Knowing my son, he’s
probably not even up yet.”

“Even if he does come early, darling, he’s not seeing
you in this gown until you walk down the aisle on Saturday.” Louisa finished
buttoning the gown.  “There!”  She stepped away from Alethea.

Alethea stood in front of her oval Cheval mirror and
smiled as she saw her image.  She turned slowly to see what the gown looked
like from the back.

“You look beautiful, darling,” Louisa assured her.

“I’m so glad you remembered great-grandmother’s gown,
Mom.”

“It’s in such good condition too, when you consider
how old it is,” Amanda remarked.

“I hope Colin likes the way I look.”

“He will,” Amanda assured her.  “I can’t wait to see
the expression on his face when he sees you coming down that aisle!”  She
picked up her purse, took a black box out of it, and gave it to Alethea.  “This
will go perfectly with your gown, Alethea.”

She opened the box, revealing an antique cameo brooch,
and gasped.  “It’s beautiful, Amanda!”

“My grandmother, mother and I wore this brooch on our
wedding days.  It’s kind of a tradition in our family.”

“It is very beautiful, Amanda,” Louisa agreed.

“Thank you, Amanda.  I’ll wear it with love,” Alethea
said, giving her a kiss.  She laid the box on her dresser and then walked over
to her bed on which lay another storage bag, which her mother had picked up
that morning.  “This is my veil?”

“Yes.”

She carefully undid the storage bag, revealing a tulle
silk veil embroidered with the same lace as was on her gown.  “How beautiful!” 
She exclaimed in awe.  “It must have cost a fortune!”

“According to family legend it was quite expensive. 
Apparently, your great-great-grandfather felt that nothing was too good for his
only daughter on her wedding day.”

“Do you remember how long it is?”  She asked as she
and Amanda admired the workmanship.

“I know it’s longer than your train.  I think it might
be about four feet.”  Louisa replied then asked, “What about your hair,
Alethea?”

“I’d like to do it in a pompadour so it goes with the
era of this gown, but I don’t know if any modern hair stylist would know how to
do one though.”

Louisa thought for a moment.  “I’ll ask Susanna Lee. 
She does the make-up and hairstyles for the community theater and she’ll most
likely know how to do a pompadour, if anybody knows.”  She glanced at the clock
then said, “We’d better get you out of your gown so I can start lunch.”

“Will your husband be joining us?”  Amanda asked.

“No, he said he’d get lunch on campus.”

“Why is dad at school today?”  Alethea asked.

Her mother smiled.  “Just between us three I think he
went there to get away from all the confusion being generated by your wedding,
darling.”

She and Amanda got all the buttons unfastened again
and carefully helped Alethea out of the gown.  Alethea slid out of the slip,
made from a coarser silk and embroidered with wide rows of handmade lace.  She
handed it to Louisa so she could replace it in the storage bag.

“Did you see the blue bow Mrs. Hunter sewed into the
hem for good luck?”

“Yes.  That was sweet of her.”

“What time is Vanessa’s plane coming in?”  Louisa
asked, putting the gown and slip into their separate storage bags.  She hung
all three bags in Alethea’s closet.

“At three.  Fortunately for me, she’s doing a layout
in Savannah so she isn’t far away.  I’m so glad she’s able to be my maid of
honor.  It wouldn’t be the same without her.”  Alethea suddenly turned and gave
her mother a hug.  “Mom, thanks for doing such a fantastic job!  I know that
because of all or your hard work my wedding will be as beautiful as I’ve always
dreamed it would be.”

Louisa returned her hug, smiled and wiped her eyes. 
“Thank you.”

The three of them went downstairs and Louisa with
Alethea’s help quickly prepared a cold lunch.  They chatted and laughed as they
ate.  Amanda felt as if she’d known Louisa for a long time.  Alethea noticed
that Amanda seemed rather pensive despite her cheerful demeanor.  “I’ll bet you
really miss Peter, don’t you?”

Amanda sighed and smiled wistfully.  “Is it that
obvious?  Yes, I do miss him and tomorrow seems like a century away!”

The doorbell rang just then.  “That’s probably Colin
so I’ll get it.”  Alethea said, getting up from the table.

Colin smiled as she opened the door.  “Hi!”  He gave
her a chaste kiss.  “Ready to go?”

“Just about.  Come on in.”

They walked into the kitchen.  Colin bent and gave his
mom a kiss.  “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Well, Louisa’s going to do some work in her garden
and I thought I’d give her a hand.”

“I want it to be perfect for your wedding,” Louisa
declared.

“We should be back before three-thirty, Mom.  Why
don’t you wait and we’ll all pitch in and help you?”  Alethea suggested.

“I would appreciate the help.”

Colin and Alethea left and went first to pick up their
wedding license.  He gave it to her for safekeeping.  “Knowing me, I’ll get to
your house and realize I’ve forgotten it.”  They drove to the airport to pick
up Vanessa.  She was immediately recognizable as she came through the gate and
garnered much attention from the other people in the airport.  Colin could see
why.

“Vanessa!” Alethea called, waving her hand.

Vanessa rushed over to them and gave her a big hug. 
“Alethea, you look absolutely radiant!  Didn’t I always tell you Mr. Right was
out there somewhere?”

“And you were right!”  She gave Vanessa another hug. 
“I’m so glad you’re able to stand up with me.  It wouldn’t have been the same
without you.”

“I would have come no matter what!” Vanessa declared.

Alethea led Vanessa over to Colin.  “Vanessa, this is
my fiancé, Colin Matthews.  Colin, this is my dearest friend, Vanessa
Morrison.”

“Who needs no introduction,” he remarked.  The first
thing he noticed was her height. She was at least 5’10.  Her understated
elegance was the second thing.  She had cinnamon colored skin with big, dark eyes
and perfectly sculptured cheekbones.  She was wearing her rich coffee-colored
hair in an upswept style.  He gave her a kiss on her cheek.  “I’m happy to meet
you.  Alethea talks about you so much I feel like I already know you.”

Vanessa gave him a big hug, too.  “I’m happy to meet
you, too!”  She turned to Alethea.  “You’re right, he is gorgeous!”

Alethea blushed and laughed.  “Well, I think so!”

Colin laughed, too.  “On that note, shall we go?”  He
offered to carry the garment bag, draped over Vanessa’s arm.  They walked to
the baggage terminal to pick up her bags.  Alethea and Vanessa talked and
giggled continually on the drive back to her parent’s home.

“Mom?  We’re home.”  Alethea called as they came in
the door.  She led them into the dining room where her parents and Amanda were
sitting.  She introduced Vanessa to everyone.  “Alethea, why don’t you take
Vanessa upstairs to the guest room and get her settled.  We’ll be out in the
garden.”

“Okay, Mom, I’ll be out as soon as I make sure
Vanessa’s comfortable.”

“What’s going on in the garden?” Vanessa asked.

“We’re doing some last minute maintenance for the
wedding,” Louisa explained.

“Well, why don’t I change my clothes and give you a
hand?”  She offered.

“You don’t need to do that, Vanessa,” Alethea objected.

“Nonsense!  It’ll do me a lot of good.”

“We’d appreciate your help, Vanessa,” Louisa said.

For the next hour, under Louisa’s direction, everyone
worked, primping the garden.  By the time they finished, Colin was ready to
concede that doing a two hour concert was child’s play compared to this! 
Alethea walked them to their car.  Colin helped his mother in and then stepped
slightly away so he could talk to Alethea.  He chuckled.  “Wait until Jake sees
Vanessa.  She’s even more gorgeous than her pictures!  He’s going to have one
awesome hard-on!”

Alethea smiled.  “She does have that effect on men.”

“So do you and definitely on one male I know!”  He
teased her.

“Good!”  She replied and gave him a kiss.  “Vanessa
and I are going to spend the evening catching up on old times.”

“I’m going to spend the evening with mom and Liam. 
I’ll pick you up tomorrow at one-fifteen.”

He drove back to the hotel and they went inside. 
Again, neither of them noticed the nondescript car parked within viewing
distance of the hotel.  Father Michaels was becoming very frustrated.  Colin
was never alone!  He was always over at his blond whore’s house and he didn’t
dare loiter in such a prominent neighborhood for fear somebody would summon the
police.  He had complete faith that God would let him know the right time to
execute Colin so he prayed for forgiveness for his frustration and impatience
and continued his watch.

The next morning Colin awoken abruptly by somebody
pounding on his door.  He lay half-uncovered with one leg dangling over the
side of the bed.  “Who the hell is that?”  He muttered, pushing his hair out of
his face and maneuvering himself around so he could see his travel alarm.  It
read eleven-thirty.  “Shit!”  He threw back the covers and got out of bed. 
“Okay, I’m coming!”  He yelled as he pulled on his jeans and a T-shirt.  He
yanked open his door to find Mace and Jake standing outside with big grins on
both their faces.

“Hi, Colin!  Did we wake you?”  Jake asked innocently.

“It’s okay.  I had to get up any way.  I’ve got to
pick dad and the rest of my family at the airport later.”

Jake shook his head in disbelief.  “I can’t believe
you’re actually going to do this!  Colin Matthews the number one cocksman tying
up with one woman!”

“Sometimes things happen when you least expect it –
like falling in love,” he laughed.  “I’ll cede you my title, okay?”

“Sure!  I’ll take it.”  Jake replied with a grin.

“You guys are coming to my wedding, aren’t you?”

“We wouldn’t miss it!”  Mace nodded.  “Jake thinks we
should throw you a bachelor party.”

“Thanks.  I appreciate the thought, but I don’t think
there’s any time to fit one in.”

“Have you met your in-laws-to-be yet?”  Jake asked.

“Yeah, I had dinner with them the other night. 
Alethea’s mom is really nice, but I don’t think I’m what her father had in mind
for a son-in-law.  I suspect a young Republican would have suited him much
better.”

There was another knock on Colin’s door and he opened
it to find Alethea and Liam.  They followed him into the room.

“Hi, guys!”  Liam said, addressing Mace and Jake. 
“You just get in?”

“Yeah, about half-hour ago,” Mace replied.

“What did you guys do while you were in Chicago?”

“We visited some of Mace’s favorite blues clubs and
caught a Def Leppard concert.”  Jake said.

Colin chuckled.  “Did anybody think to ask Joe Elliott
if the lead singer of Hellraisers is really afraid to get in the same car with
him?”

“Maybe, Alethea can ask him if she gets a chance to
interview him,” Liam suggested.

Mace turned to Alethea.  “By the way, Alethea best wishes
on your wedding.”  He gave her a kiss on her cheek.

“Yeah,” Jake said, giving her a kiss too.  “Best
wishes.”

“Thank you, both.”  She replied.

“I thought I was supposed to pick you up,” Colin said.

“I decided to come early.  I guess I’m a little nervous
about meeting your family,” she admitted.