Righteous Obsession (69 page)

“How’s Caitlin doing?”  Alethea asked.  “We think
about her a lot.”

“She’s keeping her spirits up so far, but it’s not
easy for her with her father’s mood so gloomy and her mother leaving.”

“She’s left permanently?”  Colin asked.

 “In a royal huff!” Luke replied, allowing his anger
to show for the first time.  “She was released a couple of days ago and came
directly over with her parents to remove her things.  Jeff was at work, but
Caitlin was home.  Kathleen never said word one to her; she treated Caitlin
like dirt!”  Luke snapped.  “She’s moving to Louisiana to be near Dave.”

Nora continued the narrative, “Jeff tried to patch
things up with Kathleen, but she wouldn’t see him.  She blames him for Dave’s
condition and said none of it would have happened if he hadn’t abandoned his
family.”

“Didn’t Mrs. Michaels’ parents even try to reconcile
her and Caitlin?”  Alethea asked.

“Her father tried.  He’s always been a fair man as
long as I’ve known him, but Kathleen and her mother are like two peas in a
pod!  He didn’t get the least bit of cooperation from either of them,” Luke
said sourly.

“Caitlin told us she wants to keep in contact with you
and Alethea despite her father’s ban so we worked out a way she could do it,”
Nora said.  “She’ll email her letter to us and we’ll forward it onto you.”

“That would be great, but I don’t want it to get you
in trouble with Jeff.”

“Don’t worry about it, Colin.  We know how to handle
your father,” Luke replied.

Colin bade his grandparents goodbye and left to drive
back home.

Colin unlocked the door and stepped into the foyer and
was just about knocked over by a loud shout of ‘Surprise!’ from the guests who
had been waiting for him.  He looked around, startled, to see not only his
immediate family, but his other two sets of grandparents, his aunt, his uncle
and their families.  Other guests present included Mace, Jake, Vanessa, Steve,
McGregor and Page plus Eddie Cole.  The party was loud and boisterous and Colin
enjoyed himself thoroughly.

Peter came over and asked if it was okay if he took
Dick and Lucy on a tour of the house.  Colin told him it was fine with him. 
Alethea found him and gave him a plate of food she’d fixed for him.

“I’m going to take Roger and Beth, Angie and Greg
through the house.  Why don’t you keep Vanessa company while I’m doing it,” she
suggested.

“Okay.”  He went over and sat down by Vanessa who was
chatting with Debbie.  Vanessa gave him a hug.  “Happy Birthday, Colin.”

“Yeah!  Happy Birthday!”  Debbie said.

“Thanks, both of you.”  He turned to Debbie.  “How was
the dance and Cody?”

Debbie blushed.  “The dance was totally awesome and so
is Cody, but we’re just going to be friends for now.  Maybe, we’ll date
occasionally.  I just want some time to find out who I am without any
entanglements.”

“I think you’re way ahead of a lot of teens your age,
Deb,” Vanessa remarked.

“I’m trying,” Debbie replied.  She saw Amanda motioning
to her and knew she needed help getting Colin’s cake ready.  “Excuse me?”

“She’s a nice kid,” Vanessa said.  “Alethea told me
what you did for her.”

“Well, it’s the least I could do, considering the
circumstances.”  He smiled.  “I wanted to thank you, too, for taking good care
of Alethea while I was in the hospital.  She’s lucky to have a caring friend
like you.”

“It was such a terrible situation I’m glad I was able
to do something for her.”

“So, you and Jake are seeing each other?”

“Yes.  It’s not easy juggling our schedules to have
time together, but we’re working it out.  I felt drawn to him that night in the
hospital.  Jake felt terribly upset about your stabbing.  He blamed Mace and
himself for what happened.  I know he puts on a tough front, but he’s really a
marshmallow inside.”

“I hope you two are thinking about making things
permanent.  Alethea and I are hoping for it.”

“Well, I’d like that myself,” Vanessa confessed. 
“Keep your fingers crossed.”

“I guess that and patience is what it’s going take,”
he joked.  He watched Alethea go into the kitchen and then she came back into
the room and announced, “Okay, it time for the good part – cake and presents!” 
She lowered the lights then Amanda and Debbie wheeled a cart with the cake on
it into the room.

“Let there be light!”  Liam joked, upon seeing the
amount of candles on the cake.  He yelped as Colin gave him a shove.

“Boy!  I sure hope this doesn’t set off the smoke
alarm!”  Jake kidded Colin.

“Make a wish and blow out the candles, Colin,” Alethea
urged.

“I don’t know what to wish for – I’ve got everything I
could possibly want.”

“Well, hurry up and think of something before one of
the neighbor’s sees the smoke from all these candles and calls the fire
department!”  Mace joked.

“Okay, I’ve got one.”  Colin closed his eyes, made his
wish and blew out all the candles.  Everybody clapped.  Amanda took charge of
slicing the cake while Alethea made sure everyone had something to drink. 
Colin opened his gifts.  Among the items he received was a T-shirt from Debbie
that read ‘29 and Holding’.  He laughed when he read it and gave her a hug. 
“This is great!  Thanks, Deb.”  He got an afghan from Grandpa Roger and Grandma
Beth.  “It’s to take with you when you go back on tour,” Grandma Beth
explained.

 “You must’ve read my mind.  I’m always cold when I
first come off stage so this will be perfect!  Thanks!”  He gave them a hug. 
When he got to his last gift that was from Alethea, he tore off the paper and
ribbons and found a guitar case underneath the wrappings.  He opened it and
inside was one of the most beautiful guitars he’d ever seen.  He carefully
lifted it out of its case.  It was deep ebony yet when he held it to the light
he could see faint gold streaks running all through the finish.  He noticed immediately
it had been customized to his exact specifications.  “This is beautiful!”  He
pulled her close and gave her a kiss.  “This is exactly what I would’ve
ordered, but how did you know?”

“That was the easiest part.  I just went to Jackson
Guitars
®
.  They have all your specifications on computer.  All I needed
to do was decide on the wood.”

“Well, it’s gorgeous and I’m looking forward to taking
it on tour with me.”  He gave her another kiss.  It was getting late and the
guests began leaving, singularly or in pairs.

Colin gave his parents a hug and a kiss. “Thanks for
this great birthday party!”

“If we don’t see you before you leave for New Orleans,
have a good Thanksgiving and please give Beau and Louisa our best,” Peter said.

“We will,” Alethea promised.

Peter gave Colin a hug.  “I’m glad things are working
out for you, but don’t hesitate to call if you want to talk.”

“I won’t, Dad.”  When everyone had left, Colin took
out his new guitar and again admired the beauty of its workmanship.  “Are you
going to try it out?” Alethea asked.

 “I’ll give it a test drive first thing tomorrow,”
Colin decided.  “I don’t think the neighbors would appreciate me blasting out
‘Purple Haze’ at this time of night!”  He locked the doors, turned off the
downstairs lights, leaving only the stairwell light on, and set the alarm.

Alethea wrapped her arms around him and gave him a
passionate kiss.  She unzipped his jeans and slid her hand inside.  “What’s
this?”  She suddenly exclaimed in mock surprise, backing away from him.

Colin chuckled and played along.  “I think they call
it a hard-on!”

Alethea giggled and teased, “Maybe, Deb’s T-shirt
should have read 29 And Packing!”

“I think Grandma Eileen thinks it should have read 29
And Virile with a big question mark. I guess you were too busy to notice her
checking you out for any signs of pregnancy.”

“We’ve barely been married four months.  Aren’t we
allowed to have any time for ourselves?”

“No.  In her day brides got dutifully pregnant on
their wedding nights,” He replied.  “Of course, she probably doesn’t realize we
never really had an official wedding night.”

“Well, we can take care of that right now,” Alethea
answered, taking his hand and leading him upstairs.

“I’m game!”  Colin grinned

Amanda hummed as she opened the refrigerator to get
out the mayonnaise.  Before she closed the door she prodded the turkey,
satisfying herself it was thawing on schedule.  Suddenly, she heard the front
door open.  “Peter?”  She called then walked into the living room and saw him
standing in the foyer, sorting through his mail.  He smiled broadly when he
caught sight of her.  She gave him a big hug and a kiss.  “What are you doing
home so early – not that I’m not happy to see you!  Are you sick?”

“No.  Since there’s nothing on my desk that can’t wait
until Monday and I knew you were coming home early, I decided to come home and
spend some time with my beautiful wife.”

Amanda had closed her office at noon to allow her
employees, who were going out of town, more travel time.

“Well, this is my lucky day then!”  She replied.  “Are
you hungry?  I made myself some egg salad, but there’s enough for two.”

“That sounds great, Mandy.  I’m going upstairs to
change and I’ll be down in a few minutes.”  He left his briefcase in his study
and ran up the stairs, whistling and taking them two at a time.  Amanda smiled,
watching him.  She made the sandwiches, set out a bowl of cherry tomatoes and
poured two glasses of iced tea.  Peter walked into the kitchen.  He had changed
into casual clothes of jeans and a sweatshirt.  “Where is everybody?”

“Well, if you recall, Liam had those interviews with
Seventeen
and
YM magazines today.”

“Yes, I do recall now that you mention it.  It seems
our younger son has become a favorite of the teen set.”

“Deb and Cody went to the mall.  She said she’d be
back about four-thirty.”

“So, this means we pretty much have the afternoons to
ourselves?”

“Why, yes, it does,” Amanda replied, taking a bite of
her sandwich.  She sighed suddenly.

“Still feeling blue about Colin and Alethea not being
here with us?” Peter asked, salting a cherry tomato and popping it into his
mouth.

“Yes.  Realistically, I know we have to share them
with Beau and Louisa, but it’s still hard.”

“I know, but they’ll be with us for Christmas.”  He
took another bite of his sandwich.

“Mandy, have you noticed Colin hasn’t said anything
about Jeff since he came back from New Orleans?”

“Yes.  I think it’s probably like Colin told you. 
Their relationship won’t amount to much because they don’t have a lot in common.”

“To be honest, Mandy, if things don’t work out between
them, I’ll be sorry for Colin, but not for Jeff.”  They finished lunch and
cleaned up then Peter asked casually, “Do you have any plans for this
afternoon?”

Amanda smiled and shook her head as if she didn’t know
why he was asking.  “No.  Why?”

“I thought we might take advantage of being alone.”

“I get the impression you have some definite ideas as
to how we can do it too,” she teased.

“A few, yes,” Peter admitted.

Amanda giggled.  “Good Lord!  We sound like a couple
of horny teenagers!”

“Well, Mandy, I feel like one!”

“So I see!”  She giggled again.  “I think we’ll have
to do something about this situation!”

“I definitely agree!”

Debbie pulled her 1992 Pontiac Sunbird
®
into
the driveway.  Peter and Amanda had bought a car for her shortly after she’d
started working at Amanda’s firm.  She got out and dashed across the lawn to
the front porch.  It was chilly, windy, and rainy and Debbie shivered as she
dug out her key to unlock the front door.  She stopped in the foyer to check
the mail then called, “Anybody home?”  She didn’t get an answer despite both
Peter and Amanda’s cars being in the garage.  She went upstairs and knocked on
their closed bedroom door.  “Amanda?”

Amanda sat up in surprise, her hair falling loosely
around her bared shoulders.  She looked at the clock on the nightstand and
realized it was past four-thirty.  She was feeling so satiated and content
after their lovemaking that all other thoughts had flown completely out of her
head.  She threw back the covers, grabbed her robe, pulling it on as she
hurried to the door.  She cracked it enough to discern Debbie’s apologetic
expression.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Amanda, but would you like
me to start supper?”

“I’d appreciate it.  I’m running a little bit late
this afternoon.”

“Okay.”

Amanda shut the door then hurried around, picking up
her clothes off the floor. “Goodness!  Why didn’t I set the alarm so I’d be up
before Deb got home?”

Peter lay on his back with his arms folded underneath
his head.  He smiled in amusement as he watched his wife.  “Why?  Do you think
Deb doesn’t know we make love?”  He teased.

Amanda, her clothes bunched up in her arms, started to
laugh so hard she had to sit down.  “I guess I think she probably wouldn’t believe
it!”

Debbie was making a salad when Amanda walked into the
kitchen.  She briefly considered saying something to Debbie, but decided not to
unless she mentioned it.  She opened the freezer, pulled out a bag, dumped it
into a large pot, turned the burner to simmer and covered it.  She turned back
to Debbie.  “You can use a whole basket of those cherry tomatoes, Deb.  I think
I deliberately forgot Colin and Alethea weren’t going to be here when I bought
them.”

“They’re probably in New Orleans by now,” Debbie
commented.  “Amanda?”

“Yes, Deb?”

“I was looking around the mall today to get ideas for
Christmas presents, but I got like totally stuck about what I could give
Peter.  Do you have any suggestions?”

Amanda thought for a moment then replied, “Well, he really
adores the Jerry Garcia
®
tie we gave him for Colin’s wedding and he
wears it constantly.  I think he’d be thrilled to have another one.”

Debbie brightened.  “That’s an awesome idea, Amanda! 
Thanks!”

Liam came in the door just as they were setting supper
on the table.  He was surprised to see his father coming down the stairs and
whistling merrily.  “Hi, Dad!”  He gave him a hug and smiled.  “You must’ve had
a good day?”

“I had a short one.  I came home early so I could
spend some quality time with your mother.”

Liam grinned knowingly.  “Quality time, huh?”

“Yup!  So, how’s our budding teen idol?”

He grimaced.  “To be honest, Dad, I’m not sure I like
being stuck with that label.”

Peter laughed and put his arm around Liam’s shoulder
as they walked towards the kitchen.  “Cheer up!  I hear it’s an honor that
doesn’t last too long!”

“Hi,” Amanda said as she gave Liam a hug and a kiss. 
“You’re just in time.”

 “Hi, Mom!”  He returned her hug and kiss.  He went to
the stove and lifted the lid off the simmering kettle.  “Umm!  Homemade
vegetable soup!”

 “Do I get a kiss, too, Mandy?”  Peter teased.

She blushed and gave his a quick kiss, but whispered,
“We’ll continue this later.”  She set a loaf of sliced French bread, hot from
the oven, on the table.  “Let’s eat.”

“It’s so rainy, windy and cold outside,” Liam
remarked.  “This soup really hits the spot!”

“I think it’s totally neat that YM interviewed you,
Liam,” Debbie said.  “They only interview the coolest people, you know.”

“Well, I’m glad somebody thinks I’m cool!”  Liam
joked.

Amanda smiled at their banter.  One of her planned
Christmas presents to Debbie was a subscription to YM magazine.

After they finished eating, Debbie helped Amanda clear
the table then asked permission to call Diana.

“Go ahead, Deb.  Peter will help me with the rest of
this.”

“Thanks!”  She went upstairs to her bedroom and took
out her cell phone.  She sprawled across her bed on her stomach and punched in
Diana’s number.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Din!”

“Hi, Deb!  How are things with you?”

“Great!  What’s going on?”

“Nothing!  It’s sure not as much fun as in the good
old days!  How’s Cody?”

“Fine.”

“So, are you like calling to tell me you and him did
the deed?”

“No.  I told you I wanted to find out who I am so I’m
being celibate!”

“I have to admit, Deb, I’ve been pretty much celibate
since that happened to you.  God!  You never know what kind of weirdoes you’re
taking up with!”

“Well, Father Michaels is one less weirdo!”

“Yeah!  How’s life with the Matthews family?”

“It’s excellent, Din!  Peter and Amanda are so cool!” 
She started to giggle.  “When I came home this afternoon they were in bed!”

“No way, Deb!”

“I kid you not, Din!  They’re the sexiest couple I’ve
ever seen!  They’re always touching, hugging, or kissing.”

“What about Colin?  Don’t you ever get horny when you
think about that night with him?”

“I don’t think about it!”  Debbie declared.  “I see
how much Colin loves Alethea and how much she loves him.”

“Well, you’re stronger than I’d be, Deb.”

“Have you seen my parents, Din?”

“Yeah, once in a while.  You’ll be glad to hear they
haven’t changed a bit!  They still look and act like a couple of stiffs!  Your
old lady gives me the evil eye every time she sees me!  I think she just can’t
stand the thought you might actually be happy!”  They talked a while longer
than Debbie said goodbye, promising to call soon.

“Do, and definitely call me if you and Cody do the
wild thing!”

Debbie hung up and took the phone back downstairs. 
She wandered out into the kitchen where Amanda was preparing to make Thanksgiving
pies.  “Can I help you, Amanda?”

“Sure, Deb.  You can slice the apples for me.”

“Okay.”  She sat and started to slice the apples. 
Amanda couldn’t help noticing that she seemed troubled.  “Is everything okay,
Deb?”

“When I talked to Din and it just reminded me of how
alone I am and how I don’t belong anywhere,” Debbie sniffed then started to cry
in earnest.

Amanda put down her rolling pin, put her arms around
Debbie, holding her tightly.  “Deb, you do belong somewhere – you belong right
here with us!  It’s strange how things work out sometimes.  I always I wanted a
daughter and now I’ve got two.”

Debbie rested her cheek against Amanda’s breast.  “I
used to fantasize about having a mother I could be friends with, go shopping,
and giggle with – like we do.  I guess wishes can come true.”

“Yes, they can,” Amanda agreed.  “You know, Deb if you
feel comfortable doing it, we’d like it very much if you’d call us mom and
dad.”

 “I’d like that, too – Mom.”

Amanda lay awake that night, listening to the rain hitting
the roof.  She had told Peter what she’d impulsively suggested to Debbie, but
he’d agreed it was a good idea.  She felt Peter stir beside her.  “Are you
still awake?”  He asked sleepily.  He kissed her temple and put his arm around
her, pulling her closer to him.

Amanda sighed.  “I was thinking about Deb.  I know
Diana is her best friend and I know she’s a nice girl, but I wonder if we
shouldn’t discourage contact between them.  Deb seems to get upset every time
they talk.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mandy.  I think
that would upset her and make her feel more isolated.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Of course I am!  How do you think I got to be
attorney general?”  He teased.

“Brains – and a hard cock!”  Amanda giggled as she ran
her hands over his lower body in a seductive caress.

I think we should definitely spend more quality time
together,” Peter decided.  He slowly started to circle one of her nipples with
his tongue.

“Oh, yes!”  She gasped.  “Definitely quality!”

Colin stood by the window in Alethea’s former bedroom,
buttoning his shirt cuff and gazing at Louisa’s Rose garden.  It was still
beautiful even in November.  He turned his attention from the window to
contemplate a more beautiful view as Alethea came from the bathroom clad only
in her bra, panties and thigh-high stockings.  She smiled as she noticed him
watching her.  She quickly slithered into her silk slip then into her dress. 
It was a comfortable style that she favored, in a pretty floral pattern that
buttoned up the front and showcased her full breasts very nicely indeed.  She
sat down and brushed her hair before tying it back loosely.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about doing something
special for Doctor Trumbull for Christmas,” Colin said.

“Did you have something specific in mind?”

“I was thinking we could treat him and his wife to a
night on the town – hire a limousine to take them to dinner and dancing on us. 
We could leave the invitation open-ended so they could use it whenever they had
a free night.”

“That’s a great idea, Colin.  Let’s talk to Mom.  She
can help us arrange it.”