In the Name of Glori (The Redemption Series: Book 3)
Page 25
Then I asked her to pray over Alain, and she said she would.
Cat sat back and rubbed her eyes. “Are you coming to the hospital with us?”
“Sure.” I picked up some bags and boxes to bring to the car. “We’ll decorate the tree and watch the babies try to undecorate it.”
***
Christmas was a magical time for Alain and me. We decorated the house, made out under the mistletoe, and played in the snow like a couple of kids. We even took a romantic sleigh ride.
We spent most of Christmas day at the hospital in Salzburg and ate Christmas dinner with the entire family. Even the General and his wife joined us. The staff was very nice, but they must have thought we were crazy; we had such a mob scene.
I looked forward to our wedding, but I didn’t get into a frenzy of preparations. Everyone that I wanted to be there knew to be there.
The baby boys thrived, and little Sabena made daily progress. Debbie sparkled with joy—she’d wanted a baby girl, even though she never quite came out and said so. I was comforted by the fact that Debbie was such a phenomenal mother, where her mother was such a failure. I decided I could be a great mother to Christina, if I only applied myself. This baby, when she decided to show up, would be loved.
By the evening of December thirtieth, the situation was stable enough that David could join the guys for Alain’s bachelor party. Jimmy and Eduardo organized it, and Aubrey made Jimmy swear up and down there would be no strippers. He just laughed and said David wouldn’t attend if they did that. Yeah, he had enough of strippers for a lifetime.
Papa Roberto and Cindy saw to it that we had a great catered dinner in a private dining room in the hospital for all the ladies. It was fun, and I got all kinds of joke gifts. The best one—the news that George and Marion Aldridge were on their way back to Beverly Hills.
***
New Year’s Eve, my bridesmaids and I gathered at the Monchsberg, and Papa gave us a huge suite to prepare for the wedding. Debbie was still pretty frail, but she was determined to be there. Nita insisted she use a wheelchair, and Debbie had an actual ER doctor-turned rock star to wheel her around.
We helped each other with the gowns, and getting the hair and makeup just right. We had a case of the giggles, and none of us had a drop to drink.
Ellen appointed herself the official family photographer, and Nita supervised. We posed for some cute pictures. The bridesmaids wore deep blue velvet gowns with satin touches and matching kick-ass shoes, of course, and they looked incredible.
There was a knock at the door, and Cat opened it to find my mother standing there. “Jenny, so nice to see you.” She turned to me for instructions.
“Hi Mom, come on in.” I did relent and invite my parents. Alain said we’d look back on it and regret it if we didn’t.
She ran over to me and took me by the hands, then took a step back to take in the view. I could see an actual tear in her eye. “Glori, you look so beautiful.” Then she turned to the girls and admired each one.
We took more pictures, and then she said to me, “Glori, I’m so glad you decided to marry the policeman, after all. He’ll take good care of you. And his mother, Suzette, is so very sweet.”
Then she took Aubrey by the hand and whispered loudly to her. “And I’m happy you decided to go back to that nice detective from Texas. You made the right decision. I can tell he’s a good man. He won’t break your heart.” She gave Aubrey a “thumbs up”, and Aubrey cracked up.
She breezed out amidst stares and giggles from everyone who had no idea what she was talking about. And who did she almost crash into? It was General Pearson.
While we all exchanged what-is-he-doing-in-here looks, he pulled up a seat. “Okay, ladies, you win.” He plastered his hands over his head.
“Cool, General, what’d we win?”
He sat back and looked at me. “Glori, you do look even more stunning than usual this evening.”
“Thanks for noticing, General. But what’d we win?”
He turned to face Debbie, now sitting on the edge of her seat, propped up by Cindy and Nita, looking totally confused, and a little scared. “David started it, and Alain ended it. Anyway, I’ve decided to promote the four of them and reduce the number of hours they work.”
There was a deafening silence, and then everyone spoke at once.
He put up his hand to quiet us. “You ladies know how much I respect your husbands—fiancés, whatever. It’s obviously getting to the point where they need more time for family. And you are well aware how valuable they are to the organization—despite the fact, and perhaps now because of the fact, that they are celebrities in their own right. So we are making some changes that will allow them to contribute more with more time flexibility.”
There was a simultaneous cheer as Pearson rose from his seat and wished me a long and happy marriage. As soon as he left the room, we all did a happy dance, giggled, touched up hair and makeup, and fell out the door together, laughing.
I was ready to go marry my sexy French secret agent, who now had some unknown title in the same unknown agency.
The Cast of Characters in The Redemption Series
The Secret Agents:
General John Pearson
Colonel Jerry Lee “JL” Johnson
Agent David Lambrecht, aka Cupid, aka David Henning
Agent Eduardo Clemente, aka Eduardo Soares
Agent Jimmy Hollinger
Agent Alain Dusseault
Agent Gilbert
Pilot Tony “Cookie” Cooke
Agent Gwen Munroe
Captain Pam Baxter
Staff
Agent Washington and his security force
Betty, the General’s secretary
Dr. Earle
Ellen, the candy striper
Drug Traffickers, criminals and associates:
Senator Joe Everett
Albert Santoro
Dr. Bill Payne
Darla Wilde, aka Darla Winston
Sylvie Mason
“Z” the assassin
Juan Rodriguez
Alfonso Pizzaro
William Shaw
Adam Phelps
The Beverly Hills Families:
The Aldridge Family
George & Marion
Debbie
Grammy (deceased)
The Bainbridge Family
Bud & Dottie
Cindy (Cin)
Doug
Rod & Julie
Geoff & Susan
Glori Coulson—“adopted” at age 14
The Coulsons
Don & Jenny
Glori
Friends
Tamara Everett
Kendra Cole
Becky
Journalist, Amanda James
Sara Blackington
The Salzburg Families
The Lambrecht Family
Frederick & Maria
David
Paul Daniel (Danny) (deceased)
Cat (Catherine) Connors (cousin “adopted” at age 5)
The Clemente Family
Francisco & Camellia
Cisco
Eduardo
Paulo
Dr. Nita (Anita) Lopez-Garcia (Eduardo’s fiancée/wife)
The Dominguez Family
Papa Roberto (grandfather) & Rosa (deceased)
Roberto & Sofia
Raphael
Music Industry
Aubrey Rose, pop icon, international superstar
Joe Harris, manager
Doug Bainbridge, producer
Robby Wilson, musician
Kurt Schneider, musician
Cosmetics Industry
Diana Black, CEO, Uptown Cosmetics
Clint Carlisle, photographer
Debbie’s Doctors
Dr. Gallagher
Dr. Schechter
Dr. Raich
Thank you for reading In the Name of Glori! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other readers find this b
ook.
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The Redemption Series:
Book One: Killer Cupid
Book Two: Fame, Fortune & Secrets
Book Three: In the Name of Glori
Contact: MaeveChristopher@yahoo.com
http://www.facebook.com/maevechristopher