The characters in this story were created by Erle Stanley Gardner and I am just borrowing these characters again. The names of any other characters in this story are purely fictional.

A/N: In the Perry Mason television series and subsequent TV movies, these main characters were portrayed by Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, and William Hopper. If you have read any of my other stories, you have probably noticed that I occasionally use personal information about these actors such as their actual birthdates, etc. I write my stories based on the television series and TV movies produced from 1957 to 1966 and 1985 until 1993, so the stories take place during that era.

There have been other great stories in this fandom by other wonderful writers with their versions of what might have happened with Perry and Della in the years leading up to the TV movie Perry Mason Returns. My version is just another perspective of what might have been.

As indicated on my profile, I began writing parts of this story over a year ago with the intent to begin posting by the end of last year. Real life issues have taken a toll on my free time this year so I'm way behind getting this posted. My thanks to those readers and other writers who have read my profile and sent personal messages motivating me to finally start posting this tale!

This story is intended to be a sequel to portions of some of my other stories, so there will be references to plot lines in those previous adventures. I sort of left a side story regarding Paul Drake's "marriage" in my "April in Paris" story – that will be tied into this story at some point. It will also contain many flashbacks and use the dates that these events occurred in the flashbacks. So, to fully understand the story, just watch for the dates, times, and places I will list in each segment and chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter One

Downtown Los Angeles, CA – Monday, 23 May 1983

Traffic was fairly congested on the streets of downtown Los Angeles that particular Monday afternoon in May. Sixty-one year-old Della Street maneuvered her new 1983 Mercedes sedan along the busy streets that every year seemed to be more and more clogged with vehicles. Della yearned for the old days of Los Angeles traffic when things seemed to flow smoother and not everyone owned an automobile. Now, the freeways that were built up around the region only brought more traffic to the area with multiple lanes in each direction, and even more gridlock. She still preferred the side streets and tried to avoid the expressways at all cost. With her new job in a building on the outskirts of Los Angeles, she no longer had to work in an office downtown and for that she was grateful. If it wasn't for having to do this important errand for her job, she would avoid downtown Los Angeles altogether.

But her task for this day was to drop off documents for a completed project at the old Brent Building in downtown Los Angeles where she worked for many years. She could have sent the documents by courier, but opted to do this errand on her own. Upon finishing this chore, Della would be through early for the day with her administrative assistant duties at Arthur Gordon Industries. Her boss, Arthur Gordon, had taken another business trip out of the country again, so she was looking forward to some personal time off.

Della almost backed out of this delivery at the last minute, but overcame her anxiety and pushed on. She reasoned that it would almost be a nostalgic adventure for her since she had not seen the Brent building in several years. She was relieved to find a parking spot in the rear of the building so this errand would be easier to quickly finish.

As she made her way along the sidewalk to the front entrance of the building, she noticed plain white paper covering the windows and entry door to the old Clay's Grill. Della paused at the door to read a large sign written in bold lettering in the window of the door.

"CLAY'S GRILL HAS CLOSED. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE OVER THE PAST THIRTY-FIVE YEARS."

In small print beneath that unexpected news, Della read further.

"Coming soon – McDonald's. Watch for our Grand Opening this summer."

Della just shook her head and walked away when she saw the famed Golden Arches logo at the bottom of the sign. For a moment she thought to herself about how the old proprietor, Terrance Clay, would be rolling over in his grave if he knew that his classy bar and grill was being remodeled into a McDonald's fast-food joint.

She entered the lobby of the Brent Building just sighing while recalling the fond memories that she had of Clay's Grill as she walked towards the elevators. Over the years there were numerous case strategy meetings over quick bites to eat there – the food always delicious. After work hours, the cocktails and occasional glasses of champagne were always refreshing. It was quite the place back in the old days!

She quickly took care of her business and after her documents were dropped off in an office on the sixth floor of the building, Della was tempted to take the elevator up to the ninth floor. She was just mildly curious to see what business now occupied the suites of her old office – the office she worked in for so many years before Perry Mason closed his law office in 1977. After glancing at her watch and noticing the time, she decided that it was best that she get out of there. She had seen enough of the old Brent building for this visit and it was time to get through downtown traffic back to the outskirts of Los Angeles for an important appointment of her own.

She had plenty of time to get to her appointment closer to her home that day, and the traffic congestion heading out of downtown was not bothering her at all. Her mind was on the reason for the appointment in the Medical Arts building, and that caused her more anxiety than any traffic could. Della let out a heavy sigh as she had to wait through another long, full light cycle to cross a snarled-up intersection several miles from her destination. She changed the radio station in her car from an FM talk radio channel to an old big band music station hoping to calm her nerves. Music genres had really changed over the years, but she could still find big band music on the AM radio dial.

Just a short time after getting through the gridlocked street, Della drove into a large parking lot at the Medical Arts building and managed to find a parking spot with fifteen minutes to spare for her appointment time. She shut off the car motor and hesitated to get out of the car. Pulling down the driver's side sun visor, she flipped up the mirror cover on the visor and checked her lipstick while fussing with her short, curly brown hair. Ensuring that her lipstick and hairstyle were fine (except for a few stray gray hairs showing), she covered the mirror and put the sun visor back up. A hundred things were running through her mind, but Della took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as she gathered her purse from the passenger seat in the car and opened her door to get out. She was starting to feel some closure after her visit to the Brent Building, and hopefully now she would move on with the next stage of closure.

In the lobby, she found the building directory right away and confirmed the suite number of her destination. Della managed to hop on an elevator that was filling with several other people, and pressed the button for the third floor as the doors closed. As the elevator doors opened on the third floor, she found the suite number directional arrows on the wall in front of her and turned right to find suite 302. Before opening the door to enter the suite, Della noted the lettering on the door. "Doctor Connie McRae – Family Therapy".

After glancing at her watch again, she noted that there would be plenty of time to fill out the necessary paperwork ahead of her actual appointment time. It was always courteous to arrive early for appointments because of required paperwork. She recalled that many of the clients coming into Perry's law office were courteous – but there were a few difficult clients that just rudely barged into the office making demands. At that point, the paperwork was secondary, but she always managed to straighten things out eventually. She sighed again and opened the door to the suite to walk inside.

The waiting room in Doctor Connie McRae's suite was small, with only four unoccupied leather-covered arm chairs surrounding a long coffee table with several magazines neatly stacked in the middle of the table. Della looked around the room and then walked right up to the receptionist sitting at a desk behind the counter. The faint sound of classical music could be heard – filling the room with a calming tone.

Smiling at the receptionist, Della introduced herself. "Good afternoon. I'm Della Street here to see Doctor McRae..."

"Hello Miss Street." The petit young receptionist smiled back at Della and welcomed her to the clinic. The receptionist put a registration sheet on a clipboard and placed it on the counter top in front of Della. "Doctor McRae is nearly finished with another client right now. It won't be a long wait. As a new client, I need you to fill out this registration form." She took out a pen from a holder on the counter top and placed it with the clipboard. "Please have a seat and fill this out. If you have any questions, let me know. You can bring it back to me when you're finished."

"Thank you." After nodding to the receptionist, Della took the clipboard and pen, quickly glancing over the form. Turning away from the counter, Della settled into a nearby chair with the clipboard on her lap, and began writing on the form.

Moments later, a middle-aged, balding, pudgy man came out of the door next to the receptionist's desk and stopped to speak with the receptionist. Della glanced up from her form to see if she would be called into the doctor's office at that time. When the man turned to glare at Della with a scowling look on his face as he spoke to the receptionist in hushed tones, she quickly turned her attention back to her paperwork to give them their privacy. After a short conversation with the receptionist who handed the man some documents, the man turned to leave the office but found it necessary to stare at Della with a sneer on his face as he walked out. Della briefly looked up at him, smiling, as he headed for the door. She quickly turned her attention back to her form on the clipboard.

After writing in the vital information about herself, Della glanced further down the form. There was a section for marital status, employment status, education level, medical insurance, and finally a section for emergency notification information. She looked up towards the ceiling blinking back tears thinking about the reason for her visit. For a long moment, she thought about removing the form from the clipboard, tearing it up, and bailing out of the office. Then her courage returned and she continued filling out the form. Even though she left a few sections blank to further discuss with Doctor McRae, she brought the form and clipboard back to the receptionist.

"I left a few of these sections blank for right now if that's okay. I can explain later..."

The receptionist took the paperwork off of the clipboard and quickly perused the document.

"That's fine, Miss Street. You have the most important information here for now and I can add it to the information you provided over the phone when you made the appointment. Please have a seat. I'm sure Doctor McRae will be with you shortly."

As Della turned away to sit down, Doctor McRae opened the door to her office and called out to her after taking paperwork from the receptionist.

"Miss Street? Will you please come in?"

The first thing Della noticed about Doctor McRae was her welcoming smile which immediately put Della at ease. Doctor McRae appeared to be between thirty to thirty-five years old with a healthy, trim build. She had short, light brown hair and light brown eyes to match. The collar of her front-button light blue blouse was neatly folded over the top of the short jacket of her matching tailored-suit skirt. Della thought back to the office attire she was known to wear back in the years she that worked in Perry Mason's law office. She always tried to look professional and that was exactly the look that Doctor McRae presented.

Still a little uneasy about this visit, Della held her chin up and followed Doctor McRae out of the waiting room into her office. Once inside the office, Doctor McRae stepped behind Della to quietly close the door as Della made her way further into the room.

Doctor McRae was the first to speak.

"I want you to feel comfortable on your first visit. May I get you something to drink? Coffee? Water? Tea? I even have soft drinks if you prefer..."

Della was still looking over the office setting until her eyes became fixed on a couch covered with three small, decorative pillows. The thought that immediately came to her mind was that the couch was there for her to lay on and talk about all of her problems while the good doctor sat in a chair nearby - or at a desk - taking notes of the conversation. This office setting really was not unlike the office in the Brent Building where she used to work with Perry. She momentarily reminisced about the couch in the old office. There were so many nights that she used the couch to rest on having to work late into the night on certain very-involved cases. Her thoughts of the past were interrupted when Doctor McRae asked her again if she wanted something to drink.

"Miss Street? A beverage?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. A cup of coffee would be nice, thank you."

"Fine. Why don't you take a seat and make yourself comfortable? Do you use cream or sugar in your coffee?" Doctor McRae made her way over to the countertop where the coffee server and cups were stored.

Della deliberately strayed away from the couch and sat down in a leather easy chair in front of Doctor McRae's desk.

"Uh, no cream or sugar. Black is just fine, thank you."

Doctor McRae brought Della a cup of coffee and walked around her desk to sit down with her own cup of coffee. She placed her coffee and Della's registration form in front of her on the desk to read.

"From the information that you provided over the phone, I have a general idea of why you're here today, but as I look over your registration form, I can learn a little more about you..." Doctor McRae continued reading the form, sipping her coffee, while Della looked on.

Della nervously spoke up right away.

"I can explain why I left some of those sections blank."

"Okay. Let's take them one at a time... The medical insurance section is blank..."

Della cut in right away.

"Umm, yes... Well, I have medical insurance, but I would prefer not to involve them in this situation. I won't send in an insurance claim for this visit. I plan to pay you directly out of pocket."

"That's fine. We can leave that blank for now..." Doctor McRae read further into the form. "Your marital status is blank. Single? Married? Divorced?"

Della slowly leaned forward on the desk and spoke quietly.

"I didn't know how legal you'd want to be on that one. Technically, I was married in a civil ceremony in Paris France back in 1960. It was a two-part process with an authentic church ceremony to follow, but that part was unlawful for reasons I can discuss later if you really want details. So, I'm still not sure if that's recognized as a legal marriage in this country. And my, uh, husband, or whatever he'd be legally referred to as, and I really never followed up on that any further..."

"I understand. What really matters here, Miss Street, is that you were in some sort of exclusive relationship at one time, but now something has happened and you're here to talk about what occurred. Am I heading in the right direction now?"

Slowly nodding her head and looking away, Della timidly replied.

"I think you've got the right idea..." She turned back to face Doctor McRae. "I'm sorry if I'm not being so straightforward about this, Doctor McRae. I've never sought out assistance in this way before..."

Doctor McRae tried to put her at ease.

"I understand completely. I don't always like to sound so formal either. Try to relax – is that chair comfortable?"

"It's just fine, thanks." Della shifted slightly in her chair and clutched her purse on her lap. For now, she wanted to avoid that couch under all circumstances.

"Well, let's get down to business. We can start by having you just call me Connie. I'm not much into titles when conversing with a client. Doctor McRae sounds too formal and I don't think it makes most clients feel at ease."

"Fine. And please call me Della. Miss Street, or uh, Missus uh, whatever, is too formal for me in this situation, too. As a matter of fact, in more formal business situations, Miss Street or Della Street is the name I use professionally." She reminisced to herself about all of the times that Perry affectionately called her "Miss Street" in the office – and even in certain social situations. She sighed again before she tried to continue, but her thoughts drifted away as she thought back further in time when titles used before surnames were the norm all of the time in business and social situations. Times sure have changed as far as manners were concerned. She finally looked back to Doctor McRae. "Calling me Della would make me feel more at ease, too."

"That sounds great, Della..." Connie set aside the registration form and clasped her hands together in front of her on the desktop. "So why don't you tell me why you're here today? Just give me an overview of the situation..."

Della cleared her throat and sat back in the chair still nervously clutching her purse on her lap.

"For many years I've been in a relationship with a man who used to be my boss. He was a very successful criminal defense attorney here in Los Angeles, but now he's been appointed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals." Della paused. "You might have heard of him. He is the man I married in Paris – Perry Mason."

"I've heard the name a few times..." Connie was sitting back in her chair now with her arms folded across her chest – a pencil at the ready in one hand to record any important information in the notebook on her desk top.

Della was still a little nervous – noting that Doctor McRae was ready to take notes, but she continued speaking anyway.

"I really hope my visit here will be kept very confidential. I can't take the chance of exposing him to any scandal if word of my visit should get out. You see, for reasons too difficult to explain right now, we've kept our relationship very private – with only a few close friends aware of our lifestyle... We have a very unusual relationship."

Connie leaned forward, now placing her hands on the desk top.

"Relationships are all very different so you shouldn't have to call it unusual. You can be assured, Della, that anything we talk about here will be kept private."

Feeling a little more at ease, Della continued.

"I first laid eyes on Perry here in the Los Angeles area during the war – uh, that was World War Two... While at a dance at a USO Canteen, we were separated during an air raid warning before we could get to know a little more about each other. My goodness, I was so attracted to him..."

Della paused momentarily fondly remembering her slow dances with Perry that night. She looked back to Doctor McRae and then continued.

"With all of the chaos and confusion from the air raid warning like I mentioned before, we were separated, and I never saw him again until several years later. You see, many years after the war, I had applied for a job through a hiring agency not knowing at the time that the job would be as his confidential secretary in his law office. Long story short, I didn't hear back from the hiring agency about my application and I left Los Angeles to return to my hometown near Chicago. That's where Perry found me at the train station and coaxed me back to LA for the job. Well, I returned to LA with him and it wasn't long before we fell in love with each other. The rest is history..." Della's voice faded away and she glanced down at her hands on her lap.

Connie was listening with great interest so when Della paused, she asked for more.

"I'm not sure I fully understand 'the rest is history'..." She waited for Della to continue.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I'll get more to the point..." Della took in a deep breath and continued. "Perry and I grew very close over the years. There were a few ups and downs like any other relationship has, but we always worked things out... I thought we were doing okay in our current long-distance relationship... Then about ten days ago, I, uh, found him with another woman..."

Della immediately felt relief when those words finally came out of her mouth. She found Perry with another woman and now she had someone who would listen to her story and give her advice on how to deal with the immense heartache that she was feeling.

When Della fell silent after finally blurting out her trouble, Doctor Connie McRae sat back in her chair and began to ask Della for more details.

"I see… That must have been very upsetting to you. But in order to understand completely, Della, let's go back to that day and what may have led up to this situation..."

Della looked up to the ceiling to collect her thoughts and began.

"Okay... It was about ten days ago – Friday the thirteenth of May to be more exact. But first let me give you the background on this particular meeting... For me it started out a few days before that Friday back here in LA. It was a Tuesday as I recall." She calmly continued speaking to Doctor McRae to tell her what had occurred days before her troubling meeting with Perry on Friday the thirteenth.

Arthur Gordon Industries Building near Los Angeles, CA – Tuesday, 10 May 1983

When she noticed that Della was no longer on the main phone line at Arthur Gordon Industries, the office receptionist got on the intercom from her office to inform Della that there was another call waiting for her on her private line. Della thanked her and picked up the line.

"This is Della Street..."

The velvety smooth voice talking to her on the phone was very familiar to her.

"And this is Perry Mason calling..."

Della sat back in her chair at her desk and with a big smile on her face, playfully replied with a bit of witty sarcasm while curling the phone cord on her fingers.

"Hello Your Honor. How are things in the Federal Appellate Court in San Francisco?"

"They were fine until I got your message today about this weekend. Why aren't you coming up to Carmel?" The tone of Perry's voice was all business which caused Della a bit of alarm.

Della tried to soothe his harsh tone a bit.

"Do you remember when I mentioned that there was a possibility that Paul and his jazz band might be playing at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach? Well, he's playing there on Friday and Saturday night. He's working on getting tickets for me right now because of the special seating situation in the club for this type of show..."

"I don't remember you mentioning that at all. And since I can't meet again in Carmel for at least a couple more weeks, I thought we decided that this would be the best weekend… I've got a very busy work schedule coming up including a week away in Seattle..."

Della wanted to change his mind.

"Why don't you fly back here instead, Perry? I was going to see if Paul can get a couple of extra tickets and maybe Gertie and Bob will join us... Gertie hasn't seen you in at least two years..." She was hoping that she could sway him to go along with her plans for the weekend.

Perry sounded a little frustrated and his tone changed from business-like to a little irritable.

"Della, the purpose of meeting as much as we can in our home in Carmel is to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities and relax. We're both so absorbed in our jobs right now, that any time that we can spend a weekend together in Carmel, is for the best."

"I agree, of course, but Paul's been working towards this opportunity for a long time. I know you don't like hanging out in places like this jazz club, but just this once will you make an exception? And it would mean a lot to Paul..." She wished that she was talking to him face-to-face so she could change his mind by batting her eyelashes at him to win him over in her usual charming way.

There was a long moment of silence on the line as Perry carefully thought about his reply.

"I really don't want to deal with a weekend trip to Los Angeles and the long drive down from our other place in Sherman Oaks to Hermosa Beach to see Paul play the sax! Let's just think about this and I'll call you at home tonight... I'm due in a meeting in five minutes so I don't have time to talk about this right now."

"Okay. But just so you know, I won't be home until after seven-thirty tonight. Mister Gordon wants me to be with him for his dinner meeting with some clients from Tokyo..." Della was almost ready to claim victory when he said that he would be thinking it over.

"Fine, I'll call you after seven-thirty." Without even saying "goodbye", Perry disconnected the call.

Della hung up the phone and lightly bit her lower lip. She knew that Perry was a little irked with their long-distance relationship since he was appointed to the Federal Appeals Court and moved to San Francisco. But she was just as disappointed with barely seeing him only two weekends a month and maybe for occasional two-week vacations together on his schedule. She sighed and got back to organizing the work on her desk to prepare for the evening's meeting with the clients from Tokyo. She thought to herself that by the time he would call her back that night, he would probably change his mind and come to Los Angeles.

TBC

I hope you have enjoyed the start to this story. All comments are welcomed. Thanks for reading.