Mr. Pearlman's condition was reported stable after his surgery, according to Rebecca, the pretty blonde nurse who called Vincent personally to relay the message and ask if a wedding date had been set. This conversation happened amid others, starting about six in the morning, as Vincent prepared for a friendly breakfast with a group of Wall Street cronies. Apparently, it had become a Thanksgiving tradition and often continued through lunch.

Grateful not to have the pressure of a ten hour dinner prep, I grabbed breakfast next door with Amelia and family. The three of them had plans to join the hardcore holiday junkies and hit midtown. I mentioned my parents doing the same thing at Fulton, and not long afterward, I got a call from Mom asking if I could meet her and Dad for brunch and shopping.

I agreed to the shopping, since I had already indulged in one of Amelia's decadent breakfasts, but when I hung up, I realized I needed a gollum escort, and gollums had become scarce. Besides losing my neighbors to the crowds, Vincent had his Wall Street shindig, Rizzo disappeared to entertain the subway travelers in Queens, Wren rarely left the compound, so the trip would probably be stressful for her, and I knew Charleton and Lucy wouldn't want to schlep around a mall.

Of course, I had Sylvie, but she wasn't a gollum. She also hadn't been answering my calls, which meant she probably didn't take the news about Deidra very well. Only one viable option remained, and that was Colin, but Colin had seen me naked last night and it took a while for the smoke to clear from Vincent's nostrils. Still, we were family now, and those things happened sometimes. I dialed Colin.

"What can I do you for, Reese?" Colin's voice sounded relaxed, like I might have caught him napping.

"Sorry, if I called at a bad time. Are you with Sylvie?"

"No, I'm home... and it's never a bad time when you call."

Yikes.

"My parents want to meet me at Fulton's for shopping. Will you be my escort?"

"Shopping with parents on Thanksgiving? I haven't done that in like... ever. What should I wear?"

"They're completely harmless."

"Have you run this by Vincent?"

"Plans were made after he left for his Wall Street breakfast. I'll send him a text when I get your okay."

"Okay. What time?"

"I'm ready when you are."

"Then we're both ready. See you in a few."

"By the way, knock before you enter."

Colin chuckled. "Vincent made that point very clear last night. I'll do my best to break the habit of walking in on naked females."

"Thank you."

I hung up with Colin and immediately texted Vincent about my meet-up with the parents and who my escort would be. I didn't expect him to get the message. He told me this group enforced a no-phone policy until noon. I dressed in my casual city chic, with a khaki blazer and infinity scarf. I also brought along my camera. Not for Trinity Church but for Saint Paul's Chapel, which was too close not to visit. Foot traffic moved along with purpose, making walking and talking doable, so I took the opportunity to probe Colin for information about my best friend.

"I haven't heard from Sylvie today," I said. "We were supposed to hang out, but I figured that would depend on what happened last night. Vincent said you went over there."

"I did, and she yelled at me for waking her up. Then she forgave me after we had sex. Then I told her about Deidra."

I ignored his sex comment and went straight for the facts. "What did she say about Deidra?"

"She understood my position, but she was hurt and it nearly killed me. The only reason I came home was to give her some alone time. It seemed like she needed it. I've gotten in over my head with her, Reese. I've never met a girl I wanted to hang out with after sex, except maybe you."

"We've never had sex, Colin."

Colin grinned at me. "Not in the physical sense, but..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. The less I know, the better. So, what do you expect to happen while Deidra is here?"

"Sex. That's what always happens. Then she leaves and we don't see each other for twelve months."

"She's not interested in finding a mate?"

"Not yet. She's one of the hold outs, like Claudette. They aren't willing to sacrifice their youth to start popping out babies."

"Do you see yourself with either of them, long term?"

"Honestly, no, but my choices are limited. Between the two, Claudette is more likely to take a Valentino as a mate because of domus proximity and the fact that her sister is mated to one of us."

"Do you love Claudette?"

"Sure. We've grown up together. I care what happens to her. I can see us making a go of it."

I could tell by the monotone in his voice that Colin didn't want to make a go of it with either of them. Like everyone else, he wanted to blossom in the sunshine and find true love.

It didn't surprise me to see mall shops open by noon. Most holidays had gone commercial anyway. People needed something to do when they weren't eating. We hung out in one of Dad's favorite stores, the place he bought his planners and special pens. He and Colin hit it off easily, and Mom capitalized on their comradery by dragging us around the mall. She was on the hunt for Christmas gifts, and I spent the next hour giving her my opinion about smartphone accessories and body scrubs. Not once did she bring up Theo, but she was probably doing that on purpose.

After an hour of chit chat and complaining about the lack of pre-holiday sales, we parted ways with hugs and handshakes. Dad had endeared himself to Colin, who talked about Dad's interest in politics during our visit to Saint Paul's Chapel. When we passed by Trinity Church, Colin asked about the progress, so we stopped in there too. As we made a quick sweep, Colin's phone chimed with notifications.

"Who's blowing up your phone, Colin?" I asked.

"Deidra, but I'm ignoring most of those. I'm also getting a lot of hits on the Valentino's twitter feed about you and Vincent getting engaged."

"Oh. He did that last night at the hospital," I said as the memory of Vincent's not-so-romantic proposal came to me. "He used the word fiancée with one nurse and the snowball rolled downhill from there. I'm sure Adamo Ricci will have a field day when he gets wind of it."

Colin shrugged. "Gollums don't usually get engaged, but if Vincent needs to make an announcement about it, who am I to judge. He's got the reputation to protect. I'm just his lackey." Colin pressed his lips into a pout as he scrolled without looking up.

"That's not true and you know it, so stop trying to get my sympathy."

During our banter, we had come to the wall with the missing font. The area appeared untouched, and I stood in front of it long enough to get Colin's attention.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "Looks like something hung there a long time."

"A font for holy water."

"So, it's part of the renovation?"

"We're not sure yet. The wall hasn't been touched other than removing the font. Vincent suspects it'll get painted over."

Charles walked up as Colin and I were talking, surprising both of us. "Hi, Reese. Who's your escort today?" My eyebrows lifted just enough to make me look guilty, and Charles reacted with an embarrassed smile. "I've noticed you never come alone," he added.

"It's New York City. Can you blame a girl? Charles, this is Vincent's brother, Colin. Colin, this is Charles. He got me the gig."

"The Charles? From the Pigeon's concert?" Colin stuck his hand out in greeting, and Charles looked stricken as he shook it.

"So, Reese told you about me?" Charles asked.

"No, Sylvie did. Reese doesn't talk about her personal life."

"We never got personal." Charles nearly blushed, and Colin chuckled without shame.

"I heard you got personal with Vincent," Colin said. "He's kind of a loose cannon when it comes to Reese."

"I understand why. Reese is a rare breed." Charles offered his heavy-handed compliment before clearing his throat. "So, what are you doing here on a holiday? The crew is off."

"We met my parents at Fulton Center, and it was on the way. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be stuffing your face with turkey?"

"My parents went to Belize for the holiday, and I'm way behind on work. I'll be heading to a friend's place later for hotdogs, beer and football."

"Sounds like my kind of holiday," Colin said, grinning.

With a wave, Charles hurried back to the vestry, and Vincent called just as Colin and I made for the exit.

"Hi, Vincent. Colin and I were just heading home."

"Good. Tell Colin to keep his eyes sharp. You're being tracked."

I glanced around the pews as Colin held the door open for me. A few people dotted the seats, but there was no way to distinguish the prayers from the stalkers.

"Okay. I'll give him the message. See you in ten."

Colin used the situation to justify tucking me under his arm for added protection, and when we arrived at the apartment, he stepped inside only long enough to give Vincent his report of our uneventful journey. I collapsed onto the couch and let the dogs walk all over me until they got settled, effectively trapping me before I had a chance to take off my shoes.

"So, who was tracking us? MC and the chinless wonder?" I asked.

Vincent didn't appear amused by my nonchalance as he stood over me, spinning his phone in his hand. "No, it wasn't Milt, it was his competition. A man named Ori. He's after the amulet too."

"Shit. Does he know about the door?"

"Not that I know of. He sent me a picture of you and Colin at the church to prove you were in his sights. I've got to deal with this situation before Marco gets here."

"Did Marco call and give you a time?"

"Yes. Less than six hours, so I need to fix this problem fast. Between the humans and your demon entourage, the domus is beginning to feel less like a fortress and more like a bed and fucking breakfast. Marco will be all over my ass like a bad rash." Vincent shook his head, looking frustrated. Was he blaming me for all this?

"What do you plan to do about the problem? Do you have a plan?"

"I have several, and each one has its drawbacks. But, I would like the Valentinos to be as hands-off as possible, so I'm leaving it to the police. Milt and his kind may think they have the cops in their back pocket, but the gollums run the show."

"Well, lethal fangs and talons definitely bump up your intimidation factor."

"That they do. But, I'll still catch hell from Chief Lebowski for forcing their hand. Dealing with criminals like Milt is tricky business. Most of them fly way under the radar."

Without so much as a kiss on the head, Vincent left me sitting on the couch and walked onto the balcony, pressing his phone to his cheek. "Get me Lebowski. Tell him it's Vincent Valentino."

The door closed on his conversation, and I absently patted Bonnie and Clyde on their heads. In less than six hours, I would meet my birth father.

Holy saints.