A Matter of Betrayal Ch. 07

Colin cut slices of cake for each of them and brought in cups of coffee to go along with it. They sat next to each other on the sofa as they ate enjoying their togetherness.

After they finished eating, Colin excused himself to go to the bathroom but where he really went was into his old bedroom to extract his mother's present from its hiding place in the closet.

Colin walked back out to the living room carrying the present behind his back; he had wrapped all three books together in shiny gold wrapping paper. He casual walked around the sofa making sure to keep the gift out of his mother's sight. When he was standing in front of her he held out the gift. "Happy Birthday Mom," Colin said.

Aileen's eyes lit up when she saw the present. "Oh Colin, you didn't need to do this, the wonderful dinner and the cake would have been enough," she said.

"I wanted to do this Mom, I want to give you the happiest birthday I can," Colin said still holding out the present.

Aileen took the gift from her son's hand and carefully unwrapped it revealing the three books. "But these are my books," Aileen said in confusion.Siberian Summer andKilimanjaro's Shadow were on top.

"Look inside," Colin suggested. Aileen opened the cover of the first book and saw the inscription.

"Colin, when did you get this done? How?" Aileen said in delight.

"I have my sources," Colin said grinning.

Aileen looked at the second book which had the same inscription, and then she got to the new hard cover copy ofDublin Daze and opened up the cover. This was the one Colin really had been waiting for. He knew what she was reading; he had memorized the inscription by heart:

Dear Aileen,

I have been requested to write to you that the man who loves you more than life itself wants you to have the most wonderful of birthdays and hopes that this gift will mark this day in your mind as one of your happiest memories. He also hopes that whenever you look upon this book and this very page you will feel the love of this man and know there is nothing he wouldn't do for you and that includes asking your favorite author to write a love note to you as an inscription in your favorite book. He will always be there for you, his heart belongs to you.

Sincerely, Francis J. O'Connell (as dictated to by Colin)

Now this note is from me. It is very rare to find true love but as I stand here looking at this young man I can see in his eyes everything he has asked me to write is true. You should both know how fortunate you are, but I believe that you all ready do. I wish you both a long life of happiness and the best of luck in all things.

Your "favorite author" (smiles), - F.J.O.

Aileen had her hand over her mouth as she read what O'Connell had written, she looked up at Colin and he could see tears brimming in her eyes. She set the book down, jumped off the sofa, and ran into Colin's arms. Colin let out an "oomph!" as she ran into his embrace with considerable impact.

Aileen laid her head against Colin's shoulder and wrapped her arms tightly around Colin's body. She was crying freely now; Colin held her tight. "Mom? Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes dear," she said through her sobs. "That's just the most thoughtful present I've ever received. You are so good to me, I don't deserve you."

"Don't talk like that Mom," Colin said. "You deserve the best in life and I'll always try my best to give you that. It's going to be you and me forever; I would do anything for you because I know you would do anything for me. I love you so much I wanted to give you the best birthday I could. I want you to be able to have good memories to associate with your birthday. They should be happy times."

"As long as you're with me, all my birthdays will be happy from now on," Aileen said. Colin lowered his head to meet her lips and they kissed deeply. For a long time they just stood together holding each other and kissing.

When the kiss finally ended Aileen looked at Colin with her iridescent eyes sparkling and said, "Make love to me."

They walked hand in hand to their bedroom. Once there they took their time undressing each other. Colin unbuttoned Aileen's blouse and as he slid it off her he softly kissed her shoulder, when he removed her bra he cupped each breast gently massaging them. Aileen lifted Colin's tee shirt over his head and kissed his nipples. Colin's hands lovingly caressed his mother's body as he removed her skirt and panties; Aileen's touches were no less intimate as she removed her son's jeans and underwear.

Once they were completely naked they got beneath the covers and made slow passionate love for hours. Colin felt he gave the woman he loved a nice birthday, but he new for certain he enjoyed the day.

NEXT CHAPTER: I'M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE