This is the first chapter in a triple-shot of a family event that happens years in the future. Phineas and Isabella are parents of four children, already grown and with families of their own. The couple is now in their 60's. That's all I'm telling now, I don't want to spoil the story. I hope that it doesn't disappoint.

Enjoy.

Adrian's Point of View

Adrian admired his father.

To put it simply, he was inspired by his life story. His father grew up an average American kid, went to college, and started his own engineering firm after graduating. Business folklore rumored that he rose up the corporate ladder so fast he scorched the rungs. He spent almost his entire working career in the company that he helped create. Now in his mid-60's, the old man was happily retired, his nest egg swimming in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Adrian's father was a legend, an industrial magnate, and very wealthy. Adrian admitted it; he and his siblings had been borne into wealth. They always had 3 meals a day, a roof over their heads, and hot water whenever they wanted it. They could always count on any type of resources when needed.

They could have easily become spoiled brats. But his father was as tough as nails.

The man could have enrolled his children in the most prestigious and exclusive private schools in the tri-state area. To him, the expensive tuitions were mere pocket change. But he didn't. All four of his kids, from oldest to youngest, were enrolled in public schools. He would rather have them learn slightly watered down material than having them grow up entitled and snobbish. Public school, to the old man, provided the opportunity for his children to connect with all ranges of people. He needed not to worry about them taking the wrong road; he worked with his wife as a team to raise them right.

Adrian's father could have easily bought one of the most opulent mansions in the region. Instead, he purchased an average two-story home in a neighborhood similar to the one he grew up in. One of his employees lived several houses down the street. The man, a Guatemalan engineer, was a friend of the family. On one occasion, Adrian's father visited the man while he was tending to his lawn.

"Hey Phineas, what are you doing around here?" the Guatemalan asked, yelling over the racket of the lawnmower.

"Just dropping by to visit my neighbor. How are you doing, Carlos?" Adrian's father replied. They talked for a while, and Phineas even helped with the weed eater. When the lawn was done, Carlos' next door neighbor arrived home. Being one of those people that normally don't notice their neighbors, this time was the exception. He only saw a Hispanic man pushing a lawnmower into the backyard, and another guy leaning on the front door waiting for him to return. The neighbor thought Phineas was the homeowner.

Genuinely intrigued, the neighbor walked up to Phineas and asked "I see you got yourself a lawn maintenance guy. How much does it cost to hire him for a yard about that size?" He pointed back to his yard.

Phineas leaned over towards the guy, smiling as if he was about to say how cheap the job cost. "Sir, you know if you paid this man what I pay him, your house's property value wouldn't even compensate for it?"

The guy stared back at Phineas, thinking he must be crazy, and walked back to his house. Phineas smiled, and when Carlos returned from the backyard, they continued talking.

That being said, it would be wrong to think that Adrian's father was stingy, or a repressed bitter man. He let his family indulge in the pleasures that his deep pockets could buy. They went dining to the best restaurants every now and then. They went to the best theme parks regularly. However, they had their best kicks when they built their own projects. Adrian's father, having done this since his childhood, helped them extensively.

The old man let his kids have fun and enjoy themselves the same way he enjoyed himself when he grew up. But he had the ability to draw the line between letting them have fun and spoiling them outright. With fun, came responsibility, and all four kids, from Adrian to the littlest, had to do at least one productive thing every day.

His father stressed perfection; he was the type that chided his eldest son to try harder if he came home with all A's and one B. Adrian found it annoying and picky when he was young. He thought his father wore his tie too tight. However, his father was understanding and offered as much help and advice as possible. Work hard, he always said. Wrong. It wasn't work hard, it was work smart. "You can push on a boulder all day as hard as you can, and it won't even budge" his father once told him. "If you work smart, you might pick up a plank and use it as a crowbar to push it. It will move much easier by using your brains than by just pushing it with brute force." His father's motto was the Bible that Adrian took to heart over the years. Work smart, keep moving forward.

His father stressed values that were sadly watered down in many a family; get a good education, always be punctual, have a good work ethic, be disciplined, have integrity, and so forth. But the most important one he stressed constantly; be humble. Adrian admired the self-restraint of his father. He never smoke, drank, or swore, even when he was mad or stressed. He never boasted about the power or money that he had.

Most remarkably, he never argued with his wife in the presence of others. Adrian, in all of his childhood, didn't remember one instance where his parents were angry with each other. They seemed to have it together all of the time. Once he was grown and came to realize this (after having several arguments with his wife), he asked if they ever argued.

His father laughed, replying, "Son, you don't know how feisty your mother gets when she's angry. Of course we argued, many times over the years. But we never let it reflect on you guys; we always tried to solve it behind closed doors, even if it was difficult. It helps a lot. Things get even muddier when the children get caught in the crossfire. It's not good for both the parents and children. So we did that, for your sake."

Adrian's childhood played out inside his head as he remembered more father-son memories. The good, the bad; everything. He realized, now that he had a good house, a prestigious job, a beautiful wife, and children of his own; my father was right about everything. He glanced to his side, smiling at the elderly man sitting next to him. They were alone in a boat, fishing smack in the middle of a picturesque lake, pine trees surrounding the shore.

"Got anything yet?" Adrian asked.

"No, no I don't. They usually bite fast with this bait. Guess they found out it was a trap." Phineas smiled and looked at his son. "Adrian, remember that time we first went fishing?"

"How could I? You got mad at me because I didn't look out when I cast the fishing line. I ended up hooking you by the arm."

"Yeah. I was angry, and I yelled at you at first. Then, you saw a little blood on my arm, and got scared. You started crying. You asked me if I was going to die."

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. That memory was still vivid. "Yeah, I was scared. It was just that to a kid, their daddy is their Superman. Especially a daddy like you." He squeezed his father's shoulder. "I couldn't bear a world without you. Even now, it would be hard."

Phineas put his hand on top of Adrian's. "Yeah. But it will happen one day. I couldn't bear it being the other way around. The kids are supposed to outlast the parents. You're my son. My flesh." He paused and looked into the distance. He cleared his throat, and let out one sniffle. His tone changed immediately. "Son, we've been fishing out here for hours, and we only caught a measly old boot. How about we call it a day? The family surely cooked something else by now, thinking we went missing."

Adrian agreed, looking at the setting sun. "Allright, let's get to the house."

They rode back to the dock next to a quaint country cottage. The land it was sitting on used to belong to the city. Adrian, being on the Danville City Council, purchased the land from the city at the bargain value it was to be auctioned for. He turned over the land to his father Phineas, who built his mother Linda the cottage that existed today. It was the house of her dreams, and had all the necessary amenities. Of course, the media and the public crucified the Flynn family for the move, labeling it aristocratic, plutocratic, socialistic, and just about anything else with the suffix –tic in it. Phineas and Adrian didn't mind the flames though. This was not a vulture purchase; this was for the happiness of Phineas' mother.

Linda lived there for the rest of her life, Phineas adding a spacious home for the house nurse that took care of his mother in her last years. When she died, Phineas knew that the cottage meant a lot to her. He instructed for her to be buried on the property, next to an old oak tree that she loved to sit under.

At any rate, they entered the cottage, now occupied by family of all ages and sizes. "Hey guys, we're back" Adrian announced. "Sorry, we didn't catch anything." The little kids started booing. He just laughed. "What's for dinner? It smells good."

"It's a surprise" said an elderly woman that came out of the kitchen. She was about average in height, petite, and beautiful, even in her golden years. Her hair was, as they say, salt and pepper; her dark auburn hair had hints of white and gray throughout. She walked to Phineas, who automatically put his arm around her. "How did the fishing go, Phin?"

Phineas looked into her eyes, laughing. "We caught a boot. Maybe we could roast that up and give it to the kids?" The kids, who were gathered around their grandparents, started making gross-out faces and noises. They ran back towards their respective parents. Phineas continued, "But it was great Isabella. Me and Adrian needed it."

What was left of the evening was spent on this very special family day. The dinner turned out to be none other than Adrian's favorite platter; his mother's mole poblano, with a side of rice and string bean casserole. The siblings, who were now grown and married, talked with their elderly parents about adventures, memories, and the like. The kids roamed the spacious cottage, playing hide and seek and enjoying the freedoms that come with being a child.

To Adrian, this seemed like a cameo of what family dinners were when he was young. He would arrive from school, his mother home already thinking of what to cook. Later, his dad would arrive from work, taking off his trademark flannel coat, right on time as his mother rounded the doorway to the dining room, serving everybody their delicious dinner. They would eat, talk, and relax after a long day, whatever the worries. It was a great way to wind down, and Adrian was grateful to relive those days again, decades later.

Angela, Adrian's youngest sister, broke the magic. "When are we bringing out the cake?"

Phineas looked at the people gathered before him, and ventured outside as the family kept having a good time. Shortly after, he arrived, a big cake in his arms. He walked up to the dinner table and announced, in a rather cheesy voice, "Folks, we are gathered here today…" He allowed himself to laugh before continuing, in a normal tone, "…to celebrate the birthday of my eldest son, and Isabella's eternal mama's boy, Adrian Flynn." He walked up to his son and gave him a hug. "Happy birthday, champ. You mean so much to me." Phineas pulled away, teary-eyed, a single drop running down his aged face.

Adrian was struggling with watery eyes as well. No matter what happened, he would always love his father and mother the same way he did when he was five years old. He was the kind of sappy guy that stilled called his parents "mommy" and "daddy" when addressing them. His younger siblings always teased him about this in jest, but they thought that it was cute. They knew that he really took his family to heart.

As Adrian bit into the cake, and the family crowded around him to rub his face in, he vowed to store this moment in his memory, alongside other beautiful memories, forever. The feeling of cake pressed onto his face, the icing up his nostrils, the giggles and laughter filling the wooden cottage where his grandmother used to live. I will never forget my 40th birthday, he thought, as he wiped his face clean, hugging his mommy.

There you have it. I hope that it wasn't too confusing or didn't make sense. I also hope that the personality of the characters match up pretty good. I was kind of worried that Phineas would be portrayed as too harsh. I really tried to portray him as a person that honestly wanted to provide his children with the same joys that he had as a child while also raising them upright individuals. And I tried to squeeze in subtly that he still was the guy that was always up for fun. I don't know if it showed. Please review, I will update soon with Phineas' point of view of the party.