After the deaths of Burger and Tragg, their children clung to their partners for dear life and relied on their support. Dean was the only one who had ended his relationship. He'd broken up with Bella after the New Year in 1979. Maureen had also started acting strange, and no one could figure out why. She hadn't even told Vivian and she told her everything. Maureen had been living in her own apartment for a year now. Her visits to her parents had become infrequent. Then, when Paul died of a massive heart attack, his son, Paul Jr., took off. He was so close to his father, and now felt lost without him. However, Paul Jr. did tell his mother that he was leaving. She understood and let him go. Bella stayed behind with her mother but eventually left with her mother's blessing.

"Perry, have you heard from Maureen recently?" Della asked one day.

"No, why?"

"It's been days and I haven't heard from or seen her."

"Maybe she's busy?"

"I don't know," Della began sifting through the mail, "Perry, look." She showed him an envelope, "that's Maureen's handwriting." Della quickly opened the envelope and silently read the letter. Tears formed in her eyes and began to fall.

"What does it say?" Perry asked. Della handed the letter to him. When he finished reading it, he looked at his wife, "do you want me to send someone to look for her?"

"No," Della said, "she ran away for a reason. She knows where to find us if she needs us. Remember the day she first crawled."

"Yes," Perry said.

"I said that I had a feeling she'd be running away from me her entire life. Well, I was right."

"You said she'd be running away from you and towards me. She ran away from me too."

Both Perry and Della were devastated. Their children were angry. Maureen had cut off contact with everyone.

Perry was eventually appointed to be a judge in the court of appeals. When the news was announced, a businessman named Arthur Gordon, offered Della a job as his secretary. The couple discussed it but were conflicted. Perry was to move to San Francisco while Gordon's business was in LA. Perry told his wife that if she wanted the job she should take it. Their kids were all out of the house at this point. Although, the boys still spent every meal there. The grandkids were often there as well. Della reluctantly took the job. She and Perry had never been apart that much before, and both wondered if their marriage would survive.

One day, after Perry had moved to San Francisco, Max and Vince walked into their childhood home. They went to the pantry and got some chips to snack on. At about six in the afternoon, Della walked into her house. She heard the television and went to the living room. "Don't you boys live in a dorm?"

"Yeah, but it's cheaper to eat here," Max said.

"It's a good thing your father and I didn't pay for that meal plan."

"Dad's a smart guy," Vince said, "he knew it was a waste."

"Yeah, he's really smart," Della said sarcastically before heading to the kitchen.

Max smacked his brother, "nice."

"What?"

The two got up and went to the kitchen. Della was pouring herself a glass of wine, "rough day?" Max asked.

"Same old, same old," she said.

"You hate your job, don't you?"

"No," Della said.

"You hate dad?" Vince asked.

"I don't hate your father. Why don't you boys order dinner? I don't feel like cooking." Della took her wine and went upstairs.

Vince looked at Max, "and you think I'm the idiot."

"Yeah, we'd better call dad," Max said.

When the boys called, they found out that Perry was supposed to come home that weekend, but had canceled. That he had canceled the last six weekends. It didn't make sense to the boys, so they took it to their siblings.

"Why would dad willingly stay away from mom for a month and a half?" Vivian asked.

"Maybe he's really busy with work?" Violet suggested.

"Maybe he's busy with someone at work?" Peggy offered.

"No way," Maggie said, "dad would never cheat." She looked at her siblings and became skeptical, "would he?"

"Of course not," Nicky said.

"Maybe we should start spending more time with mom?" Max suggested.

"Yeah, take turns going over there," Vince said.

"That's not a bad idea," Peggy said.

The kids came up with a plan to try and keep Della company while also trying to find a way to get Perry home.