Just a quick A/N to say that the story's really close to being over... I didn't get any review on the last chapter (Hint Hint :-P) so if the same happens here, then I'll assume that no one's reading it and just post the epilogue.

That being said, here's another chapter :-)

I was nearly ready for my audition at the Grand Opera in Texas, but I still had a few places to smooth out. It had been constant work lately, making sure my upper register was practiced enough not to permanently damage it with some of the higher notes.

On March 4th, 1970, I was standing beside my mother on the piano, singing 'The Queen of the Night' from Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' when the front door flung open, causing myself to shriek and my mother to pound out a rather unpleasing chord on the piano.

Sodapop came flying into the room, and grabbed my hands, spinning me around once, laughing hysterically.

"It's all done, Naomi! They've finished everything!"

"They've what?" My mouth gaped open in shock.

"It's all over! I got the letter in the mail today - two letters! One said that me and Sandy are officially divorced, and the other said that we have custody of Marie!"

I squealed delightedly, throwing my arms around his neck.

"I'll just be in the kitchen," Mom said loudly, "If you decide you want to continue practicing later..."

We completely ignored her in our ecstacy, and she trudged away muttering, "...bloody children..."

Everything was going to be perfect. I knew it.

July 1st, 1969

So much had happened over the last few months. I'd gotten the part in Carmen, easily enough, and I guess I can now say that it was because my parents were both opera singers. I was okay with it now, I mean, finding out that I was the love child of some last minute fling my Mom had with her dying lover... I talked to my Dad about it, and what he said was extremely humbling, and I know I'll always think of it when I'm with Marie.

"Naomi," he'd said, the ghost of a smile on his lips, "Bryan's been dead for seventeen years. I've been raising his child for seventeen years... and now, you're my child. How could I raise you and stay mad at him? To hold a grudge for seventeen years?"

"I know, Dad..."

"Naomi... how well are they teaching you up at that school?"

"Not as well as LAPA... but pretty good, why?"

"How much do you know about Cuckoo birds?"

"Are you saying I'm crazy?"

He laughed, and slapped his knee.

"See, honey, that cynical little sense of sarcasm you have is straight from Bryan, and yet, it's one of the things I love best about you. No, I'm not saying you're crazy, I mean the real birds. They lay their eggs in other bird's nests, to be raised by other birds... and the other birds do it. And have you ever seen one? They're quite beautiful."

"Dad... they kill the nest hosts as soon as they're able."

"Well... you certainly ran us about as a child... no, no," he laughed as I looked at him indignantly, "Maybe not all the parallels were right. But remember... you shouldn't have a problem loving Marie like your own. I did it easily enough."

Marie was a little over one, and the most adorable toddler I'd ever seen, but then, I was biased. Strangely enough, lots of people thought I was her biological mother, because we had the exact same hair, and our faces were even somewhat similar. If I didn't know them, I didn't correct them.

Carmen had just ended two weeks ago, three nights before I graduated from high school with honors. I had improved and learned alot in my experience at the Grand Opera, but now, I was ready to try something else. My records were selling alright, mostly people from my school who thought it was so cool that they sort of knew someone who had a record out. So I was to audition in New York in August for a part in the musical 'Hair'... I was only seventeen, and I might be on Broadway.

While I sat under a tree in my front yard, thinking about everything that had happened in the past three years, I was amazed that I'd come out of it okay. The thought made me laugh, because, in a few years, the whole thing would seem extremely teenager.

"Goin' crazy?" a voice sounded behind me causing me to jump.

"Yeah, a bit," I said, as Soda sat down beside me, "Just thinking about everything. I can't wait to audition in New York..."

"You know... you can't go back and forth like you did in Texas. New York's a far way away..."

"I know..."

"I'm just thinking of Marie..."

"I wish you guys could come with me..." I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder, "... hey... do you think you could?"

"I dunno... maybe. It'd be alot easier, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah. That's one thing we've never had, huh? Easy problem solving."

"Yeah... but it makes it all even more worth it at the end, if it's hard to solve."

"Things will be really great someday."

"Yeah. You know... I'm wondering if Broadway will be anything like the Grand Opera."

"Probably... they're both theatres."

"Come on, there's more than that! I mean, I think there will be..."

"Well, you can keep that to yourself. I've never liked theatres since grade three."

"Why? What happened?"

"We went on a field trip to a really old theatre, and the guide told us it was haunted. One of the stage guys cut down a sandbag, to scare us. It was all planned, but it scared the daylights out of me."

I laughed. "Well, you can sit outside the theatre."

"Maybe I will. Marie's gonna be a theatre person."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I know it."

"That's pretty good. Hey, do you know what?"

"What?"

"I finally decided that after I'm done with theatre, I want to teach kids music."

"You mean, like a school teacher?"

"No, private lessons."

"See? You can teach Marie."

"I talked to my Dad about Bryan. He said some pretty cool things... I'm okay with it all now."

"Good. It was really bugging you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you're good now... man, am I hungry."

I laughed, "Have you eaten at all today?"

"I tried, but Marie was pretty insistant that I feed her, so I only got a few bites."

"Well, you're going to have to start feeding yourself through a tube that you can push around."

"Naomi?"

"Hm?"

"I have an idea."

"About?"

"We can make a deal."

"Okay, about what?"

"Marie and I will come to New York if you'll marry me."

I stroked my chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm... I guess I could make that work. Shake?" I extended my hand. Soda raised an eyebrow.

"Can I get a kiss instead?"

I shrugged.

"Whatever works."