Three days later, Shelby decided to convene the weekly business meeting for Friday, as there was a staff development day at the children's school district, and all the kids in the families had the day off. Joining the meeting were Kaitlyn and Alex. The seminary they were attending didn't strictly ban premarital sex, but strongly discouraged it, so just before school started, they decided to get married, with a small gathering of friends and family in attendance.

The meeting went through the usual motions, including the line item finance affairs, and the lesson plans for Sunday school. Rita also got a review of her proposed sermon, which was scheduled to be delivered during the second week of Advent. The ministers offered their pointers, which Rita jotted down on her laptop.

Just before the lunch break at noon, there was a phone call coming into the conference room. The administrative assistant said it was Allison. Rita, nervously, turned on the speaker on the phone's centre console.

"Allison, thank you for calling. I was just about to call you, per your instructions," said Ruthie. "What's up/"

"Hi Ruthie, gang," said Allison. "I'm the bearer of news. Both good news, and bad."

"Okay," said Hope, also nervously. "Go ahead."

"Well, here's the good news first," said Allison. "When I met Daphne last night, she made full disclosure. She said Eric never touched her in any way, other than the occasional hug. She named not one but three teachers at the church who manhandled her. New charges have been drawn up against them. Meanwhile, one hour ago, the charges against Eric were dropped. He's taking care of some loose ends here in Buffalo, but early next week he's returning home. He is a free man."

"Thank God!" said Felicity. "I always doubted the charges, all of them. I'm glad I was right."

"Only thing is," said Peter," where is he going to live? From what Ruthie tells me, he and Annie are finalizing their divorce. I'm not sure he's welcome to live there, after sleeping with heaven knows how many women."

"Annie was an adulterer too," said Allison. "For the sake of Lucy and the grandchildren, Annie says he's welcome to live in the parsonage, albeit in separate bedrooms. Plus, when you've been together that long, you can't help but be friends. They've agreed to bury the hatchets – plural."

There was silence for a few seconds. Then David spoke up.

"Alright, that's the good news," he said. "But you said there's some bad news. What is it?"

"Is Kaitlyn there?" asked Allison.

"Right here, Ms Slater," said Kaitlyn.

"Was it you, or your mother Tamara, that suggested Eric go on the AIDS cocktail?"

"We both did," said Tamara. "I was close to disconsolate when I talked Eric down from his position. Kaitlyn was less that, but she was very concerned. We referred him to the protocol. We heard it had success in Canada, so thought he might want to try it first. It seemed to be the only effective course of treatment against ALS."

"As you all know," said Allison, "the FDA issued an emergency use authorization, allowing the off-label use of the cocktail for a drug trial to see if the drugs worked. In Eric's case, it not only stabilized his ALS, it actually slowly reversed it. I think that may have been part of the reason he was so cooperative with me when he came to Buffalo to face the charges here. He actually had a positive attitude, and I think that helped as well."

"But?" asked Sam. He nervously held onto the hand of his wife, Ashleigh.

"Just as the court hearing here was set to convene this morning," said Allison, "the FDA cancelled the EUA. And within a half hour of that announcement, his HMO said they would no longer cover the treatment."

"That's bullshit," said Ruthie. "How could they do that? Both of them!"

"The improvements some patients saw turned out to be mostly anecdotal," said Allison. "In a large number of cases, not only didn't the drugs work, in some cases they proved to be toxic."

"Toxic? As in, the cocktail killed them?" asked Peter.

"In some cases, yes," said Allison. "In many others, though, it interacted with other drugs they were taking, causing major problems."

"Like?"

"Heart attacks, strokes, slurred speech, aggravating existing mental illnesses ... the list goes on. The FDA said it wasn't worth the risk anymore. And from the HMO's viewpoint, they said they couldn't in good conscience pay for something that had that kind of risk. It would hurt their bottom line."

"Alright," said Felicity, "if that's where they stand, send the bills for the drugs to me. I'll pay for them personally."

"You'd do that?" asked Ruthie.

"Eric gave us you and your siblings. And you gave me four stepchildren. I'd do anything for your family. You know that," said Felicity.

Another pause ensued. Then Hope spoke up.

"Do you know what's going on with Wanda and Tiffany?" she asked.

"Eric decided to drop the kidnapping charges against Wanda," said Allison "And he's offered a proposed payment plan for support payments. He wants to be involved in the life of his youngest daughter, your wife's little sister. And he wants to make peace with Wanda. What that entails, I don't know, but I'll leave it to them to figure out."

"You don't think they could end up ... together?" asked David.

"After a contretemps like that, I doubt it. But at least they're talking," said Allison. "He's manning up, so I'll give them thumbs up for that."

"Well, presuming Dad can still get the drugs off label, and the drug store is okay with Felicity footing the bill," said Sam, "that still leaves the fact Dad's going to die eventually. The mortality rate for ALS is one hundred percent. He can't escape that."

"Which is why he also told me that he hasn't ruled out medical assistance in dying, again," said Allison. "But only when the drugs stop working. His doctor here says he's got a five year extension at most, but that's it. After that, it'll go downhill ... rapid. But he promises it won't be Sarah. He doesn't want to put her in that position again."

"Still, that means Dad's giving up," said Ruthie. "He was always a fighter. Still is. There must be another reason he wants help in dying, and it's not just the ALS."

"While he's settling accounts with Annie," said Allison, "his main reason for living was his marriage with her. Not having her to share a bed with is driving him crazy. She cheated on him, too, but he regrets ever committing adultery in the first place. And he can't forgive himself for that. Once he got started, he couldn't stop."

"Thirty-one women," said Kaitlyn, "including the four who were teenagers but lied about their ages. Of those, seven sex trade workers, four at the bordello and three streetwalkers. I suppose I can forgive him for that, as can my husband, but he must have been infected with something."

"Hep C," said Allison. "I don't know how many women he infected, but the HMO paid for the cure, for him. The police in Glenoak have asked him to hand over the list of the women, so they can be traced and tested."

"I'll e-mail the spreadsheet during our lunch break," said Hope. "By the way, do you know how many men Annie slept with?"

"Five ... and one woman. That last one took me aback," said Allison.

"Is there anything else?"

"No, that's it. I hate to share the bad news with you, but I thought you should be up to speed on all the details."

"That's fine. Thanks for calling. Stay safe. I hear Buffalo is going to get slammed with snow this weekend."

"We always seem to. But we live. Bye."

There was prolonged silence when the call ended. Then Rita spoke up.

"There's that old saying," she said, "'If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.' I told my friends about Grandpa and his ALS, and some of them said that it was payback for his committing adultery. That's nonsense, of course, but you gotta wonder."

"The Bible says that the Lord doesn't deal with us according to our iniquities," said Felicity. "It's a genetic disease. He just drew the wrong set of genes. That's not his fault. I certainly don't condone his behaviour, or Annie's, but no. Don't fret about that, Rita. Your grandfather made some bad choices, but that doesn't make him a bad person. I've only met him a couple of times, but from what I saw, he's a decent man. I'm praying for him. And I'll live up to my word. He doesn't have to worry about his health care."

"Thanks, Felicity," said Rita. "I love you. You're technically not my stepmother, but I view you as such."

"I love you too, honey," said Felicity. Her phone rang. "Well, lunch is here for all of us. Can some of you give me a hand bringing it in?"

Later that night, as Rita had supper at Felicity's and Peter's with her siblings, Rita brought up a question.

"I'd like to meet my aunt ... Tiffany," she said. "Funny, she's several years younger than us, but she is our aunt. Can we?"

"I spoke to Mom today," said Ruthie, who was sitting down next to her ex. "She says Dad wants to establish a relationship with my sister first. Then we're all welcome to see her. She deserves to know she has such a large and wonderful family who'll look out for her. She's a Camden. And Camdens stick together."

"She is pretty, and smart," said Heather. "I like that in a girl."

"Me too," said James. "This is a great family. I know we complain about it sometimes, but I wouldn't have it any other way.'

"Well, if he's able to muster it," said Rita, "I think we should invite Grandma and Grandpa here for Christmas. They may not be together as a couple anymore, but I'd love them to spend time with us, and with Uncle David and Uncle Sam, before things take a turn, which we all know it will eventually."

"I think Ruthie and I need to discuss it, along with Hope and my wife," said Peter. "But I'd like that too."

As the family continued eating their meal, they all silently prayed that Eric would live for longer than just a few years, that he'd have many more to enjoy in health.