Chapter 9

Everybody sat down and waited for the ladies to bring the dessert along with plates, silverware and napkins. As they waited, everybody chatted casually, while Griffen just listened as Dave and Aaron chatted about everything under the sun, and it was clear that they were close.

Considering the Hotchners were Deanne's godparents, it made sense that the Hotchners and the Rossis were close. At the moment they were talking about a play they had seen together and about the great seats they'd had.

It was only a few minutes later when Jazz and Shonda came into the room, each carrying various items. Jazz had the dessert dish, and the silverware, which was laying on top of the covered dish while Shonda had the napkins and the dessert plates.

The two women walked side-by-side Shonda passing out dessert, plates, and napkins, while Jazz passed out the silverware after setting the dessert dish on the table that was in middle of the couches and chairs.

Jazz took the lid off the dessert and picked up the knife she had brought to cut it and begin slicing it into pieces before putting it on everyone's plate.

"Eat up everyone," Jazz said, as she put a piece on her plate last and then sat down beside Dave picking up her fork.

Griffen took a bite to his and closed his eyes as the chocolate exploded over his tongue.

"Good hm?" Dave asked Griffen in an amused tone, as he watched his future son-in-law eat the dessert that Jazz had created with every evidence of enthusiasm.

"Yes, sir it really is," Griffen answered once he had swallowed the bite of the piece of cake that was chocolate and vanilla with strawberries on the top as well as in the cake itself. It was seriously spectacular.

"I'm not usually a cake person, but then whatever cake I eat isn't usually homemade either," Griffen said.

"The cake you've had in the past was probably mass produced by machine," Jazz said, wrinkling her nose, as if she had smelled something bad when she said that. "Cake that is mass produced is never as good as homemade using fresh ingredients."

"That just makes you a food snob," Shonda teased Jazz, who simply smiled, not taking offense at her friend's teasing.

"If I'm a food snob, so are you," Jazz told her with a wink. "You don't like the mass produced sweets anymore than I do, especially things like cake, so I don't know how you can call me a food snob when you are the same way."

"I think we're all food snobs," Aaron put in. "I could never go back to eating mass produced stuff when Jazz is such an excellent baker and most of her children got the talent."

"Deanne didn't," Griffen said speaking up. "Or at least I'm assuming she didn't since she got her degree horticulture and didn't open a bakery."

"No, Deanne is the exception," Jazz agreed calmly. "She's always been very gifted with plants of any type. The baker's gene just passed her by that's all. It does happen."

"She is an excellent cook though, so you won't have to eat out as much if you and Deanne marry," Dave complemented his daughter. "I'm the one that taught her, her siblings and the Hotchner children how to cook, though Jazz did help when she wasn't busy at the bakery."

"It doesn't matter what talent she got, as that doesn't mean we don't love her," Jazz said, and everybody in the room nodded in complete agreement.

"Very true," Shonda completely agreed.

"We are not, so set in our ways that we expect our children to follow in our footsteps," Jazz explained to Griffen. "Most of my children did open bakeries or took one over when one of the family retired."

"As for me I own an antique store known as Walter's Antiques that's been in my family for generations," Shonda said. "Not all of my children got my talent for finding antiques, but that doesn't mean Aaron and I don't love them."

"We're happy so long as our kids find a career that they love," Dave said.

"In my experience, that makes you unusual, as I know plenty of people whose parents tried to force them into a specific career," Griffen said. "Like I know one family where both parents are doctors in different fields and they wanted their children to follow in their footsteps and some of them did, but the rest did not."

"I know it happens and way too often, but that's a good way to cause your kids to resent you or possibly outright hate you," Aaron said, shaking his head.

Everyone suddenly fell silent, and Griffen looked around the room at everyone's suddenly serious expressions.

"Why has everyone suddenly fallen silent and look so serious?" Griffen asked suddenly starting to feel very nervous, as he looked at all the other adults including Deanne.

The tension in the room was palpable, and Griffen could feel how it had suddenly gone from a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere too heavy and laden with tension. It was if the relaxed façade had been stripped away.

"You see Griffen we have something serious to discuss with you," Dave began. "We aren't like most families."

"You're more friendly, warm and welcoming for one thing, but that's not what you meant, is it?" Griffen asked shrewdly, as he studied everyone.

"No, though I suppose you could consider the fact that we're so warm and welcoming unusual when many people aren't like us," Aaron said.

"You see we are immortal," Dave spoke again and went onto explain exactly what he meant.

Griffen blinked as if absorbing what Dave was saying, but he also had a disbelieving look on his face.

"I say we prove it to him," Deanne spoke up, and Griffen looked over at her seeing that his girlfriend didn't look as disbelieving as he believed she should. Surely she didn't think what her father said was true did she?

"How do you prove something like that though?" Griffen asked.

"I know how much you don't want to believe it," Deanne told him, her tone calm, even as she kissed his cheek. "I can't really blame you for your disbelief. If I hadn't been born immortal, I doubt I would have believed in such a fantastic concept either. As for how, we'll prove it, it's simple. One of us will take that knife that mom brought to cut the dessert and cut ourselves somewhere non-vital, which is usually on the hand. That slash will of course heal within a few seconds."

"You know what they say about seeing is believing," Jazz spoke up. "I'll do the demonstration, since we all know Griffen doesn't want to see Dea cut herself until he believes the truth."

"I don't want any of you to cut yourself," Griffen protested, but Jazz simply ignored him and picked up the knife that she had left on the side of the dessert tray and cut herself on the back of her hand.

Any protest that Griffen was going to make died on his lips as the blood that flowed out of the slash on the back of Jazz's hand begin to immediately lessen and as for the wound itself, it began to close before Griffen's astonished eyes.

"Alright, I suppose I have to believe you after seeing that, but why tell me?" Griffen asked with a stunned expression. "Since you all seem like intelligent people I don't know why you would tell anyone since there are so many criminals in society."

"While it's true that there are lot of criminals that are part of our society," Deanne told him calmly, "there is a reason that we revealed our secret to you."

"Every immortal has a mate," Dave explained. "Someone that they can trust and have no secrets from, have children with and build a life with. That happened to me when I met Jazzlyn Lincoln in Moonlight Gorge at a bakery that had only been in operation a few years at that point in time. I knew instantly that she was the one I could settle down with, and I had been around for a very long time before, I met her."

"I wasn't as sure about Dave as he was about me, because I was completely mortal at the time," Jazz added. "Dave however, was determined to breakdown all the barriers I had erected to protect my heart after I had a bad experience in college. He certainly had an easier time of it than anyone else could have. Within a matter of weeks we became close and I knew that when he proposed I would accept. I should mention that both Shonda and I as well as all our children have magic and magicals also have a mate, which is how I knew that Dave was the one within a few weeks."

Before Griffen could protest and say that magic wasn't real Jazz produced a witch light and so did Shonda, and when Griffen looked over at Deanne she did the same proving that it wasn't some sort of illusions.

"Witch light, it's basically a flashlight except produced by magic," Deanne explained simply. "It takes only a minimal amount power from the caster and no preparations need to be made to produce one."

"It's one of the first thing's that a magical child learns when they're old enough to begin their lessons," Jazz added.

"I suppose I can't deny that magic as well as immortality exists," Griffen said his voice calm, even if his insides felt anything but calm. He gazed from one witch light to the next and back again. "So if I'm understanding you right, I'm your mate and that's why you were so insistent about making me go out on that first date with you in order to get you to even take a tour of the estates garden."

"Yes, that's why, as you're so honorable you would have refused if I was working for you and your sister on the garden at the estate you inherited. Let's be clear here, an immortal is miserable without their mate once they have met and you don't want to know what happens, if an immortal is rejected," Deanne explained.

"In any case, you might have feared, I would quit the project if we broke up if I took on the job, but I knew that would never happen. I knew I would see the garden at the estate return to its former glory, but you didn't know that I never quit a project before it is completed, not unless the circumstances were very unusual. I couldn't tell you that I knew we wouldn't break up though, because you wouldn't have understood why I was so sure that we'd still be together, afterwards."

"I did see how your eyes widened when you saw me for the first time after you came out of your office," Griffen remembered. "I was curious as to why you were so surprised when you set eyes on me, but it wasn't my place to ask."

"So how did you learn about her and how she's good with all types of plants?" Jazz asked Griffen.

"That's due to a mutual friend, Archie Balster," Deanne answered before Griffen could. "Apparently, Archie told Griffen and his sister about how I was very good with plants and that I would be the person to get onboard to begin to get the estates garden back to their former glory," Deanne explained.

"Archie has seen me enough times get plants to flourish even when they looked half dead and I just told him that I've always been good with that type of thing and it just takes love and care. He lives right across the street from me and we've become casual friends, mostly because we both like to garden, so that's what we talk about when we see each other.

"Archie did mention that I don't usually take on that kind of outside project, since I have a business to run, but still insisted that I would be the best person to get onboard. In the case of Griffin and his sister, I made an exception to my usual rule, but am not likely to do it again. I'm actually grateful to Archie for recommending me, though he better not recommend me to anybody else or we'll be having words."

"That's true, Archie did tell me that Deanne was very good with plants, but did mention how she didn't usually take on... well, it could be considered a landscaping project, I suppose," Griffen agreed.

"So I guess you and your sister decided to keep the estate, since Deanne mentioned that you hadn't made that decision when she came to see us back when she first met you," Dave said. "She also said she told you that she recommended that you leave the garden for the new owner to deal with if you did sell. Well, other then to clear out all the overgrowth."

"That's true she did," Griffen agreed. "She didn't see any point of going to the effort or the expense if we were just going to sell it, but Mira and I did finally decide to keep it. We might never have known or met our great-uncle, but the estate is still part of our heritage and is a treasure trove of old papers and valuable items, which would likely bring in a high price, if we needed to sell anything off to pay some major bill."

"There's no need for you to do that though, because from what Dea has said, your uncle was wealthy and the money passed to you," Aaron commented.

"True, Mira and I are never going to have to worry about money, not that we had that concern before. Mira is a real estate agent and I also have a good job, but thanks to a not expected inheritance Mira can open her own real estate agency.

"Opening her own agency is something she's been wanting to do for years instead of working for someone else. I can't actually blame her, because I've met her boss on several occasions and he's kind of crabby, hard to deal with and often rude on top of it.

"It might be awhile before Mira can do that, as we still have a lot of work to do on the estate, but still, I can see it happening once we get everything settled," Griffen said.

"Are you planning on living there? Or are you just going leave it vacant?" Shonda asked.

"There's no reason for us to live there, so there are no plans as far as I know in that direction. Neither one of us lives in Calais, so traveling to Portland for a work would be inconvenient as that's where we live and that's where our jobs are," Griffen answered honestly. "We'll hire some staff to keep the place up and to make sure the garden doesn't become so overgrown again, but other than that, we might visit occasionally, but as for living there probably not."

"Your sister at least could start her real estate agency in Calais, which means that the estate would be convenient for her to live there and that way no rent," Deanne suggested.

"I'll mention it to Mira next time I talk to her," Griffen said agreeing with Deanne suggestion. "It would give me a reason to go to Calais to visit on a regular basis and I wouldn't even have to get a hotel since the Wilton Estate is right there."

"We had better get going, as we're leaving for Portland in just a few hours. We need to stop by the bakery before we head to the shuttleport," Deanne said.

"It's always nice to see you Dea," Jazz told her. "You and Griffen are welcome to come up for a visit and hopefully, you'll see you at the holidays. I'll call the bakery and have them set aside a large box of treats for your sister."

"You don't have to do that, but thanks all the same, as it will save time and we still need to get through security at the shuttleport," Griffen said. "Just make sure they all contain chocolate and Mira will love you forever."

"I think me and Mira will get along fine if we ever do meet as I love chocolate to," Shonda snorted.

"As Jazz just said, before the conversation got off track, you're welcome for the holidays, as we always have a lot of people here for them," Dave told Griffen. "They're all family, as we've had a lot of children over the years since immortals never get too old to procreate and we have children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren in abundance."

"I'm sure we can come for at least part of the holidays, though I'll have to spend part of it with Mira," Griffen said. "We are the only family that the other has since both our parents are dead."

"Still, we'll be up here for at least part of the holiday and Griffen, Mira is not the only one you have when it comes to family, not anymore. You now have me and my entire family to call your own," Deanne said.

"I'll see you for Thanksgiving or Christmas or both," Shonda told her goddaughter, even as Dave rose in order to show them both out.

"We'll be here," Deanne promised. "I could never miss Thanksgiving dinner, not to mention the Christmas one."

"We'll see you then, sweetie," Dave said, kissing his daughter's cheek and shaking Griffen's hand. "We all know how your mind must be reeling about the information you were given. We also know it'll take you awhile to absorb everything, but you're always welcome to ask questions of any of us at any time so remember that if necessary."

"I will," Griffen promised.

"It goes without saying, that you aren't to say anything to your sister, as I knew twins usually share everything," Dave added looking at Griffen with a serious expression.

"I understand," Griffen agreed. "I won't say anything. Yes, Mira and I are close, but there are some things that my sister doesn't need to know and I'm sure that Mira feels the same way about my life. Besides, she'd never believe me if I did say anything, unless of course she was given a demonstration just like I was "

"I'll see you soon dad," Deanne said before she and Griffen left and headed for their rental car.

~~~Deanne and Griffen~~~