Chapter 7

"We're sorry you are leaving us so soon," the captain told Dave and Livia shaking their hands. The ship Bon Chance was now docked in Naples and the Rossis were disembarking and staying ashore for the rest of their vacation instead of just for the day. The Bon Chance was supposed to be docked here in Naples for several days before they put out to sea again and moved on to their next destination.
"My wife wanted to see more of Italy, captain," Dave fibbed smoothly, not telling the captain the real reason that they weren't going to finish out the cruise. "She's never been to Italy before so we're going to explore some of Naples before we catch a flight home."
That statement was also a half truth, as they did indeed plan to explore some of Naples before heading up to the Amalfi Coast for a day or two.
"You're welcome to take another cruise anytime," the captain said, "Farewell. I hope to see you again."
"I'm sure you will, Captain," Livia spoke up. "Dave and I are already planning to take more cruises once Dunston is a little older."
Those were the last words either Rossi spoke, as they heading down the gangplank to meet Kendra and their boys that were already waiting on the dock along with their luggage.
"Let's go to the hotel," Dave said softly, as Livia got a cab.
Dave had already made a reservation of course not caring about the cell phone charges that were likely to result in his using his cell phone in what was a foreign country.
Luckily for them, neither Rossi had seen Melinda since their confrontation a couple of days ago and Dave was assuming that either she was still sleeping or had taken her daughter to one of the early activities that were available onboard or perhaps gone into Naples. It was after 10 o'clock so she could very well be at the saloon or the spa with her daughter, though if that was the case, the girl seemed a bit young for those types of places, as they were geared more for adults than children.
It took two cabs, not just one to get everyone to the hotel, as there were simply too many pieces of luggage and too many people as well. The hotel was a five-star of course and one of the best in Italy and so Dave led his family inside and up to the reception desk.
Dave soon had all of them checked in to their four-room suite and they were soon headed for the elevator with Livia holding Sebastian's hand while Kendra had Dunston in her arms.
"I think we should rest until lunchtime, which is only a little over an hour away and then will decide where to go for lunch," Dave said.
"But daddy," Sebastian protested not looking tired at all, but then it was only 10:30 in the morning and Sebastian had a full night of sleep so he was full of energy. Besides, no six-year-old boy wanted to take a nap when he had just risen a few hours ago.
"I'll tell you what little man if you don't complain about resting until we go to lunch, we'll spend the rest of the day doing whatever you want," Dave told his son as the elevator reached their floor and they all stepped out.
"Within reason," Dave added quickly having seen his son's sly look that told Dave his son was already thinking about the best way to spend as much money as he could in one day, which usually led to Sebastian asking for the most expensive thing he wanted at that particular time and sometimes his interest could be very expensive like several hundred dollars.
Livia dreaded to think how expensive Sebastian's taste would become once he was older and had more interests. It was better to curb his taste for expensive things now unless he was the one paying for them. It wasn't even that Dave couldn't afford his son's expensive taste just that they needed to teach Sebastian not to waste his money.
"Nice save," Kendra chuckled as she too had seen Sebastian's sly look.
The family entered the suite that Dave had gotten and as the last one to enter, shut the door behind them.

~~~Dave and Livia~~~

Epilogue

"Enjoy your vacation?" Alifair asked Livia, as soon as the Rossi had returned home from their cruise.
It was several days after they had gotten home, as they'd had to have time to recover from the jet lag, if nothing else.
"For the most part, yes we did," Livia agreed grinning, as she remembered some of the romantic moments between her and Dave.
"So, there must've been some kind of incident if you're saying for the most part," Alifair observed.
"You would pick up on that wouldn't you?" Livia chuckled.
"You know me," Alifair suggested, and Livia nodded.
"Yeah, I do," Livia agreed smiling. "Yes, there was an incident several of them actually."
She began to tell her friend all about Melinda Karsak, and her trying to get Dave into her bed. "Dave quite firmly told her no on several occasions and it was only the incident by the pool that I was present for, but there was several before that. Dave was as annoyed as I've ever seen him and in fact, he admitted he was about an inch away from turning into a dragon and using his fire on her."
Alifair winced listening, as Livia told the tale of a woman who had had no problem breaking up their marriage if she had succeeded in getting what she wanted.
"I can't believe that happened on your very first cruise," Alifair said, shaking her head. "For Dave, to admit, that he nearly turned into his shifter form, tells me all I need to know about how annoyed and angry he was. Dave isn't really the type to get angry enough or easily enough to shift in front of a human."
"Yeah, you would think the odds would be against it. You're absolutely right by the way Dave is not the type to get angry easily," Livia agreed with a dark chuckle. "Still, it nearly happened, so we just decided to disembark in Naples, and this explore the city before making our way up to the Amalfi Coast for a few days. Sebastian, in particular, enjoyed playing at the beach and I won't say Dunston didn't enjoy it, as well, just that he stayed near us and played in the sand while Sebastian played in the ocean farther away but still within sight."
"Well, Dunston is only two so I'm sure he was content to play in the dirt while you watched him. Sebastian, however, is older, more active," Alifair suggested.
"True," Livia agreed. "I was able to relax once we were in Naples as it was unlikely we would run into Melinda again. More importantly, Dave was able to relax and not be worried that she would show up out of the blue."
"I'm glad that this woman didn't cause trouble between you and Dave," Alifair said.
"Dave told me about all the incidents where our children and her daughter were enjoying the same activities and he did nothing wrong," Livia said. "He told her more than once that he wasn't interested in having a fling or just having sex with her and it was this Melinda Karsak that was so aggressive. I trust Dave, just like I trust you, as he has never lied to me as far as I know and is always honest and forthright."
"That's very good," Alifair said in relief. "I'm well aware what the foster care system did to you, so it's nice to know you do trust Dave completely and also me of course."
"Dave has been nothing but honest, generous and kind to me," Livia said. "I knew we were going to meet remember or at least I knew he was going to play a prominent role in my life. I might not have known that we were mates before we met or even known such things as mates existed, but after we did, it made sense that we were, considering how often he showed up in my visions."
"I bet you hated having to waste the rest of the money, because you didn't complete the cruise," Alifair mentioned, knowing how Livia despised wasting money, even though Dave had plenty of it.
"Yeah, you do know me extremely well. I do hate to waste money, but it was necessary in this case for our peace of mind if nothing else. I mean, we can't enjoy ourselves with Melinda's constant causing scenes in public. Except for that last confrontation by the pool, I wasn't with Dave doing the other ones, as he was the one that was looking after the boys and taking them to the activities designed for children their age and that Melinda's daughter happened to be of similar age, is just a coincidence," Livia said.
"Still, I sincerely hope on our next vacation that there are no Melindas waiting in the wings to annoy either one of us, and ruin our vacation."
"I don't blame you there," Alifair agreed, smiling at her friend, as the annoyance in Livia's voice was present every time she brought up Melinda Karsak.
"Still, for now we'll be home for a few months Sebastian starts the new school year in just a few weeks," Livia said.
Sebastian, of course, was going to a private school, as it had been a decision that she and Dave had made and not only because Sebastian was a shifter, but because you got a better education. Many shifters did go to public school, but if they did, they almost never made friends with humans, because they were seen as different. It was as if a lot of humans sensed their otherworldly nature or at least that they were different from them, and so the humans avoided any paranormal that went to public school at least as a general rule. There were exceptions, however.
Many shifters, unlike sorcerers or witches were homeschooled, just because they didn't have good control over their shifter shape at five or six when a normal child would be in first grade.
It was the same age-old problem that had been around as long as paranormals had so they had learned how to handle it, at least mostly.
The two friends laughed and joked for hours, and Livia continued to tell Alifair about her vacation, not mentioning Melinda Karsak again.
"Well, at least she would enjoy most of your vacation and that's what matters," Alifair said cheerfully.
"I'll see you sometime in the next few days," Livia promised rising to leave.
Livia left her friend and headed home to her family. Her family! Something she'd never believed she would have. Now that she did, though she would protect it fiercely and knew that Dave felt the same as her.
She and Dave would continue to travel the world for many decades to come sometimes with children tagging along other times without, and that was the way it should be always.