Epilogue

Eight months later, the scholarship that Lynnette had wanted to endow was a reality, and the whole family was gathered for this monumental event.

It was also the official introduction of Lynnette's daughter to the rest of the family. It turned out that Lynnette had been very right that she was carrying a girl and both her and Dave were thrilled to finally have a second little girl to love.

With the birth of one, Lisa Annette Rossi the family was now complete except for Michelle's baby that wouldn't be born for a few months.

Michelle had gotten pregnant several months after the whole family had returned home from Las Vegas so she still had a ways to go before she gave birth.

Lynnette had commented to her mother once she was back home and recovered from the birth that she had been worried about her for nothing. She had also promised the whole family that Lisa would be the last kid she was going to have.

She didn't add for this generation since most of the family didn't know about the immortality thing.

Diana had indeed been relieved that her fears were groundless, and that her daughter had gotten through the birth just fine.

When Dana had found out that her parents had gone ahead and got pregnant again, she had ranted for some time, though at least she hadn't done it in public and done it at home. She had let her opinion be known though about the fact she had overheard her mother talking about having another child.

Her ranting ran along the lines of haven't you tortured me enough? I would think three kids would be enough for anybody and that she didn't need another bane on her life. It had basically been a rant about her, and how she didn't need another sibling to take her parents time and attention away from where she felt it belonged, which was namely, with herself.

Dana was still an extremely self-centered child, though she had gotten better, but she certainly didn't appreciate the two siblings she had, soon to be three and probably wouldn't until she was off to college,

Roxie was also pregnant with her third child, but since she was older than Lynnette, this would definitely be hers and Dan's last.

Diana was now worried about her oldest daughter, as Roxie was older than Lynnette, but she had to admit she'd also been pregnant with her youngest when she was basically Roxie's age and she had come out of it just fine.

When you were a parent though, you worried about your children, especially during pregnancy at an older age, which was late 40s for Roxie,

That didn't mean, however, that she wouldn't worry until after Roxie had given birth.

"Today the scholarship for two students that show strong musical talent is a reality," Dave announced.

"All the expenses will be paid when whoever is picked attends Juilliard right here in New York," Lynnette continued.

"Of course, there will be certain guidelines that they have to meet or risk losing their sponsorship," Dave continued right on cue.

"They'll have to maintain a certain grade point average. Too much partying and goofing off will see them lose their scholarship, though that doesn't mean that they can't party some if they want to. It also doesn't mean they can't have fun just that when you get a scholarship, other people are paying for you to study and learn, not waste your time goofing off," Lynnette continued right on cue.

"Those two must also be within a certain financial bracket in order to get the scholarship," Dave continued. "This isn't going to be a way for parents who can afford the tuition to send their children to Juilliard on this scholarship, just so they can avoid using their own money to pay for their children's continuing education."

"This scholarship is for those children whose families genuinely cannot afford the tuition that such a top flight education cost," Lynnette continued.

"Also, the scholarship will pay for whatever instrument the child has shown a talent for. Their first instrument will be theirs for life, but if they switch instruments or something happens to the one that was purchased for them then the purchase of a new instrument will be on them once they graduate and start making money of their own," Dave continued.

"If that instrument is somehow damaged while still attending Juilliard and the child, the instrument belongs to is proven not responsible for the damage then it will be replaced. Of course, if another child that is going to the same school is proven responsible and it can be proven that it was done deliberately instead of accidentally then their parents will be required to pay for the cost of a replacement instrument."

"That's definitely something I agree with," Diana agreed. "If someone else damages another student's instrument deliberately, just because they don't approve of their background or something similar then it's only right that the new instrument cost is forwarded to the parents of the child responsible. So many children can be bullies if they realize that someone is poor and is only there on scholarship because of it. Believe me, I realize this can happen as some students will bully someone just because their families are poor and they're only their on scholarships. People can be nasty to others that aren't the same as them."

"Which is exactly why this stipulation was added in the first place," Lynnette agreed. "We're all well aware that something could happen to the instrument in question whether accidentally or deliberately.

"If it's deliberately once the parents get the bill for the replacement instrument, they are going to come down on their child, because they were the ones that deliberately wrecked another student's instrument just because they didn't approve of their background, or took a dislike to that student for some reason so went out of their way to be malicious and cruel, so that child would leave the school.

"The parents will then likely explain to their child that just because someone is poor doesn't make them worthless and that an instrument cost hundreds of dollars. The parents will then likely take the cost out on their kids and they'll lose their allowance until that instrument is paid for which is karma come back on that kid for deliberately doing wrong, just because their mean spirited and full of themselves."

"In other words, someone who thinks they're better than a student from a very poor family," Roxie commented.

"Exactly, which is why we added that stipulation into the scholarship when my lawyer drew it up," Dave said. "If that actually happens then perhaps the kid that deliberately ruined a sponsorship students instrument will learn a valuable lesson about bullying when they're the one that gets in trouble and is possibly suspended or even expelled for doing so."

"That might happen, but if that student really is a bully. It'll probably take multiple harsh lessons before they reform," Rocky said.

"If they don't shape up, they could lose their scholarship if they are on one, and if their parents are paying for them attend, then they can be suspended or expelled," Lynnette said.

"I just want to get back to the subject about a student goofing off as we kind of got off track. I just want to say before we change the subject yet again that, I'm so glad that Spencer was never one to party instead of study, but I know that he's more studious than most children that go to college. None of my children are really the type to party, except for maybe Rocky."

"Hey! Even I studied and got good grades," Rocky told everyone.

"So, you did," Diana agreed with a proud smile.

"I suppose I did do a bit of partying, though I never joined the fraternity, even though I was approached and asked to join one."

"And why didn't you want to join?" Spencer asked and everyone was obviously interested in the answer.

"And why are you only telling us this decades after the fact?" Lynnette added looking at her brother in shocked surprised. " Why have you never told us that you were offered a place in a fraternity? I mean, why keep it a secret?"

"Because they were only interested in me because they pulled a lot of pranks, though all of them did get more than decent grades despite that. While, I won't deny I love being a prankster, I could just see them making me the fall guy if one of those pranks went seriously wrong. Besides, I never pull mean spirited pranks that are meant to hurt anyone and this particular fraternity had a reputation for being a trifle cruel."

"I'm surprised they haven't been shut down then if that's the case," Dave said.

"They might have that reputation, but the college never caught them in anything illegal or they would have been shut down at least temporarily," Rocky said. "Still, I wasn't going to take the risk I'd be expelled for something I didn't even do, if something went majorly wrong with one of their pranks and someone was seriously hurt. I knew that going to college was serious business and even I wouldn't risk my future by joining a fraternity that played a lot of pranks."

"That was smart son," Diana told her youngest son smiling proudly as Rocky hadn't always been known for making sound decisions. "I didn't realize you'd been offered a place in a fraternity, but I'm glad you turned them down all the same especially since they were known for their pranks instead of their grades."

"I am too," Rocky shrugged. "Besides, I knew I was there on scholarship and I could easily lose it if I wasn't careful so if I wanted to get my degree, I needed to buckle down not play pranks and get a reputation as nothing but a jokester who couldn't take anything seriously."

"I now understand why you didn't want to join this fraternity," Spencer said to Rocky slapping him on the back. "It was the right decision. Playing a few harmless pranks is one thing so long as it doesn't interfere with your studying. I can actually see that if you had joined that fraternity that it could very well be that they made you the fall guy if something went seriously wrong just as you suggested if you had a reputation as a prankster. It might never have happened, but why take the chance that it would?"

"Yeah, I see them pointing the finger at you little brother and saying that's the guy that pulled the prank that seriously hurt someone," Roxie said. "Unless you could prove you had been elsewhere at the time you would be on the hook for whatever one of that fraternity did it."

"Exactly," Rocky agreed. "With my luck, nobody would've seen me around the time it happened or if they had, they wouldn't admit it because of fear of repercussions from the fraternity, as some of that particular fraternity was known to retaliate if someone reported them for doing something that was against the colleges rules just because that whoever had spoken up, got them in trouble."

"Well, most teenagers aren't exactly known for their common sense, except for ones like Spencer from what I understand from Roxie. Most teenagers don't have Spencer's common sense or his ability to think things through not at 15 or 16 or even 18 anyway. Usually, someone is at least in their 20s before they mature enough to use the common sense they were born with," Dan who had been mostly silent, spoke up. "I know I was a different person back when I was in college than I am today."

"I believe all of us can say that, though," Michelle said.

"Definitely!" everybody in the room agreed all at the same time.

"Of course, we all changed, because we've matured. College is also about exploring boundaries and really your emotions don't mature completely until you're at least 30," Diana said.

"Back to the previous subject as we got off track," Dave said. "I want to announce that I have also endowed a scholarship of my own for those that show strong, musical talent just like my wife's," Dave announced. "The only difference is that it will be five students a year that show strong musical ability and they will of course come from poor families."

"This is great news!" Everybody cheered enthusiastically.

"While Lynnette had this idea out of the blue, I saw no reason why I couldn't endow a scholarship of my own since she wanted to pay for the first scholarship out of her own funds."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Michelle commented. "I mean, I know you would've been willing to endow that scholarship yourself and put her name on it, but this way it's from money she earned herself.

"I did suggest that originally, but when she told me that she really wanted to do it with her own money, make her own legacy, then I was fine with that," Dave said. "I understood that she wanted to use the money she's earned from her musical career for something worthwhile. I mean, what's the point of having money if you don't spend it on whatever you want to do and endowing, a scholarship is definitely a worthy cause."

"In any case, this way up to seven students a year will be able to go to Juilliard right here in New York and perhaps become famous like Lynnette or whoever their favorite musician is."

"Juilliard was grateful for the scholarships," Lynnette added.

"Mostly because they only have so much money to where they can offer talented students scholarships, and this will allow more such talent to attend when they are the appropriate age," Dave added.

"Yeah, places of learning always only have so much money to offer scholarships to college age children," Diana said.

"They only take the best and the brightest, the ones that scored the highest on their SATs," Michelle said.

"Now dad had the money to send all three of his adoptive children to college so scholarships weren't necessary for us and none of us saw the point of accepting a scholarship when we weren't exactly poor."

"While, all of my children were offered scholarships, I told them that I would pay for them to attend and to save the scholarships for those that couldn't afford to go without them."

"I wish more wealthy people thought like you did," Spencer told Dave. "I knew plenty of students on scholarships when I was in college that had parents that could've afforded to send them without them but didn't for one reason or another."

"Yeah, sometimes that's because the parent doesn't want to waste the money to see that their child or children get a good education, even if they have plenty of it, but that doesn't mean they're not selfish."

"Like William Reid," Rocky muttered, but nobody who heard him disagreed with his comment.

"Yes, like the Senior Reid," Dave agreed gravely. "He could've afforded to send all his children to a top flight school, without them getting scholarships if only he hadn't left the family like he did."

"Even if he had stuck around, I don't see that man paying for any of his children to go to college, even if he had the money," Lynnette said. "He wasn't just selfish he was tightfisted when it came to spending any money on his family."

"Unfortunately, true," Diana sighed. "I still remember how he yelled at me when he got the bills for the money I spent on the children when they were young on their birthdays and Christmas. Just because he had plenty of money, didn't mean he liked to spend it on anyone but himself. That doesn't mean, of course that I didn't spend some of his money to make the holiday special, as you already know, but it also meant that Will and I argued fiercely about it afterwards. He'd yell and scream at me about me wasting money and I would tell him it was someone's birthday or it was Christmas don't be such a Scrooge."

"Exactly what Lynnette meant with her earlier comment. Just because someone has a lot of money doesn't mean that they're willing to go out of their way for someone they supposedly love," Spencer said.

"In that regard you're totally different from my ex-husband, Dave and I'm so glad Lynnette met you," Diana complimented him. "Your generous, compassionate, loving, and kind, things that Will never was unfortunately."

"I'm certainly glad I met her," Dave said sincerely kissing his wife's cheek. "She's an amazing person. One I love very much. With her I had the family I've always wanted ever since Letty died many years ago, something I never believed would happen."

"I think we all understand that second chances when it comes to love, don't come around all that often," Roxie commented. "You were lucky that you found somebody to love the second time after your first love was murdered."

"Believe me, I'm well aware of it and I will be forever grateful," Dave said. "I am no longer lonely with Lynnette in my life and while I love Michelle and her two brothers they're all grown up now and though they're living here, it wasn't enough to get rid of that loneliness completely."

Even if it took many centuries to actually happen, Dave added in his thoughts, but didn't say.

"Now, if the discussion is over about the scholarships, I would like to see my new granddaughter now," Diana told Dave and Lynnette.

Diana had already seen Lisa when she was born and had held her briefly, but she had been kept busy for the last couple of months in Las Vegas and so hadn't really had a chance to bond with her new grand baby.

"She's grown quite a bit since the last time you saw her," Lynnette grinned at her mother, "but I suppose that wouldn't surprise you, considering you had four of your own."

"No, it won't surprise me if she has grown," Diana agreed smiling. "Babies grow fast up until a certain age, as you know. It won't be more than a few more years before Derrick will stop growing as he's over 12 now and his growth has slowed but not stopped."

"Yeah, it's hard to believe, Derrick is nearly 13," Dave sighed sounding melancholy.

"It's really not that long before his birthday," Lynnette said.

"Yes, time tends to fly when you're happy," Michelle told everyone, even as she patted her stomach. Michelle was just starting to show her pregnancy and it wouldn't be long before her belly was more prominent as she was in her fifth month.

"I definitely agree with that," Dave said, even as he, Lynnette and Diana headed towards the nursery where a little Lisa was.

"I only hope she's awake as I wouldn't want to disturb her if she isn't," Diana said.

"She probably is, but you won't hear her crying unless the door is open when we get closer, because Dave had soundproofing installed some years ago," Lynnette explained.

"Yeah, it sure has cut down on all the noise and not just a baby crying but the noise that my children made when they were young," Dave said smiling as he remembered.

"So, this house was built before soundproofing, was a thing?" Diana inquired, and Dave nodded.

"Yes, it was and I had it installed a long time before I met Lynnette back when my children were young.

"It was quite the project to install it in all of the rooms, except the bathrooms. The walls that had fireplaces don't have any soundproofing either because they would've had to tear those out and I wouldn't have that, but still, while you can still hear sounds sometimes the noise has been much reduced."

"It's not easy to install soundproofing in old homes," Diana said.

"No, it's not," Dave agreed.

"It must've been expensive," Diana commented.

"It was, but that didn't worry me," Dave waved away Diana's comment. "I know that a lot of people have to worry about money, but my family has always been good at business so the money wasn't a concern for me and it was also money well spent. It has certainly come in handy now years later when my home is filled with children who can be very noisy and that's not always a good thing when I'm trying to get some work done."

"On the other hand, children aren't meant to be quiet, as they are meant to make noise and be loud and obnoxious, so neither one of us minds if they do, just that when Dave needs to do some work, the soundproofing comes in handy," Lynnette added.

"Also, when I am working on a new music composition and practicing it, I don't want to be bothered either, though I don't mind if my family comes and listens when I'm playing so long as they don't speak and that's another instance of when the soundproofing comes in handy."

"Yes, that makes sense," Diana agreed. "Sometimes you like the peace and quiet, even if you love your kids."

"Oh absolutely," Dave agreed wholeheartedly. "I love our kids and grandkids, nieces, and nephews, but that doesn't mean peace and quiet, isn't nice occasionally. We would never give any of our kids up for anything in the world and this is something I told your ex-husband when I had a talk with him about how he had to quit pestering Lynnette."

"I didn't realize you had done that, but it does make sense," Diana said knowing how fiercely protective Dave was of her daughter.

"It wasn't a pleasant conversation, as I had to explain some facts of life to him and explain how I could bury him in lawsuits if he caused her a minute more of stress. I also said that if she lost the baby because of anything he did, he would regret it almost immediately."

"No Lynnette didn't need any added stress that Will was causing," Diana sighed. "None of us did really, but she was the only one that was pregnant. My ex-husband never did think through his actions very well before he went ahead and did them. He wouldn't have cared either if his actions caused a problem, as he just wasn't the type to notice when he was being a pain in the butt."

"He probably wouldn't have cared, even if he had known," Lynnette said her tone acid.

"Probably not," Diana sighed in agreement with her daughter.

"Well, the Senior Reid is now out of our lives, as he knows what will happen if he does try to get in contact with any of the family. I told him he had burned his bridges years ago and that nobody wanted to talk or see him.

"I am rich and powerful, and while he's also rich due to his career as a lawyer, he's not as wealthy as I am nor as powerful without as many political connections as I have," Dave continued.

"If I really wanted to, I could see him banned from ever practicing as a lawyer again anywhere not just in Las Vegas and have him disbarred, but I won't do that so long as he behaves himself. He could retire at any time, but since people are living longer, nowadays I don't blame him for still working. Besides, only the government still has a retirement age."

"True," Lynnette agreed.

"While I can't really blame your ex-husband for still wanting to work as retirement isn't for everybody whether you have money or not, I do blame him for being such a pain in the rear and for causing the family so much unneeded stress," Dave continued.

"True, while I could retire anytime I wanted to I'm still in good health despite my age and I don't do good with nothing to do," Diana said. "I'm much like my son in that way. Retirement just isn't for me until I absolutely have to retire because I can't continue to teach because of medical problems."

"You could always retire and move here so, you could spend more time with your grandchildren as they won't be young forever," Lynnette suggested.

"Oh no, I couldn't invade your home on a permanent basis," Diana protested. "I mean, I visit quite a bit, but I always go back home after a few days or a week."

"I certainly don't mind, as your suite, will always be available and this place is too big by half as you know," Dave told her. "Think about it at least."

"I will," Diana promised touched at her daughter's and son-in-law's generous offer.

"It won't be long before Derrick is off to college and I'm sure you want to spend as much time with him as you can," Dave said enticing, Diana with his words.

"You'll get to hold Lisa regularly while she's still a baby," Lynnette added.

"All right, all right I'll think about it," Diana laughed. "You sure do know how to entice me to retire and move here to New York."

"You won't even have to pay for an apartment as you can live right here in the mansion, so that cuts down on living expenses and also food as you're welcome to eat here too, just like you do when you're visiting," Dave told her. "You could even see about doing some lectures at one of the universities here in New York if you needed something to do. If you do lectures, then that still gives you plenty of time to spend with your family."

"I'll certainly think about it," Diana promised again. She really liked the idea Diana mused and she would seriously think about it. The subject was dropped as they reached the nursery where Lisa was being held by Derrick.

"Derrick, what are you doing here son?" Lynnette asked her oldest son who was rocking little Lisa back-and-forth in the rocking chair that was in one part of the room.

"She was awake and starting to cry, so I thought I'd rock her so she wouldn't bother Bertha or Millie," Derrick answered. "They deserve a break, because they work hard and have the other children to look after."

"Well, that was very nice of you, son," Dave said pleased

"If you want, I'll take over," Diana offered. "I haven't had a chance to bond with my newest granddaughter yet due to unavoidable delays back home."

"OK," Derrick agreed and then handed his sister over to his Nana. "She'll probably need to be changed pretty soon."

"We'll take care of it. You've done more than enough," Lynnette told him ruffling her oldest son's hair.

"Anytime you want to come help the nanny you're welcome to," Dave added. "It is very responsible of you to want to help relieve the load on them at least some."

"You are very welcome and at least it gets me away from Dana for a bit," Derek said with a wry grimace.

"I know your cousin can be a bit much son," Dave chuckled. "But Dana is just a dramatic child."

"Most of the time we get along fine, but she's been complaining to me ever since she found out Aunt Michelle was pregnant as nobody else pays attention to it," Derrick said. "While I understand that her siblings are trial to her she can't do anything about the situation so why she doesn't just accept it is beyond me. It's not like she'll be expected to take care of any new baby, so I don't know what her problem is."

"She's one of those kids that believe she should be an only child," Diana told her grandson sympathetically.

"She believes that Spencer and Michelle should've stopped with her and never had her brother and sister or, this new baby either."

"Some children are like that, Dirk I'm afraid," Dave told his son smiling Using Derrick's nickname. "Some children wish to be the only children in the household, but Spencer and Michelle always wanted more and so did Lynnette and me so no matter what Dana wanted it wasn't going to happen in this case."

"A lot of families only have one child because that's what they desire, but I'm certainly glad none of my children took that route, except for Rocky that is," Diana added.

"Well, at least Rocky had one kid," Lynnette told her mother with a wink. "He's actually doing a really good job raising Myrna."

"He is," Diana agreed smiling. "He's actually surprised me with what a good father he is."

Diana turned away and cuddled her granddaughter in her arms cooing at her.

"And how's my little sweetie?" Diana asked Lisa. "Who's a good baby now?"

Dave and Lynnette smiled at each other before leaving Diana to it, but watched from the doorway, as she sat down in the rocking chair that Derrick had just left.

"We're going to have to find some way to reward Derrick for helping to look after Lisa you know," Lynnette told Dave softly.

"Yes, we are," Dave agreed, as he hugged his mate to him. "He's growing up and becoming ever more responsible. We didn't ask him to help look after his new little sister he just took on that responsibility by himself. I'm glad, because it shows he loves his siblings and doesn't mind helping take care of them. He'll make a terrific father someday which won't be for a very long time probably."

Dave was referring to the fact that it would be centuries before Derrick met his mate or at least that was the likely possibility, which meant Derrick wouldn't get married while Diana or her two children that weren't immortal were alive, but that was just the way it was.

"Well, we need to reward such behavior," Lynnette and Dave nodded.

"We'll think of something," Dave promised. "You're right such responsible, mature behavior deserves to be rewarded."

"Now, if only Dana would reach the stage where she was more of a help instead of complaining about her parents giving her another sibling, that would be a miracle," Lynnette said.

"I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon," Dave chuckled. "You know a lot of kids resent not being only children and Dana is just one of those. Because of it though, we're going to have to make sure she doesn't get anywhere near her brother or sister once they arrive until we're sure she's not going to do them any harm."

"I don't believe she would actually go so far as to harm her new sibling deliberately once they arrive, no matter how she complains about them," Lynnette said.

"Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to be careful like we did when she was three and her sister was born. Remember, we thought that Dana might accidentally hurt her sister because she didn't know to be careful. I don't, however, believe that Dana would deliberately hurt her new sibling when they arrive, but she's also not responsible enough to hold them without somebody else being in the room, just as a precaution."

"True," Lynnette said. "It's probably a good idea to be cautious just like we've done when we have a new baby in the house. Bertha and Millie can't be everywhere after all. We'll have to remember to keep the door closed when no one is in the nursery."

"Our kids might be immortal, but they could still be brain damaged if they were to die at such a young age," Dave added.

"Now there is a terrifying thought," Lynnette said shuddering.

"It's certainly not pleasant to think about," Dave agreed gravely, even as he hugged his mate close to him.

"Definitely not," Lynnette agreed wholeheartedly, even as she stood close to Dave with his protective arm around her.

Both of them looked at Diana, who was still cooing too little Lisa oblivious that they were still in the room and so they left and headed back downstairs.

Life had been great ever since they had met and married. They had started the family they had wanted for a very long time back when Letty had been alive, and it would continue to be so for centuries to come.

There would be many children in their future after those that weren't immortal passed away, but that was for later as right now they were just enjoying the family they had.

~~~Dave and Lynnette~~~

Epilogue 2

"It's hard to believe that Dana is off to college," Michelle sighed, as she watched her daughter drive away in the brand new car that her grandfather had gotten her for her recent birthday. A very nice car in a bright purple, which meant it had to be custom painted. It was a convertible and also had a flying feature.

"I know it is Mellie," Spencer told her kissing her cheek. "Still, you have to admit that things will be more peaceful without Dana, here because she is always at the center of any trouble."

"True," Michelle admitted, as she put her head on Spencer's shoulder. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to miss her though."

"We'll all miss her sweetie, but she'll be home for visits, for the holidays at least," Spencer said. "She would never miss seeing her, Nana or her aunt and uncle."

"True or the great food that we always have around the holidays," Michelle agreed.

"It's hard to believe how fast time has passed," Lynnette said, coming to join her brother and sister-in-law at the window, even though Dana's car had long since disappeared down the long driveway.

"It really is," Spencer agreed.

"You know as much as she doesn't want to admit it I think Dana is going to miss her siblings and her cousins more than she realizes," Michelle said. "She might still think of them, particularly her siblings as banes on her life, but once she realizes that they aren't around I'm sure she'll start to appreciate them a little more."

"I don't know if you have it right or not, but I guess we'll see," Spencer said, as he turned away from the window.

"Michelle probably is right, Spence," Lynnette told her brother.

"You'll see when she arrives home for Christmas at least," Michelle said.

"I know how eager Dana was to escape when it was time for her to continue her education, but then most college students are eager to be independent and I believe that Dana's problem. Still, I expect her to do well in whatever courses she decides to take because she's a very intelligent teenager. She's much like I was at that age, intelligent, observant, insightful. Of course, I never had her attitude of wanting to escape from home as I was perfectly happy with my family, but then every child is different. I know that."

"So, she didn't tell you what courses she was going to take?" Lynnette asked.

"No, but I wouldn't be surprised if she joined the drama club like she did in high school," Michelle answered. "Spencer said it years ago that she's dramatic enough that she would make a great actress and that might be her plan, but neither one of us really knows."

"Well, so long, she keeps her grades up then she's welcome to join the drama club," Spencer said. "While Dana is very intelligent, she doesn't have my eidetic memory, which is a good thing, as it can be both a blessing and a curse. Considering that Dana, along with the rest of her family, except her grandmother, Roxy and Rocky and their families are immortal that is definitely a good thing because every adult has at least some bad memories and most of them have more than a few. Being able to forget after a while, those memories that are painful would definitely be better than remembering them forever. In Dana's case, it could literally be forever that she remembered some tragedy that happened to her."

"True," both Michelle and his sister agreed.

"At least things will be quiet while she's not here," Lynnette said. "By the way, Michelle, I agree with what you said earlier it's hard to believe Dana is 18. I realize that Derrick has been gone for a couple of years now, and Dana is the next oldest child in this family, but it doesn't seem like any time since they were small children."

"Just imagine what the next few years will bring when the other children go off to college and it won't be more than a few years after that that we'll have an empty nest," Lynnette said.

"You can finally take that world cruise that Dave mentioned years ago, once all your children are out of the house, though Lisa won't be grown up for quite a while," Spencer told his sister.

"So, we have the time," Lynnette shrugged. "Our time is infinite and those years will pass in the blink of an eye, we all know it."

"Yeah, they will," Spencer agreed.

All three of them finally left the window that looked out on the driveway where Dana's car had long since disappeared.