Chapter 2

Dinner time hours later

"So, Michelle what do you do for work?" Diana asked her son's new fiancé.
"I help out at one of my father's company. While I have plenty of money of my own, as I've invested well, I still don't like to be idle," Michelle answered honestly. "While I travel a great deal to see the world, which will be a lot more fun with a husband, I still do various things for dad that are rather sensitive."
Diana figured that meant top-secret and that she didn't really need to know about. All big companies had various projects that were new developments and they wouldn't want other companies to hear about and develop something similar, especially if millions of dollars was already invested in it.
At least it appeared that Michelle had made something of her life and didn't laze around as so many rich people did, especially the women who tended to be spoiled into uselessness. She like her father and Spencer apparently had a decent work ethic and this pleased her immensely. She also knew that Spencer never would've fallen for anyone that just lazed around and did nothing with their lives other than spend money. Spencer wasn't the type that would insist any wife of his stay home and look after the children when they came. Even in this century many men resented their wives or girlfriends when they weren't around to wait on them, but Spencer wasn't like that, as he could take care of himself quite well. Unfortunately, many men, even in this time, thought it should be them that bought home the income and thought that any wife of theirs shouldn't work at all. This was a ridiculous way to think, but unfortunately, some of the thinking from back centuries ago still lingered. Men had used to put women on pedestals where they were basically nothing but ornamental and expected to just raise the children and adorn their husbands arm at social events. It wasn't even until the early 20th century that women had finally gotten equal rights, though that didn't mean some women didn't break out of that mold before that, but if they did, it was a hard road for them.
"And what about your career, are you just taking a break?" Diana asked her daughter. "I meant to ask you earlier but I just got distracted, so forgot."
"I finished up my current round of contracts and while the managers wanted me to sign up again for a couple more years I was having those nightmares I mentioned, so it's more of a sabbatical. Of course, if I hadn't taken that sabbatical I never would've met Dave and that would've been absolutely horrible."
"Absolutely!" Dave agreed wholeheartedly. "She has changed my life in such a short time in the best possible way. I'm actually looking forward to starting a family, even though I have Michelle, James and Tristan."
"But that's different from having your own," Diana said knowingly.
"I will always love the three I adopted, there's no doubt about that, but they're all grown up now and have their own lives. Besides, it's not like they were babies when I adopted them, as they were already each several years old and not as likely to be adopted since most people want babies or at least a toddler. If I remember right, James my oldest at least technically, was around seven or so when I adopted him and Tristan was of similar age, but a couple of years younger."
"That's true that most people want babies or at least a toddler," Diana agreed. "There's nothing wrong with wanting children of your own blood if you ever marry, even if you've already adopted."
"I can certainly afford to clothe, feed and educate them," Dave said smiling brilliantly "and I really don't care how many we have. If we only have a couple I'll be happy."
Dave didn't mention the fact that they might only have a couple this time, but next time there'd probably be far more. They didn't need to go overboard with Lynnette's mother and other two siblings still alive, as they didn't want to make any of them suspicious so they'd stick to two or three this time around, possibly four but no more than that. Diana, Roxie and Rocky knew what age Lynnette really was and mortals only had so many childbearing years. Most didn't have any over 40, not even in this day and age, unless they had married really late in their lives. Of course, that was just on average.
"So, when is the wedding Spencer?" Diana asked.
Spencer who had been silent listening to the conversation, but said very little, looked up. "That's up to Michelle mom, but since she wants a big splashy deal I'm sure it'll be months from now. Sometime in the summer, so you won't have to worry about going into work, but other than that, I don't know."
"Of course, I do, I love you and I want to show you off," Michelle said with a smile at her fiancé making him blush.
Spencer simply rolled his eyes and muttered, "I'm not a show dog. We'll let you know closer to time," Spencer promised his mother.
"You're welcome to help plan it," Michelle told Diana, "and so is Lynnette. The boys are being smart and staying out of it. It'll go faster if you do help."
"Of course, I'm paying everything for my daughter's wedding, since I am her father. I certainly don't mind and I'm quite happy for Spencer to become a member of my family," Dave said.
Spencer blushed again but remained quiet as he still wasn't one to talk about himself but was doing much better and Diana had definitely noticed.
"I'll be happy to help, even if that's from Vegas," Diana said with a smile. "I can make arrangements with link calls."
"Make sure to send the bills to me," Dave told Diana. "Really, it's about time for Michelle to settle down."
"I can say the same thing about you dad," Michelle said sticking her tongue out at him showing how immature she could be.
"Yeah, I never believed I'd fall in love again, not after Letty," Dave said with a great sadness in his eyes. "I never believed that I'd be so lucky a second time, even if Letty died many years ago. Now, that I have found Lynnette though, I'll be very happy to marry her and start a family."
Lynnette looked rather pleased Diana noticed at her fiancé's words, as he appeared to be very sincere and so did Michelle, but then, she would want her father happy. Diana couldn't really blame her daughter for that, as it was clear that Dave adored her. Frankly, that's the way it should be. She had a strong feeling that her daughter's marriage would not end in divorce like her own had. Dave was a totally different kind of man from William Reid. He had loyalty for one thing, and it was apparent he had compassion neither of which William Reid possessed. Diana was sure that Lynnette would never be fooled like she had been so many years ago when she had met Will. In someways, her daughter was wiser, than she had been.
"So, what about after the wedding and honeymoon?" Diana asked.
"Well, I've already offered your son a position in my company. He's brilliant and I know he's not happy at the job he has now. Whether he accepts or not is up to him."
"I'm glad you appreciate Spencer's intelligence, because his father never did," Diana said making Spencer look at his mother. "Don't look at me like that son, you know what I say is true. All your father did was give you a lot of twisted ideas and tell you a lot of lies and half-truths. I know when you are a child you believe what you're told, even ones as intelligent as you were, as you love your father automatically from the second you are born. I know I should've thrown him out long before he left on his own. Of course, if I had done so Lynnette might never have been born so it's just as well I didn't."
"I'm certainly glad Lynnette was born," Dave said sincerely. "If she hadn't been I doubt very much I ever would've married at all."
"It's not your fault mom. You thought you loved him," Spencer said. "When we're young we often don't see when somebody is extremely two-faced. Besides, if you had, as you just mentioned, Lynnette might not be here now and that would've been tragic."
"Let's talk about something happier," Lynnette suggested, "this is supposed to be a dinner to celebrate mine and Spencer's engagements. Besides, talking about that waste of oxygen makes me want to go strangle him and since I'm getting married soon I'd rather not be arrested for murdering the bastard."
"I'd rather you not be arrested," Dave told her kissing her cheek. "I have just found you and we can't get married if you're in jail." While Dave was partly joking, mostly he was very serious.
"If I haven't strangled him by now then I'm not going too," Lynnette said in a pert tone. "It doesn't mean I don't feel like it though sometimes."
"I actually can't blame her," Spencer said. "I've often felt like strangling him myself. Dad has no idea the statistics of children going to get revenge on at least one parent for how they were treated as a child. He's actually really lucky that his past hasn't come back to haunt him."
"You're lucky you had your mother to look after you," Michelle said. "It's obvious she loves you and she won't want any of her children going to prison just to give William Reid what he deserves."
"That I definitely agree with," Diana said approvingly appreciating Michelle's logic. "I can't blame you for wanting to strangle your father Spencer, Lynnette, but that doesn't mean I want you to actually do it."
Diana looked at both her children sternly and both of them blushed hanging their heads at their mother's stern look. "You both have bright futures ahead of you don't ruin them over some need for petty revenge."
"We won't," Spencer and Lynnette answered together.
"Why would we want to go to prison for killing the bastard?" Lynnette asked her mother.
"Well, I wouldn't, but you have no idea how people are going to act a lot of the times, even if it's a bad idea, especially when they've been treated so cruelly. People don't always make the right choice, especially when their emotions are involved," Diana said.
"I'll make sure he makes the right choice," Michelle told Diana. "As hard as it was for me to get him to see himself as desirable and not as those nasty descriptions his father input into his head I'm not going to let him go kill him. I would have to go visit him in prison then and I would prefer not to have to."
Spencer blushed at everyone talking about him but said, "You don't have to worry about me, I'm not going go and strangle him or put a knife in him or shoot him or pour acid on him, as I know that would be very foolish something I'm not."
"Usually you're not," Dave agreed, "but it doesn't mean you can't act out of character if you let your emotions overcome your common sense."
Diana was nodding approvingly at what Dave had said Spencer noticed and so did Lynnette and everybody else.
"I think you're in good hands and that Dave and Michelle are a good influence on you both," Diana said, "I'm looking forward to those grandchildren but don't rush on my account, as children come in their own time."
The four of them finished dinner quietly, but it was clear that Diana approved of Dave and Michelle and that was a great relief to her children, because they still would have married them despite parental disapproval, since mom didn't know a thing about immortals and mates

~~~Dave and Lynnette~~~