Chapter 2

Dana led Celine, who hadn't said a word when Dana had added to her order over to a table to wait for their number to be called.

"I did warn you about ordering the cheapest thing on the menu," Dana told her once they were seated.

"That's more than I could possibly eat," Celine finally protested.

"That's only because you're used to extremely small meals, because you've been living on the street," Dana told her. "I wouldn't be surprised if you only ate one meal a day and if you only ate something like a sandwich or a burger, which is why you're all skin and bones and have no meat on your frame at all."

"And why did you insist on feeding me and you never have explained your reasons of why you want to talk to me."

"Well, as to why I insisted on feeding you was I could see you needed a good meal," Dana began.

"And as for why I want to talk to you let me just say you have one of the purest voices I have ever heard and since I grew up in a musical family, I've heard a lot of good musicians over the years. I grew up around music, listening to my grandmother, Lynnette Rossi, playing, and singing for her family or just when she was practicing in the music room that my grandfather set up for her.

"She had one of the purest voices I've ever heard before or since, and though she's retired now she still plays and sings for the family on occasion mostly at family gatherings."

"So what?" Celine wondered where Dana was going with this.

"I was just trying to give you some background," Dana explained calmly, even as their order number was called and so Dana left briefly in order to get their food ordering Celine to stay put and that if she didn't, she would track her down in case Celine was thinking about bolting. Celine seemed to be glued to her chair not moving an inch until Dana returned, Celine could tell that Dana meant what she said about tracking her down if she dared tried to bolt, so she stayed put. Dana passed Celine hers once she returned with a tray.

"Anyway, back to what I was saying," Dana continued without pause.

Celine ate her food as Dana explained about the scholarships to Juilliard in New York. Even Celine had heard of Juilliard, as it was a famous school of music that had trained many musicians who had become famous.

"You have talent something I've learned to recognize over the years, even though I'm not talented myself like my grandmother," Dana explained.

"Once I tell my grandmother about you, she is going to want to hear you for herself and she and my grandfather will probably end up adopting you into the family."

"But why?" Celine wanted to know. "I'm not anybody special no matter what you say about my voice."

"Because my grandmother likes to see anybody who displays such talent get a chance at becoming a famous musician. Even if that's not your goal, she still would like to nurture that talent seeing it grow and strengthen. A lot of musicians who have passed through Juilliard have come from poor families, and if it wasn't for the scholarships that both my grandmother and grandfather put in place, then those students never would've had a chance to become a success, because their parents simply couldn't afford to send them and there is only so much money for scholarships. You fit the financial bracket for one of those scholarships."

"That really doesn't explain why, though," Celine said. "Why would your grandparents bother to start the scholarships in the first place just to help total strangers possibly become famous musicians? What's the point of wasting the money as I know that going to any kind of college cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and yet these scholarships have apparently been around for well over a century, which would be millions of dollars if you go back to when they were first put into place.

"Well, it goes back to how my grandmother grew up," Dana explained taking a sip of vanilla milkshake.

"She showed strong musical talent from a young age, but her mother wasn't exactly very wealthy, as she had four children to support, and the father had left when three of his children were young never learning about his youngest child as it turned out the mother Diana Reid, who is my great-grandmother was pregnant, and she never bothered to inform the father.

"The mother had a good job as a professor at Las Vegas university but teachers really weren't paid very much and the father who was a lawyer made a much bigger paycheck.

"The father could've easily have afforded an instrument and lessons for my grandmother, but he didn't know about her, so my great grandmother had to scrimp and save to buy her daughter's first musical instrument, which wasn't cheap.

"So why not tell her ex-husband about the fourth child he didn't know about? convince him to pay for it?" Celine wondered.

Celine had been on the street for years, but she was still only 13 so there were just some things that a child didn't understand, even one that had been living on the streetwise.

"Because he had abandoned his other three children, and even the children believed that the father wouldn't care about the daughter he had never known about. Even though he was a lawyer and made the big bucks, he only paid the minimum amount of child support for the three children he knew about and it certainly wasn't enough to buy more than clothes for the school year and basic supplies."

"I know you've been on the street for years, but a lot of men abandon their wife and children for many different reasons, but most of those reasons are selfish. From what I understand from my father and grandmother, the reasons that William Reid abandoned his family were no better than most men's reasons for abandoning their wives and children."

"There were no guarantees that even if the mother Diana had told her ex-husband about Lynnette and her musical talent that he would've done the right thing and given Diana the money to buy the child, he didn't know about a musical instrument along with the lessons.

"It's quite possible that William Reid would have demanded that he meet the child and that a DNA test be performed to prove that Lynnette was his. Even if my great grandmother's ex-husband, William Reid hadn't demanded a DNA test, he might have thought that being a musician was not really a career but playtime instead. From what I understand, he was a serious man that wanted his children go into serious careers to be lawyers or doctors or accountants.

"The whole family believed it was better that William Reid never find out about their sister and daughter. My father Spencer is the only one that remembers how his father behaved when he was young, because his memory is picture perfect. It's also known as an eidetic memory.

"He remembers every snide remark, every insult that William Reid handed out to his children, as if they were facts not caring what kind of damage he was doing. I'm sure you can see why none of the family wanted to put their youngest member through that kind of crap as there was more chance that the father, my grandmother never knew would have had the same attitude towards her."

"I understand that," Celine finally said, "but that still doesn't explain..."

"It's fairly simple Celine," Dana began interrupting the teenager. "Because she watched her mother struggle to pay for an instrument and lessons for her my grandmother likes to give back to the community now that she is so wealthy due not only to her musical career, but because she's married to my grandfather, who is a very wealthy man.

"Both of them are very charitable minded, as they realize they have a lot more than a lot of people and so do their best to give to certain charities and create things like those scholarships I was telling you about.

"It's called paying it forward. In other words, paying it into the future to help those with talent achieve success in their own lives once they reach college age. Many people never go to college, because their parents simply can't afford to send them and although there are programs to help, the need is too great to help everyone that needs it.

"Really, all people can do, is what they can and that's all that they can do, but if even one person becomes a success then that means the scholarships or program or whatever it is, is worthwhile, because it means that that person that was helped will likely never face poverty at all or have to go back to it, because they lose their job or whatever the reason is that they're back into the same situation."

"Helping someone just because it is the right thing to do is a very weird concept to me," Celine finally responded, even as she finished her burger, fries and milkshake in rapid time.

For someone who had claimed that so much food was too much for her to possibly eat Celine had certainly eaten every crumb, the burger, the fries and the milkshake.

"I'm not surprised," Dana said gently smiling. "I doubt anyone has ever helped you out of the goodness of their hearts as they usually want something in return something that you probably won't be willing to give considering the environment you were living in."

"Well, I do understand somewhat," Celine finally said after eating her last bite, of burger, and taking the last sip from her chocolate milkshake. "There was this old man that had been on the street for years, and when he found me a little girl of no more than five or six, he took me in. He fed me and took care of me, and when he found out, that I had a voice that was so pure he actually shed tears. He said I had the voice of a lark.

"I didn't realize that he wasn't the only one in the world that could be so kind. He was like a father to me, and I believed he loved me like a daughter."

"That's quite the story Celine," Dana said, touched with what she had heard. "So, is he still around?"

"No, he died last year. He was murdered," Celine explained with tears in her eyes. "He was simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

"So, you've been on your own ever since?" Dana asked gently.

"Yes, I have," Celine agreed sadly.

"So, what was this man's name?"

"He said that everybody called him maestro because he played the guitar like a master and he taught me.

"So, he played the guitar and then taught you," Dana said, and Celine nodded.

"Yes, he found me this guitar that someone had thrown away as junk. It had a broken string, but he managed to find me a new one. Really it was a decent shape considering. He taught me so much and he told me I deserved to have a formal musical education, as I had great talent, but he didn't have the money to send me, so until now it was just a dream."

"Dreams are good and they often come true and unexpected ways," Dana told her gently smiling.

"I'm willing to ask my grandmother to visit from New Zealand, to listen to you singing and playing, but before I do that you need to do something for me."

"What?" Celine certainly suspicious.

"Oh, don't be so suspicious," Dana laughed. This was a lighthearted laugh, not a laugh of derision or contempt that had Celine staring at Dana in shock. She had never heard anyone laugh so lightheartedly at least not in real life.

"All I want from you is for you to go back to school as you need a good education before you go off to Juilliard too learn how to be even better than you already are. They have classes on how to write music for example, so you could become a songwriter as well as a singer like my grandmother if that's what you want."

"Is that all?" Celine laughed relieved. "I've never been to school."

"So, you don't know how to read or write or do math?" Dana inquired.

"I do, because the maestro taught me. There were lessons in reading and writing and math every day for a few hours."

"Well then we'll have to have you tested to see what level you're at and only if you're up to a certain level can you enter the eighth grade or possibly the ninth, depending on when you turn 14. If you're not up to that level, then you'll have to get caught up before you'll be allowed into the grade you're supposed to be in."

"More schoolwork," Celine groaned dramatically.

"I'm afraid so if you want to get anywhere in life then education is important," Dana told her. "This is something that my father often told me when I was a little girl. I remember complaining about having to do my schoolwork and he would tell me that it was important to my future. That if I wanted to go to college that I had to get good grades."

"So did you go on scholarship?" Celine asked.

"No, because my parents were wealthy and they had the money to send me without me having to get a scholarship. They told me to save the scholarships for those that really needed them.

"A college or even someplace like Juilliard only has so much money to give future students scholarships, and so they only choose the best and the brightest.

"While I could easily have gotten a scholarship with my parents being so wealthy that wasn't necessary in my case," Dana explained.

"So, if Juilliard gives out scholarship, why did your grandparents create more?" Celine wondered.

"Because again, there's only so much money for someplace like a college to grant in scholarships, and so individuals can create scholarships with stipulations on how that scholarship can be used.

"In the case of my grandparents the scholarships they created can only take those teenager whose families are within a certain financial bracket like yourself can get one. No one whose parents can afford to send them, but just want to use a scholarship, so they don't have to pay, can get these particular ones."

The two of them continued to talk, and Celine listened raptly. By the time lunch was over, Celine was agreeing to go home with Dana and to let the star buy her some new clothes while she contacted her grandmother.

For some reason, the 13-year-old trusted the now retired star and she wasn't sure why she did, as so many people could be duplicitous.

Maybe it was because as far she could tell the woman had been open and honest with her from the beginning. Celine was a girl that trusted her instincts, as she wouldn't have survived this long if she didn't, especially without the maestro to protect her.

Maybe Celine trusted Dana because she couldn't see any reason that Dana would have lied to her about her intentions. Dana had everything she could possibly want she still looked incredibly young despite her supposed age. Dana had wealth, had had a great career, even if she was retired now and apparently family that lived in New York and New Zealand.

She also had parents and grandparents that were still alive, though Celine knew that they must be ancient by now, but still alive with apparently all their mental facilities still intact.

Celine had no idea that she was going to find out a lot of things that would shock her to the very core.

~~~Dana and Celine~~~

"Here we are," Dana said as she inserted an electronic key into the lock of her front door. The electronic key wouldn't work for anyone except Dana, as it has been programmed for her alone. The cook also had one and the people that cleaned, but that was it.

"This is a really nice house," Celine said, as she gazed up at the large house that wasn't quite a mansion but was close. It was certainly the biggest house she had ever seen.

"Thank you," Dana told her with a smile.

"I used to throw so many parties here back before I retired so that the house was filled with laughter and music more often than not. I have to admit I miss those days where the champagne just flowed, and the music played. There is a ballroom upstairs and people danced to the music, though it was usually canned, not live unless one of the actors or actresses knew how to play an instrument and some do. Those were the days," Dana sighed, sounding nostalgic.

"You must really miss it," Celine suggested, and Dana nodded, even as she led Celine inside.

"I meant to ask you before I forget again is CPS looking for you because if so, I'm going have to register as a foster parent and then explain how I found you out on the street playing for a few dollars and that you wouldn't do well in another foster home as you don't trust easily."

"No child protection services doesn't know about me at least as far as I know," Celine answered. "I was always careful to avoid a representative from that agency. The Lancaster market wasn't the only place I played as I also played in subway tunnels, and places like that. Somewhere a lot of people gathered together."

"I see, that was really smart," Dana told Celine, even as she led the way past the foyer and into the parlor.

"Now, though, I think we can start on getting you a new wardrobe Before we move onto other things," Dana said.

"I don't need an entire new wardrobe," Celine protested. "Just a few clothes that aren't torn to where they're basically rags will be fine. I don't want you to go out of your way for me. Things like cheap jeans, and T-shirts will be fine."

"That will never do if you become my ward, even if that's not legally," Dana told her. "I won't have you going around in a cheap jeans and T-shirts. Believe me, I am very wealthy not only from my movie career, but also because I had a trust fund set up for me when I was born.

I might have resented my parents on occasion, but that's only because I was very self-centered as a child and sometimes I still don't understand how they put up with my attitude without throttling me.

"I know I was a bit spoiled, because I had everything I could possibly want and my grandfather in particular always went overboard for Christmas and birthdays for all his grandchildren and also for the rest of the family."

"You always get your way don't you?" Celine said poking out her lower lip in a pout, even as she contemplated Dana's words.

"I am very, very stubborn, Celine, just ask my parents or even my grandparents," Dana told her with a grin, which lightened up her entire face.

"I always get what I want in the end I promise you, so you might as well just give in gracefully, as you won't win. Why give yourself a headache from hitting it against a stone wall just because you think that I shouldn't buy you any new clothes other than as cheap as possible?"

Selene sighed rolling her eyes acting like normal teenagers the world over to show how exasperated she was.

"Now first a nice long, hot shower and I'll loan you some of my clothes for now until we can get you some new things," Dana said.

"They'll be really big on you, because you're so malnourished, but they'll do until we can buy your own," Dana added as she studied, Celine's slender form.

"Now, why don't you go get your shower and I'll leave some clothes on the counter for you for when you finish and in the meantime, I'll call my grandparents in New Zealand as it should be late enough for them to be up.

"Your grandparents live in New Zealand," Celine asked. "I thought they lived in New York."

"They did, but they moved a few years ago," Dana answered. "They're both retired and they just decided that they were tired of the rat race, so they moved and now own a large house in New Zealand that doesn't have any neighbors close enough to claim they're just coming over for a chat or a cup of sugar."

"That seems a weird place to move to that is so far away from their family," Celine said.

"They have the money to travel and so does everyone else in my family, which means they can visit as often as they want," Dana said.

"Unfortunately, even though my grandmother is retired from singing for professionally music, producers and other professional people in that industry keep bothering her to do this concert or this event, which is one reason they moved so far away in the first place," Dana said.

"She still very sought after despite the fact that she's been retired for years. That was partly the reason they moved so far away."

What Dana had told Celine was true enough, but it only scratched the surface of the real reason that her grandparents had moved all the way to New Zealand where no one knew them.

"Believe me being famous isn't all it's cracked up to be as people will bother you if they recognize you and often won't care if you're trying to have an intimate dinner for two or if you're just there with your family doing some shopping or seeing the sites."

"You're not exactly encouraging me to become famous," Celine told Dana.

"A lot of musicians have felt the same, so they sing at private events or other places like clubs. You don't necessarily have to become famous you know, as a lot of musicians don't want that, even if they're good enough.

"For one thing, it takes connections to the right people to get you started on that road, and if they ever discover you, you can always turn them down and tell them that you like your life the way it is, and you don't want to be famous.

"That you don't think you can handle the pressure that comes with achieving fame. Being famous isn't for everyone as a lot of people can't take the stress or other people, knowing who they are whenever they walk into a restaurant or a store.

"That doesn't mean that you don't deserve to get an education somewhere like Juilliard, so you can learn how to play on a decent instrument instead of that crappy thing you're using. Being in the spotlight constantly isn't for everyone, Celine, as some people simply can't handle it and so decline or quit before they become even more well known."

"My guitar isn't crappy," Celine protested vehemently.

"I know it was given to you by a man you consider your father, but you still need a better instrument for performing. You can keep that guitar and cherish it and play it for your family if you want to, as it's not like I expect you just to throw it away. It was after all given to you by a man that you consider your father figure, as he treated you well and took you in, which is pretty unusual when you're living on the street, but who knows what his story is?

"All I meant was that they are much better instruments out there than the one you're using," Dana continued. "I do understand that you didn't have any money for a decent instrument back in your past situation and you have to use what you have."

Celine relaxed as Dana continued to talk, as she made a lot of sense and Celine realized that Dana hadn't meant to insult her instrument, she was just saying that there were much better instruments out there if you could afford to pay for them that is.

"Now, why don't you go shower and your instrument will be right here when you get back," Dana gently suggested. "You can just put it right here on the table and I won't move it, I promise."

Celine did as was suggested and put her guitar on the table along with the pick she had been using.

"Now I'll bring you those clothes and leave them on the bathroom counter before I call my grandparents in New Zealand. It should be about 8:30 there so they'll be up Dana said, looking at her watch."

"But it's only 2:30 here," Celine said confused.

"New Zealand is on the other side of the world sweetie," Dana told her with a chuckle at the 13 year old's ignorance. "There is a 19 hour time difference, which means it isn't the 10 of June it's the 12th over there."

"That's really strange to me," Celine said.

"Yes, it is," Dana agreed. "Now go get your shower."

Celine knew a gently worded order when she heard one and so she headed for the bathroom immediately shedding her clothes as soon as she had privacy. She shut the door, but didn't lock it since Dana was going to leave her some clothes on the bathroom counter and immediately started the shower where the water heated up immediately. It only took seconds for the shower water to become hot, and Celine immediately stepped into it, rivaling in having her first hot shower ever. She could easily get used to having hot showers and having clean clothes that didn't have holes in them.

Celine still didn't completely understand Dana's reasons for helping her, even though she had been given an explanation. She might have been a smart teenager, but this was outside her experience which made her nervous

Still, she wasn't about to let this opportunity to actually go to a real college, where she could learn to hone her musical ability pass by unless Dana proved that she wasn't the nice person she presented herself as.

So far though, Dana appeared to be exactly who she said she was a retired movie star, who only wanted to help her, because she came from a family that had a professional musician within its ranks.

Her grandmother Lynnette Rossi had apparently been quite famous back in the day. Celine had never heard of her, but then, if she hadn't played professionally for decades, it was no wonder. That her grandparents were still alive must mean they were at least 200 years old, because Dana was at least in her 80s even though she definitely didn't look it.

Still people were living longer now, as there had been a lot of advances that she had heard vaguely about, even if she hadn't paid much attention. There were artificial organs now, kidneys, and bladders, and even hearts from what she had heard. There was even cloning an organ from the DNA of that person, so there was no chance of failure of the new organ because it came from that person's own tissue, which used to happen quite regularly in the past, Celine, vaguely knew.

It was quite possible that Dana's grandparents had had to have at least one organ replacement in order to keep on living. Dana had said that they were rich, which meant they could afford that type of procedure as Celine was sure that it was very expensive. Hundreds of thousands of dollars probably.

Finally, Celine shut the shower off after more than half an hour, not wanting to waste all the hot water, but she could have gladly stayed under the spray for the rest of the day and been happy, as it was hot and felt great against her skin.

Celine got out of the shower and found the clothes that Dana had left, a pair of nice slacks and a blouse both in a bold red, which would go great with her hair since she had black hair cut relatively short as it was easier to keep clean if you lived on the street. It looks as if it had been hacked off and it had been because it wasn't like Celine could have afforded to get a haircut from a professional hairdresser, so once it started to make the back of her neck itch and started to get into her eyes, she took a knife she had and cut it off as short as she could.

That would be relatively hard if she had cared about style and split ends, but all she had to do was reach behind her and grab as big a hunk of it, as she could and cut it off with a very sharp knife she had and she just repeated the procedure until she was done.

~~~Dana and Celine~~~

9 AM

Wellington,

New Zealand

"It's really good to talk to you, sweetie," Dave told Dana, as he greeted his granddaughter.

"We haven't heard from you in a while, so this is a nice surprise."

"I know I haven't called," Dana said. "But there is a 19 hour time difference, which means it's only 9 AM for you and it's 3 PM for me."

"True enough, so you want to tell me why you called out of the blue not that Lynnette and I aren't always happy to hear from any of our family."

"Well, you see I was shopping in Lancaster Market here in Los Angeles when I heard the most beautiful female voice singing and playing. Well, it turned out that the voice was coming from a homeless 13-year-old girl.

"And you knew that Lynnette would want to know about this talented young lady," Dave guessed, and Dana nodded.

"Exactly, so if you could get grandma, so I can explain why I called when you're together I would appreciate it granda."

"I'll be back in just a minute as your grandmother is already practicing a song first thing this morning right after breakfast. You know how she is about keeping her fingers limber, and her voice in practice.

"Yeah, I do," Dana said smiling.

Dave disappeared from the screen and was gone for about five minutes but soon back again with Lynnette at his side.

"So, Dave has told me that you've discovered a 13 year old girl who is a talented singer?" Lynnette questioned her granddaughter as soon as they had greeted each other.

"Yeah, I have. Totally on accident too," Dana told both of grandparents. "I was just wondering around Lancaster Market and bought some T-shirts with sarcastic sayings on them of which you'll be getting one. I'm sure you'll love it once you read what they say. It was after that that I was just looking at all the merchandise and sampling some of the food when I heard the most beautiful voice from one of the musicians that plays in that area. I stood there and listened to her once I located where her voice was coming from with my jaw on the floor until she took a break, and the crowd had disbursed. It was only then I approached her. "

"She must be good if she shocked you that much," Dave said smiling.

"Oh, trust me, she has the voice of an angel and I would love for you to come and hear her yourself. I was thinking that she'd be a good candidate for one of those scholarships that are still running once she reaches the appropriate age."

"But how will we find her to offer her one, as I'm sure she's disappeared by now," Lynnette said.

"No, she hasn't, as I brought her home with me. I wasn't about to let her disappear on me without at least trying to encourage her to come home with me," Dana explained.

"I managed to convince her to let me buy her lunch while I explained about the scholarships that you had started."

"So, she's on her own with no parents in sight, which isn't all that unusual unfortunately," Dave said, and Dana nodded.

"She has no idea who her parents are, and she was apparently found by this guy when she was only five or so, and she doesn't know his real name, but simply called him Maestro, because that was the name he went by on the street.

"He was apparently kind to her and took her in, and when he discovered that she had quite the voice, he told her she had the voice of a lark. He was also something of a musician and had an old guitar and taught her how to play. He found her a guitar that had been thrown away in somebody's trash and replaced the strings that were broken."

"Well, that's quite a picturesque story," Lynnette said.

"Yeah, it really is," Dana agreed. "Her mentor apparently died last year from being in the wrong place at the wrong time and she's been on her own ever since, earning a few dollars with her singing and playing. Enough to eat anyway, but not much else."

"Well, she survived, even if she wasn't exactly thriving and you can't say that about everybody on the street, especially a child," Dave said gravely.

"That just means she's smart and savvy and I'm sure her mentor Maestro taught her a lot about how to survive when you really don't have a home to go to. It's a shame he died while she was still so young, but such tragedies happen often on the street."

"So many children die on the street every day and it's always a tragedy when you hear about something like that, but what can anybody really do? I'm very proud of you for helping this child and hopefully, she won't run away to where you can never find her."

"I certainly hope not, because I intend on making her my ward and see her talent realized, even if I have to pay the freight for it," Dana said looking determined. "It really would be a genuine shame if other people don't get to hear her singing and playing or if she doesn't get a chance to get better than she is now by going to a school that produces professional musicians."

"Well, I'm proud of you. You've apparently matured quite a lot over the last century or so," Lynnette told Dana with a proud smile. "I still remember the little drama queen that drove all of us crazy with her tantrums and fake tears to get what she wanted."

"I know I was rather difficult to deal with when I was young," Dana admitted looking nostalgic and also sheepish at the same time.

"You were, but we survived and we haven't had another dramatic child like you since or rather your parents haven't. That's not to say Spencer Michelle won't have someone just like you in the future just right now all their children are better behaved than you were when you were young. I'm actually quite proud of you for helping this child out of the goodness of your heart and I'm happy that you've changed so much from the spoiled brat you were as a kid," Dave told her smiling proudly.

"Thank you, and I'm surprised that none of my family throttled me because of my dramatics when I was a child," Dana said chuckling.

"I won't say we didn't feel like it on occasion," Dave said smiling, "but you only would've come back to life unless we chopped off your head or something."

"True enough," Dana agreed.

"Besides, just because you tried our patience on a regular basis didn't mean that your family didn't love you Dana," Lynnette told her granddaughter.

"Children are meant to test their boundaries and you definitely did that more so than any children the family has had since.

"You are definitely one of a kind," Dave added smiling warmly at his granddaughter.

"That's a good thing don't you think?" Dana shot back. "I like to be considered unique."

"You would," Lynnette told her with laughter in her eyes.

"In any case, if you could manage to come here, Los Angeles, I would like you to meet Celine and hear her sing. I promise you'll be amazed, and I was also thinking that I could buy her a better guitar than what she's been using but before we get that far, she needs a whole new wardrobe so she's dressed appropriately when I tell people she's my ward."

"You don't want her dressed in rags as that leaves the wrong impression," Dave said knowingly.

"Exactly," Dana agreed.

"I'll be happy to take her to buy a new guitar, but before that can happen, we need to know about child protection services. Do they know about her? I know a lot of children slip through the cracks. But it's a question that we need to answer before we go any farther," Lynnette asked.

"She says that she's always avoided them and that they have no idea she exists. If that's the truth, we're not going to have to worry about child protection services and if they ask me why she's living with me I'm sure we can produce documents that claim she's my ward, since I know the family changes there identity every few decades anyway," Dana said.

"You know CPS only have so many resources and they're not going be able to get every child off the streets and even if they could manage that a lot of them would, just run back to what they knew anyway."

"There's a certain truth to that," Dave agreed gravely. "A lot of kids would go back to somewhere they're familiar with the rules instead of staying with someone just to have a roof over their heads and food on a regular basis. Besides, we all know that a lot of foster homes are worse than the streets."

"In any case, I'm sure we could come to see this musician you found," Lynnette said Dave, who nodded.

"That sounds fine with me, as we could always visit the family while we're in the USA before we head home. We are retired so we don't have any work, obligations other than Lynnette still practicing her music."

"But it is just practicing, as I retired long ago and stopped producing new songs or at least I haven't published any new songs. I'll probably publish the ones I wrote sometime 50 years from now under a different name of course. That's for the future though not for right now as I need to wait at least another hundred years before I even think about playing professionally again."

"You always knew you would have to retire someday, since no one outside, the family can know about the immortality," Dave told her kissing her cheek.

"Yeah, I know," Lynnette sighed, sounding melancholy. "Still, that doesn't mean I can't go back to it in 100 or 150 years."

"Anyway, back to this teenager you found. Both Lynnette and I would love to meet her, so we'll be making arrangements to come for a visit sometime in the next week or two."

"I'll always be happy to see you granda, grandmom," Dana told the pair on the vid screen with a smile.

"I better go now, as I'm sure Celine is about done with her shower, as she's been in there for about half an hour already. We don't want to be caught talking about things that she doesn't need to know, at least not right now.

"I'm not surprised she's taking so long, as I doubt she's ever had a hot shower before," Lynnette told her granddaughter with a wink. "If she's been on the street for any length of time she wouldn't even remember having a nice hot shower or realize how much pleasure they can give you, that they can relax you and make you feel all warm and good. I'm sure she's taking her time because she's reveling in feeling warm all over while also getting clean."

"I hadn't thought of that, but you're probably right grandmom," Dana said. "She did say that she's been on the street since she was about five or at least that's the age she remembers being, so she might've been on the street a couple of years before that."

"We're looking forward to meeting Celine, which means heavenly, by the way," Lynnette told they even her granddaughter.

"Well, it fits, because she's a very pretty girl and will be even prettier once she's clean and in proper clothes," Dana said. "I'm loaning her some of my clothes for now, until we have a chance to go shopping. Something she protested by the way. Me spending money on her."

"Even homeless people have their pride and they don't like to take what they see as charity and that's true even for teenagers," Dave told his granddaughter.

"I hadn't thought of that, but I'm sure you're right," Dana said before she signed off knowing she would be seeing her grandparents in a week or maybe two as they made arrangements to come for a visit.

~~~Dana and Celine~~~