FAMILY

                                                  (for previous chapters, please scroll down)

S3 Round Robin (2025)

Chapter 9

Milly Rose

 

The final glittering hours of Winterfest were fading. Clamoring children who had taken the liberty of consuming too much sugar and not enough real food ran hither and yon with their little trinkets and gifts from Mouse. (Much to the frustration of Mary, but she said nothing. It was Winterfest, after all).

"I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you are remaining here Below with us," Father said to Devin, who was meticulously studying the chess board at the quiet corner table. "My ragged old nerves can rest easy now. You are sure, my boy, that you will be happy here?"

Devon raised his eyes to study Jacob carefully. "There will be moments, I am sure," he responded carefully, “when the old way will call to me. And in those times, Father, just remind me of this right here, these memories, when those moments come, all right?"

"And when I am no longer here to remind you?"

A muscle twitched in the man’s jaw at the idea, and Devon moved his pawn one space and sat back in his chair. "When you have broken our hearts and left us, where there is family left, there will always be others," he replied, gesturing to where Susan sat with Alex, putting together a paper doll display Peter had brought from Above.

Father looked from Susan to Devin, an eyebrow raised. A knowing shine came to his face, and he chuckled lightly. "Susan?"

Devin simply nodded.

"Well, can't say I saw that one coming, my boy, but I have often been surprised by the actions of my sons, especially in the realm of romance. Do you think she also might be interested?"

"Who is interested in what?" Diana appeared next to them, having finally slipped out of a group of girls who had asked her to put their shiny hair accessories that Mouse gave to them in their assorted braids and curls. She had been there for nearly a half hour and looked exhausted, although cheerful.

"I was just discussing some important matters with Devon," Father replied evenly, not missing a beat. "You look rather frazzled, my dear. Is everything all right?"

"Ah, Mouse and his tinsel hair things. A clever idea, to be sure, but I do not envy Mary trying to

get it back out of their hair tonight at bedtime." Diana smiled and turned her head, showing them a curly tinsel bow nestled into her own hair. “I regret my own decisions, but it cannot be undone now.”

Father nodded dryly, trying not to laugh, but also appear sympathetic. "I see. If William has any lard in the pantry, you might try a little of that if needed."

Devon laughed and stood. "If you'll excuse me, Father, I will see if Susan needs any help.”

"Very well. I will see you later, my boy."

"So, he's staying?" Diana asked, settling into the vacated chair and surveying the chess board carefully. "Are you okay with that?"

"He has changed," Father replied. "A lot. I think his wandering feet have brought him back to where he should have been all along, and didn't know it."

"Where would that be?" Diana asked, sitting back in the chair. "It's your move by the way."

Father took the knight with his rook, and steepled his fingers, resting his elbows on the table.

"Home, Diana. He's home."

"This place is home for so many," she replied, her glance drifting over to where Devin knelt with

Alex, taping small wooden supports to the piece of cardboard that would be the display for her

paper dolls. A knowing smile lit up her face. "Ah. I see."

"Concerned at all?" Father asked, carefully watching her face for any sign of her feelings.

She smiled softly. "Always, Father, just as you are. But we have to let life play out, don't we?

Besides, she would be good for him."

"Perhaps so. But how are you doing, my dear? I know the last few weeks have been hard for

you."

"Trying not to think about it." She picked up her knight and took out a pawn. "It will be a while

yet before we can test, but every single day is going to feel like a year. I don't know how we will wait that long, but we have no choice."

"Does it matter?"

"What?"

Father took out her knight with his bishop. "If this child has an anomaly of any kind, does it

matter?"

"You are asking me that, after raising Vincent?" Diana bit her lip. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I

mean, you know that people are not - as forgiving and accepting. Above - it's a jungle out

there."

"I know," Jacob Wells replied. "Above, yes, That will be hard. But in here-" he pointed to his

chest. "In here, Diana, does it matter."

"No," she replied quickly, then looked away, her face hidden by her hair.

For a moment, she was silent. Father leaned forward, slipping a hand atop hers. "Diana?"

Slowly, she turned to look at him, tears tracking silently down her cheeks. His eyebrows rose in

surprise, and she spoke before he could say anything. "I don't want to sound like a bad person."

"You aren't a bad person."

"Well, thanks. It's just that, I - I'm afraid. What if this child has severe developmental troubles?

What if I bring a child into this world, just to be laughed at by others and ridiculed. Father, that

idea pains me so much, sometimes I can barely breathe."

"Have you spoken to Vincent about how you feel?"

"No, We - we don't - share feelings, so I - I don't say much."

"Ah," he nodded wisely. "The Bond. Diana, dear, just because he had that with- her- and not

with you does not mean you are any less loved. Love is a funny thing. Catherine saved him. At a

time when he lost himself, she stepped in and brought him back to the light. And at a time when

she had been stripped of every dignity that belonged to her and left to die in the dark and the

cold, he brought her back to life. Those things, they leave an indelible mark here." He gestured

to his heart again. "And as you two navigate this new life, while living with the gift of the old

one, Jacob, your day will come. Will there be a Bond, as they had, who knows. But Diana,

Vincent loves you, as well as he can love, and if you do not share those feelings with him, he

cannot be there for you. Do not choose to walk alone, my dear. It is a very cold, bitter walk."

XXX

"Thank you for walking me home," Diana threw her coat onto the couch, and sank into it's

depths.

Vincent sat down beside her, his face a mask of concern. "You hardly said a word on the way over. You seem bothered – distracted - are you alright?"

The dismissal of "Oh, I'm just tired," was right there on her lips, but a glance at his deep, caring

eyes made her swallow the words. She leaned toward him and he wrapped his arms around her,

settling her securely against his broad chest.

 "Diana," he said softly, so many things being said with only a word.

"I'm afraid," she finally whispered, so softly that she feared he had not heard.

But the way his heart beneath her ear fluttered at the word, and his arms tightened subconsciously around her told her that he had heard, and felt her emotions.

"About the future?"

"Yes."

"Dearest Diana," he said softly, "You always have a home with us. You know this. And no matter

what happens, this child will be so loved and cherished. You really do underestimate how

protective that everyone gets over children. Even William will resort to closing the kitchen door

so that the clattering won't travel down the tunnels to the nursery and wake a sleeping baby."

"But - what if - " her voice trailed off and he waited. When she said nothing else, he crooked a

finger under her chin and lifted her face to his.

"What if?"

"What if I am not a good mom?"

His eyebrow raised quizzically, but there was no judgement in his eyes. "Diana, you are a good mom. It's a little late to be a bad one. You couldn't be, not if you tried for a million years."

"But what if-"

He placed a finger to her lips, shushing her. "No. No, Diana. We don't do what-if’s. This child, this creation from our shared love for each other, whether it looks like me or you, or has Fragile X or not, or is a boy or a girl, or lives here or Below, no matter what, you are enough. You are enough for that child, and you are enough for me."

As the winter moon rose over the bleak nighttime, bathing the shadows in mellow light, Vincent and Diana talked long into the night as he detangled the filaments of tinsel from her hair. There were tears, embraces, slow and calming kisses in the light of the single lamp, caresses that soothed the pains of tomorrow.

And as he eventually slipped into the shadows somewhere around four AM, as the glow of early dawn kissed the horizon, he left behind the promise that he would be there for this child. He would be there for Devin. He would be there for Alex.

Blood does not always make one family. Love, chosen to be given, does. And she knew, as she turned out the light and whispered goodnight to the growing child within her, that no matter what the weeks ahead held for their Tunnel family, this child would have a future as bright as all of the stars above New York combined.

Her family would make it so.  

 
    

                                                                           FAMILY

                                                (for previous chapters, please scroll down)

S3 Round Robin (2025)

Chapter 8

Jessica Webb

 

Diana was at breakfast with Vincent, Father, Mary, Susan, Alex and Jacob when one of the children ran into the dining chamber, handed her a note, said it was from Dr. Peter, then ran back out.

Diana opened the note, read it, and handed it to Vincent to read.

“News?” Mary asked.

Diana nodded, then looked pointedly at Alex and Jacob.

Mary took the hint. “Alex, Jacob, are you both done with your breakfast?” she asked. They nodded, and she continued. “Good, then I need you to do something for me. We are going to be working on Winterfest decorations today, but I need to have all the supplies transferred from the classroom to here. We will be using the tables in the corner near the entrance. Would you please go to Mouse’s chamber and borrow his cart, then use it to bring everything back here?”

Eager to please and excited about Winterfest, they both jumped up and ran out.

“And don’t run,” Mary called after them, then turned to Diana. “I know all about little pitchers with big ears,” she said with a smile.

“Peter wants me to go to his office this morning to have blood drawn. He has found a lab to do genetic testing,” Diana told everyone at the table. She looked at her watch. “It’s only nine; he wants me there about 11:30. I should put on something besides these sweats.” She got up, and Vincent rose to follow her.

“Don’t you want Susan to go with you?” he asked her as they walked.

“I think I’d rather just go by myself,” she said. “Susan is so uptight about this that she makes me nervous just being around her. Besides, I’m only having blood drawn today. The note said that the lab would send the results to Peter, and he would let me know. We can make our decisions based on that.”

“Even if you are a carrier, that is no guarantee that any child you have will actually have the syndrome,” Vincent reminded her. “You have a 50% chance of passing the mutated gene on to your children, but then they aren’t guaranteed to have it; they might just be carriers.”

Diana nodded. “And it’s not like I would consider terminating the pregnancy, anyway,” she said as they reached their chamber. “I just want to know what to expect.”

 

Later, after having the blood drawn, Diana sat in Peter’s office. Peter was semi-retired and only worked 4 mornings a week, in the office he shared with another general practitioner and an OB-BYN.

“Have you decided what you are going to tell your OB-GYN yet?” he asked.

Diana leaned over and fished a piece of paper out of her bag. She handed it to him. “I stopped at my place to pick up my mail,” she told him. “That was in my box.”

Peter read the letter and looked up at her. “That’s convenient,” he told her.

“Yeah. When I saw her, she didn’t say anything about not doing obstetrics anymore, but I can understand it. She’s been my doctor forever. She’s my mom’s and Susan’s doctor and delivered Alex. She must be over 60. As you can see, she’s not retiring completely; just won’t be monitoring pregnancies or delivering babies anymore, so I won’t have to come up with an explanation about why I’m going to another doctor.”

“Once we know all the facts, you can make a decision about who will be your doctor,” Peter said. “But Dr. Sloane, in this office, can be trusted. He doesn’t know about the tunnels, but I’ve been considering bringing him and my other partner, Dr. Adamski, in on the secret. In the meantime, I told the lab to expedite the testing. They said that it normally takes 2-3 weeks, but they might be able to shorten that to a week to ten days. Their lab is in the city, and I’ll drop the sample off on my way home. I’ll tell you the results as soon as I get them.”

Diana nodded. “What about other testing?” she asked.

“Since we have an OB-GYN in this office, we also have ultra-sound equipment; we can do that here after hours. If we want to do amniocentesis later, Dr. Sloane can do that, too. He would do the procedure, and I’d handle the lab again.”

“It sounds like you have it all figured out,” Diana said.

“Been doing this a long time,” he told her with a laugh. “I’ve had to order lab work for Vincent a few times.” 

XxX

Devin joined Susan after lunch on Sunday for the trip to her apartment. They emerged from the tunnels in the park and then walked out to Central Park West to the subway station. Susan was carefully carrying a white bakery box.

“What’s in the box?” he asked.

“I talked William into letting me have one of his coffee cakes. I promised Nate cake, but I haven’t been home to make one. And William’s coffee cake is better than anything I could make anyway.”

“Have you had any luck finding a job yet?” she asked later after they were seated in the subway car.

“Pops put the word out among the helpers who own or run businesses,” he told her. “The only thing I’ve heard so far is that a public library branch that is run by a helper is looking for an assistant. The assistant doesn’t have to have a degree; he just needs to know the Dewey Decimal System, know the alphabet, and be able to type. I can do that. I’ve got a high school diploma and two years at a community college for basic studies. But they are both in different names.” He laughed. “I was still using Devin then, but the last names are different.”

Susan nodded. “That shouldn’t be too much of a problem. You know several lawyers, maybe you can devise a paper trail to show a name change. But do you want to be a librarian?”

The train stopped and they got up and got off.

“It’s a job and place to start. And I do know about libraries,” he said sheepishly. “I had a job as a school librarian in an elementary school in British Columbia.”

He was surprised when Susan laughed. “I’d forgotten about your extensive experience… What branch does the Helper work in?”

“Battery Park.”

“That’s near my place,” she told him. “That’s where Alex and I go.”

They reached her apartment, a two-bedroom, fourth-floor walk-up. It wasn’t in a high-rent area, but she’d made it cozy and comfortable.  

They shed their coats, and Devin followed Susan into the kitchen and watched her unbox the cake, put it on a plate, and cut it up.

“What time is your friend supposed to be here?” he asked.

“That’s probably him,” she said, just as the buzzer from the street went off.

She went to the intercom, made sure it was Nate, then let him in. He was at the door a few minutes later.

Susan let him into the apartment and then introduced him to Devin.

Devin was surprised at the man’s apparent age. He had to be 90 if he was a day.

When they were seated in the living room and Susan had put the tray with the cake and coffee on the coffee table, Nate spoke.

“So, you’re Grace’s boy,” he said.

Devin was a little taken aback by the straightforwardness of the statement.

“Ah, yeah. I think so. My father told me that my mother’s name was Grace Dorrance, and she was from Bristol, Pennsylvania. Susan told me that you used to work for a family by that name.” He reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out the photograph, and handed it to Nate.

Nate looked at the picture.  

“Yeah, that’s the family. John Dorrance and his wife Ethel were grandparents, and the couple next to them were Grace’s parents. The other couples are their sons and their wives, and the children are the grandchildren, Grace's nieces and nephews. They were a nice family, even if Mr. Dorrance was a little hard on the kids.”

“Do you know how old my mother was when that picture was taken?”

“I didn’t work for them at that time,” he pointed out. He turned the photo over and looked at the date. “She would have been about 16 then.”

Devin did some quick math in his head. “Then she would have been about 37 when I was born.”

“So, your dad wasn’t Luca Ferrari?” Nate asked.

“Ah, no. Who is that?”

“Well, he was the reason Gracie left. She was on a trip to New York with her mother, and she met Luca Ferrari, the doorman, at the apartment building where they were visiting Gracie’s grandparents, John and Ethel. They were there for several weeks, and they started talking. Before Mrs. Dorrance knew what was going on, the two of them had run off and got married. Grace was about twenty-two at the time. That was something like 1935 or 36. I had been working for them for a few years at that time.

“Her parents weren’t happy, but since she was already 22 and still single, and it spared them the expense of a big wedding, they allowed it to stand. Then World War II started, and Luca was drafted. They found out that he spoke Italian and sent him off to Europe as soon as he was out of training. He was a member of the staff of one of the big-shot Generals, so everyone figured he was safe. But the General sent him to work with another officer to help talk to some Italians. It was near the end of the war, but the group was ambushed on the road back to his boss, and he was killed along with all the others in the group.

“From what I hear, Grace was pregnant when Luca was drafted and hadn’t had the baby by the time he left the country. The baby was a boy, but he died of whooping cough shortly after Grace got word that her husband had been killed.

“When her husband was drafted, Grace contacted her parents and asked if she could come home for the duration of the war. The little bit of money she was getting from the Army wasn’t really enough to live on, and since she was pregnant, she couldn’t find work. Her parents said they didn’t have room since her brothers’ families had moved in when her brothers were drafted. But the Ferraris, Luca’s family, took her in, and from what I hear, she lived with them until she and Luca’s son died. I heard one of her brothers say she’d found a job and left the Ferraris.”

“You weren’t drafted?” Devin asked.

“No, I have asthma and a heart murmur. They didn’t want me, but I was part of the Civil Defense volunteers.”

“What happened to my mother after she left her in-laws?” Devin asked.

“I’m not sure. I quit working for the family about that time, and came to New York to start my own business. Grace’s brother asked me to look her up; that was in 1948. He didn’t know where she was living but he did know where she worked. It took me a few months to get around to looking her up, and when I asked at the place she’d been working, they said that she’d been fired when the company had to cut expenses. No one knew where she went. I guess she did all right since you are here?”

That last was more of a question.

Devin didn’t want to give anything about the tunnels away, but knew he had to say something.

“Well, I never knew her. She died not long after I was born. My father is a doctor, but there wasn’t much he could do to help her.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Nate said sincerely. “Grace was a sweet girl, smart, but not real educated. She had a big heart.”

“Why wasn’t she educated? I assume the family was well off.”

“Her father didn’t believe in educating girls past high school. She finished high school, but since her father was one who thought women were only good for keeping the house and making babies, he didn’t want to waste money sending her to college. But you say she wound up with a doctor, so I guess she did OK for herself.”

“Well enough,” Devin agreed. “Until she died. She was only 37.” Devin stopped for a moment. “Do you know if any of her brothers are still around?”

“Didn’t really keep in touch with them, but my youngest sister still lives in Bristol. She has kept me up on all the town gossip.” He laughed. “Although she calls it news. She said that the last Dorrance brother died. His dad hadn’t been involved in running the business for years before he died.  And none of the kids were interested in running it or even working there.”

“Do you have any idea what the Campbell Soup association is?”

“That was the family business,” Nate said with a grin. “Mrs. Dorrance’s maiden name was Campbell, and her hobby was writing a history of the association between the Dorrance’s and the Campbell’s. All the way back to Scotland. Supposedly, they fought on the same side in many battles supporting the Scottish Crown. And her father-in-law was the person who came up with the method Campbell’s Soup used to make their canned condensed soup.”

Devin had to laugh. “So, I’m related to those Campbells. I’ve been eating their soup my whole life. Wait until Pop’s hears about this.”

 

After Nate left, Devin helped Susan clean up; she’d sent Nate home with the rest of the coffee cake.

“How long do you plan to stay Below?” Devin asked when they reached the park threshold.

“Until the second Monday in January, or at least the weekend before that. My office closes for the whole month of December,” she told him. “The boss vacations in the Bahamas. He still pays us a little, but it’s not the full amount, and it makes things tight. Father has been allowing me to stay Below for the month of December for the last few years. It keeps my utility costs down at the apartment, and I don’t have to buy groceries. I help out Below and am a Helper throughout the year… What about the librarian job?”

“I’m going to go talk to the Helper tomorrow. If I get the job, maybe you can help me hunt for an apartment.”

“As a matter of fact, I don’t know if you noticed the sign on the door of the building, but there is a studio apartment on the second floor of my building available.”   

 

XxX

Devin walked with Susan to the chamber she was using, then promised to meet her for dinner before he headed for Father’s study. He found him reading a medical journal, as a cup of tea cooled on his desk.

“Got a minute, Dad?” Devin asked from the top of the stairs.

Father looked up, smiled, then closed the journal and tossed it on his desk.

“That was about to put me to sleep,” he admitted. “So much is going on in medicine these days, and it’s hard to keep up with it. What is it?”

“I just wanted to talk to you about what I learned from Susan’s friend.”  

“Yes. Grace never really talked about what happened before we met.”

“She was from a wealthy family,” Devin said.

“I could see that,” Father said thoughtfully. “She was well-read and had good manners. She wrote well, but she didn’t seem to have any marketable skills.”

“She did work for a while, but I’m not sure what she did. Nate, the man who used to work for her family told me…” and he went on to relay everything he’d been told.

“Campbell’s soup, huh?” Father chuckled. “That explains her penchant for bringing canned soup back to the tunnels whenever she found some. The markets would sometimes throw out cans that were dented, or that had lost their labels. She knew all the places to find them. She kept us fed. Do you think you’ll contact the family?”

“I don’t think so. I have no proof,” Devin told him.

They were both quiet, thinking about what Devin had learned.

“Are you still planning to find a job Above?” Father suddenly asked.

“Ah, yeah. There’s a Helper who works at a library branch. They need an assistant, I was thinking I’d apply for that.”

“And you’ll live Above?”

“I’m not sure yet; until I get established, it might be better to stay Below. No matter where I work, I’ll need suitable clothing and things like subway or cab fare. I’ll just have to wait and see if I can afford rent,” Devin said with a laugh. He was finally beginning to feel like it was possible that he and his father could maybe start acting like other fathers and sons.

 FAMILY

(for previous chapters, please scroll down)

S3 Round Robin (2025)

Chapter 7

T'Mara

 

The next morning, Devin was up early. He had not slept well since too much had been on his mind. For so many years he had felt isolated, alone. He had never known his mother and his father had only begun to treat him like a son, to really acknowledge him as his own roughly ten years ago. And now...

Now, there was finally hope that he might be able to learn something about his mother; even Father had been a bit more forthcoming about her when Devin had mentioned the music box. Was there a chance that their somewhat strained relationship could finally turn into something more meaningful, deeper, into a truly emotional bond?

And then there was Vincent, the brother and companion of his formative years, with a wife and son and another baby on the way. For someone like Devin who had never really thought much of family, all these new developments were overwhelming.

Devin decided that a cup of coffee – or rather a really gigantic mug of it – might be exactly what he needed under these circumstances. He left his guest chamber and immediately stopped short in his tracks. There, at the other end of the corridor, his little nephew was nervously pacing up and down in front of the chamber where Susan and Alex were staying.

“Hey kiddo,” he called. “What's up?”

“Uncle Devin!” Jacob exclaimed, running up to him. “It's... umm… I mean...”

Devin laughed. “I can guess that you are waiting for Alex, but why are you so nervous, boy? It's still fairly early, she will be up soon.”

“It's not that,” Jacob sighed then inhaled deeply, in order to calm down a bit. “It's Mouse's birthday today and to cheer him up since he is so sad because of Arthur (Mouse's beloved pet raccoon had recently passed away at the ripe old age of 15), Jamie is throwing him a surprise party in the kitchen this afternoon. My Dad said I should invite Alex...”

“Absolutely!” Devin agreed. “I am sure your cousin would love to attend this party!”

“It's just...” Jacob hesitated. “She does not want to... to become a candlemaker.”

Devin laughed. “Why is that a problem? Do we need another candlemaker or what?”

Jacob shook his head and explained to his uncle what had happened between him and Alex.

“She is different,” Jacob ended his story. “She sometimes says such weird things...”

Devin remembered what Vincent had confided in him about Alex and the possibility of his future baby suffering from a similar condition, and he finally understood his nephew's problem.

“Everybody is different,” he explained. “No two people are the same. Everybody has different interests, skills, strengths and also flaws. In some cases the difference can easily be seen, like in your father or my late friend Charles. In other cases, it's not as obvious. But to be different does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. Alex may just be a bit more impulsive than you, which means that she sometimes blurts out things without thinking about how they might affect somebody else. I am sure she did not mean to imply that Rebecca's job is unimportant or that life Below is bad. She just meant that maybe she has other plans for her future. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?”

As Jacob nodded hesitatingly, Devin continued. “Alex is your cousin, your only cousin at that. She only has one other cousin on her father's side, but she rarely sees him since he lives in L.A. So the two of you should stick together; you are family. And believe me, family is very important.” He sighed, remembering the far too many years of estrangement from his own father. “It took me a long time to understand that, but it's true. As the old saying goes, blood is thicker than water. Now go and talk to Alex!”

Jacob nodded and turned towards the entrance of the guest chamber where Susan and Alex were staying. Just when he was about to knock, the door opened and his aunt and cousin emerged.

“Alex!” Jacob shouted excitedly. “I must tell you something, but it is a secret!” He motioned for her to bow down a bit so he could whisper into her ear. “We are going to a surprise birthday party today!”

Alex frowned. “You don't really want me there,” she said. “Because I often say stupid things that hurt or offend others.”

“Yeah, I know, but I do stupid things, too, on occasion,” Jacob replied. “Everybody does. Uncle Devin just explained it to me. Everybody is different, he said, and that the two of us need to stick together since we are family. And something about blood being thicker than water....”

Alex beamed at the man that she adored because of the wonderful stories he could tell about his travels and the exciting life he had led so far. “Your Uncle Devin said that?” she asked.

Jacob nodded. “Yes, yes, that's what he said. So, are you coming with me?”

“If you truly want me there...” Alex was not completely convinced yet.

“We are family, we belong together,” Jacob announced, grabbing Alex's hand.

In the meantime Susan had approached Devin. “I went out into the park yesterday afternoon, since my cell phone does not have reception down here, and I called Nate,” she told him.

Devin frowned. “Who?” he asked.

“Nate Wyburn, my late husband's boss,” Susan clarified. “I told him I needed to talk to him about his former employers on behalf of an acquaintance of mine and that it might be a rather long and maybe confidential conversation. So he agreed to come over to my place next Sunday afternoon for cake and coffee.”

Devin grinned. He had not expected her to act so quickly on her promise to help him find out more about his family on his mother's side. This Susan really was a godsend!

“Thank you, Susan,” he said, “you would not have had to talk to the man immediately. I have lived my whole life so far without any knowledge of my mother's background, I could have waited a little bit longer to learn more about her.”

Susan nodded. “I thought I'd better get to it right away, lest I forget about it, and... I mean, since this does concern you and it is your family, would you like... I am sure Nate would not mind...” She blushed.

Devin stared at her. Was he understanding her correctly? Had she just tried to ask him to join the meeting with her and this Nate person? Could that mean that this attractive, kind woman was interested in him of all people? He sure liked her a lot, maybe...?

“Uhh... next Sunday?” he asked. “You are meeting this boss of your husband?”

“Yes, and maybe... I mean it could be helpful if you were there as well?” Susan's face now definitely was as red as a lobster.

I told Vincent that Alex has a crush on Devin, she thought. What if she is not the only one?

In order to hide her embarrassment, she turned towards the children. “Alex, Jacob!” she called. “Are you done talking? It's time for breakfast and I heard William has prepared some chocolate chip muffins!”

“Yay, breakfast!” the children exclaimed, running up to the adults, hand-in-hand.

XxX

“Father has asked Peter to come down and discuss our problem with us,” Vincent announced. He had told Diana about his conversation with Father, about what risks other than the possible genetic condition her pregnancy could cause.

Diana sighed. Now that Father had brought up the probability of anomalies in her bloodwork due to the nature of her baby's father, she realized that there were other dangers as well.

“My doctor mentioned that she would soon do an ultrasound, so that I could see our child,” she informed Vincent. “What if...?”

Vincent nodded. “You mean if our baby looked somewhat unusual, more like me than you?”

“She is not a Helper,” Diana continued. “She would not understand. She might think that something is terribly wrong with our child, maybe even think that he or she is not...”

“Not viable,” Vincent agreed. “We cannot risk that. Since Jacob looks more like his mother than myself, of course there is the possibility that this child will favor you over me as well, but what if not?”

“I know,” Diana agreed. “But I have been with this doctor for years. What will she say if I leave her now, right after she diagnosed me as pregnant? And who will I go to from now on? As far as I know, none of our Helpers is a gynecologist!”

“We will have to ask Peter for advice,” Vincent continued. “Which is why he is coming down to discuss the situation with us. With the possibility of you being a carrier of this genetic defect, you will need a doctor's support during the pregnancy, but we cannot risk our baby being seen as an anomaly – or even worse, as a curiosity – should he or she inherit my looks. That means only somebody we really, truly can trust, should be involved. Any genetic screening, blood work, ultrasound or whatever other check-ups you may need that could reveal the child's unusual heritage can only be done by somebody we can rely on to keep any unusual data or pictures confidential.”

He thought about it for a moment. “Maybe you should move Below until the baby is born,” he then suggested. “Right now the only people Above that know you are pregnant are Susan and your doctor. Once you start showing neighbors, colleagues, other people you see more or less regularly, will notice, which could cause additional problems should the child look like me. For in that case we would have no choice but to keep him or her Below. But what would you tell people in that case if they asked you about the baby? Surely you would not want to tell them that he or she had died?”

“I would still have to go Above for the actual birth process,” Diana reminded him.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Vincent objected. “It depends. If we can be sure that everything is as it should be and that there are no complications to be expected, maybe our baby could be born Below. You know that Mary has been trained by Father as a nurse and midwife, and if Father and Peter were here as well...”

“Peter is a general practitioner, I doubt he has experience in delivering babies,” Diana observed.

Vincent laughed. “You are wrong about that! He does have experience in that regard, even though his last assistance in a birth may have been a while ago. Guess who he delivered… Catherine!”

Diana stared at her husband. “Peter delivered Catherine?” she asked incredulously. “How would you know that?”

“She used to tell everybody that the first time Peter saw her, she was stark naked, then she added that at that occasion, she had been a newborn babe.” Vincent explained.

Now both laughed, their concerns forgotten for the moment.

“What's so funny?” they suddenly heard Peter ask. They had both been so absorbed in their brief moment of hilarity that they had not noticed his entrance.

“I take it as a good sign that you are laughing,” Peter continued, smiling. “Does that mean that the two of you have already resolved all your problems and don't need my advice anymore?”

Vincent and Diana shook their heads.

“Not really,” Diana explained. “Vincent thinks maybe it would be wise for me to move permanently Below at least until the baby is born, in order to avoid questions, first about the baby's father and later, should our child have to live Below like Vincent...”

Peter nodded. “It could definitely be helpful if you stayed out of sight for the time being,” he agreed.

“It would not solve the question about how I could get the necessary check-ups, the genetic screening and all that, though,” Diana continued. “And it would just cause another set of problems. What would I tell my co-workers, what would my neighbors think if I just disappeared for a few months?”

She sighed. “And there is still the problem with my doctor. She already knows that I am pregnant. If I am leaving her now...”

“You could probably tell her that because of the special situation, with you possibly being a carrier of FXS you are seeking advice from a specialist in that area for the time being,” Peter suggested. “As to how you could explain your absence from Above – maybe Joe Maxwell could help with that? Pretending to send you out of town on some mission or other or something like that?”

Diana nodded. That might actually work.

“Now that that is settled, let's discuss how you can get all the necessary check-ups in the most discreet way,” Peter reminded the couple.

XxX

“Do you have a moment for me, Father?” Devin asked, standing right at the entrance of the library. After his discussion with little Jacob and the realization that family was important to him, Devin, as well, he had decided to show his relatives that he valued them and their input into his decisions.

“Come in, son,” Father called. “Mary just brought fresh tea. Sit down and have a cup with me.”

Father looked at his son. So many years they had been estranged and even after they had made peace of sorts, Devin was home so rarely that he did not know or understand his son too well. Maybe it was too late now to fully connect with Devin, but could it hurt to try?

After Devin had poured himself a cup of tea and settled himself in one of the chairs, Father therefore opened the conversation.

“I take it you want to discuss something with me?” he asked.

“Yes,” Devin agreed. “You know that I have decided to stay in the neighborhood, at least for a while, maybe even for good. Of course that means I would need a job and an apartment Above...”

“It would be nice to have you nearby,” Father agreed. “We all have missed you during your repeated absences.”

Devin nodded. “I know, and now, with all those recent developments, my mother's music box, Vincent and Diana expecting, I am finally beginning to understand how important family can be. Also, maybe I am getting a bit old for the life of an adventurer, and I may finally be ready for settling down permanently.”

Devin took a sip of tea before he continued. “Now, as I said, in order to be able to stay in town, I would need a job. Of course I have acquired several marketable skills over the years, but it has occurred to me that potential employers might be hesitant to hire me due to my lack of references...”

“I see,” Father commented. “In that case you will need to start working for one of our Helpers. They would not ask for a reference. But of course, neither could they afford to hire somebody who is not taking their job seriously. If you can promise me that you won't disappear one morning and call your employer from the other end of the Earth the next day, I will ask around if any of those that have their own business has an opening for which you have the necessary qualifications.”

Devin smiled. “Thank you, Father,” he said and for once he truly meant it.