(Chapter 8) Moving On

It took quite a while for the reality to sink in that my husband was gone. I was a widow. I wasn't sure if I knew how to live without Mark. Most of the time I didn't even want to get out of bed.

Working in my garden seemed to help... at least it allowed me to re-focus my grief, if only for a little while.


Mostly I just thought a lot. Thought about my life before Mark, my life with Mark and how my life was going to be without Mark.


I knew what he would want me to do. He would want me to be the strong Matriarch he married. He would want me to finish raising our family so that after I was gone they would be okay.


Sebastian seemed to take over the role of "man of the house." Not that Maddox didn't help, he was just more interested in his studies and making sure he had a head start in college.


Sebastian also helped out with washing Linus and the cleaning indoors.

But he also made sure to save a little time to get himself in trouble. Not trouble exactly, it was a while before he confessed to sneaking out with his "friend," Caryl Pai. I figured he was missing his dad and it was only normal to act out a little.

The day finally came when Stephanie was graduating from college.

While she was happy to have the rest of the family, she still missed her dad being there. He would have been so proud of her! After all, she was a woman after his own heart.

After graduating, Stephanie, along with her longtime boyfriend, Keith Zhang moved into a very comfortable home. She used the money her father had left her in his will. They began the home renovations right away.

One day while Keith and Stephanie were out for a leisurely day in the park, Keith popped the question.

A very surprised, but ecstatic Stephanie quickly agreed!

With the death of her father still very fresh in her mind, Stephanie decided there was no need to wait. Keith readily agreed and they were married right away.

I could not have been happier for my firstborn child. While I couldn't help but wish her father was here to see it, I felt blessed that I was still here to be a part of it.

Stephanie's brothers and sisters were very happy for their sister.

My darling daughter was absolutely gorgeous! Everything about the day was beautiful.

Stephanie playfully smashed wedding cake into her new groom's face. What a happy day!!!

After the wedding ceremony, Keith and Stephanie immediately got on a plane headed for the mountains. What a cozy and romantic honeymoon that awaited them. Again I was thankful for my last trip with my beloved.

They retreated to Three Lakes and stayed at a 3-star resort called Blau Hills. From what Stephanie told us, it was quite quaint.

They did a lot of outdoor activities like log-rolling, which the newlyweds both agreed equally was hard to master. They got waterlogged with all the falling off they did.

They also met a few furry friends too. Stephanie told us not to be alarmed, Victor Bigfoot as he liked to be referred to, was very friendly.

Their life together was beginning now and our family was moving on. We still missed Mark, but we knew deep down he would be with us forever.

(Chapter 7) Saying Goodbye - Part Two

Late one night while Stephanie was at her dorm, a strange man came in and without saying a word handcuffed her and put her in a limo.

While she was a little terrified she couldn't help but be a little intrigued...

Afterall, she'd never been in a limo before. It was quite cozy and very spacious. "I could live in here!" she thought.

She arrived at a beautiful brick mansion called The Landgrabb Society. After arriving she was greeted by a group of people in uniforms. The informed her that both her mother and I were once members. But then again, once a member always a member.

Stephanie was always enjoying giving the ladies (and a few fellas) makeovers.

She was becoming really good and was starting to think she might want to do this professionally once she graduated. I always thought my kids could do anything they set their minds to.

Marisol was adjusting to college life pretty well. While she always made sure to get her school work done she made sure there was time for making friends.

And since her oldest sister had bragged so much on the Tri-Var Sorority she decided to call and see if she too was worthy.

And of course my darling angel was accepted. It didn't hurt that Stephanie was one of the sisters now. Still, Marisol got in on her own accord - no favors when pledging one of SSU sororities or frat houses.

Just as it had happend to Stephanie, in the wee hours of the night Marisol was handcuffed by a man who never spoke and placed in a limo. Seemed like the Secret Society was becoming a family affair!

Suzanne and I were enjoying our time together when suddenly a fantastic idea came to me!

Why not take my beloved on a vacation. We had never dared to leave with all the kids. I could only imagine how much trouble that would be. And after all it was supposed to relaxing.

If you could have only seen the look on Suzanne's face! She was so excited, she almost seemed like a young girl again.

I had booked us at room at Sky Vista Hotel. Supposedly it was one of the best around Three Lakes. And man was it! Very pricey, but it was well worth it. We were in heaven!!!

We enjoyed axe throwing and log rolling. After getting soaked quite a few times we both became fairly decent log rollers. We took walks and went on a few tours. Suzanne and I also met a lot of very friendly locals as well as tourists. But before long it was time to go back home. We were both dreading the end of our vacation, knowing what it would mean upon our return.

It all happened way too soon. We never realized it would happen THIS quickly. My time was up and death had come for me. The new look that washed over Suzanne's face was painfully different than the one I had been looking at the past three days.

I don't know why, but though I'd miss my family terribly I was also strangely peaceful.

My poor family. I could feel their enormous grief.

Sebastian was at work during my passing. Not surprisingly he was devastated.

My poor sweet Suzanne. I knew it would be harder for her than for me. Her pain was great but I knew she was strong and eventually she would be alright. Not that it would be too long before we would see each other again...

(Chapter 7) Saying Goodbye - Part One

The whole gang was together for Melissa's next birthday. Even Stephanie and Marisol took a break from campus life to celebrate the next phase in their little sister's life.

Melissa made a secret wish and blew out the candles.

Just like her older sisters, she was gorgeous. Taking after her mom and sister Stephanie definitely didn't hurt her chances. And of course there was the fact that I was a little biased, being their dad and all.

Suzanne immediately got on the phone and called the Headmaster of Isla Segundo Private School. It was time for Melissa and the twins to have a chance to attend the prestigious school their older siblings had attended.

BJ Ryan came over the next evening promptly at 5pm. The whole house was a buzz of nervous energy. I, however, had no doubt the rest of my brood would get admitted with no problems.

Of course, "father knows best." Mr. Ryan congratulated us and said he was looking forward to seeing Melissa, Maddox and Sebastian first thing tomorrow morning.

Shortly after the children's acceptance to Isla Segundo Private School, Suzanne and I celebrated our Golden Anniversary. What a joy we had made it this far. We had successfully (in our minds) raised 5 healthy and wonderful kids, through it all loving and supporting each other.

We were still very much in love, possibly more now than ever. Was life this good for everyone? I could only wish and pray that it would turn this fulfilling for my offspring, seeing as how I most likely wouldn't be around to see it for myself.

The boys were getting older and Suzanne and I spent as much time with them as possible.

Suzanne had found a new hobby - gardening. She loved being outside with nature and watching something that she had a hand in growing. And we sure enjoyed the "fruits" of her labor!

Melissa was definitely like any other teen. Interested in boys far too early as far as I was concerned. She had met George McCarthy down at the general store and they had developed quite a fondness for each other.

They spent a lot of time together and eventually decided to only see each other. George was a regular fixture around the Stratton household. Well, my baby girl finally got her first kiss. I guess there could be worse things...

Meanwhile back at SSU, Stephanie had decided to pledge Tri-Var Sorority.

Heather Huffington, Brittany Upsnott and Tiffany Sampson all came to her dorm. They quickly took a liking to her and before long and accepted her as one of their "sisters."

Stephanie had also met on campus, Keith Zhang. The two had hung out a lot together and had several meaningful conversations.

They begun to develop more than friendship for each other. Stephanie was very attracted to Keith and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

Back at home time as always was flying by. It had seemed like it was yesterday when Melissa became a teen, and here we were with the twins.

The last of our crew were becoming teenagers. I couldn't help but be a little sad that I would probably never see any of my children get married or have kids of their own. The only consolation was that Suzanne and I had raised them to be loving, caring and honorable human beings. My Maddox, yep still looked like his old man!

Sebastian, a little eccentric but a good kid. He was the only one that was a mixture of both Suzanne and I, together. What would the future hold for them and my daughters? Only time would tell and that was somthing I just didn't have much left of.