| Bebe insists on a small celebration for her birthday. She wants to be with family rather than a big crowd of people, as she delicately states, to become an old battleaxe. |
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| The four of them spend the evening by the fire talking about good times of the past. Both Julian and Bebe share stories about their own childhoods. Bebe talks a lot about playing around the old cabin as a little girl. David is somewhat surprised that he shares such a common childhood with his mother. He too spent most of his childhood playing on the bluff overlooking the beach. |
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| Yuki did not get to know the cabin, so he tries to describe it exactly from his memory. Then he shares his research about Julian’s ancestors. Neither Julian or Bebe knew the extent to which David had recorded the family history. He mentions the one frustrating thing that has eluded him all along. There are numerous references to some kind of family business or craft that he cannot find details about. Every time he gets close to identifying it, he is thwarted by a missing journal entry or a lost public record. |
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| As the evening continues on, Bebe mentions a young woman she met at an art show. She tells David that she is good looking and single. David plays along, as he had with several others she has tried to set him up with. Some of the girls were actually a lot of fun to be with, and he had to admit, very attractive. But David had always found some reason to break it off after only a few dates. |
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| Reid and Kacey had become a sensitive subject around the house. Although a number of years have passed, any mention of marrying Kacey is an instant kill to any conversation. David cannot understand why they dislike her so much. Granted, sneaking into the house for late night “activities” probably crossed the line of acceptable. And her request for an engagement ring was also unusual, considering her age at the time. But there has been no further breech of protocol since that time, and he feels good about his future together with her. |
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| David awaits the phone call later in the week, and it arrives exactly on time. He invites Kacey over and tells her to bring from Reid’s house whatever she’d like to keep. She is there in a flash, and he invites her inside. He realizes, suddenly, that it had been a very long time since she has been over. They had done quite a bit of remodeling since then, and he shows her around. |
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| They end up in the remodeled living room. He had accepted a long time ago that this was how things were going to be. Kacey is his best friend. They had lost their innocence to each other, and he has spent more time together with her than anybody else he had ever known. David reminisces about his memory of Kacey’s infancy. He had just met Reid at school. Together with January Donner, they would explore the most remote hills and valleys of Sunset Valley. David laughs as he recalls how nobody had realized her mother was pregnant again. He was very young at the time, and could never have guessed that they would be spending the rest of their lives together. |
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| David drops to a knee and asks if she will grow old with him. Her response is an instant yes, and she hugs him with more emotion than he had ever seen her show. As she pulls away, he ponders if her emotion is a result of his proposal or from what she asks him next. The fear in her eyes is unmistakable, and it causes him a great deal of discomfort. She asks if she can live here, with him; away from Reid. |
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| It isn’t the request that bothers him. He had planned on moving her in tonight already. It is the fear on her face when she mentions moving away from Reid that sends a shiver down his spine. |
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| He wonders why he hasn’t noticed it before now. |
Stories by Zoxell 
Omg I never thought that she might be afraid of Reid
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REID IS AN EVIL MASTERMIND.
I KNOW IT. HE’S A VILLAIN. CRAZY EVIL.
Why else would he be “scary smart”?
THAT MINE IS HIS EVIL LAIR. :O
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Omigosh, I never thought that she might of been afraid of Reid as well, I always thought they were together in scamming David or something. o.o
Interesting, very interesting!
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I feel that they’re too young to be ‘just settling’. There should be more of a “this is the one” moment, but perhaps that’s my hopeless romantic side showing through.
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I must agree with tipix! Also, the ending (about her fear of Reid) was CHILLING. It’s 11:42 here, and I may not get to sleep 🙂
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