Unexpected Changes
When my mom died, Dad got really weird. After a day or two of him acting like a zombie, Gramps and Grandpa Sage pulled him down into the museum to have a long chat. I could tell the two of them had been thinking a lot lately since we returned from China. I could almost see that something was about to happen before anyone ever told us it was going to. When the news finally came to pass, it was the last thing I ever expected.
Jessica, Josephine and I were all hanging out in the hot tub when Betty came over to tell us that "the boys" wanted us all to meet them downstairs. I was confused by what she meant by downstairs until I saw her heading for the little house in the back with the elevator. We all grabbed our towels and changed into our normal clothes as quickly as possible to follow her.
We were waved into Grampa Sage's museum room and all three of the immortals stared at all of us. I wish I could have known what was going through their head as they looked at the five of us. Betty and Jessica were standing in one corner with their arms around each other. Mint was next to them playing with his chisel. JoJo and I were leaning together against the arch that led into Pepper's museum room.
After what seemed like a long wait, Dad turned to me with the deepest sadness I had ever imagined.
"I know I haven't been all that fun these last couple of days since your mother died. I'm sorry for that but her death hit me in a way I could have never expected. It made me question everything we as a family have done so far. It made me question my father and my grandfather."
Grandpa Sage spoke up then. "It was then I realized, I don't remember why we're doing this dynasty. I don't remember the reason for it anymore. It was my destiny was all I was ever told by the Watcher. Since your father brought it up, we've heard no word back from the Watcher so we can only assume that she is ok with our plan."
It seemed it was Pepper's turn to speak up. "We don't want you to think we've given up. We just think it's time we do what we wanted instead of what someone else wanted. We want you and Josephine to have the life you want without any fear of destroying what the family has worked for. Betty, we want you to be able to live with Quinn and marry him if that's what you want. Enjoy the days you have left with your daughter and lover. Jessica - we don't want you to live the life that some of the rest of us have. Go be happy and just live life. Mint. My son. We've also decided that maybe you should have a second chance, too. We want you to take this and to drink it. Don't waste another second. " He handed him pale pink flask that had bubbles coming out the top. If I remembered correctly, it was one of the potions that Dad had made on his chemistry set.
Uncle Mint looked at everyone for a brief second and then with a "Bottoms Up" the liquid was down his throat. It took a minute but he started acting like it was his birthday again, which at 99 surprised all of us. Then all of a sudden, the sparkles came and suddenly Mint was a young man again. He looked younger than me! "I don't understand," he said.
Grampa Sage put a hand on his shoulder and said. "We want you to go have the life you should have had."
"Didn't we just fail the dynasty by having me drink that?"
"Yes you did."
The voice was not one that I recognized instantly but I think the only one not surprised by it had been Sage. He looked death right in the eye and smiled. "Took you long enough, old friend."
"You wouldn't believe the traffic that I had to go through to get here."
Just like that, I watched my great grandfather start to fade and shine at the same time. I don't think I had actually ever watched someone become a ghost until that exact moment. Sage Death's hand with a small smile. "Now you just point the way to my Aggie and I won't give you any trouble."
"I think she'll be mighty surprised to see you so soon."
"What matters is we're back together again. " With a nod, the old man nosedived through the air into his grave.
Death turned his cold eyes to Pepper who began to fade like his father had. He too seemed to be serene as he spoke. "I can't wait to see the look on Shantel's face." He didn't even wait for Death to shake his hand, he disappeared into the obelisk headstone with a nosedive and went onto the ever after to find my grandma.
When Death turned to my Dad, I couldn't stop myself from saying No. It already hurt to watch the older two go, I wasn't ready for this, too. My Dad took me by the shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes. "Do not let this get in the way. Live your life. Have a ton of kids. Enjoy the time you're getting and don't push to finish the rules. It's all over for us but you are saved."
His body began to fade as Death came to stand beside me. Josephine tried to hold me from behind while I cried. Uncle Mint stood on my other side and cried with me to see his brother go.
"I'm joining your mother now and we'll watch over you. Don't forget to have kids. We would still like to be grandparents, you know." Coriander smiled at Death and instead of nosediving like the others, he slowly faded away with a wave. He gave one last thumbs up to let me know everything would be ok.
Death looked to us. "This was the way things were meant to be. Until next time and I hope for you all, it's not too soon."
Betty seemed to take this news the hardest considering she was the oldest. Mint offered to make her two of the young again potions for her and Quinn but she refused them. She said that her and Quinn had lived long and happy lives together and she didn't want to do it all over again. She squeezed Jessica tight and went upstairs to start packing for her move. She was going to live with her lover and get married finally so they could live out their days in true happiness.
Jessica, Jojo, Uncle Mint and I all went to hang out in the hot tub. Everyone wanted me to relax a bit. I'm fairly certain a moodlet manager was used in my direction, too. That night we all stayed in the hot tub until there wasn't a part of our bodies that wasn't pruned. Jessica said she would stay around Sunset Valley for a little bit and then maybe hook up with one of her boarding school friends to figure her life out. Mint decided that he was going to pack up the house and try to decide with the time he had left. Maybe move to the big city or something like that. He promised to keep in touch though.
Jojo gave plenty of suggestions of what we could do but I'm not sure I heard many of them. All of my dreams of what I knew life would be like were being erased and were having to be re-written. As we were headed to bed, I took her hand and moved into one of the now vacant bedrooms to curl up with her on the big bed. I asked her what she wanted to do and she wasn't sure either.
I guess when we figure it out, I'll let you know.
