As usual around our way the snow didn't last very long. The following day, a lot of the snow had melted and I had managed to dig the car out. Getting ...o work for me was still out of the question though, but I thought I could make it to the hospital to visit my new baby girl. Oh, yeah, and Veronica, my wife; mind you, at that time the baby held more of a fascination for me than Ronnie ever did. The little show of affection she'd put on by the helicopter for the police and army guys, didn't fool. 'Not a lot of action here' she thought, and pulled a magazine from her bag, she settled down to flick through it. An article caught her eye and she started to read.After a while, the train pulled into the next station and the old lady rose from her seat, went into the corridor and carefully stepped down from the train onto the platform. The young couple relaxed, moved closer together and cuddled intimately.She put down her magazine and went in search of the buffet car for some. We were a few minutes early, but Sarah and my parents were there. The Eyres arrived while we were still greeting and so we just made the circle of hugging larger. We finally did get through the door and seated. Dad looked a little grayer and mum a wee bit stouter, but neither significantly. Rachel's parents looked the same, but Sarah and Al both appeared older. Or acted older.Michiko started in asking Rachel about the Art Gallery, so we were occupied with that and with ordering dinner for a. But there was one particular family of that name notorious for their high society antics and flagrant displays of wealth. The children, now in middle age, were that way, at least. The family owned a massive media and publishing conglomerate the patriarchal grandfather had been building into an empire for several decades. Surely it wasn’t a coincidence that her Master, rolling in money as he seemed to be, shared their name. Marie tried to recall how many children there were, and if he’d been.