The Dance Part 2

Chapter 207 Reflections

"Bear, you are going to have to hold still long enough for me to get the pictures I need or else Jill won't be able to finish your brochures." Lila frowned as Bear zipped around the old Browntown taking in all things familiar to him.

"I know Lila. Let me burn off some of this energy." Bear ran, climbed, and jumped before Lila could get him to hold still long enough for her to capture the look of Bear Brown's 'Awesome Alaska Adventures.' Lila and Jill were working in tandem with Bear to develop and market his hunting and fishing business to the tourist trade. Jill still had connections on the cruise ships that were docking in Hoonah and could easily help generate leads for Bear's excursion business.

Bear was anxious to get his venture off the ground as Red's due date drew near. They would need the extra income as Violet's arrival wasn't that far off. Lucy had agreed to step up her time in the bakery to help Red when the time came and Gabe volunteered to be her minion. He had previous experience in that job description courtesy of his mad scientist brother Noah.

***********************
Bam and Matt pushed the family hard
to finish the main house for his parents, sisters and Noah announcing that move in day would be in one week. And just as he promised that day arrived.

**********************

Bam and Matt stood proudly on the wraparound porch as the entire family including Billy and Ami waited to see the finished product. "It's been long and hard on all of us but this is the first home of Browntown II. Both Matt and I are happy to have it completed but work doesn't stop here.  We move on now to the individual homes for myself, Matt and Bear. We have flipped the build schedules as there has been a slight change in those plans. Jill clutched Lila's hand as Bam announced that he and Lila were expecting another baby.

The news came as no surprise to Jill and Matt who suspected Lila was pregnant again but kept her secret until she was ready to share it with all of them. Bam and Matt led the way into the new main cabin as Billy and Ami remarked on the size and space of the build. "Thanks to Matt and his sawmill, we could go bigger and we did."

Matt led the girls and Noah upstairs for the tour of their rooms. Although sad not to be sharing a room again, they were excited about having a cedar closets. All the brothers had worked long and hard to make this family dream a reality. 

"We're in a good place, Ami. I feel better knowing that all of us are under the same place for the most part. It gives me great peace of mind that if anything happened to me, you would be close to the boys."

Lila gathered the entire family into the great room of the main house arranging the couples and lining up the kids and the still single siblings for a group photo. Lucy offered to take the photo since she wasn't an official Brown but Lila wouldn't hear of it pushing her towards where Gabe stood.

"But I'm not family...." Lucy's comment fell on deaf ears.

"You'll be family soon enough." Lila traded seemingly knowing glances to Jill and Red. One thing Brown women understood was that if you had committed to living together with a Brown man, you were practically a candidate for marriage. Although Ami preferred her sons to be married before they shared living quarters,  she was content to know that each of her sons had made wise choices. She was even more pleased to see Bam and Lila's family growing again. Lila had been the first addition to the family and she had set the bar high as to what to expect from the other wives. Lila was loving and loyal. She was Bam on so many levels. At every turn, Lila challenged him intellectually, spiritually and emotionally and Ami was content to know that Bam had found his equal.

Just as Lila had fulfilled the emptiness in Bam's life, Jill was an equally good life partner for her eldest son. Jill made Matt accountable for his actions. She gave him direction when he felt he had none. Jill was Matt's compass rose because 'all who wander are not lost.' Jill accepted Matt for who he was, slightly imperfect, but passionate about life and their future.

And then there was Red who wasn't as easily convinced that Bear was the one. It tickled Ami to see Bear settled and the prospect of him being a father to a little girl amused her immensely.  She could vividly picture a mini Violet trying to keep pace with her daddy. Red probably worried Ami the most because of her past but she trusted Bear's judgement and soon she too fell in love with her. Red reminded Ami of the story of the Ugly Duckling. Her dark past had been forgotten as she blossomed into the lovely Rose that carried her future granddaughter.

Ami was hopeful for Gabe and Lucy. Gabe and Ami always had a special bond going back to when he was very little. She so wanted Gabe to find a lovely young woman and settle down. She had hoped that Gabe had found his soulmate in Lucy and by all intentions, she felt that he did. He had never before introduced any young woman as his girlfriend always choosing to recognize them as friends. Lucy must have been very special to him to introduce her to she and Billy using the 'girlfriend' nomer.

All in all, Ami surveyed her domain and felt blessed to have been given so much love in just one short lifetime.

Beautiful Girl by Christian Bautista