Chapter 17

Devon was born, and soon was toddling about, it seemed to Malachi that time had become stuck in fast forward.  His relationship with Holly was icy at best, they were no longer partners, they were roommates.  When he really thought about it though, it seemed they hadn't been partners for a very long time.

He blinked and Elijah was learning to drive, and had a girlfriend, he hated that he was being so serious with one girl.  His own soured love weighed heavily on his mind as he watched his son with her.  He was certain he was going to make the same mistakes.

Blink again and Elijah was graduating, and  Alison was the one learning to drive and flirting with boys.  She seemed much less likely to become too serious as she seemed to have a steady stream of boyfriends that changed each day.  Elijah and his girl however were just as serious as ever, he tried to talk sense into his son, tried to explain he was too young to throw his life away, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Emma was growing too, not the traditional beauty that her sister was, she had her own charm and beauty to share.   She always had a smile for everyone, everyone except her mother.

His Dad didn't understand anything, he just thought because he had a lousy marriage and he married young that they all had to turn out that way.  Elijah knew what he wanted, and he wanted to make his wife.  He was graduated over a month ago, and she would graduate next year, they could make it work, because they wanted to, because they loved each other.

He loved his dad, he really did, but sometimes he was so disgusted by him, he watched as his mother belittled Emma again, and wondered why his dad put up with it, it wasn't fair to any of them, their mother had made it clear to all of them from an early age that she despised them all, she had belittled and been nasty to each of them as they grew up, and yet his dad never did anything about it.

He knew his marriage wouldn't be like that, his would happy, a real partnership. He and Blair had already talked about children, and they both wanted a houseful.  She loved coming over and playing with Devon.  They both had similar interests, both were very concerned with the shape the planet was in and wanted to make a difference.  Elijah planned to do so with his writing skills, and Blair planned to use photography to wake up the world to not only what they were doing to the planet, but what they would miss when it was destroyed. He proposed to her shortly after he had graduated, and they had hid the ring from his family.

 They decided a quiet and quick wedding was the safest best considering how his family felt, and so they bought the appropriate license and went to City Hall and said their vows.  It may not have been traditional, but it was enough for them both.  They hated the thought of wasting resources putting on a fancy wedding, and they hated the thought of having to listen to their parents.  She was 18 years old the day of their wedding, just old enough to sign the papers without her parent's approval.

That night they returned home and told their family what they had done.  Malachi was furious, he told them both they were throwing away their futures, they should have waited and enjoyed single life longer.  They stood there while he ranted, tears welling up in Blair's eyes.

Finally the rant was done and Malachi sighed.  "Well what is done is done, welcome to this crazy family Blair.  I really do hope you two can be happy."