She turned to look at Fred. "Who"s this man in my villa, Mom?"

Emily looked exasperated. She did not want to have to deal with her daughter right now. Sarah presented herself very primly, but she was a devilish early teen, like all early teenager girls were. They had a love hate relationship as mother and daughter.

"Oh, this is Fred. He"s your brother"s father."

"I heard about him from Dad. I mean, what is he doing in our villa?"

"Don"t be rude, Sarah!"

"No, it"s fine. She"s right." Fred was amused by Sarah, and a little scared. "I"m sorry, Sarah. Emily and I were just catching up. I"ll be leaving now."

"Yes, catching up." Sarah glared at them. "Mark is still pretty f.u.c.ked up right now, and you spent the night catching up. Makes sense."

"Language, lady!"

"Oh, please, Mom. Just don"t."

Sarah got up, coolly. "I"ve said what needed to be said." Then, she went upstairs to her room.

Emily and Fred felt they got the scolding of a lifetime. They decided to grab the very late brunch in a nearby cafe.

"So, about Sarah"s vill"

"Not funny, Fred."

"I"m very happy that you and Sarah are happy living there. How"s the mortgage?"

"I"m paying it off. Island Paradise Bank is a reputable bank. You don"t need to worry."

They both looked over at the bank across from the cafe. "Let us help you with your paradise!"

Fred chuckled. "I have a lot more to learn."

Emily looked down. "Thanks, Fred, for everything. I"m sorr-"

"Please, don"t." Fred pulled her chin up, gently. "I"ve done what I wanted to do. As long as you"re happy, Emily."

Emily smiled, and they both ate quietly. Simply enjoying their presence.

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Fred and Emily went over to Carlos"s place. He was sitting at the table.

"h.e.l.lo."

"h.e.l.lo."

"h.e.l.lo."

Awkward silence.

Carlos chuckled. "Sarah told me what happened. You two have been very naughty."

"Not funny, Carlos." Emily.

"We"re all adults here. Arrrrgh. I knew what I was getting myself into when I got involved with you. I was kind of hoping Fred would be a dips.h.i.t."

"Sorry." Fred.

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Mark was still pa.s.sed out. He was okay, though. He got up to use the restroom and shower, then he went back to his room. Emily, Fred, and Carlos were relieved. He had been through a lot.

"I have to go back. I gave my supervisor very little notice when I came."

"It was too sudden. But thank you, Fred. Mark looks...okay." Carlos said. "Do you think that Rick guy will cause problems?"

Fred paused. Then, he said, in a deadpan manner, "We don"t need to worry about Nick."

Carlos shuddered. What the h.e.l.l was that supposed to mean? But he trusted Fred"s word. What was the guy, some sort of spy? Carlos was a bit glad he didn"t punch him in the face when they met.

"Well, ok. It was great to meet you, Fred."

"Likewise."

The two men in Emily"s life shook hands.

Emily smiled, looking at the two of them.

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Fred took the business cla.s.s flight back. He had a lot on his mind. He wanted to talk more with Mark, but he had a feeling that it wasn"t time for that.

"I need to make more money," he thought.

Fred had to support his son, and Emily. And Sarah. Fred liked Sarah. She was a fierce girl. No one would dare stand in her way in life.

Fred wanted to help Mark on his way to become a musician. His son had talent. Fred refused to look or touch Mark"s string of fate. Even if that meant Mark dropping out of high school. Fred shook his head, and sighed deeply. Was that just some fake respect for his son"s autonomy, or him simply being an irresponsible father?

The businessman sitting next to Fred looked clearly annoyed.

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A year went by, and Fred and Mark had begun talking on the phone. Mark decided to finish high school, but he told Emily, Carlos, and Fred, that he didn"t want to go to college. Emily was upset, and Fred suggested to Mark about perhaps going to school to learn music. Mark scoffed, and said, "Music isn"t taught, dude."

Fred was working hard. And the company"s higher ups noticed something odd. Fred"s suggestions for ads always seemed to get positive feedback. The game girl streamer promotion happened, finally, and she even won a shoot em up tournament sponsored by Fizzy Pop. Quite the feat, in a field dominated by fast fingered guys. But ad after ad, Fred pointed to the ones which he thought would be received well, and they were. Fewer skips, more memes. The numbers didn"t lie. Advertis.e.m.e.nt wasn"t an exact science, and the more cynical higher ups thought letting a monkey choose the script with a dart would be more cost effective than having an ad department. Mr. Belluci knew that, fearfully, but things were going well. He liked Fred more and more. The man was affable to begin with. But it seemed he had a magic touch.

Things were going on. Fred was back to a rhythm. His family back in paradise was living swimmingly, and he was doing swimmingly, too.

Then, on a dark, stormy night-

"Fred, your father"s going to die in a week."

"And there"s nothing you can do about it."