Matthew placed his right hand on Ethan's shoulder and used his left to point at everyone who'd joined them on their walk. "My family is here," he said, "You and Kylie are here, along with Ethan, Dinah, and Nate. The fact that we aren't scrapping in the streets is, in and of itself, a minor miracle…"

"This still-mate may not last beyond today," Ethan agreed, "but it is a good start."

​​

Matthew touched Khloe's stomach while he contemplated what Ethan had said. Ethan wasn't one to be so touchy, and at their display, he frowned and said, "The way that you're touching Khloe's belly, a stranger might assume that you are the father…"

Matthew's face became gloomy. He rubbed his lips hard and found himself searching for words that just weren't there. Khloe, too looked guilty, though she was not. The implication itself was enough to make her feel uncomfortable. Her face turned red as she looked to Matthew for direction. Minute by minute, as the silence held, the atmospheric anxiety increased, it became so thick that one might have cut it with a knife.

Finally, Kylie broke the ice. She turned to Ethan and said, "I have a gift for the old Mr. Parker. Should we go to the hospital now so that I can give it to him?"

"I will take you there now," Ethan replied, without looking at Matthew or Khloe. Without a word of goodbye to Matthew or anyone else that they'd come with, Ethan and Kylie turned off at the next block where his car was parked.

Once Kylie and Ethan were gone, Khloe turned to Matthew and said, "I came as soon as you called, so I didn't have a chance to get a gift."

Matthew touched her belly again and said, "The best gift that you could give me is right here. You don't need to be nervous about anything when you are around me!"

Old Mrs. Parker smiled when she saw her son arrive with Kylie, and she rushed to greet them. She didn't approve of Kylie, of course. Nothing had changed in that regard, but the joy she felt when she saw her son overwhelmed her, and for the moment, at least, she was able to set any animosity she felt for Kylie aside. "What's up?" she laughed. "I see that Kylie brought a gift. Are we celebrating something?"

"Do we need a reason to visit?" Kylie wondered. "All we want is to bring some happiness to the old man's day!"

"Don't we always bring gifts?" Ethan added.

"I suppose so," Mrs. Parker admitted. "I suppose I wasn't thinking… Here, why don't we go check in on my husband? I know that he's been hoping you would visit him soon."

As they walked the hallways together, Mrs. Parker explained to them that her husband had been moved from one room to another and that he wasn't very happy about it. Where he'd been before, he'd been close to the kitchen, so he was the first to be served at mealtime. Now though, he was served last, and the food was always cold. This had obviously affected his disposition because the first thing Ethan noticed when they walked into his room was the frustrated scowl on his face. As soon as he saw them, though, his disposition did a complete 180.

Once they'd exchanged pleasantries and made themselves comfortable, Mr. Parker looked at Ethan and said, "It means the world to me when you come to see me and the frequency of your visits are admirable, but Matthew seldom visits me… I've heard that Khloe is pregnant. Is that true?"

"It is true," Ethan admitted. "I am disappointed that Khloe and Matthew haven't been here to tell you in person."

Mr. Parker frowned, and his breathing became labored. Mrs. Parker gave them the dirty eye as if they'd caused her husband to be in this condition – even though she knew better. The way she treated her husband, though, was more than admiral, and just by watching her, they could see how much she loved him.

Mrs. Parker had her husband's hand in her one hand, and her other hand was gently rubbing his leg. "It's alright," she told him. "Calm down and try not to be angry. It doesn't help. Eventually, you will see Matthew, and you will be able to ask her any questions that you'd like."

Kylie stepped forward with the gift she'd brought for Mr. Parker. In the hopes of distracting him and help him settle, she held the gift out to him and said, "I have a present for you…"

Mr. Parker seemed completely disinterested. Even though his breathing had returned to normal, he rolled over so that his back was to her, and he said, "Thank you, but no thanks."

Kylie stood there, stunned and embarrassed. She forced a smile and said, "Mr. Parker, I wish nothing but the best for you, that is why I am here, and that is why I brought you a gift. You are pretty much family to me, and I wish you a long life."

Mrs. Parker scowled at Kylie and said, "Just go! You are not wanted here! And you will never be family!"

Hearing these words, Ethan took the gift out of Kylie's hands and threw it against the wall as hard as he could. The box smashed, and it went BOOOOM!!!!

Ethan turned to his mother, and he looked angrier than she'd ever seen him. She shrunk under his glare, and she began to shake with fear. "Kylie is a part of our life!" he roared. "She is a part of our family! If you reject her, you reject me. Do you understand what I am saying? I will not stand by while you treat her badly or disrespectfully!"

As soon as he stopped talking, the room went silent, and nobody dared to look at Ethan. "And don't forget," he whispered, "if I were to leave this family, I would take Century Group with me along with all its affiliates."

Having no other choice, Mr. Parker turned back around and sat up to the extent that he was able. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at Kylie. He said, "At this point in my life, I no longer care for business matters. I am near the end, though, and Ethan has shown me the error of my ways. More than anything, I should want my family to be harmonious when I leave. I have had no good reason to treat you badly, and yet I have, and for that I am sorry. I never had a good reason to behave as I did. I wish that it hadn't taken what it had to make me see the light but, for what it's worth, I appreciate that you brought me a gift. After the way you've been treated, there was no reason for you too, and yet you did…"

"I know that you would have liked it," Kylie said. "It was a snuff bottle that had been carved out by a master artist."

Mr. Parker's went large, and his jaw nearly hit the floor; he was astonished. "How did you know that I collected such things?" he wondered.

"It was nothing more than a good guess," Kylie supposed. "I wondered what a person like you, who could afford anything, would want that he didn't already have. Immediately, I knew that it had to be one of a kind. Initially, I had no idea what to look for, but then the snuff bottle caught my eye, and when I held it, it spoke to me, and I knew that you would like it."

Hearing this, Ethan's face turned red, and his expression was like that of a very guilty person. He said, "I am truly sorry that I let my temper get the better of me…"

"It is for the best," Mr. Parker replied. "Anything less would not have caused me to rethink my view on life in the same way that your outburst did. I owe you a debt of gratitude, and I apologize to you wholeheartedly."

"Here," Mrs. Parker snapped, "Give me the box."

Kylie hunkered down to pick up the broken box and handed it to Mrs. Parker. Mrs. Parker took one corner to open it, and to their surprise, the snuff bottle was intact. "It is a miracle," she said. "It was so loud when it hit the wall that we all assumed it had been destroyed. It must be made of very strong material."

Mrs. Parker handed it to her husband, and as he examined it, he began to cry tears of joy. He looked at Kylie and said, "God bless you, child. You are a part of our family now, so be fruitful and multiply. I would love to see a grandchild by you before I am off into the Great By and By."