A DYNASTY BY THE DYNASTY’S DUO

Four years later.

"I set the whole picnic. Are you ready, Bella?"

"I don't understand why you won't let me help you, Greg." Bella pouts.

"As long as you understand that you birthed my second child some weeks ago. I don't want my wife stressing."

"As your lordship pleases." Bella chuckles. "I'm all set."

"Gavin and Naomi will be here with their kids any minute. You know they are never late for The Dynasty's Day."

"Let's go to the backyard. See your troublesome children sleeping." Bella shakes her head.

"I'd say they take after you with their playfulness." Greg quizzes.

"I'd say you are tripping." Bella jests.

Bella and Greg giggle. They walk to the backyard holding hands.

"Are we late?" Gavin quizzes.

"We finished the foods." Bella responds.

"You wouldn't dare." Naomi chuckles.

"She's been consuming mountains since she delivered my baby." Greg retorts.

"That's not true." Bella pouts. "Where are Jem and her baby brother?"

"Jem says we should stop calling him a baby. She says two years old is too old for a baby." Gavin grins.

"That little girl's mouth." Bella chuckles.

"She talks like she's past five years old." Greg retorts.

"I tell you." Naomi grins. "They are asleep in the car. They played the whole day. When they felt small breeze during the ride, they dozed off."

"What about your son and our new baby girl?" Gavin asks.

"They are also asleep. They are as playful as their cousins." Bella responds.

"Today's picnic theme is adults only." Greg teases. "Let's carry on."

Gavin and Naomi sit on the picnic mat.

"I go first. I have a couple things to discuss. Foremost, Aunt Cindy called me to inform me she will be coming into town for the fifth year remembrance of Gem, dad and mum. I told her she doesn't have to worry but she insists." Gavin announces.

"You know Aunt Cindy doesn't back down. She has been a parent figure to us. Such a sweet woman." Greg retorts.

"Second topic is mainly directed at Greg," Gavin faces Greg. "I've been thinking…"

"That's your talent." Greg interrupts Gavin. Everybody laughs.

"In honour of the fifth year remembrances, we should start a foundation. Several people around us expected you and I to die first in the family because we are sicklers and it's a hearsay that sicklers don't live past adolescence. Gem, the healthiest, left us first. She was the one everybody expected to live longest. Dad followed. And then mum. Both of us, the-expected-to-die-early-brothers, are hale and hearty today. Our family story is absolutely distorted. I'm thirty-six years old with two non-SS children. You are thirty-two years old with two non-SS children. We escaped the SCD torment. I want us to start a foundation that donates to SCD treatment, impacts knowledge about the management of SCD, creates awareness on how to avoid birthing sickle-cell diseased children, and I want us to show the world that SCD patients can be healthy survivors too."

"I love this proposition. My hands are on deck. Have you decided a name for it?" Greg nods.

"Blood Dynasty by the Dynasty's Duo? Dynasty's Duo because we are the two least-expected survivors of the family."

"Good. I think there should also be a small division under the foundation that handles leukemia. In honour of Gem specifically. You know it's also a blood-related problem. That division will create awareness on leukemia, how it can be detected early and all necessary information. I believe if Gem was diagnosed early, she might have survived." Greg adds.

"I agree. Any other suggestion?" Gavin asks.

"Yes." Greg smiles. "Bella and I bought a house. We are moving there. It's only coincidental that you suggested this about the same time. We should convert this house to a building for that foundation. We will just make some alterations that will enable it suitable for an organization building. Like that, the homage will be full-fledged."

"That's great! Congrats, guys." Naomi proclaims.

"I know they are smiling down at both of you now. You are making them proud." Bella grins.

"The SCD sufferers surfaced as the survivors." Naomi smiles. "By the way, I bumped into Var."

"Gem's Var?" Gavin asks.

"Yup. He said he has no plans to be in love with any other person."

"He's on my social media." Greg retorts. "His profiles on social media all mark that he's engaged. A coworker that knows him says he tells female admirers that he's engaged. When they ask him whom his fiancée is, he says she's no more but she still has his heart."

"Wow. He really loved Gem. So sad she had to die when such a lifetime love located her. I hope he finds her in another woman. He deserves a compatible companion." Gavin shakes his head.

"You should involve him in that foundation, don't you think? He played a significant role in your sister's life too. He might be interested in that division that covers her leukemia." Bella interjects.

"We definitely will." Gavin grins.