Flash Forward

And, indeed, it was a worthwhile future. When she looked in the mirror, years later, now 47, her wrinkles were smile and laugh lines. Sure, she'd put on a few, and had some grey hairs that had to be taken care of right then and there, but life was pretty good. Abe had just turned 95, and while he definitely had more than a few wrinkles and some mobility issues, it wasn't anything that a walker and liberal amounts of Viagra couldn't handle. Most importantly, he'd slimmed down after marrying Elizabeth, and still had a mind and body, which was a blessing for them all.

Her eldest daughter, Emily, 26, had been involved in a short-term marriage with the prickly Ian Pritchard, but that had ended a few months ago. At the recommendation of Abe, she'd taken a position working for the new church deacon, a bombastic 60 year-old Black man named Ebenezer Elliott.

Although Emily's twin, Aaron, hadn't been especially inclined to graduate college, Abe motivated him to get his Bachelor's degree, and he was working at a local accounting firm, although he'd never had a girlfriend so far as Elizabeth could see (beyond his trusty Fleshlight). Meanwhile, Katie had just graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and had started working as an investigative journalist.

Moses Jones, Jr. had moved to Washington D.C. to work for a local Congressman, renewing his father's political legacy. Sarah Jones was married to a respectable Black preacher in Atlanta. Samson Jones was a senior quarterback at the university, dating the head cheerleader, Brooke Williams, Allie William's eldest daughter. It remained a scandal that Allie had kept Moses's baby, much to Elizabeth's private delight.

Life was good in the Lancaster household as well. Shalonda was working on her graduate degree in city planning at an Ivy League school. Douglas Jr. was on the west coast at a University. And Shanequa had had three more children by Jaylen: Jalen, Tori, and Tyrell.

Life was good, but that didn't mean it would be all smooth sailing.