Fritz aged up quite gracefully. He and Jane had long ago decided that Felicia would be the heiress to the farm.
Felicia, now that she was grown up, took to spending a lot more time with her old friend Don Lothario.
Her parents were not too worried. Of course they had heard of Don's reputation, but over the years, Fritz and Jane had come to know Don. Now divorced from Ruby Broke, he seemed to have calmed down, or at least learned some discretion. It was clear that he doted on Felicia, even though the whole family often seemed to turn up with her for dates!
Jane told Don, "Well, you will just have to leave that draughty old barn and move into the big house with us."
And actually Don and Felicia were very happy.
At their very private wedding, he sang her an old song:
I just had to let you know
cause I don't always let it show
you give me needed room to grow
and I just had to tell you so
you fill me up,
you're in my veins
a look could take my breath away
and all these things, you give away
sometimes I take for granted
It's just like poetry inside to hear you breathing by my side
like I’m in heaven and I’ve died
so glad you're with me for this ride
you fill me up,
you're in my veins
a look could take my breath away
and all these things, you give away
sometimes I take for granted
I see your face to start my day
makes all my bad dreams go away
and all the stupid games we play
wouldn't have it any other way
you fill me up,
you're in my veins
a look could take my breath away
and all these things, you give away
sometimes I take for granted
Meanwhile, the triplets aged up, and Fritz's back was getting worse.
Jane took the boys and the little girls fishing regularly now. "She caught an anchovy THIS big!"
Fritz was happy to hand over some of the work of the farm to Felicia, a very able farmer, and to Don, who was a fine apprentice. Fritz himself spent a lot of time studying nectarology, but was not convinced he wanted to start all over again with a new farm.
But soon it became apparent that Don and Felicia were themselves starting their own family, and it was Jane who decided it was time to go. "I found a lovely house for us and the children," she told Fritz. "It will make a fine winery too."
They went to see it the next day. It was quite large, and Fritz was secretly relieved that he would not have to build a new home from scratch. But there would be plenty to do to make the house work as he wanted, and to establish the relatively small vegetable garden he intended to use initially to teach his children to garden, and later to start the winery he and Jane had dreamed about for so long.
There was also a nice lake in the garden, and as it was further from the river than their original house, Jane stocked it with good fish as a starter pond for the children.
They still lived close to their old farm, and were able to lend a hand as required. Jane expected to be there quite a bit and was very excited about her first grandchild. "Or grandchildren" grinned Fritz. "We did leave them the hot tub!"
Felicia and Don Lothario-Gardiner
The song of course is by Staind.