old friends and a little bit of nostalgia

January 2078, Micah Phoenix is 55, Sophie is 56. Talin Collins is 63, Abigail is 62.

Sophie and Micah have been together since high school - and what a little rebel Micah was back then! They're going on thirty years together soon.

Sophie owns Earthland Catering Service, where she slaves over the only the finest locally grown organic ingredients to make her meals. This business was actually passed down to her from Micah's mother. Sophie would love to be a famous chef one day, and she's already pretty well known locally.

Dallas Deppiesse works on cash register - come on, Dallas, you're a smart kid, you can figure it out!

Micah is Police Chief of the Lake County police force. Both Hayden and Jackson are cops too - though not by choice. Jackson wanted to play sports, but never quite made it. Hayden wanted to spend his life playing video games, but had a surprise family to support. And so they ended up cops like their dad - nothing wrong with that!

Abigail Collins is Sophie's big sister, and Jeremy's twin. Abby and her husband, Talin have been at their cabin in Three Lakes for quite some time now, and are back in town for a while. They've grown noticeably older since they've been away, but are still both unfairly beautiful people in their older age. A real shame these two never wanted any children - they would have been gorgeous!

Their house, while it was artsy and eclectic when they were younger, now they think just has too many stairs. They're getting a bit old for that three-flight climb to their bedroom every night. They're thinking about one of those smaller condos near the city center. Or maybe they'll just retire to the Seaside Woods Retirement Village? Jeremy is already retired, and it might be a lot of fun if they all moved in there.

The thing about never having any children is building up quite a bit of extra money - because children are expensive you know. But the thing about all that money and no children is having no legacy to leave it to. Though, Abigail does have five very dear nieces and nephews. Or maybe they'll donate yet another building to the LCU campus. But they've only just become elders. They have time to decide yet.

Being married as long as both couples have, and with Abby and Sophie being as close as they are, it was only natural that Micah and Talin became close friends. They're both sports inclined, and Micah enjoys Talin's nasty vulgar jokes that just make Abby mad.

And while the "boys" are goofing around, Sophie says, "Have you talked to Nina lately? She's just bought a night club! Can you believe it?"

With Nina, yes, Abby can believe it. You might never guess that Abigail (then Nova) Collins and Nina (then Ramirez) Shaw-Gothier were the best friends ever in high school. As they've grown up, their lives have taken very different courses - Abby through academia and world travel, and Nina through a couple husbands, some tragedy, and now apparently the clubbing business.

Abby decides she should drop in at the new club and see what Nina's been up to lately.

"The club looks great," Abby says. "Though I don't know about those coffins." Really Abby is thinking Nina looks great, and how does she pull off an outfit like that at their age?

"It's doing a little better now than when we started," Nina says.

I guess seeing each other again brings out the gossipy school girl in them and they laugh at the funny looking dude trying to dance. He's a real winner!

"Is it really haunted?" Abby asks. She'd love to see a ghost.

"I don't know," Nina says. "Haven't seen one yet. It's probably just a rumor."

Meanwhile, upstairs... Wow, you would just never guess some couples were the type to show up and get busy at a shady place like this - but hey, no judgment here! Maybe Allegra is just feeling nostalgic about her goth-girl past.

And outside, after Maxwell has greeted the last in a line of guests, he sees something. Someone. Is that what he thinks it is??? "Is anyone else seeing this?" he says. "Anyone?" But everyone's already gone inside.