Chapter 30
“Mom! Dad!” Atticus was shouting, running back to the family campsite.
Annie recognized her son’s voice, and stepped out of the port-a-camper.
“Mom!” Atticus ran up to her and grabbed her wrist with both of his hands, pulling her back in the direction he had just come from. “Come on, quick! Beckett’s hurt!”
Karl came out of the camper to check on his family, followed by Abby, Luther, and Grandpa LeeAndré.
“What are you talking about?” Karl asked his son. “Whose hurt?”
“Beckett! Some kid punched him and he said his tooth is loose,” the seven-year old was saying as he continued pulling his mother’s arm away from the camper.
Abby ran over to him, bent her knees and took the young boy by the shoulders.
“Where is he?” Abby said to her nephew.
Atticus pointed back down the path, “Over by the playground.”
Abby stood up, looked at both Annie and Luther and then turned and ran down the path. Before she had gone a few yards, Beckett and Haden came around the bend in the path, with Haden’s arm wrapped around his younger cousin’s shoulder, and Beckett holding his mouth.
All four adults ran to the two boys.
Abby got there first and knelt down in front of her son, who was holding his mouth with his right hand.
“What’s wrong Beckett?” she asked with obvious worry in her voice.
“Some kid called you stupid. I said he was a poop-head and he tried to punch me in the mouth,” the boy said.
Abby took her son’s hand away from his face, and pulled open his jaw, moving his head around to get a good look.
“Why in the world did you call him a poop-head, dear?” Abby said.
“I hold ou, he ed ou er oo-id!” Beckett tried to explain, not able to move his jaw much with his mother’s firm hold on it.
“What happened,” Karl said to his older son.
“Some other kid found out we did mission work in Africa, and he said Mom and Aunt Abby were stupid to want to help people in a different country, since they should help people here first,” Kaden started explaining. “He didn’t listen when I said they were doctors in Chicago and they did take care of people here at the lake. He just said they were stupid all the same. And then he said maybe because we’re black, we can’t help but being stupid. I told him to shut up and go away. Beckett heard us arguing and when he heard the other kid call Aunt Abby stupid, Beckett called him a poop-head. The kid swung at Beckett and caught him in the mouth. Then the kid started crying and ran away saying Beckett bit him, and I could see blood coming from his finger.”
Abby looked at her son, feeling his jaw and teeth. “Did you bite him?” she asked.
“Ooo,” Beckett said, slightly shaking his head sideways.
“I don’t think he did, Aunt Abby,” Haden continued. “Beckett got knocked backwards. He didn’t cry or anything! Man, he’s tough.”
“I think he loosened one of your baby teeth, honey,” Abby said, finally letting go of her son’s face.
“He’s lucky he ran away, the big cry baby,” Beckett said. “I would have punched him back and knocked out all his teeth.”
“You got that right, son!” Luther said to his son, clapping him on the shoulder.
“Luther!” Abby said.
“The boy’s got to learn to stand up for himself and his family, Abby,” Luther said.
“Please, not now, you two,” Annie said, looking at her brother-in-law disapprovingly. Then she turned back to the young boys. “Where’s Dayni? Wasn’t she watching you at the playground?”
“Raina got fussy, and Felix was throwing dirt at everybody, so she took them on a walk around the lake,” Kaden explained.
“She went with her new boyyy frieeend!” Atticus added.
“Well, at least she didn’t leave the babies behind to get time with him,” Karl said. “I just hope they’re still walking and didn’t stop for some recreation in a quiet spot, if you know what I mean.”
“You’re just as bad as the boys, Karl. Daynelle is a lovely young woman, and her friend seems to be respectful and is always helping her,” Annie said. Then, again turning to the three sons now getting fidgety, listening to their parents, “Did Dayni say which way they were going?”
“Yeah, she said they were going to Island Bridge,” Kaden said.
“OK,” Annie said, looking at her sister who nodded her agreement. “You three walk down to the bridge to find them and let them know you came back to our campsite. No matter if you find them on the way there or not, come back here. Don’t go across the bridge, and don’t go back to the playground. Do you understand?”
The three young boys nodded enthusiastically.
“Good. Go along, then,” Annie said.
The boys started running.
“Walk, boys! Your mother and aunt said to walk down to the bridge,” Abby shouted at them.
The boys slowed their pace of departure.
“We should get back to the camper,” Annie said. “We can’t leave Aunt Chervyl with all those vegetables to cut up.”
The five of them started back for their campsite.
“That’s the third time since we got here that someone called out our kids just for being black,” Luther said. “What’s up with the people around here?”
“Third time?” Abby questioned. “I only heard about it twice.”
“The first time was right after we arrived,” Karl shared.
“Why didn’t you tell us about that one?” Abby said, still looking at her husband.
“From what I recall, all of us were a bit busy,” Luther replied with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.
“Too busy to hear about my family!” Abby said, obviously not appreciating the tone.
“Hang on there,” Grandpa LeeAndré spoke up. “I can see where this is headed, and I don’t like the destination, you two. Look, we know it was rough then. I know we talked about coming down here back in April, but when the Memorial Day riots broke out and Cooke County declared that State of Emergency, I think it took us all by surprise and we rushed to collect everyone and pack up everything on our list. I had to spend that entire Tuesday talking to Cher, trying to get her to agree to come along. It wasn’t until your mother talked to her, Luther, that she finally joined us. Thank heavens Jaylene joined the choir when she moved to Lawndale eight years ago.”
“Papa, you’re wandering again,” Annie said politely.
“Oh, yeah,” her father said. “Anyway, when we got here, the Robinson’s were polite and all, but they didn’t have room for us in the house. At least not for twenty-one people. Karl’s parents stayed in the Robinson’s cottage, and we had to scramble to find this spot here, stake our claim, and get situated. Kenyon and Regina went to get groceries, Dayni and Jaylene were busy watching Theo and the babies as well as Cher, and the rest of us were busy trying to get the campers configured with the utilities, find the cooking supplies in the trailer, and get the kids clothes and things unpacked, we didn’t have time to tend to the others. So I sent Hazel and the boys down to the ice cream shop to get a treat and get out of our hair for an hour or so. They came back right away. I could tell Hazel had been crying, and the boys weren’t talking. Then I found out some other kids began teasing Hazel about her hair when they were all waiting in line to order. That made Hazel want to leave and Kaden told the boys they were going to walk Hazel back here. I sat down with all of them and explained that sometimes people don’t appreciate it when strangers come into a place, especially if they don’t look like the people already here. I did tell Kaden and Hazel they shouldn’t let anyone make them leave any place ever again just because of how they look.”
“Why didn’t you tell us, Papa?” Abby asked her father.
“You had your own worries back in Chicago,” he said. “That was the day that Eugene Lignsetter came in with his group from Racine, saying the alien landing at Cleveland was the stopping point, and he said the people needed to take control of the country, that his group had already taken over Racine and they were taking Chicago next.”
“Yes, that was a crazy day,” Annie agreed. “We had Chicago Proud and Black Lives Coalition both meet the American Righteous Movement at Lincoln Park and Racine Avenue. I remember afterwards that a few officers from the CPD said they didn’t know whether to support Chicago Proud and the BLC or whether to try and keep both groups separated. Either way, the ER was packed all night. Why is it that everything has to happen right around St. Patrick’s Hospital?”
“Maybe people want to know we feel needed,” Abby said with a small smile.
They arrived back at the camper.
“I’m going inside to get directions from the head chef,” Grandpa LeeAndré said. “I can tell you all have more talking to do. Stay out here to sort it out. You know how Cher gets all wound up when people start talking about the past few months in Chicago. Come on in once you’ve all got it out of your system.”
The twins’ father then hopped into their home-on-the-road and closed the door behind him.
“I’m glad you two are out of that hospital,” Karl said. “That place has always been too crazy and you should have gotten out of there years ago. You both could have gotten into private practice closer to home. And what happened in August? I can even begin to think what it would have been like had you not gotten out. I still kick myself for not staying with you.”
“We all made the agreement together, Karl,” Annie said to her husband. “We knew the situation could have gotten tense.”
“And it did!” Karl interjected.
“It was a rumor,” Abby added. “None of us got hurt.”
“A rumor just like in Bissau,” Karl continued. “And I know people got hurt in both places – because of a rumor. I mean, why did people believe the aliens were rounding up people in Chicago to send to Kansas. Couldn’t they check the casts and see that wasn’t happening?”
“Baby, you’ve got to calm down,” Annie said, rubbing her husband’s back. “We’re here.”
“You’ve got to admit that it was very worrying for us here, Annie,” Luther said to his sister-in-law. “Those people that set up the barriers did a very effective job controlling the traffic and the message coming out of the, what’d they call it, La Paz?”
“The Lincoln Park Autonomous Zone – LPAZ,” Abby said.
“Whatever it was, those two days they didn’t let anyone leave or enter were an eternity to us,” Luther said. “And when they said that everyone in the zone supported them, and they were able to block outbound communication that first day? We thought we might have lost you both.”
“But you didn’t,” Abby said. “The police were able to get the barriers dismantled. We were fine during the time we were in the hospital.”
“And how about a week later when those ARMers came back into town and decided they needed doctors and nurses to take care of their separatists camp in Wisconsin for ‘survivors’,” Luther questioned. “You know I’ve got all the confidence in the world in you, honey, but sometimes you think you can get yourself in a situation that isn’t so easy to hop out of.”
“What got me was how those people thought it was OK to try and take over our city and put us in our place when they came to town at the beginning of the summer, and towards the end of the summer when those plans didn’t work out, they thought they’d just take a few of us back home to take care of them when they got sick,” Karl added. “Seems like some attitudes never change, North or South, 18th Century or 21st Century.”
“We made it out of that as well,” Abby started to say.
“Yes, our self-empowered black women did not go quietly when those crazies tried to carjack your transpod,” Luther interjected. “But having a bad-ass black man come up behind and ram their truck off the road doesn’t hurt either.”
Karl gave his brother-in-law a fist bump.
“Point taken,” Annie admitted. “Having Denzelle around definitely gave us an additional level of comfort we wouldn’t have had otherwise. But we still feel he could have handled that better. I mean I’m fairly certain that man had his leg broken.”
“I don’t give a damn if he had every bone in his body broken,” Karl said. “In fact, I wish he would have! They had your transpod pinned in from the front and the back! And it was just a matter of time before they would have broken through the window. Who knows what they would have done to you both, babe? Denzelle saved you from harm. That’s all I know, and that man has my gratitude for as long as I live.”
“We couldn’t take it any longer, Annie,” Luther jumped back in. “That’s why we reiterated it was time for you to leave the city after that happened. It may have calmed down a bit there since, but the next time things heat up, it won’t be as easy getting out of that place.”
“And you’ve got your clinic here,” Karl added. “You’re still taking care of people. It’s just in rural Missouri instead of urban Illinois.”
“This is about as far from urban Illinois as you can get,” Abby said. “In Chicago and in both Catió and Bissau you heard different languages throughout the day. Here, it’s English only. And if it weren’t for people from other parts of the Midwest, ‘you ain’t got that much difference’ in how they talk, either.”
“Come on, Abs,” Luther said. “You don’t say things like this about Catió. Why talk that way about Missouri?”
“I feel more at home in Catió,” Abby said. “There we look less like outsiders than we do here. Have you seen many people of color besides us?”
“No, not that many,” Luther admitted. “But for those that are here, you provide a comfort that the rest of the medical staff can’t offer. And the rest of the staff is kind of limited in their experience, aren’t they?”
“One retired GP, one OB/GYN Nurse Practitioner, two other nurses, a dentist, and a vet,” Abby rattled off. “At least one of the nurses had a few years of ER and some additional years of surgical experience.”
“But are we really offering that much of a benefit here,” Abby questioned. “I mean, sure, the six other black people we’ve seen around the lake can talk to us with confidence that we understand where they are coming from. And the dozen or so Hispanic families don’t immediately look at us with suspicion. But I don’t get the same vibe from most of the people we see each day we’re in the clinic. And is it fair what we’re putting the kids through? Or what we’re not giving them exposure to?”
“You mean the lack of diversity here?” Karl asked.
“And the lack of respect,” Annie added. “You told us about the hair comment Hazel received when you first got here, and then there was the situation at the playground today. But you didn’t mention the third incident.”
Each of them automatically glanced around to see if anyone else was watching their conversation.
“I still think that may have been a one-off incident,” Annie offered.
“That’s still one time too many for my comfort,” her sister said. “One person trying to intimidate us leaving a note saying ‘Blacks aren’t welcome here. Go back where you came from. Or else!’”
“I’m with Abby on that point,” Luther added. “All it takes is one bigot with a weapon and determination to do some real harm. That’s why I’m not a fan of letting the kids wander off without one of the adults with them.”
“We can’t live here in paranoia, Luther,” Abby said.
“I agree. We can’t live here in paranoia,” her husband said looking directly at his wife.
“And go where?” Abby said, returning her husband’s stare. “I’m not interested in going back to Chicago. From what we hear, things are starting to get tense in other cities as well now. You heard what that family from St. Louis said when they got here last week! And do you think the folks living around some other lake or in some other small town in the Midwest are going to be so much different from these people?”
“Well,” Annie started to say before the camper door opened.
“OK, talk time is over,” Grandpa LeeAndré said as he popped his head out of the doorway. “Cher’s got too many things for me to do, and my fingers are getting tired. Some of you need to get in here and help.”
All of the kids and adults, including Daynelle’s boyfriend, made it back to their four port-a-camper site by the time dinner started at 6:00 pm. The sun had set and the crickets and frogs were in full chorus by the time the meal was over and dishes had been cleaned and put away.
At that point, everyone went into their evening routine.
It was Abby and Luther’s turn to take the older kids down to the campground showers to clean up. Theo begged to come along, and got his way, partly because he had gotten especially dirty while playing that afternoon.
Annie and Karl bathed and dressed Raina and Felix, and took them on the evening walk before laying them down for the night.
After returning from the showers, Hazel and Kaden both read to Beckett, Atticus, Theo and each other from The Couch Potato Kids book series they had brought with them from Chicago. As usual, Theo fell asleep before the story was finished. He was tucked in as Karl read to the older children from a classic novel, The Hobbit.
The other adults tidied up the campsite and the camper vehicles and got ready for bed themselves.
All but Grandpa LeeAndré.
After dinner, he took his portable console, and found a comfortable spot behind the port-a-camper he shared with six others: Leeson, his son, Leeson’s girlfriend, Victoria, their daughter, Sofia, his sister-in-law, Chervyl, and her children, Daynelle and Denzelle. For the next four hours, the patriarch of the family watched the latest videos from Nova.
In fact, Grandpa LeeAndré had spent most of the past ten days watching live footage and summary broadcasts, especially those from New Omo Forest and New Seneca.
At 11:00 pm, Annie heard one of the doors of the other campers open and closed. She looked out of her own to see Daynelle giving a hug and then a quick kiss to her boyfriend as they said goodnight. She watched the young man walk down the path, saw the smile on her cousin’s face as she went back into her camper, and then noticed a glow from the back of the vehicle. Annie came out of her camper and found her father still hunched over the glowing screen, shivering in the early fall chill in the night-time air.
“Come on, Dad. Time to shut down the screen and let your eyes and your mind rest,” Annie told her father.
“Why so soon?” he said.
“It’s 11:00 pm!” Annie replied. “Since when is that too soon for you? You’re usually asleep not long after ten.”
“It’s just so fascinating what’s happening out there,” LeeAndré said with bleary eyes. “I mean the things they’ve accomplished in just two and a half weeks on that new planet. They’ve got shelters that give people more space than this cramped thing,” he said, waving his hand towards the port-a-camper.
“You know Regina and Kenyon said you could share the camper with them and Jaylene,” Annie said.
“It’s still cramped,” her father complained.
“It’s warmer in there than out here,” Annie replied, reaching out to take her father’s forearm in one hand, and the portable console in the other. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“We need to talk about all this,” LeeAndré said.
“OK, we’ll talk tomorrow morning.” Annie responded. “Right now I’m tired and you need to get inside.”
The next morning, after breakfast, and after getting the older kids started with school work and the younger ones down for a nap, Annie followed through on her promise and got her sister and father out on a walk around the lake.
“Does the one day really make that big of a difference?” Annie asked her fellow walkers. “I mean, yesterday, it was in the mid-80s and the kids were swimming in the afternoon. And now it’s barely above 60? I’m not sure I’m cut out for this country living.”
“The same thing happens in Chicago, sister,” Abby said. “You’re just too busy riding around town in a transpod to notice what it’s like outdoors.”
“I’m an outdoors girl, aren’t I Papa?” Annie asked.
“Sure, Cocoa,” her father answered with a chuckle. “You go outdoors and then right away you go back indoors again.”
Annie playfully slapped her father’s hand that she was holding while they were walking.
“You know,” LeeAndré continued, “I didn’t think of myself as an outdoors kind of person, but I could get used to the idea. I mean, it’s not that bad living outside of the city. It’s just kind of cramped quarters inside these campers.”
“Yes, Papa, we’ve been talking about it as well, and think we need to find a more permanent place before winter arrives,” Abby said. “We’re thinking there has been a decent amount of change people have gone through in the past couple of months. Perhaps we can continue south into Louisiana or Mississippi and find a town with a larger African-American population where a couple of houses are available.”
“Mmmh,” LeeAndré said thoughtfully.
Annie looked at her father and said, “That sounds like you had something different in mind.”
“Well, I’ve been watching those casts from that new planet, and they certainly seem to have a lot of interesting things happening there,” he said.
“Papa, we know you’ve been watching those casts,” Annie said. “And that’s why we wanted to get you on a walk this morning. You’ve spent a lot of time on your portable ever since they started sharing those casts.”
“Too much time,” Abby interjected.
“Anyway,” Annie continued, “we’re not sure that’s the healthiest thing for you to be doing all day.”
“You know what’s healthy?” their father said without missing a beat. “The way all those people are living on that new planet. Look at the way they are moving all day long? And cooperating to get the job done! I’ve not seen any fights, any arguments, the people get along and accomplish things.”
“Don’t you think they are just showing us the good side of things, Papa?” asked Annie.
“I’ve watched the live broadcasts from each of the sites at one point or another over the past two weeks,” Grandpa LeeAndré explained. “I know plenty of the casters will edit the stream from this or that colony to support their views, but if you watch the live transmission, there is no hiding. I’ve seen one of the Brazilian men grab one of the Brazilian women, and I saw her slap him in the face and make him back off. I saw one of the cooks from India sneak some extra fruit one day when the collection was low, and I saw some of the workers from the Indian site share the food they had when the portions were getting low for the final people coming through the food line that night.”
“Well, that’s the good nature in people coming out, Papa,” Abby said. “But I’m not sure it will stay that way if things get tough.”
“It’s not that way here, Pepper,” LeeAndré said. “Or at least it doesn’t seem that way here any more. The people in Chicago got scary when the news got crazy. But when I look at those broadcasts from that new planet, the people there ultimately look out for each other there.”
“The Chinese have these long buildings, more like barracks, which doesn’t surprise me,” he continued. “But every site has buildings going up so people have a place. And not everyone has to build. If someone is getting food, others are making them a place to stay.”
“You can’t tell me that everyone on each of these sites is acting like they joined a commune,” Abby said.
“No, there’s plenty of people that left as soon as they arrived on the new planet,” explained her father. “Well, from every site except the one with the Chinese people. But there’s plenty of people from there that have snuck away. And still others that leave from the other sites from time to time. But the vast majority of people remain together and remain committed to each other.”
“You make it sound like you’re really admiring these people, Papa,” Annie said.
“I am,” Grandpa LeeAndré admitted. “More so than anyone I’ve met this past summer. And if there is anyone deserving of your help, it’s those people. They’re trying to make a difference like you two are. Not like those people back in Chicago. I mean, it was the same thing night after night, week after week, month after month for how many years? They didn’t seem to be doing anything to help improve their lot in life.”
“Papa, they don’t have much to start with and they don’t have many opportunities,” Annie countered. “How can they improve without the right conditions?”
“What about the people in Guinea-Bissau?” LeeAndré asked. “Why do you go back there every year?”
“Because they can use the help,” Abby said. “And that’s what we’re supposed to do, is help people.”
“Why go back there?” he continued. “Why not go someplace else? Don’t they seem to make things better each year between when you come back? You’ve said yourself you’re so happy about the improvements they make to the clinic between your visits. And that itself inspires you to go back there?”
“What’s your point, Papa,” Abby said sharply.
“My point is that you should follow through on the promise you made to your Mother,” he said.
Annie let go of her father’s right arm she had been cradling when he made this statement, Abby did the same to her father’s left arm, and they both stopped walking. Grandpa LeeAndré took another step before catching onto what was happening, and he stopped as well.
“We’ve never forgotten that promise!” Annie said with a hurt tone.
“I know you haven’t, Cocoa,” her father said lovingly. “You’ve always put service to others above yourselves. I’m sorry if I implied otherwise. It’s just that the part about rising above the trials you’re put into each day is just as important. And that’s why I’m focused on what the people that you serve are doing. If they can’t approach their life with the same belief – that they can rise above the challenges of poverty, racism, and the bad luck of where they were born – then there are others who can and I think they deserve your attention. They can’t be stagnant, and you can’t be stagnant. And I’m afraid that if we stay here, we’ll become stagnant.”
“We told you, Papa, that we’re going to find a new town to move to,” Abby said.
“Think about it on a broader scale, Pepper,” LeeAndré said to his daughter. “I’m not just talking about a new town. I’m talking about a new planet.”
The twins looked at him, not saying anything, as they tried to process the implications of what their father was saying.
LeeAndré moved in-between his daughters again, took each one by the arm, and started them walking again. “Now let’s talk about something else on the way back to our campsite. Like what are we going to do about Daynelle’s new boyfriend!”
That evening after dinner, the three older boys were playing around the campsite with Theo running after them, when a scream grabbed everyone’s attention.
Jaylene was the first one to poke her head out of a camper. “What is going on out here?,” she called.
“It wasn’t me, Grandma Jay!” Atticus quickly said.
“Who’s screaming? Is someone hurt?” Jaylene asked.
Beckett came around the corner of the camper, awkwardly carrying his younger brother under the arms, trying to get him to the camper door. “It’s Theo, Grandma Jay. But he’s not hurt,” Beckett said.
“Then why is he screaming?” Jaylene continued.
Theo wriggled out of his older brother’s arms and ran to his Grandma, who picked him up and cuddled him tight.
“He’s being a cry-baby,” Beckett said, not overly concerned with his brother’s condition. “We told him he’d get hurt if he tried to hang out with us and that’s what happened.”
“You’ve got to look out for each other,” their Grandma scolded the older boys. “Family takes care of each other! You don’t hurt your brother.”
“I didn’t hurt him!” Beckett complained. “He tripped over the water line!”
“And why are you messing around out here anyway?” Jaylene continued her questioning. “You should be down in the showers getting cleaned up.”
“I don’t need a shower,” Beckett said grumpily.
“You need to watch how you talk to me, young man,” Grandma Jay said as Abby stepped out of her port-a-camper, carrying Raina.
“What did I say? I’m telling the truth,” Beckett replied.
“Beckett!” Abby said quickly. “Treat your Grandmother with respect when you talk to her.”
Beckett looked at his mother with a frustrated look. Then he relaxed his shoulders, looked at the ground and said “Sorry, Grandma Jay.”
“Sorry for what,” his mother asked.
“I’m sorry for talking back,” the tempered child said.
“And what about that story you’re trying to tell me,” Jaylene said.
“It’s not a story. We had our showers before dinner, Grandma,” Kaden added to the conversation. “We all got cold swimming this afternoon so we wanted to come back here early. Daynelle said we had to shower before dinner. That’s why we don’t need a shower tonight.”
“Well then you boys should be settling down, since you’re going to get all dirty again,” Jaylene told her grandsons.
“We can’t settle down!” Beckett said. “It’s sooooo boring here. We’ve got to do something!”
“Beckett?!” Abby said.
“Sorry, Grandma Jay,” Beckett said.
At this point, others started coming out of their campers to check on the action, including Hazel, Grandpa LeeAndré, and Annie.
“You’ve got swimming, hiking in the woods, games to play, both Daynelle and Denzelle to hang out with you, and all those kids at the playground,” Abby questioned the children. “How can you be bored?”
“It’s the same thing every day, Aunt Abby,” Kaden offered. “I mean some of that’s fun to do, but it’s not as much fun as it used to be. And now it’s getting too cold to swim. And those kids at the playground don’t really like us or want to play with us.”
Abby looked around at the children, ending with a gaze at her eldest daughter.
“Can’t we go back to Guinea-Bissau?” Hazel asked her mother.
Abby turned to her sister for support.
“Baby girl, we’d love to,” Annie said, “but that can’t happen right now. They aren’t allowing airplanes to fly after the Russians tried to blow up the alien site in Ukraine and those crazy people in Australia tried to crash their plane into the elevator there.”
“Really, Annie? You’re going there?” Abby said disapprovingly.
“You always said we shouldn’t lie or hide things from the kids. Anyway,” Annie returned her attention to Hazel, “we can’t go to Catió this year. Air travel is not an option and boat travel is too expensive right now. And those few boats that would take passengers are already spoken for by people that have to travel internationally.”
“If we can’t go to Kinnybissoo, then let’s go to the colony on Nova that came from there,” Atticus said. “Grandpa LeeAndré told us there are people from all over our world that are moving to that planet. It looks a lot more fun there than this place. And I’ll be stronger there! And all the animals can fly there – even the sloths!”
Atticus stuck his arms out and started flapping around the campsite.
“Grandpa is also good at telling stories,” Abby said, as she turned her disapproving look from her sister to her father. “And speaking of stories, you all need to settle down now and get your books out. It’s time to read.”
The rest of the evening followed the typical schedule, and everyone went to bed without further discussion of moving, other planets or flying animals.
“We need to talk today,” Annie said to Abby while they were helping prepare breakfast the next morning. “That dream means something.”
“I know,” Abby replied. “I’ll get everyone together at naptime”
That afternoon, while Raina and Felix were sleeping in their campers, the adults were gathered around their campsite fire pit. Daynelle had arranged for her boyfriend to watch over the older children at the playground while the family meeting was going on.
LeeAndré placed his chair next to Karl’s parents, who were sitting with Luther’s mother and the twins’ aunt.
“Jaylene, you know we’ve got room for you in the cabin we’re using,” Kenyon Jones said to his fellow grandparent. “I don’t know how anyone gets any sleep around here with LeeAndré snoring away at night.”
Jaylene and Chervyl chuckled at the teasing comment.
“How do you know that, Jonesy?” LeeAndré came right back. “From what I’m told, you can’t hear anything without your audiear, so how can you tell if I’m snoring?”
“I don’t have to hear anything, Mr. Freeman,” Kenyon retorted. “Our grandkids tell me they get shaken out of bed and onto the floor once you get started.”
Before LeeAndré could respond, Abby called for everyone’s attention. “OK, all, we’ve got a limited window to talk here, so let’s get going.”
Everyone turned their attention to the twins, who were standing next to each other. Abby had her typical no-nonsense expression. Annie looked unusually tired and a little sad, not showing the smile she usually wore.
Abby spoke first. “I think everyone would agree we’ve all been in some thought-provoking conversations the past few days. Between what the children have had happen to them at the playground, to the attitude of the people around this lake towards Annie and I, this is not the most welcoming community for our families. I’m not going to beat around the bush since we don’t have a lot of time before the children come back, and this is a conversation we all need to have amongst ourselves. Annie and I think it’s time to move someplace else.”
Grandma Chervyl was the first to react. “Move? We only got here a few months back. I’m just now finally settling in!”
“Aunt Cher, we don’t really have good campers for winter here,” Annie said. “The heaters in the port-a-campers won’t work well under forty degrees and who knows if they’ll even clear the dirt road that comes back here when it snows. Now that October is here, it’s a good time to find a more permanent location.”
“I’ve got to agree with my sisters,” Leeson said. “Vicky and I were having this very same conversation a couple of days back. We appreciate being with you all, but we can’t have Sofia out here in November, and especially in January or February. We were also hoping to get her back into a regular school situation. I mean I know everyone tries their best, but Vicky and I aren’t really cut out to be teachers in a virtual school, and Sofia learns better in a classroom setting.”
“So what did you have in mind?” Jaylene asked. “Go back to Chicago?”
“I don’t think so, Mama Jay,” said Abby. “The situation there is still pretty tense, from the people I keep in contact with.”
“What about Memphis?” Leeson offered. “I’ve got a good friend from college that lives there. He says things are still pretty calm, at least compared to Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta and San Francisco.”
“I could handle Memphis,” Luther said, licking his lips and looking off into the sky. “I could handle some real barbeque right now, for sure.”
“We were thinking of some other place,” Annie said cautiously.
“Such as?” Karl said, waiting for his wife to finish her thought.
“Such as Nova,” Annie finished.
“I don’t know where that town is at,” Leeson said. “Is that in Tennessee?”
“No, it’s a lot farther than that,” LeeAndré answered with a smile.
Leeson gave his father a quizzical look.
“Nova, the planet,” Abby explained.
The look of realization spread from person to person like an electric shock jumping from body to body.
“The planet? What are you talking about, baby?” Aunt Chervyl asked, not fully understanding the implication like everyone else.
“We think the right move for our families is to go to the new planet that all those other people are leaving for,” Abby said.
“But why?” Chervyl wanted to know.
“Because we have a responsibility to help and serve others and a responsibility to raise our children so they can flourish,” Abby responded. “We see the best opportunity for that by going to Nova.”
Annie took a big breath and let it out. Abby reached over and gave a reassuring rub on her sister’s back.
“And because Mama told us in a dream last night that going to the new planet is where we should be,” Annie said. “She told us there will be challenges, but we can rise above it. And not just Abby and I, but all of us. All of this family. And the people on that new planet.”
Annie paused. She and her sister scanned the faces of the family to gauge their reaction, expecting to see looks of disbelief and concern.
While they did see those looks from in-laws and cousins, the looks on the faces of their husbands and their father were completely unexpected. The color drained from Karl’s face, Luther looked scared, and LeeAndré wore a big smile and was quietly laughing and shaking his head.
Chervyl looked at her brother and shook her own head. “Well, I personally don’t see what’s so funny about this, and don’t think you should be laughing at your daughters.”
“Oh my dear sister,” LeeAndré said. “I am most certainly not laughing at them. If anything, I am laughing in joy for them.”
“What do you mean, Papa,” Abby asked apprehensively.
“I mean you listened to what I said, Pepper, and you listened to what your mother said,” LeeAndré said with his smile getting bigger.
“Did Mama talk to you last night?” Annie asked, a smile starting to form on her face.
Luther shot up out of the seat in which he was resting when Annie said this, looking at his father-in-law with wide, wild eyes.
“Yes, she did!” her father answered, tears starting to roll down his cheeks.. “Yes she did. She said you two would make the right choice. She said you two would continue to make us both so proud. And she said…”
LeeAndré paused, wiped away the tears, and looked at the ground.
“She said what, Papa,” Annie asked, taking her sister’s hand and taking a step towards her father at the same time.
LeeAndré breathed heavily. “She said she loves you more now than the day she gave birth to you both.”
Abby put her hand over her mouth, not moving from the spot in which she was rooted, which made it difficult for Annie to decide who she should comfort.
“He’s not the only other person she talked to last night,” Luther said.
Karl grabbed the back of the chair his mother was in, as his body started to sway a bit. His eyes not really focusing on anything in particular.
“I saw her for just a few seconds,” Luther continued. “She said ‘Help them leave.’ and then she disappeared.”
Karl’s eyes rolled into his eyelids, and his body fell backwards.
Denzelle, who was standing nearby, made a quick step over to catch his cousin-in-law, grabbing Karl’s left arm. It didn’t stop Karl from hitting the ground, but at least it slowed down his descent and allowed him to land on his right shoulder with only moderate force.
Abby let go of her sister’s hand and ran to her husband, checking the pulse in his neck with one hand and opening an eye with her other hand to look at his pupil.
It was Victoria’s turn to jump up out of her seat. “What is going on with all you people!”, she said looking around, her eyes falling on Leeson. “What did you dream about last night?” she asked him.
“Only you, baby,” her boyfriend said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.
“Is he OK,” Annie asked Abby, moving quickly to where her brother-in-law lay.
“Yes, I think he just fainted,” Annie said. “Daynelle, can you grab some water please?”
Daynelle ran into one of the campers.
Kenyon, who had gotten up and turned around to see what was happening to his son, spoke up. “I’ve got to agree with Vicky. What is going on here?”
Annie couldn’t help herself any longer. She gave Kenyon a hug from the side, leaning her head on his shoulders. “Oh, isn’t it beautiful, Grandpa K? Mama is giving us her blessing to go to Nova! She’s talking to all of us! What did she say to you?”
Kenyon tried to pull away from his daughter-in-law’s sister. “Annie, I’ve not talked with your mother since she passed away twelve years ago.”
Annie took her head off Kenyon’s shoulder and looked at him with disbelief.
Daynelle came back out of the camper with a glass of water, and handed it to the doctor. Abby took a drink from the glass, then splashed half the content on her husband’s face.
Karl sputtered and sat up quickly.
“Easy, honey,” Abby said calmly. “Don’t stand up yet or you’ll pass out again. Here, drink this,” and she handed him the mostly empty glass.
Annie looked at her brother. “What about you, Leeson? What did Mama say to you last night?”
“Not a single thing,” Leeson said. “I’m thinking you all had some strange vegetable to eat last night, and it gave you all some hallucinations.”
Karl spoke up from his sitting position. “That was no hallucination. That was a dream that woke me up and scared the crap out of me last night. I just figured I was having a dream, after all these conversations that were going on the past couple of days. But Annie’s mother said the exact same words to me that Luther just spoke. That’s what made me pass out just now, when I heard that same quote.”
Everyone looked around at the others, not sure what to say or who should speak.
Regina broke the awkward silence. “Strange vegetables or not enough sleep, you are all talking crazy!”
LeeAndré started chuckling again. “Maybe. But it certainly makes sense to me.”
“So, you’re just going to drive up to one of those alien elevators, walk your kids inside, and turn around to wave goodbye to all of us?” Vicky asked.
“No,” Annie said with a hurt feeling. “We wouldn’t leave you behind. We want you to come along as well!”
“Mmmnn, mnnn. That is not going to happen,” Vicky said, strongly shaking her side to side. “You are not going to get me and my daughter anywhere near one of those places.”
“Then I guess I’m not going either,” Leeson said.
“You want to go with them?” Vicky asked her boyfriend.
“No, I have no interest in going,” Leeson replied. “But I’ve been with you for thirteen years, so if you’re not going, then I’m not going either. It’s just nice to hear we feel the same way about the trip.”
Leeson turned to his father. “You can stay with us, Dad.”
“Oh, I think I’ll be going with the girls,” LeeAndré said, “That is, if they’ll have me.”
“Absolutely, Papa!” Abby said. “Mama said you both support us!”
Regina looked at her son. “What about you?”
Karl looked at his mother, then his wife. He reached out and took Annie’s hand. “Come with us, Mom. We’ll take care of you.”
“Oh, Karl. I’m too old for such foolishness. I’ll stay in the Robinson’s cottage as long as they’ll let us,” Regina said.
“Lulu, are you going as well?” Jaylene asked her son.
Luther stood next to Abby and put his arm around her. “Yes, Mother, I’ve got to take care of my family.”
“Oh, Lord! What about me?” Jaylene said, rocking forward and back.
“You’ll stay with us, Jay,” Kenyon said, patting his fellow grandparent on the back. “You’re part of our family.”
“What about winter?” Luther said.
“The place has heat and a wood-burning stove,” Kenyon said. “And Jack Robinson said they get drone delivery out here, and have snow plow service that will clear a path for our transpod, if the weather gets bad.”
Chervyl turned to her daughter, who in turn looked to the twins.
“Daynelle, we’d love for you, Denzelle, and your mother to come with us,” Annie said. “But you’ve got to decide for yourself. We can’t make that decision for you. And neither can your mother.”
Daynelle turned back and forth between her mother and her cousin, with a worried and unsure face. She looked up when the sound of young voices could be heard in the distance. Hazel, Sofia and the older boys were running down the lane towards the port-a-campers, yelling and playing tag. Theo was riding on the shoulders of Daynelle’s boyfriend. Daynelle’s worry disappeared.
“I’m going to stay here,” she said with a smile. “I’ve got someone else in the picture to think about now.”
Chervyl hugged her own shoulders and tried to smile. Jaylene walked over to her and put her hand on her arm. “How much room is in that house, Kenyon? I think I could use a roommate.”
Chervyl grabbed her friend’s hand, hugged it and used it to wipe away the tears streaming down her own face.
Everyone turned to the last person to decide.
“What?” Denzelle said.
“Oh, um, I’ll probably pull one of these campers up next to the cottage where Mom is staying,” the former basketball player said. “Cutting wood and shoveling snow should keep me in shape for next season.”
That got everyone to laugh.
The kids arrived breathless, looking happy but a bit confused when they saw all of the adults together in the campsite, most of them holding hands or with an arm around another person.
Daynelle walked out to meet her boyfriend, helped lift Theo off his shoulders, and set the four-year old on the ground, pointing back to the adults. Theo ran back to his family, and Daynelle took her boyfriend’s hand and walked away from the campsite.
“Where is Dayni going?” Abby asked her son.
“She said they need to talk and I should come back here,” Theo answered. “Can I have a drink?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we’ll get everyone a drink. That will give you all a chance to cool down so your father and I can have a talk with you,” Abby said.
Luther moved towards their camper. “I’ll get them. Hopefully I can be quiet enough and not wake up Raina when I get them.”
“We’ve got extra in our camper,” Chervyl said. “Just take those.”
“I’ll help you,” Karl said, getting up off the ground and brushing off the dirt and grass from his clothes.
Kenyon turned to Denzelle. “Why don’t we go check out the cottage to see where the best place for a camper connection would be.”
Denzelle nodded and went towards one of the transpods.
“Would you ladies like to help us with the decision?” Kenyon asked Regina, Chervyl and Jaylene. They all nodded and followed Kenyon out of the campsite.
“Come on, Sofia, let’s take a walk,” Vicky said to her daughter.
“I just did,” Sofia said.
“We’ll walk down to the ice cream shop, OK,” Vicky said.
Sofia quickly hopped off the picnic bench, took her mother’s hand and started walking back down the road, with Leeson following behind.
By the time Luther and Karl returned with the drinks, all of the other families had left the campsite, leaving the Freeman-Caruthers, the Freeman-Jones and Grandpa LeeAndré.
Abby started the family meeting. “So we’ve been here for a while, and we know it’s been rough on you kids at different times. We’ve been talking about where we should go, and decided it’s time for a move.”
The kids were all working on their drinks, staring at their Mom / Aunt, and not giving any reaction.
Annie jumped in. “We’re leaving this campground and we’re going to the new planet, Nova!”
It took a couple of seconds before the older boys’ eyes widened and they jumped up and started hollering and celebrating, running around, making rocket noises and flapping their arms like flying animals. Theo looked at them, looked at his Mom, who was smiling, and then decided he should join in the celebratory hullabaloo as well.
The noise from the boys had woken Felix up from his nap. Karl went inside their camper to get him. Luther decided he would check on Raina as well.
The only person still sitting was Hazel. She was neither smiling nor frowning – – just staring at the drink in her hand.
“What do you think, Hazel?” Annie asked her niece. “Are you excited about going to the new planet?”
“Is Sofia going with us?” Hazel asked.
“That’s up to Uncle Leeson and Aunt Vicky, honey,” Annie said.
“Oh, okay,” the young girl responded. Then she got up and walked into their family camper, letting the door close behind her.
Annie gave Abby a concerned look.
“She’ll be okay,” Abby said, trying to convince herself as much as Annie.
The rest of the day was a flurry of activity. Leeson had been able to talk to his college friend who confirmed Memphis was a good place to be. He said the house next to him had just been vacated and said the three of them could stay there. Leeson, Vicky and Sofia would leave the next day, taking one of the port-a-campers just in case the neighbor’s house wasn’t as available as thought. But they still needed to pack and prepare everything for the trip.
Denzelle and Kenyon had devised a way to hook up one of the campers to the Robinson’s cottage. They agreed to move one of the family campers over there and get everything set up, as Chervyl and Daynelle weren’t ready to leave the campgrounds just yet.
Grandma Jay and Grandma Gina stayed at the campsite helping their sons and families pack up. The two couples didn’t want to haul a camper, but decided it would probably be best to take one in case it took some time to arrange for entry into the space elevator. Besides, they had to fit all their belongings into something, and didn’t want to cram everyone in a single transvan and have the other just for their goods.
One camper would be left. Denzelle agreed to try and find a buyer.
While the packing was going on, the twins went to the health clinic at which they volunteered, to cover their regular Tuesday afternoon shift. While there, they shared the news with the other volunteer staff that they would be leaving the campgrounds. The others were genuinely saddened by the news, but not totally surprised, as others that had come to the lake during the summer were now moving onto other locales.
That didn’t stop others who had heard the news from coming by and trying to talk Abby and Annie out of leaving. They also got a visit from one of the volunteer Watch Club members who asked Luther if the news was correct. Luther confirmed that he and Karl would be resigning from the nighttime security patrol around the lake they did once every three weeks.
Between the preparations and the excitement of the next day, it was well past 11:00 pm by the time kids were in their beds. The adults soon followed, as the day had been tiring and they knew the next day would be even longer.
Wednesday morning a blue Ford pickup came slowly down the dirt road and stopped a hundred feet from the campsite. A man in his mid to late thirties stepped out, wearing blue jeans, a flannel shirt, and a ball cap. He looked around, snapped his fingers and a Shepard-mix dog jumped out of the cab of the pickup and stood next to him, sniffing the air. The man looked at his commblock, looked up at the campers and started to approach them. When the man realized his dog was following, he told the dog to stay by the truck.
Grandpa LeeAndré was the only person outside that morning, as everyone else was sleeping in despite their excitement from the evening before. He had a small fire going, and had some coffee already brewing.
“Good morning,” the man said as he approached.
“Good morning,” LeeAndré answered.
“Um, I don’t mean to sound weird or anything, but are either,” the man looked at his commblock again, “Doctor Annie or Doctor Abby living here?”
“Who would like to know,” LeeAndré said, looking the man over and glancing back at the man’s dog, which was obviously tensed and ready to heed its master’s call.
“Oh, sorry, my name is Jim Kaufmann,” the man said, sticking out his hand in greeting.
LeeAndré stood up and shook Jim’s hand.
“I pulled in this morning and was asking people who I can talk to about finding a space around the lake. Nobody I talked to seemed to have any idea, but they directed me to the Health Clinic where they thought someone might know. When I asked at the Health Clinic who was in charge around here, they said I should talk to Doctors Abby and Annie, and said I could find their camper collection down this road. So, uh, here I am!” Jim finished his explanation with an awkward shrug.
“Well that’s the first I’ve heard that my girls are in charge of this lake! I’ll have to let them know,” LeeAndré said with a laugh.
“Oh, so they’re not the campground leaders?” Jim said with disappointment.
“They’re many things, but I wouldn’t add that to their resume,” LeeAndré said.
“Ah, ok. Sorry to bother you,” Jim nodded and began to turn around.
“And where are you going now,” LeeAndré asked.
Jim stopped and turned back. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess to keep asking people who’s in charge or where I can find someone to book a campsite.”
“It’s early. Not many people will be up yet, so you’ll be wandering around a long time before you see people,” LeeAndré shared.
“Early? It’s almost 8:00 am,” Jim said.
“What sort of job do you have, that gets you up so early,” LeeAnde asked.
“I’m a farmer, well, was a farmer,” Jim replied.
“Have a seat, Farmer Jim, and have a cup of coffee if you’d like. My name is LeeAndré Freeman. Abby and Annie are my daughters. They’ll be waking up before long, and perhaps they’ll have some ideas for you,” LeeAndré said, sitting back down.
“If you’re offering, I’d love a cup of coffee,” Jim said as he walked over to a chair by the fire pit.
LeeAndré filled a cup and handed it to Jim.
Both men sipped their beverages in silence for a minute.
LeeAndré spoke. “So you were a farmer, but not any more? It sounds like there is a story to tell.”
One of the camper doors opened and both men turned to see Theo gingerly walk down the tall camper steps, still in his pajamas. He walked over to the chairs, still rubbing his eyes, and climbed into his grandfather’s lap, curling up against his chest.
Jim smiled, seeing the level of comfort the young child had with his grandfather.
“Yes, I suppose there is. But I’m all done with the crops for this season, so regardless of any story, I’m done being a farmer for this year,” Jim said.
The dog was now whining loud enough for both men to hear.
“Would it be ok if my dog comes over here beside me? He gets anxious when he’s not part of the conversation,” Jim said.
“Does he bite?” LeeAndré said, motioning his head towards Theo.
“No, he’s great with everybody, as long as they aren’t trespassing on our property. And since we’re the ones trespassing on yours, he’ll be as tame as a twenty-five year old plow-horse,” Jim said.
LeeAndré gave Jim an uncertain look.
“He’ll be fine,” Jim tried again.
LeeAndré nodded.
Jim looked back at his dog and gave a short, small whistle. The dog raced to Jim’s side.
“Marv, sit!” Jim said, and the dog did as commanded.
“So where are you or are you not a farmer? I’m guessing not around here, since you’re looking for a campsite,” LeeAndré said.
“I farm up in Kansas,” Jim replied. “Near a small town called Seneca.”
“The town with the alien site?” LeeAndré asked with interest.
“Yes, that very one,” Jim answered. “In fact, it’s because of those same aliens that I’m done farming for this year.”
“Wow! I saw what was going on up there a few weeks back. Was that anywhere near your farm?” LeeAndré wondered.
“That was my farm,” Jim said with a sigh. “Or at least a part of it.”
He took a sip of coffee and didn’t offer any more details.
“And what about you,” the farmer asked. “I’m guessing you must not be from around here either, since most doctors and their families don’t live out of port-a-campers.”
LeeAndré nodded. “True enough. We’re from Chicago. I was born and raised there, so this is a much different lake than I’m used to living next to.”
The same camper door opened again, and this time Hazel came out, also in her pajamas. She took a seat next to her grandpa.
“And what brought you here?” Jim asked.
“We got the feeling it was time to leave the city,” LeeAndré said. Then he turned to his grand-daughter. “This man is from Kansas, up near where the alien ship landed. His name is Jim.”
Hazel gave a timid wave to the newcomer. She looked at the dog and then up at her grandfather.
“This is Hazel. Would you mind if she pets your dog?” LeeAndré asked Jim.
“He’d love it,” Jim said. Then, to Marv, “Go on. Go over to her.”
Marv trotted over to the girl, wagging his tail. Hazel rubbed the top of his head and then scratched him behind the ears. Marv’s tail wagged harder and he laid his head on her lap.
“So, if you don’t mind me being nosy, what happened up in Seneca? Did some of the other farmers become crazy and try to ram the alien elevator with their farm vehicles?” LeeAndré asked.
“It wasn’t the locals,” Jim answered. “It was people from out-of-town that stirred up all the problems.”
“Hmmm, we had the same thing happen in Chicago,” LeeAndré nodded.
“You mean those jerks from Racine?” Jim asked.
“You think they were jerks,” LeeAndré asked, sounding a bit surprised.
“Absolutely!” Jim emphasized. “They invade someone’s space that isn’t theirs, and they try to claim ownership! I didn’t like it when the aliens landed in my field. I didn’t like it when the State tried to take over my farm. I don’t like it when those ARM idiots tried it in Chicago – or Racine! Some of my neighbors said they supported what ARM was doing. I asked them to imagine ARM coming in and taking over their property, or laying claim to downtown Seneca. Most of them said I had a good point. The few that said they’d support the takeover were being idiots themselves trying to say they’d roll over and let ARM take what was theirs.”
“I must say I’m surprised you follow the news in Chicago,” LeeAndré said.
“Usually I don’t,” Jim admitted, “but I was tired of hearing people talk about Seneca, and the ARM march and the counter-protest marches certainly made the lead story on nearly every news cast that week.”
“So you seem pretty passionate about your land rights. Why leave your farm now? Is someone watching it for you?” LeeAndré pressed.
“Nope. No one is there, or at least I hope no one is there,” Jim answered. “Anyway, I realized I had my priorities mixed up. I was putting property ahead of people. So I decided a change in venue is what I needed to help get things straightened up.”
Hazel looked up from petting the dog to glance at its owner, with a curious look in her eyes.
“And you thought Mark Twain Lake was the place to be?” the grandfather asked, as Theo shifted in his lap.
“Well no,” Jim said. “I just wanted to get away. I’ve got a cousin in Kentucky, and started driving east on Highway 36. I saw an advertisement for Mark Twain Lake when I passed Macon, and thought I might spend some time here.”
The men were quiet for a moment, as Theo shifted again in his grandfather’s lap.
LeeAndré broke the silence. “Is your town in pretty bad shape with the aliens and everything else happening there?”
“Seneca?” Jim said. “It was fine the last time I was in town, but that was a week before I left. I don’t know what damage the rioters caused. I mean, it really wasn’t too noticeable until you got out of town and closer to the alien site. A lot of people driving by to get themselves in an image with the alien ship, and now the elevator, in the background. It was actually pretty good for what little tourism was in the county. There was one motel in Seneca, which got a steady stream of customers. And people would rent out extra rooms or some would give a guided tour. I got into a few arguments with some of those people who thought they could drive into my fields. Anyways, I don’t know if things changed in town or not after the latest excitement. Is there something in particular you wanted to know about?”
“Believe it or not, some of us were actually talking about going there,” LeeAndré said.
Hazel’s look of curiosity changed to one of excitement. She stopped petting the dog and put her hand on her grandpa’s arm. Her grandpa gave a slight nod but didn’t take his attention from Jim. Instead, he held up a finger indicating she needed to wait.
“To see the alien elevator?” Jim said. “It’s not really that different from what you see on the casts.”
“No, to get on the elevator,” LeeAndré said. He turned to his granddaughter before he could see Jim’s reaction, “What do you need, Sweetie.”
Hazel leaned over and whispered in her grandpa’s ear, then straightened back up and looked at Jim with a big smile.
Jim returned her look with a slightly uncomfortable smile.
“My apologies, Mr. Kaufmann, is it?” LeeAndrée said. “My granddaughter thinks she may have seen you before. By chance do you know someone who may have become a colonist on Nova?”
Jim’s uneasy smile was replaced by a melancholy one.
“Does she recognize me from a news cast?” Jim asked.
Hazel nodded and her smile got wider.
“Yes, that’s me,” Jim nodded back.
Hazel leaned over and whispered into her grandfather’s ear again.
“You’ve got a voice, girl,” LeeAndré said to his granddaughter. “Ask him yourself.”
Hazel paused, looking self-conscious.
LeeAndré motioned his head towards Jim.
“Have you heard from that pretty woman since she arrived on the new planet,” Hazel finally said.
“You mean the one they showed me kissing?” Jim asked.
Hazel nodded vigorously.
“No, sadly not,” Jim answered. “She left her commblock here on Earth. Even if she took it, I don’t think the signal would stretch that far.”
“Do you miss her,” Hazel asked.
“I do,” Jim said. “She’s a special person.”
“Do you think she misses you?” Hazel continued.
It was Jim’s turn to pause. He swallowed hard, and wiped his eye with his hand. “I hope so,” he finally said.
The door on the camper opened again, this time with Abby walking down the steps.
Marvin straightened up.
“It’s OK,” Hazel said to the dog, patting his head. “That’s my mom.”
Marv’s tail began wagging again.
Abby came over to the conversation. “Good morning, everyone. Looks like a few early-risers got up before me today.”
Theo opened his eyes slightly, and then sat up on his grandfather’s lap and stretched out his arms toward his mother. Abby leaned over to pick him up and put him on her hip.
“I hope they aren’t disturbing you, Papa,” she said.
LeeAndré stood up to stretch.
“Not at all. They’ve been the model of politeness. In fact, Miss Hazel has been using her beauty to control this beast,” he said, motioning toward Marv, who was still wagging his tail.
Jim stood up from his chair as well.
“Abby, this is my friend, Jim Kaufmann. I’d like to invite him to breakfast with us, if that’s OK,” LeeAndré said.
“Oh, I don’t want to intrude,” Jim said.
“I insist!” LeeAndré interjected.
“That’s OK,” Abby said, walking over to extend a hand to Jim. “I’m Abby Freeman-Caruthers, his daughter. We’d love for you to stay for breakfast.”
“Thank you,” Jim said, shaking Abby’s extended hand. “Doctor Abby, is it?”
“Yes,” Abby said with a curious look.
“And where did you two meet before?” Abby said, looking between the two of them.
“Oh, we just met this morning,” LeeAndré said. “But I’ve got a feeling it was a meeting meant to happen.”
Abby gave her father a bemused look.
“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Theo said.
The door of another camper opened, and out came Karl carrying Felix. They barely took one step towards the group before Felix let out a scream, yelling “Puppy!” and pointing to the dog with a large smile.
That led to nearly everyone else waking up.
LeeAndré repeated the introductions as people came out of the other campers over the next five minutes.
The dog was soon surrounded by kids, petting him and getting wound up. Annie suggested they find a ball and play away from the fire ring, which was an idea children and dog all found acceptable.
LeeAndré made Jim tell this abbreviated story of his reason for being at the campground, as the breakfast food was prepared and brought out. Abby confirmed her father’s earlier comment, telling Jim neither she nor Annie could help him rent a campsite.
Jim eventually used his group communication skills developed at multiple Seneca County Republican Party meetings and got the people he was conversing with to talk about themselves.
After breakfast was done, Jim was helping wash dishes with Chervyl, Jaylene, and Hazel. Hazel had shared with her grandmothers the news of Jim’s kiss featured on the casts, which led to Grandma Cher and Grandma Jay being more insistent to learn about the woman.
While this was going on, LeeAndré had pulled aside Abby, Luther, Annie and Karl and was having a spirited conversation of their own.
LeeAndré walked over before the dishes were done. “Can I borrow your assistant?” he asked Chervyl and Jaylene.
“You go ahead,” Cher nodded to Jim. “I think we’ve gotten as much information from you as you’re willing to give,” she said with a chuckle.
LeeAndré led Jim back to the four-some he was talking with.
“So, you’re serious about wanting to stay here?” LeeAndré asked Jim.
“Yes, at least for a little bit,” Jim answered. “I’ll probably make my way onto Kentucky eventually.”
“So you’ve got something to stay in?” LeeAndré asked.
“I’ve got a tent in back of the pickup,” Jim said, nodding his head towards his vehicle.
“Why don’t you use our camper?” Annie said.
“Oh, I couldn’t impose on you like that,” Jim said quickly “You’ve been nice and had me for breakfast and everything, but I shouldn’t burst into your family. The tent is plenty big for Marv and I.”
“You wouldn’t be imposing at all,” Abby said. “I think Papa mentioned earlier that we plan to go to Seneca. We’re leaving today, and won’t be taking one of the port-a-campers.”
“You’re all going?” Jim asked.
“No, not all of this group,” Abby answered. “Just our two families, and our father.”
“Then the camper can be used by the others,” Jim responded.
“They can only use two of them,” Annie said. “We were going to leave one here and see if our cousin could find someone to use it. You can save him the headache if you were to use it yourself.”
Jim put his hands in his pants pockets and shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know what to say.”
“How about ‘Thanks, that would be great! And can I help you finish packing?’, LeeAndré responded.
Jim smiled. “Thanks, that would be great. Can I help you finish packing?” he said.
By 11:00 am, the rest of the items around the campsite had been divvied up between the families, and the Freeman-Caruthers and Freeman-Jones family were packed and ready to leave. Jim ended up with a fully furnished camper, despite his insistence that the other families remaining behind take additional dining supplies and linens.
All of the extended family members were hanging onto each other, giving tearful hugs and kisses. The children were giving hugs to Marvin, who licked their faces in response, eliciting giggles and, from Felix, shrieks of laughter.
Finally, the parents started loading the children into the vehicles, leading to more tears from Grandma Cher, Grandma Jay and especially from Daynelle. Dayni was crying so hard, she walked away from the vehicles so as not to spread the sadness to the children she had watched for the past five years. Even the men staying behind were wiping at their eyes.
Jim was standing apart from the family farewell, watching the scene unfold with sadness welling up in his own throat
Hazel, who had been following Jim around the campsite most of the morning, came up to him.
“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Kaufmann. I hope to meet your girlfriend when we get to the new planet,” Hazel said as she gave the morning guest a hug.
Jim surprised himself and gave the young girl a strong hug in return. “I hope you do as well. She’s a very special person and she would like you very much.”
“I forgot her name,” Hazel said, looking at the ground in embarrassment.
“Her name is Luna,” Jim said. “Luna St. Cyr. And when you do meet her, tell her that Jim says hello. And tell her I miss her. I miss her more than anything I can ever remember.”
Hazel smiled and nodded, then ran to get into her family transvan.
The lead vehicle drove off, and the second transvan hauling the camper started pulling away. Jim’s eyes widened.
“Hey, wait up!” Jim said as he ran after the vehicle.
The van’s brake lights lit up and the vehicle came to a stop.
Luther rolled down the driver’s window.
“You might need a place to stay for a bit, once you get to Seneca,” Jim said through the window. “Stay at my place.”
Annie and Luther looked at each other, and Annie nodded. “Sure, if we need a place, we’d be thankful for that.”
“Open your commblock and I’ll send over my contact information,” Jim said. “My address is the farmhouse.”
Annie tapped a couple of items on her commblock and nodded.
“I’ll let the Sheriff know you’ll be using it so they don’t give you any hassles,” Jim said as he was tapping items on his own block. “Let me know when you’re getting close, and I’ll have the keycode to the house reset and send it to you.”
“Jim, that is so kind of you,” Annie said.
“You gave me your camper,” Jim explained. “The least I can do is let you stay at my house. Just do me one favor, please.”
“Sure,” Annie said.
“Let me know what shape the place is in,” Jim said. “And if anyone is there, let me know that as well, and I’ll have Mike come out and take care of it.”
“Mike?” Annie asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Jim replied. “Mike is the Sheriff. He and I go way back.”
Annie looked at her commblock. “Got it!” she said, noting the arrival of the contact information.
“If you change your mind and want to stay there for a while, the place is yours as long as you want,” Jim said, and he started backing away from the vehicle.
“Thanks, again, Jim!,” Annie said, and Luther took his foot off the brake and the transvan started rolling forward again. “I think it was meant to be for us to meet each other today, don’t you think?”
The vehicle was already too far forward for Annie to see Jim’s face.
“I think it was,” Jim said softly. “And I think you are meant to meet Luna once you get there, dear Hazel. I hope to God it’s a happy meeting for you both.”