22. Evan
EVAN
Thalen’s assessment regarding children flooding our house and yard proved to be correct.
On any given afternoon, I was likely to look out the window and spot three dogs and a gaggle of human and Dragonii children traipsing about.
That lasted all of four days, which was when the inevitable happened and nearly every kid aged eight and over had a bicycle just like the ones the new school teacher’s children had brought with them from Earth, and every one under that age had a scooter.
Not one of those electric ones. The old fashioned foot powered ones.
Our two boys were no exception, and after a few days of the kids learning to ride their newly replicated and delivered treasures from the general store, the training wheels came off the last bicycle, and they and the dogs were all on the loose.
They rode up and down the paths between the fields, along the dirt roads, and round and round the yards of their friends’ homes.
The general store’s next bestseller was a set of children’s wrist comms so we could keep track of them and they could see what time it was so they’d return home when they’d been told.
These wrist comms were a Bob special, so unlike more traditional children’s wrist comms, they were not merely miniature versions of an adult’s with more basic features.
He’d taken inspiration from children’s wristwatches and had Xeranos reach out to the Walt Disney Company who quickly saw the vast fortune to be made licensing characters for the new venture.
Red fabric banded Mickey and Minnie Mouse watches told the time, while the stem on the side was actually a button that activated the voice comm feature so they could initiate a call via Bob Net or receive one.
Each one also came with a GPS tracker that was always on, so as long as the child didn’t take it off, they could be quickly found in an emergency.
The deal not only saw the general store making a profit selling them to the colony’s parents, but since they were only licensed to be sold here on New Haven, and had a small inscription saying WD-NH on the rear bezel, tourists who came to watch the Tyridium visitors flock to Bob’s wall do their little song and dance often bought a few to take home as gifts for the children in their family.
Somehow, no one ever had to look far to find their kids; however, as they all seemed to migrate over to ours, just in time for a snack before being called home for supper.
I absolutely loved it, especially when the children began calling us Tanto Evan and Tanto Thalen.
Thalen grinned when he first heard it, explaining to me it meant “uncle” and that it meant their families considered us extended family, as a child did not use that title for someone outside their family unless a parent designated us as such to them.
This was confirmed when, a few days later, a flitter came one evening and an exasperated Dragonii mother came to collect her wayward offspring.
“Sorry,” she said to me. “I called him on his comm, and he just kept saying, ‘in a minute, in a minute.’”
I laughed. “Kids!”
She nodded in commiseration. “Get in the flitter. Your supper is getting cold and you need a bath tonight. The party is tomorrow. Now say thank you to Tanto Evan for having you here to play.”
“Thank you, Tanto Evan,” little Agin said. She picked up his scooter, placing it in the back of her flitter.
“Be nice seeing the park open with the playground for the kids. Hopefully they won’t be bothering you so much then.”
“Oh, he’s no bother,” I assured her. “I was about to ask him to comm you, though, as he usually rides home with Agrix, but he left early to go help decorate for the grand opening.”
It was not only the grand opening of the town park with its playground, but the two room schoolhouse they’d built, as well as the B and B, which had advertised it would be selling tea, scones, and small sandwiches from a stall so no one had to pack any picnic food, just bring a blanket to sit on.
“I appreciate that. See you tomorrow!” She waved merrily as she drove away.
“Come on, you two best get inside and wash up as well.” I peered down the road, looking for a sign that Thalen was on his way home. No such luck.
Both boys hurried to put their bikes away and took the dogs in through the mudroom. I knew they’d feed them there before heading into their bathroom to wash up, so I went back inside to check on dinner one more time and comm Thalen.
“You guys about done? Dinner’s ready to be served.”
“On my way now. I had something I had to check up on.”
I had a feeling that the something was whatever he’d been evasive about since yesterday afternoon.
He’d gotten a comm from Kaelor Vesh at the spaceport and had hurried outside to speak.
Then when I’d asked him what Kaelor had wanted, he fobbed me off, saying he’d called to tell him about Bob refusing to let a freighter land until a crew member spoke to him and laughed at one of his jokes, as the captain had ‘failed’ a knock-knock joke.
Which had turned out to be true, but given the amount of time he’d spent outside talking, I knew that wasn’t the only reason.
It’s probably a surprise to do with tomorrow’s festivities, and he wants to surprise me and the kids both.
Yeah. That had to be it. He wouldn’t hide anything important that would affect our lives, now would he?
I walked over to the stove and took the lid off of the deep well pot, ladling out chicken and dumplings into two bowls to cool for the boys.
“Jase! Vrann! Come eat!” I called out to them, and they came racing out from the bathroom, faces, hands, and arms wet. I closed my eyes briefly, knowing this meant they had another “splash war” at the sink.
“You two will wipe up the mess in the bathroom after you eat and then get ready for bed.”
“Can we watch a movie first?” Vrann begged.
“Yes, but only after you brush your teeth and change into your PJj’s. No playing around and talking all night either. You’ve got to get up to shower before we go tomorrow.”
We’d moved Vrann’s bed and dresser into Jason's room after his third night here, as he kept simply getting up and going into Jason's room to sleep.
So now, they shared a bedroom and all of their toys were in the other room.
The day after tomorrow, I planned to go to the general store and have them replicate two student desks for me.
“Yes, Dad,” Jason said before pouring them each a glass of cold milk to go with their stew and taking them to the table.
“What is this?” Vrann asked, staring down at his bowl.
“Chicken and dumplings. I replicated some chicken to make it.”
He dipped a cautious spoon into his bowl and took a taste. His face lit up.
“It’s yummy!”
“Sure is!” Jason agreed, already digging in himself.
Thalen returned home before they’d quite finished their bowls, and I ladled him out a bowl, as well as one for me.
“You nearly missed dinner with the kids.”
He looked at me contritely. “I know. I’m sorry. Everything is sorted now, and I’ll make certain it doesn’t happen again.”
I squeezed his arm. “Thanks. You know how important family time is.”
He nodded, his expression earnest as he placed his hand over my forearm. “I do. Family is everything.”
Good. We were on the same page.