Saturday morning I was up and dressed before it was light out completely. I just caught Dad getting ready to head out early. I could tell from the night before that things were happening with his big case. I suspected that it had to do with John's aunt Tammy but I didn't ask. A man in Dad's position didn't get to focus on one case alone. I gave him a kiss and a hug before he picked up his briefcase and radio.
"I hope you don't grow out of this too soon, I kind of like getting affection from you and giving it too," Dad smiled.
"I'll have to get back to you on that in a couple of years," I grinned back.
I watched him leave by the kitchen door and threw the latch behind him. I turned around and saw his keys on the counter, grabbed them and charged out the door as he neared his car.
"You might find these helpful if you actually want to go anywhere," I laughed.
"Wise ass, love you son, see you soon."
"Love you too, Dad, I'll see you this afternoon.
I watched him back into the turnaround, and drive out.
Again I locked the kitchen door behind me and went to rouse Chase, Mom would deal with John and Carter and I was sure I could hear her moving around in the master suite.
Chase was reluctant to wake, but his eyes eventually opened and his lips curled to a brilliant smile.
"Mmmm good morning," he said, punctuated by a yawn.
"Time to get moving, it's starting to get light out and we have to catch that early bus, do you want to eat here or there?" I asked.
"There, definitely there. But hot chocolate here first, okay?"
"You get dressed and I'll make the chocolate, see you downstairs in ten, okay?"
"Okay," Chase groaned as he was stretching.
Before I went down, I peaked at John and Carter and they were tightly snuggled as usual, foreheads touching on the same pillow. They were doing a lot of good for each other. Close companionship and intelligent play were drawing them very close. John was blossoming physically and mentally. They were both curious about the physical world. Carter's potato plant had reached its completion with ten tiny potatoes forming in the jar. The leaves began to wither because there just wasn't room or nutrients enough in the jar to support the next phase of growth. But the plant was composted and would have a role in another life cycle soon. I had to think about that. Is that what I was, intelligent compost? I shook the thought from my head and went on my way.
I finished the chocolate and heard Mom and Chase talking as they descended the stairs.
"I want you boys to be careful, and call me if you need a ride home. Don't ride if you aren't able to, you could have an accident because you were too tired to pay attention," Mom admonished.
We grabbed our packs and riding gear, kissed Mom and retrieved the bikes from the garage. Art was at Madeline's place so we wouldn't be disturbing them.
The special bus only made two stops and it was usually crowded with bikes and riders. People of all ages and ethnicities were packed in. Some in full Lycra riding gear and some more casual like Chase and me, in our cargo shorts. This bus had an attendant and he was in charge of putting the bikes on the racks behind the bus and supervised the second stop, unloading of bikes from the interior. The bus would stop first at the beginning of Columbia City and then at a turn-around near our school. We had chosen the second stop so we could ride past the school and take it in without the clutter of cars and people.
We handed the attendant our checks and he rolled our bikes to us and we took them off the bus. Passengers line up in order highest check number first so reverse unloading was easy.
Our school was magnificent in the morning light, the trees glistened with the night's light rain. The lawns and flowerbeds behind the iron gates were colorful and the stone walls covered in climbing vines were stately in appearance. We paused in front of the gates and a proctor walked over and asked our intentions. Chase explained that he was a returning student and that I was new and would be attending the new term.
"Oh well then, would you like to come in and ride through the campus?" he asked.
I shrugged and Chase decided we should, he fished out his I.D. card from the previous term and I showed my temporary. We wouldn't get replacements until orientation week.
"Thanks Mr. Metzger," Chase called out to the proctor.
Without swarms of people walking every which way the campus was quiet and easy to pass through. We met a Dr. Paulus, one of the teachers and he asked what we thought of the place. I raved about it and Chase grinned. Dr Paulus never questioned why we were there.
"Cool!" I remarked as Chase and I continued.
"Well the prevailing attitude here is one of mutual respect between teachers and students. There are a few teachers who haven't adjusted and of course our former assistant choirmaster. We're all well rid of him," Chase expounded.
"Listen to you, you sound like a Cambridge undergrad not a high school student. And you gave me grief for my way of speaking, you big fake," I grinned at him.
Chase blushed a bit, smirked and we continued our ride. Once we had completed the loop through the campus we returned to the gate and met another proctor named Mr. Lowell.
"Did you enjoy the ride?" he asked cheerfully.
"Yes sir, I'm going to love it here and Chase already does."
Chase led us out the gate and into Columbia City proper. It was much like Old Towne Santa Barbara with very pretty neighborhoods of older homes from the 1800's through the 1940's many of the homes had bronze plaques designating them as heritage sites. Most of the professors from our school lived in these neighborhoods. Others lived in the Condos and Apartment buildings just to the west of Rainier Ave. As we rode North vehicle traffic lessened and bike traffic increased. When we reached Hudson street the police had the area closed to cars except for deliveries and we rode through the barricade with several other cyclists. It was cool to see whole families riding together even kids as young as Carter and John. I considered the possibility of getting a bike for John and getting him down here to ride with Mom, Dad and myself and anyone else who cared to join us. I would file that away and maybe next summer John would be able to ride with confidence with his brothers keeping a watchful eye.
I was having trouble taking it all in, bookshops, restaurants from all sorts of cultures, bakeries and sandwich shops lined the street. It was going to be nice down here and I knew there would be times when I needed to board in. We had older relatives that Mom and Dad often visited while I was in school. On those occasions I stayed on campus, none of the dorms were ever completely full. I let that train of thought go and asked where Chase would like to have breakfast.
"Let's stop at Geraldine's, there's probably a line but we can go get something from the bakery while we wait," Chase proposed.
"Sounds good to me, then I want to see that big bookstore we passed down the street," I insisted.
"Oh yeah L.E.M.S. it's kind of out there but they have a good selection, I've been in there and the people are generally nice. Clara's books is nice but stay away from Pathfinder's, that place stunk like weed and b.o. if there's a difference," Chase insisted. "But there are really good bookstores in the U-district. I guess it depends on what you're looking for."
"Yeah, since they legalized it in California it's hard to get away from the stink. But now you can't smoke anything in public and a lot of apartments won't rent to smokers. It can actually come through walls and affect the neighbors," I added.
"I thought there would be food trucks along the bike path, and where do they set up the art show?" I asked.
"I think maybe you didn't read the dates, the art show was earlier but there's another after school starts and the trucks will be there for that," Chase explained.
I shrugged and decided he was right, I probably hadn't read the dates properly.
We arrived at Geraldine's and there was a short line, so I told Chase to order for us and slipped across the street to the bakery. It was busy but I took a number and waited. It didn't take long and I ordered a couple of croissants and a bag of pecan rolls which are a favorite of mine.
I found Chase sitting outside at a table with a little numbered cube in the middle. He had two large iced teas and I quickly claimed one and had a sip. I put the bags on the table and asked if he'd like a croissant or pecan roll.
"Croissant first and pecan rolls after breakfast. I ordered you the "Lumberjack" with all bacon and it comes with three eggs and I substituted fries for hash browns. It's something they don't do really good here. But the fries are good. They'll bring it out in a bit."
"What did you order for yourself?" I asked.
" A Denver omelette with a side of bacon and sour dough toast, Chase replied.
"That sounds good too. I bet we work most of it off today with all the riding we'll be doing. Of course there are three ice cream stores near here so those will need to be examined carefully. We were interrupted when Bats and a curly headed little guy around 7 or 8 started to pass by.
"Oh hi guys, we just hit the bakery and we gotta join Mom and Dad for breakfast, they're inside waiting but it's cool to see you here. Maybe I can get away and come back after I deliver Eric. He's my half-brother but he's pretty cool and he's plenty smart," Bats shared.
"Sure Bats, come back if you can, we have plenty of questions.
Eric grinned a gap tooth smile at us and hustled along beside his brother grasping Bats' hand.
The breakfast crowd was thinning out and we had consumed most of our breakfast when Bats reappeared.
"Hey guys, so what do you think of Columbia City?" I asked.
"It's pretty nice, it has a little of everything except a decent grocery store according to my step-mom. But restaurants and other cool places are all over the place, there's an Ethiopian place south of here and a Hawaiian place and other really good eating places. Two really good pizza places, and the bakery is crazy good," Bat's went on.
"Yes we read up on the spots to visit, I know you go to school here, but do you come here a lot?" I asked.
"We live here, not far from the school. My dad is one of the professors at the school, he just got tenure and we moved down here from Queen Anne hill," Bats explained.
"Is it just you four?" I pressed further.
"Yeah, but I don't know for how long. Melody is kind of a bitch, she works in finance and likes the parties, but Dad is more like a dad and likes to do family stuff. She doesn't let me just call Eric my brother, it has to be my half-brother. I think it makes him feel bad so I told him that as far as Dad and I were concerned, he's my brother period. Like I say Melody is a bitch and that's just one of her faults, but you don't want to hear all that crap. Where are you going after breakfast?" Bats asked.
"Clara's and then L.E.M.S. bookstore, are there any music stores here, like instruments?" I asked.
"Those are good places, I think the cops closed Pathfinders, I don't know why. It was kind of creepy going there anyway and it stunk, I don't know of any instrument stores, near here but there's one over on California near the junction I think," Bats supplied.
"Maybe we can check them out if we get back in time," I speculated.
"Well here comes the family which means I gotta go, I look forward to seeing you at school, Eric goes there too so I guess we have that in common. See you guys later, oh I just remembered, you asked if Bats was my Mob name but I just watched Goodfellas with my dad and now I get it. Funny," He grinned.
We watched him walk to his dad's side and snatch Eric's hand to keep him from wandering off.
"Well, that was interesting," Chase remarked.
We checked out the bookstores and I found a nice book on the Greene brothers and the style they initiated. The illustrations were fantastic. I could picture myself thumbing through it in a chair before a warm fire in my room. I didn't even know if the fireplace was usable but it was fun to imagine. Now all I needed was a couple of wingback leather chairs. I chuckled to myself at the thought.
Molly Moon was by far the best and therefore the most crowded ice cream store, we sat outside and ate our cones in the shade. We decided we should start moving towards our pick up point to meet the bus. We had opted for the first afternoon bus instead of the late afternoon ride. It would put us at home around 2:00 or maybe later depending how bad the hills felt after goofing around all day.
We sat on the curb waiting for the bus and Chase pointed out a few things.
"We take group rides down Rainier where it turns east to Lake Washington then we ride along the shore. Our lunch comes behind us in a van along with tire repair and tools if there's a breakdown. It makes for a pretty cool day. We stop at one of the professor's houses on the shoreline and we get drinks and snacks, he rides with us sometimes and then just before end of term he throws a barbecue for anyone who rides down there. It's a pretty cool outing and I usually go, you might like it too", Chase explained.
"It sounds cool, I'd like to do it if nothing stops me," I agreed.
The bus arrived and it wasn't as crowded as the trip down. Our bikes were the first two unloaded at our stop and we opted for SW Alaska and made our way out Jacobsen to Beach dr. It didn't take as much effort to get home as I had anticipated, but we were tired all the same.
When Chase and I arrived at my home I saw nothing out of place. We rolled our bikes to the back door and entered.
"Hi Mom, we're back. We had a great time how are things here?" I asked.
"Everything's fine, we have a visitor why don't you go to the living room and say hello?" Mom suggested.
I led Chase through the passage and found Grampa MacGregor rising from one of the large recliners. Chase stopped in his tracks. Grampa is an impressive man, huge one might say. Broad shoulders and tree trunk legs, no gut to speak of and very muscly arms. An even larger form of Dad and Art. To Chase he must have resembled a giant with white hair.
For a moment I reverted to early childhood, "Grampa," I squealed and ran to him. He picked me up like I weighed no more than a kitten, embracing me in a strong but gentle hug.
"No one told me you were coming, I'm so glad to see you!" I yelped.
"Now then, who's this fine lad here?" He inquired.
"This is Chase Connaught, he's Carter's brother and my boyfriend,"
"Is he indeed, well Chase, I am Caelan Daegan MacGregor. I'm very happy to make your acquaintance."
Chase offered a hand to shake but Grampa picked him up and hugged him same as he had done with me. He made my nearly fourteen year old boyfriend look like a toddler, I must have looked the same to him. Chase accepted the hug and even hugged back, as much as he could.
"It's nice to meet you, sir, I had heard about you but you are bigger than I expected," Chase admitted.
"Yes Chase, I get that a lot, but I come by it honestly. I've been a farmer most of my life, though I've retired and Angus is running the big place now. I built it into one of the largest farming concerns in Nebraska. Wheat, Sorghum, Hops and Oats. It was always very rewarding and lucrative," Gramps explained.
"I read about Sorghum, do you rotate it in when there's less water available?" Chase asked earnestly.
"Well yes, that's the principle reason to raise it. It does yield a salable crop and restores nutrients the other crops use up. We supplement those but Sorghum does well in summer where corn is hit and miss year to year. Corn is still big but in Nebraska but it eats a lot of water. Oats, Barley and other grains are actually more sustainable given the weather cycles. Are you interested in farming Chase?" Grampa asked.
"Yes, I'd like to be an orchard farmer, cherries or maybe apples do well here. I think I'd like to study farming in college," Chase related.
"That's a very good idea, I did that myself, I have a Master's in agricultural science and a Batchelor's in chemistry. They have served me well in my career," Grampa approved.
Chase beamed.
"Have you settled on anything yet Jem?" Grampa asked.
"Engineering I think, I like to design things, maybe architecture, I'm not sure just yet. By the time I graduate high school whole new fields may exist that don't at the moment," I told him.
Or maybe you'll go into law enforcement like your Dad, was that a surprise for you?" Grampa asked.
"Not really, I've seen our genealogy and I know about all the lawmen in our heritage. Captain MacGregor of the Texas Rangers is one, but there are many others. On Mom's side there are people who have a history in the Surete and the underground working with the OSS during the occupation," I added.
"That's true, and as you know I am a member of the sheriff's reserve and search & rescue team. So your dad comes to being a lawman through a long tradition," Grampa concluded.
"You're right we do have an awful lot of them in the background, do you think it's hereditary?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not sure about that, genes mix you know and there are a lot of qualities that make a good lawman. There could be something to it. My family have been mostly farmers of one sort or another, but my brother wasn't interested. He became an aviation engineer and designed airplanes or at least parts of them, like your dad. Whatever either of you chooses, make sure it's your choice and not someone else's dictate," Grampa instructed.
"I will Grampa and I'm sure Chase's dad feels the same way. I think you'll like Jeff. He's an architect and designer,"
"Have you met my brother yet sir?" Chase asked.
"Sir? No lad, you can call me Grampa like Jem, Art, John and little Carter. Your brother is a very nice lad and I'm happy to have met him Chase."
"Thank you um, Grampa, he means a lot to me. We're very close and I love him a lot. We had some trouble a few years ago, I um, Chasee trailed off.
"No need to dredge that up again son, Minnie told me, you are a very strong and courageous brother and it shows in Carter's opinion of you. So don't feel you need to open that wound for me."
"Thank you Grampa," Chase sniffed.
Grampa reached out and hugged Chase again in a much gentler manner. He was a very caring man and always treated children with respect.
He released the hug and Chase stepped back with wet eyes. I put an arm around him and kissed his cheek.
"Do you have any ideas for a new name for John, he doesn't have any attachment to it and he's open to a new name to match his new family. I've talked to him about it. I don't know how he'll take to a kilt but Chase might be interested," I grinned.
"Well that's interesting, Picts and Kelts are closely related and we all had Norse visitors centuries back. You know the Irish have worn kilts of their own pattern but they're based on the county not the clan. Irish are always welcome at the Highland games but they are a different culture, similar but different. Most Scots are quite welcoming when you get away from the industrial cities. Do you know what county your people came from?" Grampa asked.
"Yes, we were originally Mulrooney's from Dromahair in Leitrim county. Lazy clerks at Ellis island probably just wrote in Connaught because it was the easiest to see. I've been online and looked up the entry record in 1841, that was the start of the famine," Chase related.
"Well the Leitrim Tartan is very similar to the Kennedy Tartan and I'm sure it's available. And if you and Jem were to marry, you'd be entitled to wear our tartan. But that's a long way off isn't it. But here's the point, If our Jem loves you, then we love you and that includes me," Grampa assured him.
Thanks, I think I will come to love you too, I've never had a Grampa before," Chase uttered.
"Well you have now, make the most of it," Grampa laughed and the mood lightened.
A clamor erupted from the staircase as John and Carter stampeded down to the living room.
Carter made a beeline for Chase and John ran to me , we each picked one up , gave them kisses and hugs and then traded.
The difference in John over the short time he'd been with us was phenomenal, he was stronger and more substantial. Although still not fat he had packed on some weight and it mostly turned to muscle and his cheeks, once hollow had filled out. His complexion and color was better too. He was still the same boy but he was much more robust. He even had a little padding on his once boney little bottom.
Grampa took them both in his capacious arms and snuggled and kissed them both.
"Your face is scratchy like Daddy's at night," Carter squealed.
"I suppose I could use a shave. I thought I might go up and grab a shower and shave in a bit, the flight out was not very nice, even in first class. There was a whiney bible thumper rattling on and one lady finally asked the attendant to shut him up. He was advised that he would be put in a coach seat if he couldn't contain himself. He shut up at last but grumbled quite a bit, He made it damn hard to sleep. The movie was trash as well. I plugged in my headphones and listened to a book in the end. Mercifully I was finally able to have a nap," Grampa shared. He released Carter and John and excused himself for a shower and a shave. We all trooped up the stairs together causing Grampa to remark, I know it's a spacious shower but I don't think it will hold all five of us."
That drew giggles all the way round. I explained that Chase and I were going to see what John and Carter had built.
It was awesome, they had used nearly every Lego block available and built a space station, or at least John's idea of one. It took up most of the available floor space and I could see that the pass through to my room would need to be opened carefully. The station itself was a five spoke wheel divided in equal radians with docking bays complete with shuttles, some premade and some from Lego blocks.
John began to explain how the docking bays would work and how the 1G gravity would be maintained by a field using gravitons and dark matter energy. He explained that the station would be parked near an Ice giant and the ice would be harvested for Deuterium to run the fusion engines of the colony and exploration ships. At that moment I knew why John was here, he needed an environment that would nurture that intellect. Humans needed to be dispersed to other planets to avoid extinction. I knew this from other species that had done the same. John was going to be instrumental in pointing humanity at the stars. I smiled to myself at the realization.