There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 28

"We're going to start to shake Zoie, hang on."

Smoothly, Payne moved the throttle control forward until it reached the stops. The engine was roaring, and the aircraft was shaking mightily.

Over the radio, the lead mechanic said, "Reduce engine speed to 40 percent for two minutes, and then rapidly increased to maximum."

Payne followed his instructions, and when the time was right, she pushed the control to maximum instantly. The engine responded like a thoroughbred. They let the engine run at full speed for 5 minutes. Payne was told to shut it down, and restart it. Everything went by the numbers, and Payne set the engine to idle.

They went through the same procedure with engine number 2 and everything was as smooth as silk. After running the engines for five minutes at full speed, the mechanic signaled Payne to shut the engine down and re-start it. As the engine was winding down, he said to her, "I can't see or hear anything wrong with those engines. They seem perfect to me."

Payne replied, "Every indication in front of me looked perfect also. At least I can tell my friends I did what I promised to do and they will feel better. Okay, I'm starting number 2."

'''''''BBBAAAAANNNNGGGGGG'''''

Every indicator for her number two engine died, and so did the engine. She looked out the right side window, and saw a mechanic lying on the ground. She shut down both engines, and called the tower.

Austin Tower 866 Poppa Sierra, we have an emergency situation. We need medical attention over."

"Poppa Sierra help is on the way."

"Zoie open the door."

Payne got out of her seat, ran to the back of the aircraft, and grabbed the medical kit. She said to Zoie, "I won't bother telling you to stay in the aircraft, because you won't. You stay close to me."

Zoie didn't answer her she just followed her mother.

Two mechanics were leaning over the injured man, when Payne got there.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"Yes, he got his bell rung. When your compressor surged and the flame came out the back, he jumped back, lost his balance, and fell. He hit his head, and he got his bell rung. He is a little woozy now, but unfortunately, Susie's did not get rid of him. They are going to have to take him to the hospital for an MRI to check his thick skull, but he'll be fine. Neither God nor the devil want him yet."

"Would you please not talk about me like I'm dead?"

"You reacted like you've never seen a compressor stall before."

"We were finished with the testing. I didn't expect that to happen."

"Neither did I, but I didn't shit in my pants when it did. Excuse the language ma'am."

"It's all right, my daughter is teaching it to me."

"Way to go mom, your sense of humor is coming back."

"Two more months and I get rid of her."

"Really, where she going?"

Zoie and Payne pointed straight up.

"You are one of them?"

"Yes I am. I am marrying my boyfriend in December, and we leave December 25 on a really long honeymoon."

"Little lady let me shake your hand; first on your marriage, and second on being brave enough to go out there. I don't know if I have it in me to go."

"I don't know if we have a final number yet, but there are between 60 and 70 of us going, and we can't wait. They took the spacecraft on a shakedown cruise around the United States. It took a little bit more than 90 minutes. Spacecraft 2 is in the design phase, and it is more than 1000 feet in diameter, and five stories tall. It will be ready to fly in approximately 10 years."

"I can't get my mind around something that big flying."

Payne said, "Here's something bigger for you to think about. It's three engineers are 5, 7, and 10-year-old boys."

"I hope this ambulance has room for two. What you told me has my head spinning."

"This next 10 years are going to see a major change in the way we travel, build, and communicate with each other. Don't be surprised if it changes the way we handle money either."

"How's he looking doc?"

"The usual, ugly as hell. Unfortunately, he's going to live, but he's going to the hospital. He has to have his head examined to make sure he has a brain."

"Your hysterical doc, really hilarious."

"I want all his bills sent to me. I don't want one penny to come out of his pocket. If he has to go on unpaid leave, or Workmen's Compensation, where he's not paid in full, I want to know about that also so I can pay him, okay."

"That's very generous of you Mrs. Schneider, it's not necessary though."

"It is for my own well-being, I don't want anything to happen to him. Now what happened to my airplane?"

"It sounded like Axi-symmetric Compressor Surge. If it was, I can get you a new compressor by tomorrow morning from Dallas. You will be able to fly out of here by tomorrow afternoon."

"Save the part and give it to me. If it was replaced during the overhaul, someone has some explaining to do."

"Someone would have a lot of explaining to do with only 700 hours on it."

******************

"Teddy was right again dad."

"What did our redheaded terror predict this time?"

"Zoie went over to say goodbye to me, Delicious, and the kids. She said she was leaving today, and would see us in December."

Teddy said, "Zoie not go home today. She go home tomorrow. Engine go to sleep."

"Payne just called me. She had a compressor stall in the number two engine, while they were testing it. It has to be replaced."

"Gray, you and my daughter created one wonderful child. You have nothing to worry about, when she takes over for me. It doesn't matter if she's five or 50, she will be a true, and wonderful leader."

"Don't leave us too soon Even. I don't want to take orders from a two-year-old."

"I'll give it my best Gray."

"I'll take it Even."

******************

134. Re-Searching

October ended in a flurry of activity. All the medical equipment was installed properly, and tested by Doctor Finch. There were enough medical supplies, of every type, from vaccinations for newborn children, to pneumonia vaccines. There was a huge supply of birth control pills, and condoms. The operating theater was state-of-the-art. It even had robotic systems that Doctor Finch trained on in the hospital, so he would be familiar with it.

They had 100 suits for EVA activities, in various sizes, ranging from very small, and a few in extra, extra large, so everyone could get out of the spacecraft and stretch their legs on a planet with a hostile environment. They had 10 tethered EVA suits, specifically for repairs, while the spacecraft was moving through space. Estimates for takeoff weight were thrown out the window, because it was going to be at least triple the initial estimate. Even when I spoke with Delicious, and Gordon, and they would tell me not to worry about the weight factor, I couldn't help but worry. Gordon would go over to a white board and do the math for me. He showed me that at six times initial gross weight estimates we could lift-off and reach escape speed within eight minutes.

Then I made a mistake. I said, "Will we be able to get off the ground?"

You don't say that with the inventor sitting right beside you.

Delicious screamed, "DAD."

She stood up, walked behind me, and hit me as her mother does.

My brain rattled in its bony cage, and when it came to a rest, she was standing next to Gordon at the whiteboard, ready to explain to me how much energy she would need to get us off the ground. I felt like a first grade student when they finished with me.

******************

Not one inch of space in the cargo, and engineering areas was wasted. It seemed to Stephano that everything he ordered a year ago was now obsolete. The 3-D printers he ordered were obsolete. They were sending him the new ones at the same price, but they were slightly larger. The problem was they had already allotted a specific amount of space for them, and now other items would have to be shifted around to accommodate them. This was an every day occurrence, and his pencils were beginning to look like the craters of the Moon. His secretaries knocked on his door, and waited for a reply before they walked into his office. Otherwise, they risked the possibility of being speared by a flying pencil, like those that were sticking out of the walls, and ceiling in his office. He transformed from the mild-mannered Clark Kent, when he walked in in the morning, to 'TAZ', the Tasmanian devil, before 11 o'clock.

When things were really going bad, his secretary would call Patti, beg her to come to the building, and help calm him as only she could.

Another problem popped up, when Doctor Finch went to ask Stephano for some help. When Joe left, Stephano had an evil look on his face. It was time to get even, with Doctor Even Luck for asking the impossible, and he made it possible. He called William, and explained the situation to him.

William said the same name Stephano had in mind, and they both started laughing as they thought about scaring Even to death just before lift-off.

William said, "Call her to see if she still interested in going. If she is, send her the approval letter, and ask her not to show up before the 25th of December. We don't want him to bump into her accidentally and ruin the surprise. Do not show her name on the computer roster or the manifest, until after he signs it on the 24th. We will sneak her onto the stage in her flight suit, while he is talking. If he doesn't have a heart attack, we will know he is healthy enough to go."

"This is really cruel William, but I love it. I'll call her now. I hope she is still interested in going."

"Tell her what I said, that may be the inducement she needs."

"Maybe she should have a syringe in her hand?"

"Absolutely, with a very long needle."

*******************

After a joyous 20-day vacation, aboard the Queen Elizabeth II, the Ames returned home. The Mercedes was in the driveway, and they expected a warm welcome from Sandra, and their grandchildren. What they found was an empty house and a letter on the dining room table.

"This is to inform you that we will never see you again. As parents go, you are the worst that ever lived. You did not win the trip on the Queen Elizabeth. Joseph set it up so we could go to Temple and be with him for a few days. He went through all that expense to see his children and me. That's how much he misses, and loves us.

The word love is an anathema to both of you. I nearly had to die in a car accident, before either of you showed any concern for my well-being. You never showed any love or concern for my children. You used them against me to divorce the only man I ever loved. You threatened to give all your money to Monica, even after she tried to kill my babies many years ago. I couldn't let that happen again. It was the only reason I left Joseph, and returned home. I couldn't let my girls die at her hands.

Joseph is leaving this planet, on December 25, on Spaceship 1. I will never see him again. The girls voted not to go with him, and I have to stay with them. Joseph understands that obligation. He has given me enough money to live on comfortably for many years to come. I will go to work as soon as the girls go to college. Joseph asked me to look for another man to love, and make my life complete. I will try, but I will never find anyone as caring and wonderful as he is.

I left your envelope with the $10,000 in it. It was the first generous thing you did in the 18 months we lived here. The $200 a month you gave me to live on to buy clothes for the girls, gasoline, and recreation, didn't go very far. Now you can save the $200. If you live long enough, maybe you can recoup your losses from the lawsuit against you.

We will probably wind up in the Midwest, where life is slow, and easy. I want the girls to be able to unwind from the terrible existence they lived here in your home.

I wish you had seen the way they acted with their father. They were totally different children. They were exuberant, lively, and filled with love, hope, and energy. Here they had to walk around on eggshells and not make a sound for fear of your wrath.

I want my children happy, again. I will do everything in my power to make their dreams come true. You two deserve each other in this big house. When I am down stairs at my computer, helping the people at the agency's in town, there is never a sound upstairs. It is as if no one is at home. It is as if this place is a mortuary. You two never talk to one another, unless it is absolutely necessary. If you say 100 words a week to one another, it would amaze me.

There is much more I could say, but the venom in my heart would fill any Encyclopedia many times over. I ask you one thing, do not try to find us, and to please, leave us in peace. Maybe Monica will be a better fit for you, and your money then we were. Sandra"

When her mother finished reading the letter she screamed, "That ungrateful bitch. We gave her everything she could possibly want, or need, and she tells us this garbage. She's right; I never want to see her again."

Her father was more circumspect. His daughter pointed out many of their failings as parents, but he never realized them at the time. Sometimes you have hear the facts, from someone you love, before you realize that you have committed a crime so heinous, for so many years, it seemed natural to you. You lived your life the way you thought was correct, and suddenly, you find out, in the worst possible way, it was terribly wrong.

He decided to do something to correct those errors in his judgment. However, he was smart enough to agree with his wife as she continued to rant and rave about their terrible daughter."

Maude Ames went to bed at her usual 9 o'clock hour. She took her sleeping pills, and was unconscious 20 minutes later.

Harold went online to find a hospital in Temple Texas. He was not surprised to find that it was named after William and Jemma Zabo. He called the main number.

"Good evening, this is Harold Ames, is Doctor Joseph Finch on duty tonight?"

"Yes sir he is."

"May I speak to him please?"

"One moment please."

"This is Doctor Finch."

"Joseph, please don't hang up on me. This is Harold Ames, and I need a few moments of your time."

"You're not worth a few minutes of my time Harold. You broke up my family for no reason."

"Yes I know. I would like to try to make amends for it if you'll let me. I can't make up for the last 18 months you, Sandy, and the children suffered because of my stupidity. If you listen to what I have to say I would appreciate it."

"Go ahead Harold, you have the floor."

"Sandra left us a letter that opened my eyes in a way that I never saw before. I never looked at life through anyone else's eyes but Maude's, and my own. We were always extremely rich, and it never occurred to me that we were as cold as Sandy put down in her letter. Thinking about the way the children acted in this house made me realize she was correct. They never acted as children normally do. They acted like tiny adults, and never made a sound. They rarely came upstairs to see us, or raid the refrigerator, as normal children do. They were always polite and proper, when they saw us, but our interaction with them was always the same as theirs was to us, polite and proper. We never allowed them to run around and play in the house, or outside on our property, for fear they would disturb the look of our estate grounds. I realize now how stupid we were as parents, and grandparents.

I don't know where Sandy is now. From what she wrote in her letter to us, neither do you. She said you gave her enough money to live comfortably for a while. I don't know how much that is, but from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate your doing that for my daughter. I'd like to send you $200 million to get to her, in any way possible.

In my Will, I will leave my entire estate to her and the children. Monica will get nothing. This was Sandy's greatest fear, the safety and health of Rebecca and Deborah. If you will tell me how to get the money to you, it will be there in one week. Do your best to forward it to her. You don't have to tell her it was from me, because I don't want her to send back. I want the three of them to live comfortably forever.

Thank you for hearing me out Joseph, as you said I am not worth the few moments you gave me."

"It's very generous of you Harold, but I have no idea where she is. We didn't say goodbye to one another, because we would have cried for a week. Send the money to this account, and if she doesn't get it, it will go to a friend of mine who I told her to contact if she ever got into trouble. He is here in Temple, and he will advise me that she did not receive it, and he will return it to you."

"Thank you very much Joseph. I hope you have a safe and wonderful trip."

"Thank you Harold, I know I will."

Joe knew Sandra would get the money, because the account number he gave Harold Ames was the same as the $10 million he gave her. The bank would inform her of the additional funds that were deposited, and more than likely, she would reach out to thank him for it.

*****************

Everyone involved with the fitting out of Spacecraft 1 was working 12-hour shifts. The Arboretum was in, as well as the sprinkler system, and the enclosure. Tons of seeds were vacuum-sealed prior to being brought on site, to prevent little four-legged creatures following them on-board. Frozen/dehydrated meals by the hundreds of thousands were stored in temporary freezers in the hangar. They would be brought on board the evening of the 24th, through the morning of December 25th, and placed in an area designed by Gray.

Initially, Dycke said, "We can't possibly do this, it's impossible."

Gray responded, "Okay, I'll have Newton do it for you."

Dycke couldn't let that happen, he couldn't let a young boy show him and his team of engineers up.

"No, we will figure something out. I don't like you Gray, and I'm liking you less every minute."

"Don't get upset Dycke. Let Newton do it, it will only take him 10 or 15 minutes, and it will take all that stress off of you."

"I'm going to ask Even if he really needs you. If he doesn't, you're going into that freezer when I've designed it."

"You're going to do it yourself Dycke? Remember we have the wedding in the middle of December, and we are supposed to take off on December 25. Aren't you a little old to be doing this stuff by yourself?"

I grabbed Dycke before he killed my son-in-law.

"Are you two having fun this morning?"

"Let me go Even and you will see blood all over his computer."

"You mean my mild mannered son-in-law, Doctor Grayson Thyme, has gotten the better of the best jokester I have ever known? I must call Payne immediately, and tell her. She told me, more than once, it was impossible to do."

"He Went after My Pride Even. No one does that to me."

"What do you need to do, ask Teddy to fix one of your problems? She's very good at it you know."

"Don't you start with me Even; I can make this a two-for-one sale."

"You wouldn't do that Dycke. You have worked too hard on this project to see it fail now. There's the additional problem of Zoie being around for the rest of your very long life. If you hurt me or Gray just think of the consequences."

"I've decided I don't like either of you. However, since your taking Zoie off my hands permanently, I'll forgive you and get this job done."

"I don't know why you keep saying Zoie is a terrible child. She has been a magnificent guest in our home since the day she arrived. She helps Jennifer around the house every day. She watches the boys so she can get out, and do a little shopping on her own. She's a great cook, and a wonderfully educated young woman. I think you've done a marvelous job with her."