Jenny just walked out of the room, leaving Bobby standing with Mr. Rowe, who turned to Bobby as if he was someone of importance. Bobby walked to the door and opened it, hoping Mr. Rowe would take the hint. Luck was with him as Mr. Rowe quickly left.
CHAPTER 23
Jenny stood in the kitchen hoping it was a place to take refuge from the insanity of what was going on around her. She looked out the back door at Jane and John holding hands on the lounge swing. A few days earlier they appeared to be arguing siblings. Now it was as if they couldn’t get enough of one another. Bobby walked into the room.
“Mr. Rowe finally left,” he said with relief in his voice.
Jenny turned to him. “What’s happening?”
Bobby shrugged innocently. “You’re asking the wrong person.” He too looked out the window at the two sitting on the lounge swing.
“Whatever is going on is creeping me out,” Jenny quipped.
“What’s wrong with a little love around here for a change?”
Elmer walked in. All spruced up. He grabbed a cup of coffee and then walked out without saying a word to the two.
“It bothers me to think Dad is getting it more than I am,” she said under her breath.
Jenny just shook her head and then walked out of the room. Jane walked in followed closely by John. She turned and kissed John and then walked out of the room leaving John standing there with puppy love in his eyes. He was about to follow Jane, but Bobby grabbed hold of his sleeve.
“What is up with you two lovebirds?” Bobby asked.
John had guilt written all over his face and then replied, “She rocked my world last night.”
“That’s obvious. Are you going to give up on going back home?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, if you want to cook up that concoction to draw your friend out we’ll have to get supplies.”
John turned to the living room door and then back at Bobby; he hesitated for a moment.
“Let’s do it.” he replied.
John was not sure what he was doing was right. He was enjoying being here on Earth, but it wasn’t home. He knew the feeling he was experiencing for Jane wasn’t right, yet he didn’t know how to explain why it was happening. It had all started when they failed to inject themselves with their daily medicine.
Bobby drove into town with John. They pulled up to the first grocery store they saw. Bobby turned to John.
“Do you have your list?”
“Yes. I’ve checked the molecular structure and came up with similar ingredients on your planet.”
“This ought to be interesting.”
John held up the list. “These ingredients along with my compound should do the trick.”
“I hope so. Aunt Jenny is getting suspicious, and I fear she will make you and Jane move out soon.”
Bobby quickly got out of the car. John quickly followed with his list in hand. Once they had the shopping cart, Bobby grabbed the list from John and appeared puzzled by the ingredients. He headed down the aisle where most of the ingredients could be found.
Once the cart was filled with most of the merchandise, Bobby turned to John.
“We only have the ground beef left to purchase.”
“It will take a few hours to simmer our mixture.”
Bobby appeared puzzled as he rolled up to the meat counter. He looked at the list again. “Are you sure we aren’t cooking for a barbeque?”
“What’s a barbeque?”
“Basically what you have on your list.”
Bobby just shook his head as he started grabbing up the packages of ground beef, which pretty well filled up the cart.
Bobby slowly dragged the tripod to the fire pit while John positioned the picnic table nearby. Once the tripod was placed, Bobby dumped a bag of charcoal into the pit. After dousing it with charcoal lighter, he lit the coals. Once that was accomplished, he got the wheelbarrow out of the garage, set the large cast-iron pot inside, and wheeled it to the tripod.
When everything was in place, Bobby and John started emptying their purchases into the large pot. Bobby was thankful Jenny had errands to run in town because it gave him the perfect opportunity to fry the ground beef on the kitchen stove. He had four large pans going, and as the meat cooked and was done, John added it to the cast-iron pot.
After an hour, all the ingredients were added to the cast-iron pot, and the mixture simmered. Bobby finally turned to John.
“When do we add the compound?”
“Not for a while. We have to simmer it down first.”
Bobby sampled the mixture because he was sure everything that was added so far was edible.
“This tastes good.”
“You sampled it?” John asked.
Bobby glanced at the pile of cans and bottles and then laughed.
“I’ve tasted worse when my mother cooked a meal. So when do we add your secret compound?”
John shrugged and then replied, “Now is as good as any time.”
With that, John disappeared across the yard to the machine shed where the spacecraft was housed. It did not take long, and he was back by the fire pit handing Bobby the canister that contained the compound.
“How much should I add?” Bobby asked.
John just shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me.”
With that, Bobby unscrewed the canister and started pouring the contents into the pot while John stirred the mixture. Foam began to appear, which scared Bobby, thinking it would bubble over, but then things settled down. The foam subsided, and the mixture gave off a peculiar odor. Bobby added a little more, and again it foamed up.
“That smells,” Bobby said as he turned away.
John quickly stirred the mixture. Once the compound was in the mix, Bobby refused to taste it for fear the mixture was now poisonous.
At Area 51 Colonel Crimshaw was busy at his desk working on reports when suddenly he glanced up. As if in a trancelike state, he walked out of his office past a Cammo dude without saluting. Slowly he walked over to the white Jeep Cherokee and got in. He started the engine and drove off without saying a word to anyone.
At Kazar’s used car lot, Kazar was talking to a couple. He was trying to sell them a classy convertible. When all of a sudden, as he was about to hand the couple the keys, he stopped. Instead, he shoved the couple out of the way and in a trancelike state, he climbed into the convertible and drove off without saying a word. The couple just stood there, awestruck.
An aerial view of the ranch shows a caravan of cars coming down the highway along with people walking toward the farm. In all, there were hundreds of people converging onto the ranch. In the lead were the Colonel in his white Jeep and Kazar driving the convertible.
Four Years Later
It was June, the sun was high in the sky, the temperature climbed into the mid-eighties. The graduating class at Yale listened to the speakers intently. Bobby Drews sat among the graduating class waiting patiently to accept his diploma while Shelby sat with her father next to Jenny and Charles Hill. All were proud of Bobby’s accomplishment.
Meanwhile back at The Little A’Le’Inn John was busy in the kitchen cooking while Jane waited on tables. She was pregnant as she walked into the kitchen with an order. She handed it to John, who grabbed her around the waist. He patted her belly as he kissed her passionately. The door to the café opened and Widow Megal walked in with Elmer, who had a leash in hand and was walking Buttons. Following Buttons were her offspring, all looking like Spot.
Other Books by Lillian Francken