“Would it be all right if we postponed the
rest of the tour until tomorrow? It has been a long and exciting day, and we
would like to unpack and settle down for the evening.”
“Yes, of course. Would you like me to show
you how to make the furniture appear?”
“No, the main bed has appeared, and that is
likely all that we will require. I can work out the rest as necessary, and I
will heed your warning about staying near the doorways when pushing the panels
until I know what will pop out and where, believe me,” he said with a grin.
“OK then. I will bid you adieu until the
morrow then. Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
He gave me a strange look.
“Very well. See you tomorrow morning and
thanks for everything, Drew,” he responded.
Mel and I jumped into the buggy and headed
for home. We were looking forward to being in our own place once again. When we
arrived, I pushed the panel in the lounge area and waited for the furniture to
sort itself out before walking into the room. I made drinks for both of us and
then we sat down with a shared sigh.
“Cheers!” we said as one and sipped our
drinks.
“You get a nice view from level six. Would
you like to move up in the world?” I asked.
“No, I would not. I like our home, and I
really don’t want to move. The views from here are fantastic enough, and I
think I would suffer from vertigo up there. Thanks all the same though.”
“Fair enough. It was just a thought. How did
Yelena seem to you just before we left?”
“She seemed to be quite exhausted. It’s been
a big day for them, and I really think they were very tired. It is tiring
landing on a new planet, meeting other people for the first time, and house hunting
as well, you know.”
“Now how would I possibly know about that?
But I suppose you could be right.”
Any further discussion was interrupted by a
knock on the front door. I rose and went to open it. It was Nick and Sammy.
“Hi, guys! Come on in,” I said.
Nick and Sammy followed me into our lounging
area. Sammy sat down on the couch next to Mel, while Nick and I went over to
make drinks.
“Here you go, old boy. I brought you some rum.”
“Great. Thanks very much. You obviously
found my stash while you’ve been unloading the remotes.”
“I say, old boy, I find that a bit
insulting. At least I’m giving you back some of it.”
“Good on you, mate. So what did you think of
the new crew?”
“They seem like a nice enough collection of
misfits, I suppose. Something bothers me about Grizzly though. Nothing bad…he
just reminds me of someone I once knew, that’s all. Oh and there’s also the
fact that he looks like a huge bear.”
“Yeah, I really thought you were a dead man
walking when you called him Grizzly Adams,” I said as we walked back to the
couch and sat down.The girls had obviously overheard, because Sammy chimed in,
“Yeah, tell me, Nick, have you ever read a
book titled How to Win Friends and
Influence People? Oh wait, don’t bother answering—the answer is blatantly
obvious to everyone in that room.”
“Aw, come on. It just slipped out of my
mouth before my brain could stop it. I mean, don’t you all see it? The guy
looks like a huge bear!”
“Well, it’s certainly not the first time
it’s happened in the time I’ve known you, but I really thought today was going
to be your last,” I added.
“I’m sure you would have saved me, Drew.”
“How do you think I was going to prevent a
huge bear from tearing you a new one—sorry, I mean asunder? Actually, I mean
both.”
“Well, anyway, it didn’t happen. All he did
was rough me up a bit.”
“Actually that’s just the way he greets
people. He did the same to me when I first met him, and I hadn’t even pissed
him off.”
“Well, there you go! He and I are the best
of friends. No harm, no foul.”
“Sure, if you say so. I noticed on my way in
that you have moved the remotes to a new location.”
Mel interjected, “Uh oh, they’re going to
talk pilot stuff now. Should we move into the kitchen and chat, Sammy?”
“By all means yes, let’s,” Sammy replied.
The girls then rose and left us to talk shop.
“Don’t say nasty things about me behind my
back, will you, dear?” I yelled after Mel.
“Of course not, darling,” was her faint
reply.
“She will, you know! So anyway, you moved
the remotes?”
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