Chapter 67

"Already done, Diane. Our mechanoids reported the presence of a possible nuclear fuel source, so we gathered as many mechanoids as we could from other Base ships, and sent them down to the sites. They burrowed into the ground, and excavated all the radioactives, so that we can use them as a fuel source for our reactors. Al the trees and planks were examined as well, and the radioactives found and extracted. This shattered some of the wood, so we left the damaged pieces in a pile, as possible firewood for the settlers. The colony sites are now clear for the colonists to take over."

"Hey! Great work, fellows. I am impressed. Thanks lots for your work on that."

"Well done, Annetta! Just the placenta, and then we are done, apart from a couple stitches to help you heal up." The doctor was encouraging, as the midwife cleaned up the complaining baby. "By the way, you have a daughter, with all the important bits and pieces intact." He laughed. "Sorry, my humour is a bit old-fashioned, Annetta. It helps me wind down after coping with a birth. It is not just the mother who has to put in some effort, you know. I think you will have an easier time, when you come back for your next one."

"Thanks, doctor. I shall speak to my husband about that, and make sure that it is not too soon. That birth was tough, I felt."

"Your first is often the worst, Annetta. You should be healed enough in about three weeks if you want to resume sex with your husband. If you are not keen early pregnancy, it is unlikely you will become pregnant while you are breast feeding. The body does its own thing to prevent you having another child too soon."

"So, if I want another one, I just go off the breast feeding, do I?"

"Certainly, the chances of a pregnancy are much higher when you stop breast feeding. Are you looking for a second child, then?"

Annetta replied, "Well, not immediately, but I wouldn't mind having one or two more. I like children."

"Annetta! How are you doing, girl?" Angelina had appeared in the room. "John is lying down in the other room, flaked out, but with a big smile on his face! I take it your baby arrived successfully?"

"Yep. John vanished as soon as the baby was out of me. He has been hanging round all the time I was in labour, not even taking a meal break, despite being advised to do so. He looked haggard."

"He was the same with me. Some men never learn; they get so committed to the support role at this time, that all common sense vanishes from their brains. I had best wake him and take him to the hospital café; and get some sustenance into him. Are you being looked after properly, sis?"

"Yep. The midwife, nurses and doctors have all been very attentive. I would have had more fun if I hadn't been so sore – and I still am – but it could not have gone better, Angelina. I am officially a mother now, no longer just a substitute for you."

Angelina was understanding. "I hope you will still be another Mum for my son, Annetta. He has become used to having two Mums to look after him. Sorry I missed your big event. I thought it would take longer, so I went for a quick snack. Apologies for my absence. What have you got?"

"A daughter, Angelina. The doctor seems happy with her, and Emily is just completing his cleaning and weighing, aren't you, Emily?"

"Yes, finished now. Do you want to hold her for a little while, Annetta? She is not terribly heavy, but perfect all the same. Ignore the monkey-looking face: that is normal for all new-borns."

Annetta held out her arms, and was handed the child. She turned the baby's face towards Angelina, and grinned cheerfully, before taking the baby to her naked breast. The little girl was quick to find the nipple and was soon sucking industriously. Annetta looked at her sister. "Go get John and revive him, Angelina. I don't want him back here until he is fully compos mentis."

As Angelina turned to leave, Annetta called to her, "Oh, I nearly forgot. Be a dear and phone Mama and tell her about me and my baby, will you?"

"Sure, I can do that, Annetta. I'll make Mama proud of you."

Moving back to the outer room, where John was slumped in an a basic arm chair, she regarded him with a wry smile; then decided to make the call to their mother first. The poor man could sleep a bit longer, she thought. She wen out and down to the café, and found an unoccupied table. Sitting down, she fished out her phone, and selected their parent's icon.

Within seconds of connecting, the phone was snatched up. "Annetta?" her mother queried. Angelina replied, "No, It is Angelina, Mama. Annetta is very tired, having just given birth to your grand-daughter." There was an intake of breath at the other end. "Mama?"

Her mother came back. "Are they both well, Angelina? She may have done wrong, but she is still my baby girl."

"Mama, she is still your baby girl, only now she is the mother of John's girl, and the baby will be so registered."

"That is wonderful, Angelina. Your husband is a very nice man."

"No, Mama. John has ALWAYS been a very nice man. Now he has a daughter to love, as well as a son, and I have become an Auntie to the baby!"

"You are sure, Angelina. You will love the child?"

"Mama, I will love this little girl as if she was my own, and John already regards the baby as his. He will stand up for her as his own from this day forward. He has already told me he wants to register the baby's birth, with him as the stated father. As far as John is concerned, he IS the baby's father!"

"You have a wonderful family there, Angelina. Now, can you wait while I call your Papa?"

Angelina's ears were hammered with her mother's yell. "Papa, Come here! Your Annetta has had her baby. We have a new granddaughter. Angelina is on the phone."

Shortly after, her father was speaking. "Angelina, where are you speaking from?"

"I am in the maternity hospital, Papa, down in the café to let Annetta sleep after all her hard work in producing your new grand-daughter. John is also asleep. The poor soul has been with Annetta right through her labour, just like he did for me. He will be an excellent father for our children."

"Thank you for letting us know, Angelina. Angelina ... children? Does that mean... ?"

Yes, Papa. We will both be having more children with John. We have become a loving family, I am happy to say. We will have lovely bambinos for you to admire in the future. Annetta loves John just as much as I do, Papa, and I am glad. No more flighty Annetta, just reliable wives and children in the future."

"Wonderful my daughter. It has worked out well. Give our love and congratulations to Annetta and John when they wake. Do send us pictures of the bambino as soon as you can, Angelina. I am a proud grandpapa, girl; proud of my girls on that far away planet."

"Bye, Papa. Does Mama want to say goodbye?"

"I am here, Angelina, listening beside your Papa. Goodbye, dear. We love you both, AND your children. Goodbye."

Angelina closed her phone, a tear glistening in each eye. She remained uncomfortable at the deception, at not being able to reveal that Annetta's child was genuinely John's all the time; but it was better to keep them in the dark. Mama and Papa were more comfortable, this way.

The last nails went into the roofing, and the storage unit was complete, apart from some internal titivating. The ladies wanted to be able to show it off to potential customers, so wanted signs for each bay and compartment. Archie had obliged with wooden signboards, which now required painting, as soon as decisions were made about what seeds went where.

Euphemia was ready to launch the business. "We should start with known clients whose wants are clear; get their orders in and the goods on their way, now that we have the place to store them. Next we get our adverts into the on-line newspaper, and take it from there. Whatever we get asked for, that is what we should order immediately, in bulk, so that we have seed supplies ready and waiting when the customer wants to pace an order. The chances are that most will be ordering similar ranges of seeds."

Ebenezer was amenable, but cautioned, "Make sure you have all your pricing policies sorted out, so that you can answer every query. Also, have you loaded the seed merchant's catalogue onto our own computer, to be able to check at once on what we can offer and factors such as delivery date, varieties that are appropriate to our planet's growing conditions, and so on?"

"Well, I have the catalogue, but I am not terribly familiar with its contents yet. Our prices I have got clear in my head, Ebenezer. I still remember what we have worked on or these, especially the discounts."

"Right. Get back to the catalogue. You don't start selling the service until you can answer any question almost immediately. You should only have to refer to the catalogue for fine details. You have to come over as an expert on what we offer: no hesitation in your replies."

"I have got it, dear. That's my task for today: familiarisation with our products. Isabella, you will have to deal with all the meals today. I won't have the time. Mother can help you. Oh, sorry, Phoebe can help you."

Winston did not know what was up, when he got a phone call from The Personalia. "Is that Winston Oluwosu?"

"It is. How can I help you?"

"We are The Personalia. We have selected you for a number of reasons. We wish to offer you, or someone you nominate, the chance of a specialist education through a new process we have developed. The induction procedure should be completed for an adult human being in only a relatively small number of hours, we hope."