Chapter 72: Time Marches On!

Late May, 1988

Greg POV:

Oh my God! We’ve got babies everywhere!

First was Gracie, with ‘twins’, Randall Ryan and Martha Maryann Hopkins (Randy and Marty). Then, Emmy with Marcus William and Sally Ann Nelson. Linda was next with little Maxine Iris Lester-Swenson. (Max wasn’t crazy about the hyphenated last name, saying that Linda should just use ‘Swenson’, but, Linda insisted.)

Then, Sarah with another cute red-headed daughter, Dayna Jean James-Swenson. (No arguments there!)

And next was Charlene with my second son, Daniel Charles Sanders-Grayson. It’s a good thing he has a strong name since he has flaming red hair which oft-times doesn’t go over well with boys! (Although, little Abby has really taken to him!)

And, we can’t forget our South Beachers, with Mina giving birth to a cute little black-haired girl, Caitlin and Laura with little Glenda. That’s nine with Terri really starting to show with the baby she conceived with JB over the Thanksgiving weekend!

And now, Marty, Wendy and Marian just announced THEY were all pregnant too!

I feel Bill needs to invest in Pampers’s stock! Even if these kids would probably only need diapers for a few months.

Since it’s the ‘off-season’ for football, all of our South Beach Family and their kids have been here for the last two weeks. Tom and Terri had a month of vacation saved up, but, not wanting to use it all, will be heading home in the next few days. They both, however, have put in applications for jobs here!

And, with the news that Bill Bidwell was moving the St. Louis Cardinals football team to Phoenix, both Ryan and Marcus had their agents working to try and get them traded here! Initially, they would be playing at ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium. So, I warned them the first month of the season would be brutal as far as playing here!

Marcus chuckled, “I’ll take that under advisement. It’s just, if you’ll have us, living with y’all for these last couple weeks has been wonderful! And, the kids are going to hate it when we have to go back to Miami! Tyrone has literally been Abby’s shadow and is captivated with his three new siblings, two of whom will be staying here.”

And that’s why we had them sit down with Bill, Ed and me so we could explain our Family Charter so they could consider joining us. Our 8 construction members have not been offered that option yet, and are just living here as a ‘reward’ for doing such a wonderful job on our Hacienda. Glenn is the lone exception and he, Amy and Lonnie have been ‘incorporated’ into the Family Charter.

I really wish Charlie was here! And Mary, Bob and CJ too, of course. We’ve been trying to limit the ‘full’ members until his return. But, with the recent ‘integration’ of babies, their status bears heavy, immediate consideration.

Not to mention the kids themselves, who’ve been totally accepted by Abby and her ‘Posse’ of Tyler, Eric, Livy, Crystal, Kevin and Jennifer. Between the seven of them (but I suspect mostly Abby), they have the entire crop of ‘newbies’ already communicating with us!

And, their new buddies are now communicating with our snake friends!

I discovered that Marcus and Ryan were as afraid of snakes as I used to be. Even seeing little Tyrone playing with them didn’t ‘inspire’ Marcus to try it! That is until Ryan reminded him that they’d seen some coral snakes in their yard recently and wondered if they’d now be able to ‘talk’ to them?

I slowed his roll a tad, “You’ll want to take little Zeus and Abby home with you! Abby is the one who really CAN talk to animals and she was the first to make friends with them. Then, Zeus assisted to make it so the snakes could ‘talk’ to and understand us.”

Ryan looked thunderstruck, “Little Abby can talk to any animal? Holy Dr. Doolittle!”

I shrugged, grinning, “I don’t know about ALL animals, but, we’re planning on taking her to a zoo to see if there are others she can communicate with.”

Sarah and Darren came around with little Dayna Jean, ‘DJ’, and overheard my last comment, Sarah said, “I’d be glad to bring Abby and Zeus if you’d like her to try to ‘tame’ your snakes? Darren has to go to Ibera’s tomorrow for a bit, but, he can do that from anywhere.”

Marcus grinned, “Tyrone would love having Abby come home with us. If we have time, Ryan and I could take all the kids to the big aquarium at the stadium to see our pet ‘mascot’ dolphins.”

“Oh, Abby would love that!” Sarah gushed.

I chuckled, “Well, looks like we’re taking a trip to Miami? Are we taking all the kids?”

We ‘summoned’ the ladies and it was decided all the babies would stay here and Jamie, Darren, JB, Amy, Glenn and I would go to Miami with the ones who had to go back. And, taking the ‘older’ kids with us to see the dolphins.

Sarah then opted to stay home with the baby when Marcus assured her he’d take care of Abby!

Miami Dolphins’ ‘Mascot’ Aquarium and Aquatic Entertainment Center, Miami, Florida

Marcus POV:

Before we left Arizona, I called the director of the aquatic center to ask permission to bring all the kids for a special viewing. I made sure to inform him of the ages of the children involved and he was very excited to have them all come and see the dolphins.

Now, just as we were herding all the kids into the center, we were met by the head trainer who told us that there might be a complication.

It seems that Dolly, the star attraction, hadn’t been acting like her usual self. I told him that we just came all the way from Arizona and the kids would be extremely disappointed if they didn’t get a chance to see the dolphins.

He made a call to the center’s director and after a few minutes of heated debate, told me he would do what he could. He said we might have to be happy with Kenny and a few of the other dolphins putting on a show without the star attraction, Dolly.

I asked him what seemed to be the matter with her and he said for the last few days she seemed ‘moody’, and said if she had been a human, might think she had PMS. He said that the head veterinarian was in the process of running some tests and would have the results sometime later today.

As he led us into the aquarium / tank area, the kids were excited to see a few of the dolphins flying through the air and splashing down.

They were being directed in their acrobatics by a cute trainer, named Cheryl.

While the head trainer, Kyle, seemed ambivalent about having the kids there, Cheryl seemed delighted and excited to see all the little ones.

Little Abby and Tyrone led the way, nearly running over to meet Cheryl, who was standing right next to the edge of the pool. Because of their young ages, she summoned one of her assistants to get lifejackets for all the little ones, just in case one of them fell in.

I was surprised they had enough of these very small lifejackets that seemed perfect for the little ones.

Cheryl grinned, “We just got these this morning. We had them rushed over when the director told me you were bringing your young audience. And, the director wanted to make a media / PR event out of this. The reporter and camera crew should be out here any minute!”

Little Abby wasted no time getting on her knees and petting Kenny’s head, who was partially laying on the deck.

I had to bite back a chuckle when Abby immediately began making strange squeaking sounds that really sounded like she was talking to Kenny, who was excitedly squeaking back to her. Cheryl even started to giggle, thinking it was cute the way this little girl was trying to talk to her dolphins.

She was surprised when a few seconds later Dolly came up and perched her head on the deck of the pool, right next to Kenny’s. And, of course, now Abby seemed to be talking to both of them!

(Now I really had to stifle myself as Amy ‘told’ me that Abby really was talking to both of the dolphins!)

When Cheryl tried to tell Abby she didn’t think they really understood what Abby was trying to tell them, little Abby looked up at her with huge eyes and said, “Oh, but they really do understand me! Kenny says that he thinks Dolly is going to have his baby! And, that’s why she hasn’t been feeling too good these last few days.”

Cheryl looked up at me, thunderstruck. Then she summoned the head trainer who was talking to who I later discovered was the head veterinarian.

Then, all hell broke loose when Abby suddenly climbed onto Kenny’s back and he took off, giving little Abby a ride around the pool!

I’m pretty sure if the facility’s insurance agent had been there, the poor guy would’ve had a heart attack! It was pandemonium, as both Cheryl and the head trainer were desperately trying to signal Kenny and Dolly, who’d joined him, to bring the child back.

Amy stepped in and told them that little Abby was actually a very accomplished swimmer and they had no need to panic.

Then, the most amazing thing happened! The Family’s little Chihuahua, Zeus, suddenly appeared. Now the head trainer was trying to find somebody to get rid of this dog, that had apparently scampered in from somewhere.

I stopped him and said, “Don’t worry about him, the little guy’s name is Zeus and he’s with us. He’s actually very well behaved, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Zeus barked a couple of times, mostly for show, but was actually communicating with Abby, telling her to have Kenny bring her back.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I ‘heard’ little Abby in my head, “Awww, do we have to come back already?”

I grinned at her, while waving her toward me, “You’ve got everyone here in a panic, thinking you might be in danger. I know you’re not, but we don’t want to cause these people here anymore unnecessary excitement than we have to!”

When Kenny half beached himself on the deck, allowing Abby to climb off, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheryl, trying not to be too angry sounding, asked Abby, “Why did you do that, young lady?”

Abby just smiled, “Because, Kenny asked me if I wanted to go for a ride and it sounded like fun! Please don’t be mad at him, okay?”

Cheryl half grinned, “You know, you didn’t actually talk to Kenny, don’t you?”

Abby looked wide-eyed, while shaking her head, “But I really did! Kenny says he loves doing tricks for you, and said it took a long time for him to learn your hand signals. I can prove it to you. Whisper to me what you want him to do and I’ll ask him to do it, okay?”

Cheryl was grinning and shaking her head, “Aaargh! Okay, tell him to do a back flip, followed by a front flip, okay?”

Not two seconds after everyone heard little Abby doing her squeaking and squawking both Kenny and Dolly dove under the water and, together, did a back flip, immediately followed by a front flip!

If not for Tyrone and the rest of the kids cheering, you could’ve heard a pin drop!

Cheryl’s jaw liked to hit the floor! Not to mention the head trainer’s as well. Cheryl got on her knees, so she could look Abby right in the eye, “That was amazing, Abby! Do you think you could teach me how to understand and communicate with Kenny and Dolly like you just did?”

While Abby was nodding and grinning wildly, the head trainer was not so easily convinced. “Cheryl, you don’t actually believe this little tyke, do you?”

“Kyle, you just saw it for yourself! Somehow or another, this little girl has the amazing ability to communicate with our dolphins. Here, let me see if I can get her to get a couple of the other dolphins to do a trick, without me signaling in any way.”

Cheryl whispered in Abby’s ear, then, Abby began making her noises again. She asked Abby to have Kenny summon Sammy and Bailey, another pair of dolphins and have them come over.

First, Abby seemed to be talking to Kenny. Kenny then went underwater and the next thing we knew, two more dolphins beached themselves right next to Kenny and Dolly.

I about busted a gut as I had to catch Kyle, to keep him from hitting the ground, since he looked like he was about to pass out!

There was now quite a crowd gathering around, not the least of whom were the camera crew and the reporter. And, as all this was happening, Abby was having a mental conversation with Zeus, asking if he could somehow help Cheryl be able to talk to her dolphins, just like she could.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard Zeus, in his deep bass voice, telling Abby that he didn’t think it was a good idea with so many people around. That’s when Abby looked all around, apparently understanding what Zeus was getting at, then whispered in Cheryl’s ear.

Despite looking somewhat disappointed, Cheryl gave Abby a hug, while nodding in agreement. Abby had obviously told her that right now would not be a good time. Then, Abby asked if both she and Tyrone could go for a ride with Dolly and Kenny.

While the camera crew and reporters seemed very excited about the possibility, it was obvious the head trainer was giving Cheryl the evil eye, while shaking his head furiously.

Abby caught the exchange and asked, sweetly, “Pleeease Mister Kyle? Dolly says they’ll be very careful so we don’t get hurt, okay?”

Knowing that positive PR is never a bad thing, and with all of us ‘parents’ grinning at him, telling him it was okay, he finally consented.

My little Tyrone wasn’t quite as eager as Abby, but followed her lead and the next thing everyone knew, the two of them were riding their new friends all around the pool. Then, Linda’s two little ones, Olivia and Eric, asked if they could go for a ride with Sammy and Bailey.

What no one could hear, was the two of them had already asked Abby to see if Sammy and Bailey would give them rides! Then, just before climbing on, I noticed little Zeus licking both of them on the nose, then doing the same with Sammy and Bailey.

What I heard next blew even my mind.

The two of them were now talking to Sammy and Bailey! Then, the next thing that happened was all four of the kids seemed to be racing around the pool, squealing and laughing, having the time of their lives.

All of the pool’s personnel were now gathered around, with open mouths, not believing what they were seeing. Kyle even said, tongue in cheek, “I hope to hell our insurance agents don’t see this!”

Cheryl started giggling, “Oh, don’t worry, I know how to use the defibrillator!”

After several minutes, Amy mentally summoned Abby, telling her that she had enough fun for today and to have her new, finned friends bring all of them back. There were some long faces on the rest of the kids, knowing that they would probably not be getting their turns, today.

Cheryl, while waiting for the kids’ return, was now talking animatedly with Amy. I couldn’t hear everything, but the words ‘amazing’, and ‘could they come back tomorrow’, was unmistakable. While Kyle still wasn’t totally convinced, there was no denying that Cheryl fully believed Abby really could talk to the dolphins, in their own language! Even as the kids were reluctantly dismounting from their new friends, everyone could hear all four of the kids squeaking and squawking, not knowing they were actually thanking their new friends for the fun rides they got. Then, Kyle looked completely shocked when the head veterinarian told him that the test he ran yesterday showed that Dolly was indeed pregnant!

Kyle was completely gobsmacked! “That little girl, Abby, said that Kenny had told her that just before they went for a ride! I heard her with my own ears! How in the world could she know that?”

Cheryl was smiling and said, with a half giggle, “Are you starting to believe me now, Kyle? If Abby was even eight years older I’d talk to the big boss and try to convince him to hire her. I’ve seen some amazing things but none of them even comes close to what I witnessed today.”

Now Kyle was down on one knee, with his arms gently holding Abby’s shoulders, “Would you and your friends like to come back tomorrow?”

Abby just looked up at him with her big green eyes, smiled, then said, “Sure! Do you think maybe the rest of my brothers and sisters could get rides then?”

Kyle started chuckling, “I think something could be arranged along those lines, my little sweetie. As long as you wouldn’t mind trying to explain to us, when there are not so many people around, how it is you can talk to my dolphins like you do?”

Abby nodded excitedly, then kissed Kenny on the cheek, “Thank you, and as long as Uncle Marcus says it’s okay, we would all love to come back!”

And they (we) did!

This time there were almost no others around.

JB put everyone associated with the aquatic center under a ‘Confidentiality Spell’ and explained that everything they were about to learn wasn’t up for anyone else to ever know. Then, Cheryl and Kyle along with Abby, JB, Amy and Zeus seemed to disappear for a few seconds!

What nobody else, as far as the center’s personnel knew was, they went to see Ibera!

I wish I coulda gone, but they wanted me to stay here, hoping they’d be back very soon. Amy and Jamie told me we needed to try and distract everyone for a few minutes, saying they were getting some ‘special’ help. It felt good to at least ‘know’ exactly what they were doing! We didn’t have to do any explaining as they were only gone for a few seconds! And returned exactly where they’d been standing!

Amy told me, silently, they’d been at Ibera’s for nearly an hour, which translated to only five seconds here! And the only signs that anything had happened were the huge grins on Cheryl’s and Kyle’s faces.

And, the second they returned, ran over to the edge of the pool and started squeaking! All four of the dolphins from yesterday immediately beached themselves on the edge of the deck, squeaking in return. Then, after a second or two, there was silence as those of us in the family could tell that they were now communicating telepathically with their dolphins. Abby and Tyrone were right there with them and it wasn’t long before Abby had the rest of her ‘posse’ lined up to get their rides! Even Keisha and Tina, who weren’t that great when it came to swimming, were eagerly waiting their turns.

The aquatics manager had to slow their roll while he went and grabbed all the lifejackets.

For the next hour the only squeals heard were from the kids! Heck, if I wasn’t so big, I might’ve lined up for a ride too! Even JB got in the water and hitched a ride by grabbing onto Dolly’s fin. Then, Amy and Jamie peeled down to their bra and panties and joined him. Amy was funny, mentally telling me she wasn’t a very good swimmer but for some reason felt very safe being in the water with these dolphins.

I have a feeling many more people in the family are gonna wish they had been here! And, like all good things, it finally came to an end. Kyle and Cheryl couldn’t thank everyone enough and both of them picked up little Abby and gave her a special kiss on her forehead.

Then, just before we left, JB reminded them that everything that happened here fell under their confidentiality consequence. Which, I discovered would be slightly more painful for Kyle and Cheryl, as they had gotten the more permanent ‘Confidentiality Consequence’ due to now having telepathy.

Needless to say, the entire family were invited to come back and visit anytime they wished!

JB POV: Back in Arizona, several days later.

Amy, Glenn, Lonnie and I were reminiscing about our trip to Miami when we were summoned by Monte to meet him up at Ibera’s.

Monte exhaled loudly, then said, “As you know, a few months ago I ‘fessed up’ to the KGB leaders we met with, that we’d successfully convinced the Bargantuans to head to a different planet. While I didn’t elaborate on exactly how it was done, I did say it was with the help of the ‘Changelings’ and their amazing starship. Of course, I then had to tell them exactly where they were now headed.”

I chuckled, “Let me guess, they reported that there were only 9 ships in their convoy now!?”

“Aaargh!” Monte moaned, “NO! They just told me their ‘tailing ship’ just reported there were now only 7 in their formation! Thankfully Tumrik was with them and, while remaining cloaked, asked the General, Clyde, where the two missing motherships went! The General was very nervous, but told him that not long after we left them two ships slipped away from the group when most of the other crews were sleeping! He confessed that they were captained by two of the leaders who were against going to their ‘alternate’ destination. Then, Tumrik’s crew attempted to find the two renegade ships, but, after many checks and calculations couldn’t find them!”

I asked, “Is Tumrik back here now?”

“No, but they’re expected back later today.” Monte replied.

“Jeez, Monte, that was like six months ago! Did Tumrik say how extensively they searched? You don’t think they might be headed back to their home planet, do you? After all, there’s now probably only between 10 and 30,000 of them. You think that’s a possibility?”

“Tumrik thought of that! He said they went more than far enough in the direction of their home planet but found no trace of them.”

Lonnie had a thoughtful look on his face, “You know, Boss, putting on my ‘criminal mind’ hat I’ll bet whoever those two renegade captains are, they would have figured their departure would be noticed sooner or later. If it were me, I would plot a slightly different route toward Earth, either not in a straight line, or even just, in simple terms, going higher or lower than a direct line between where they were and Earth. If they were to say travel upwards for four or five days, then plot a course for that same relative distance above Earth, it would be nearly impossible for us to discover them until they got much closer to us.”