Chapter 24

“Very well. Move them as soon as you feel rested enough. Did you carry these lumps all the way home? My poor boy! Where did they come from?”

“The area where the marble lies, Jessica. That spot appears to me to be the initial source of the gold on our land, but that is just my guess. How are the children?”

“They are all happy today, thank God. It makes life so much simpler. I was able to give Rex some extra attention while the others were dozing. Our son is a wonderful little boy, Reg.”

“With a mother like you, my love, I am not surprised. Mind you, almost every mother thinks her latest child is wonderful. Are Sidra and Elizabeth still keen to speak with John Meadows the pharmacist?”

“They are. They are both quite high. I think it is the excitement of a possible first job. I hope they settle down for the interview.”

“Who is arranging that?”

“It is between Frances and Mr Meadows. They want to keep Fiona out of the matter, so that she cannot be accused of favoritism, even though there is no-one else being considered. Mr Meadows wants to speed up the process as part of his plans to get the pharmacy up and running, so the interviews should be done soon.”

Reg commented, “Something struck me as odd. Starting the first shop in the second city? Why not the first city, with the greater population to provide for?”

“Fiona told me that she was new at the pharmacy business, as until now it was her father’s business career as a supplier and she hadn’t decided what she aspect she would pursue once she graduated in pharmacy. She has been pushed into the retail business through matters beyond her control, so she prefers to start with the second city, as being less pressure on her and her staff at the beginning. I would guess that as soon as she feels secure in her operation, she will seek a shop in City One to expand her little empire. There is potential for many more pharmacy shops, you know.”

“Yes, but she still needs a qualified pharmacist for each shop, or there could be problems: a pharmacy can’t dispense medicines without a pharmacist checking every script against the medicine for each client. To do otherwise would leave the business open to legal recourse; accusations of allowing harm. Fiona told me that herself.”

“Hmm ... makes sense I suppose. She must make her own business decisions and be happy with them. My wives are slowly developing their talents, so I should do nothing to hold them back. They are all able in their own ways.”

“Really? All of them? What talents do you think I have, Reg?”

“Primarily, motherhood abilities. You learned how to raise a child in difficult circumstances, so any normal conditions are easy for you in comparison. You had one daughter for many years, and now you’ve got a baby son, yet you have no trouble looking after all the other children we have in the family. That is a wonderful ability, Jessica, one that the first-time mothers appreciate.”

“Thanks, dear. I love being a mother again, so also mothering the other girls’ babies comes naturally.”

“Any word from these girls, Jessica?”

“Nothing as yet. No news is good news in this case. They must still be digging out gold. When they start for home, one of them will let me know so I can make a start on the dinner.”

“Dinner ... any thoughts on that, Jessica?”

“We have plenty in the freezer to choose from, but I thought that a mixed bean salad, stir fried, with a selection of greens from the vicinity of the house, might go down well.”

“We do a lot of vegetarian meals, don’t we?”

“With the restrictions on meat availability, it is to be expected, dear, and it is also good for your health. In the near future we will have Rehome-farmed chicken based on imported fertile eggs, and that will boost the meat market. My guess is that the demand will outstrip supply for a while, so chicken will go back to being an expensive meat. Give it a couple of years and our local farmers will have plenty of chicken for sale much cheaper.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. A strong demand always boosts the supply side.”

“You have rested enough, Reg. Time to shift these dirty lumps to the bath. If you don’t fancy doing that, I can always find you a child needing changed after doing a poop.”

“Hmm ... I think I will choose to move the lumps to the bath, Jessica. I will move them one at a time, to make it easier for me.” He was careful not to damage the smooth bath surface as he gently laid them down.

Having moved them, he turned on the cold water handle and cleaned them with soapy water and the toilet brush; the brown waste water quickly swirled away down the drain-hole as the bright glint of gold was revealed. After cleaning, he left them to dry for a while. Wet gold was probably slippery, he assumed.

His phone rang. It was someone from Administration.

“Mr Robertson? Thank you for your submission about hunting; it was quite interesting, what you suggested. We have hunting licences down for future attention, but we had not considered the subject in as much detail as your email contains. We have a committee to look at proposals for new rules to be applied in the Colony, so your email has been passed to them for attention. May I ask why this matter is important to you?”

“That’s easy. I have been appointed to look after the first National Park to be instituted, and I was thinking that hunting must either be completely banned or severely restricted within the Park boundaries. Then I looked at the question on a wider scale, taking into account our lack of knowledge about local ecological interdependency of species. We should not allow hunting of a species before we know how hunting would impact on their numbers and other species that would be affected, such as predators or prey species. Many predators have low numbers to start with, and reducing those numbers may allow a prey species to expand exponentially, to the detriment of the Colony. It is the old problem, but in reverse: a pest introduced without having any control by a predator species leads to mass population expansion such as mice in Australia. Allowing a predator to be killed might cause similar unintended consequences. I wanted to avoid major imbalances that might happen through unregulated hunting. The Passenger Pigeon is an example.”

“A good point, Mr Robertson. I have now consulted our database and see that you are indeed designated as National Park Administrator for the Colony; not just for the one Park. I shall put you down as prime consultant for any matter that may impinge on National Park operations.”

“That’s kind of you, sir. If at any time I am not immediately available, one or more of my wives may be able to fill in for me. They are all university students, cut off from completing their courses, but doing well at the time we left Earth.”

“I see. You are obviously unaware of the latest development in education here. The Personalia have devised a procedure for cramming your brain with the remainder of your course in just a few hours. You need a recovery phase of several days before you are back to normal, but then you have all the necessary knowledge at your disposal.

You have to go to orbit for that procedure, but they have tested it with several students and have all the kinks worked out of it now. Speak to The Personalia if anyone wants to make use of this facility.”

It was like a light bulb switched on above Reginald’s head. Fiona would benefit from finishing her university course to get her Masters degree in Pharmacy. The practice-based additional requirement would be waived by the Colony, he was certain, as she would be working initially with John Meadows anyway.

“Thanks exceedingly for that information. It could prove pretty useful for my family.”

Later, the rest of the family trooped back to the house from the Robson farm, tired but happy after a day working outside without having a small child hanging on. They each greeted Reg with a hug and kiss before dropping down into a cushioned chair. Jessica gave them a couple of minutes to rest, then started bringing the babies through to their mothers. Most smiled, but a few gave a grimace, saying, “I hope not needing changed, Jessica?” She reassured them that all the children were currently clean and dry. That was appreciated.

Frances asked, “No sign of Fiona yet?”

“Nope. I expect she is having a busy day, with all the stock arriving and needing to be unpacked and checked before being placed on the shelves. Do you want me to ring her?”

“No, dear. Just leave her. If she wants to speak to us, she’ll let us know. How was your own day?”

“The digital printouts for our own land showed some interesting hits and I did some excavating where the trail seemed to start. I dug up a couple of heavy nuggets; oh, that reminds me, I left them in the bath to dry. I had better remove them before I get in trouble with you girls.”

Frances opened her eyes wide. “Heavy nuggets from our land? That means they belong to us, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, they belong to us; worth a fair old bit by my reckoning. That should boost our bank balance.”

“Fine. From all the gold we dug up today, we are only getting a small slice of the value. Still, the quantity is good for the whole community. Sidra and Elizabeth did an excellent job as well. They phoned John Meadows and have the interview time arranged for tomorrow. They will go into the city and meet him at the shop. He will warn Fiona that she has to stay out of the way while he interviews them.”

“How is Sandra? I heard she was a bit under the weather this morning.”

“She’ll be okay. I am sure it is the onset of morning sickness; nothing more.”

Reginald grinned. “So that confirms her as pregnant?”

Frances sighed theatrically. “Yes, dear, though she was already fairly sure. You are as fertile as ever. Marrying you has proved to be the precursor to pregnancy, every time. Thank God you are not interested in any more women.”

Reg chuckled, “I am always interested in women, Frances, but not more for this family. I have enough to keep me busy for many years.”

“As long as it is just interest, darling. Keep your hands off other women; put them on your wives instead; you’ll have no objections.”

Next day, Sidra and Elizabeth went with Fiona for their interviews with John Meadows. Fiona told them she would be doing other things, mainly shopping, while they were being interviewed, so that there would be no pressure from her. To her surprise, they asked her to remain nearby, so that she could be there for them before and after the interview. She asked why, and they said that they would feel more comfortable if one of their mothers was around, to be there for them if either had a panic attack or felt sick.

Fiona was struck by this logic, and agreed to remain on the premises, and only be out of their sight during the actual interview.

“Thanks, Mum Fiona,” said Elizabeth. “You and the other mothers are the nearest thing to a real Mum that I have had for years, so it is important I have you as a fallback if there is a problem.”

Sidra assented to that feeling. “My own mum is busy with Rex, so you are the next best thing for me too.”

“All right, girls. I am happy to be there as your mother during this time of pressure on you, but as your ‘mother’ I also expect you young women to behave as Robertson girls and be strong women. Believe in yourselves and you will cope well,” she advised.

While the pair were being quizzed by John Meadows, Fiona chatted with the two assistants, Jane and Debbie. They admitted it was their doing that John was interviewing for the posts.

“We want to be able to take a day off during our periods if these are bad, and also get some holiday breaks as well. For that, and for illness cover should it happen, you need to have replacements on standby, but the temporary staff have to be able to do the job so will need training in our processes and procedures for dealing with customers and abiding by the pharmacy rules to guard against errors. We didn’t mention your girls as possibles; John did that all by himself.”

“Yes, he told me that, ladies. He seems to be amenable to suggestions from you two. Is that just your practical advice, or is there something developing between you?”

That stopped both women for a moment, then Debbie said shyly, “Perhaps a bit of both, Mrs Robertson. We try to be professional, but if he notices us also as women, all the better.”

Fiona grinned back. “Good, good. Work on it, girls, at your own pace. I don’t want to interfere.”

After what felt a long time, Sidra and Elizabeth came out of Mr Meadow’s office, with him behind them. All were smiling.

John spoke to Fiona, “The interview went well, Mrs Robertson, so now I want them to see a little about what the work entails. I’ll get Debbie and Jane to show them how they work in the shop, and tell them some more about work conditions.”

He raised his voice.

“Deborah! Jane! Will you ladies take these trainees and show them something about what an assistant does in our pharmacy. Not more than an hour today, then if everything is fine, we can have them in on another day to get more detailed training. I have to discuss with Mrs Robertson some matters relating to pay and other entitlements.”

He ushered Sidra and Elizabeth over to the assistants, and they were welcomed with a hug each. John gestured to Fiona towards his office, and they entered.

Once they were sat down on either side of his desk, John explained, “I have offered your girls a rate of pay per hour that is half of what trained assistants get. They will be entitled to holiday benefits the same as full-time assistants, so if they normally come in for a three-hour day, a day off is equivalent to three hours pay. If it is variable hours, we will average it out; and apply the same basis for sick pay, should they need any. Does that appear equitable to you as owner, Fiona?”

“Eminently sensible, John,” she agreed. “Have their pay sent direct to a bank account which they will give you. I do not want them to be handling cash too readily. Jessica and Reginald can make it clear to them that what they earn should stay in their bank account for now. All their essentials are provided by the family at present and that should stay the norm. Once they are older, things may change; especially if they start working full-time and earning a lot more.”

“On that point, I was impressed at some of their answers. They appear to very practical young women, and have an amazing range of knowledge for their age group.”

Fiona nodded, saying, “We home-school them, and with our own wide range of knowledge and education, they pick up all sorts of things very quickly. They are encouraged to ask questions, such as why something is done the way it is, so don’t be surprised if you find the same. It is not criticism, just seeking more knowledge.”

John seemed happy with that. “I will pass that on to Jane and Debbie, so they understand such questions in the right way.”

“Fine,” Fiona declared. “You have seen enough of your assistants to get to know their abilities. Do they meet your expectations? Are they competent to pass on business procedures to Elizabeth and Sidra?”

“They are great staff,” John told her. “The more I work with them, the more I appreciate how competent they are at the work. They were well trained at the pharmacy on Earth and applied it here without trouble. The differences are minor; mostly simplified rules both business-wise and pharmacy-related.”

“Anything else to say about them?”