Chapter 18: Having Babies and the New Doctors

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I was never so glad when the announcement to buckle in for landing came over the PA system.

We landed without incident. Then we disembarked and picked up our baggage. The next challenge was customs. Earth was a little paranoid about disease organisms or animals that might mess with the ecosystem that was finally getting back to normal. All luggage had to be inspected for possible contamination. Our WE were also polled for any indication of problem life forms. Our screening took one hour. People did stare at Beth and Mira when they got off the ship.

I said goodbye to Anu. Sushi and I wished him luck recruiting in Misore.

Beth escorted us to the charter terminal. Our plane was waiting. We had a subsonic flight to Sonoma County Airport. James and Marsha were there with two vans and a horse trailer. People did stare at Beth and Mira again when they got off the plane. Sushi decided to ride in the trailer with Beth and Mira.

I was so glad when we pulled into the drive way at the Savage homestead in Graton. Every Savage in California was there.

Then I saw them. It was Hunter and Lake and their four kittens. I pulled Sushi away from her mom and dad over to Hunter and Lake. Sushi and Lake went into a huddle. I just rolled my eyes at Hunter. He rolled his eyes back.

"He and Top had become friends as I suggested." Hunter told me. "He was really looking forward to returning to Manzanita Lake in the spring. Ranger Puck guaranteed Lake and him a job at Manzanita Lake." I then told Sushi we were neglecting our special guests Beth and Mira. We went over and apologized and took Beth and Mira around the crowd and introduced them.

James had a great barbeque setup.

This was OK as long as the meal was not another MRE. We had a great party. Mom and Bethany gathered around Sushi like mother hens. Marsha came over and gave Sushi's WE a check. The kittens were all doing well. She estimated that Sushi would give birth in three weeks. Lake joined the group with her kittens. To make the group whole Spot Mountain came over. Hunter, dad, Top and I stood off to the side and watched the show.

"That is a great group of females." Dad said. "We might as well let them go. They need to get this all out. Next they will be planning a kitten shower."

I got the guys and went and got in the Jacuzzi. I filled them in on what had happened on Bangalore. I introduced them to Beth. They were amazed. Hunter and Top were amazed at the whole story.

James saved our day. He ended the party at 2100. Sushi and I headed for bed. We were asleep in fifteen minutes.

We slept in. It was the first time we had done that in weeks. I gently woke Sushi. We went to the kitchen. It was 1020 Margaret was sipping some coffee. She just smiled and wished us a good morning. She poured Sushi a cup then poured me a cup. We took a car and went to Teddy's for brunch. Tuffy sat with us. We both had sausage waffles.

We went back to the Savage homestead. Beth had received a call from Dr Oedipus. He wanted to see us. I looked at Sushi and Beth. We were open tomorrow. I called him and made arrangements to meet. "Beth would you and Mira like to see San Francisco and the UC Med Center?" I asked. Sushi gave me a hit.

"I would like to, but I am not comfortable in the horse trailer. Maybe I had better stay here," was Beth's response.

I looked at Sushi and realized my mistake. I took Sushi back to the car. We went to the truck dealers and looked for a step van to buy. We found one with windows and bench seats down in Petaluma. I talked to the salesman and said we would take it if they would add a ramp on the back door. It was 1830 when we got home. We had Beth and Mira come out to see the van. It was perfect. We now have suitable transportation. Beth broke into a big smile.

"How about the four of us go to dinner out in Occidental?" I asked.

Sushi and Beth both broke into a smile.

"Can James, Helen, Beth and I come too?" Marsha asked.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes you can come along."

I got Sushi, Beth and Mira in the van and said, "Wagons Ho!"

We pulled into Occidental and parked in front of the Union Hotel. Beth and Mira had to use the patio entrance. Our hostess was wide eyed when she saw the two centaurs.

Beth looked at me. "You are enjoying this way too much. I may have to mess up your schedule."

I smiled, "Beth you knew when we came back to Earth you would be notorious. It is not every day humans see a living, breathing centaur. I know you like Italian food and lots of it. This is your kind of place. I think you will enjoy it."

With that we went inside and had an enjoyable meal. Beth liked her 24 oz New York steak. She also finished one tureen of minestrone soup by herself. Our waitress had to bring six loaves of French bread.

After dinner James suggested that we go back home and watch an older movie called "The Road to Wellville."

I did a double take at the name.

We all watched it. I made popcorn for everyone. Beth and Mira really liked that. She asked is that where we got the name for the island? I guess she was right.

We had a trip to UC Med Center in San Francisco tomorrow, so I took Sushi to bed right after the movie.

The next morning I went to the van to clean it up and make the ramp more secure. My two engineering buddies, James and Joe were already working on it. They had also installed two large windows in the side panels and a couch for Beth to lie on. She would not have to stand all of the time. We now had our centaur-compliant van.

I went inside and found Sushi and Margaret making breakfast for all of us. After breakfast, Joe, James and I took Beth and Mira out and showed them the rebuilt van and couch. Beth trotted in and lay down. The couch was perfect. She could get onto and off the couch with ease. The new windows allowed her to see the sights.

I asked Sushi if she wanted to go for a picnic to Armstrong Woods. She thought that would be nice. "Could we invite Hunter and Lake along? We could all visit Top and Spot." I checked on net with Hunter and Top. They all thought it would be a good day. The sun was out and it was pleasant at the bullfrog pond.

Sushi and I started to make sandwiches. Spot had lemonade and iced tea and Lake said, "We'll stop for some corn chips." We had a picnic!

Beth and Mira started to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked her.

"I am going to my room." Beth responded looking a little down.

Sushi looked at Beth. "Beth we want to show you and Mira Armstrong redwoods and the picnic was how we planned to do that. We also wanted you and Mira to get better acquainted with our friends Hunter and Lake. Will you please join us? The view from bullfrog pond is killer beautiful and there is nothing living like old growth redwood trees."

Beth blushed.

We all got in the van and were off. I stopped in Guerneville and bought some ice cream and potato chips. We then drove to the redwoods. At the gate we parked and visited the visitor's center. Beth and Mira did not fit so I brought them copies of the brochures in the center. Beth was looking at the small one hundred foot tall redwoods near the visitor's center.

I told Beth the ancient coast redwood is the tallest living thing on our planet! These remarkable trees live to be 500-1,000 years old, grow to a diameter of 12-16 feet and stand from 200-250 feet tall. Some trees survive to over 2000 years and tower above 350 feet. Coast redwoods are classified as temperate rainforests and they need wet and mild climates to survive. The rainfall in Armstrong Redwoods averages 55 inches per year and the trees are often shrouded in a mystical fog that helps to maintain the moist conditions needed for the redwoods to survive. We had similar conditions on Nova Blessing on Bangalore.

I suggested that we walk in to the picnic grounds. We would walk past some of those giant redwoods. Sushi could drive in and meet us there.

Beth and Mira really liked that idea. Beth had me climb up on her back so we could speak quietly.

I climbed up and we were off.

Beth was amazed at the trees. I told her the trees at the entrance were only one hundred years old. They were actually second growth trees.

Sushi drove in and met Hunter and his family at the picnic grounds. They all walked back and met us on the road. Lake had a pram built for four. The four kittens were asleep in it. Hunter really liked Armstrong Redwoods. He wished he could have a job there instead of Lassen Park.

We got back to the picnic grounds and climbed into our car and van and drove up to the Bull Frog Pond. Top and Spot were both there and had a table set up for us on their patio. Spot took Lake, Beth and Sushi and introduced Beth and Mira to her daughters, Jessica and Jenny. Top then took us on a tour of the interpretive center. The center had a high ceiling and wide doors so Beth was able to walk inside. Top went into his AV presentation.

We then went back to Top's patio for lunch.

After lunch Top gave us a guided tour of Austin Creek and Armstrong Redwoods. I left Sushi, Lake, her kittens and Beth and Mira at the picnic grounds. Hunter and I walked back to the camp ground with the Mountains.

On the way back Hunter asked me if there were any outdoor opportunities on Bangalore. He was interested in forest or park management. There were no similar opportunities here on Earth. He wanted to pioneer some land and help in forestation. Lake was willing to travel with him. I told him I would check with our forest products director when we got back to our wives.

We got to the summit and wished Top and Spot good bye. We drove my van and Hunter's car to the picnic grounds.

I called Anu on net. I explained about Hunter and Lake and their desire to work in the woods and or a large park. They would have their GED by New Year's. They were interested in pioneering on Bangalore.

Anu was encouraging. He wanted the lumber staff to meet and talk with Hunter and his family. The Backuses could fly back with the Maliks after the first of the year. Anu would guarantee their transportation to and from Bangalore. If all went well, the return flight would not be needed.

I passed this information on to Hunter and Lake. I told them that emigration to Bangalore was possible. The émigré had to prove the availability of a job on Bangalore. His acceptance would be up to his prospective coworkers. I told Hunter and Lake not to worry Nova Blessing was a continent as large as North America. That is a lot of territory to pioneer. His experience at Lassen and his GED would be a good combination of education and work experience.

We sat and talked for a while when we got back to the picnic site. At 1630 Beth reminded us that we had some shopping to do for dinner. We left for the Guerneville Safeway store. Beth got out the list Maria had given her. It took an hour to shop for all of the things on the list. We got back home ten minutes after Maria.

Maria made a simple dinner of spaghetti and meat balls with steamed zucchini and tossed salad. She had an apple pie for desert.

Beth and Mira talked about the redwood trees and being gone all day with a group of smart cats.

After dinner, James and Marsha challenged Sushi and me to play bridge in the family room. Beth watched with interest. We played three hands. James and Marsha beat us in all three hands. We went to bed after that defeat. I had an early morning appointment with Dr Oedipus in San Francisco.

The next morning I did not sleep in. Sushi, Beth and I went to Teddy's for breakfast.

The front door would not accommodate Beth but the stage area had a large door. We used that. There were a lot of surprised patrons when Beth walked in and sat down. Beth had three plain waffles and syrup. Sushi and I had sausage and waffle combo each. We were off to San Francisco at 0645. Yes there still is rush hour traffic. We got to UC just in time to make my appointment to see Dr Oedipus. We had no trouble with the ceiling height or door size. Dr Oedipus' secretary gave a gasp when she saw Beth.
After a few minutes she told us to go in. Doctor O was glad to see us.

Dr Oedipus was waiting on the edge of his tank; he extended three tentacles and shook hands with all of us. He welcomed Beth back to Earth. Beth had been a nursing assistant in the first staff at Bangalore.

I gave him a detailed report of what we had found and how the hospital was doing. He was sad to hear of the fate of Dr Steele. He had been a brilliant surgeon. I told him that almost all of the people that had been converted to centaurs decided to remain at Bangalore as centaurs. We now had two towns and a village near the hospital. We had some equipment needs but our UN budget was covering those nicely. Our real need was more doctors and nurses. We had ten operating theaters and only enough staff to support three theaters.

I asked if he could let me address the graduating class. I hoped to do some recruiting. I had a thirty minute presentation on the life at Bangalore as medical staff member.

I would be open to a question and answer session after the presentation.

Dr. Oedipus asked if we could wait in San Francisco until 16:00 he could have a group ready by then.

I looked at Sushi and Beth. We would go to Chinatown and get dim sum. We would be back by 1530.

We left and went to Chinatown. On the way there we stopped at Golden Gate Park. Beth used the horse trail to relieve her bowels and bladder. We found a restaurant with a lucky tall door. I went inside and talked to the hostess. She had a table Beth could sit at. We all went in and I ordered some curried noodles to start with and explained how you order at a dim sum luncheon. Beth was intrigued.