Chapter 16: Going to Breakfast

Maria had just sat down to her morning cup of hot coffee when the phone rang. Reaching over she picked it up.

"Hello? Ted, Honey, how are you? Are you ok? Why have you not called ... oh silly me, you are calling now. Did you all have a good time? Did Tammy get any pictures? Oh, what's that? Ok, let me ask them." Getting up, she walked down the hallway, looked in the bedroom, and called to her husband, "Andy, wake up!" as she walked over to the bed.

On the bed, Andy rolled over to look at his wife and grinned at her, and replied, "I am awake."

Reaching up he slipped the coffee cup from her hand and took a sip.

"Ahhh, that's good. What's up, my beautiful lover?"

Smiling at her husband's compliment, she asked him, "Teddy is on the phone, he wants to know if we want to meet him and the Thompson family for breakfast at Baldini's, and get your own damn coffee."

Taking the cup back, she took another drink. Andy yawned and smiled up at his wife.

"Sure, tell him to let me get a shower and..."

Lisa was walking down the hallway, heading for the kitchen as she was brushing her brown hair. She saw that her mom and dad were awake, so she stuck her head into their bedroom. Looking in, she saw her mom on the phone and her dad lying on the bed,

"Good morning Mom, Dad. Who are you talking to on the phone at this hour?"

Andy looked at his youngest daughter, and smiled at her. "Good morning, Sweetie. It's your brother and sister, and they want to know if we want to have breakfast with them and the Thompson's."

With a loud shriek, she told them what she thought of this idea, and then continued, "Sure, let me change, I can be ready in three minutes." Looking at her daddy dressed in his striped pajamas, she chided him, "Hurry up and get dressed, Daddy, I want to hear all about their trip." Looking at her daddy as he was still cringing from her shriek, she quickly apologized to him, "Sorry, Daddy, but hurry up and get changed."

"No problem Honey, you just need to lower your shrieks a little, they get a little loud at times, especially around Christmas."

Getting up, he walked over and gave his angel a good morning kiss, "Did you sleep ok?"

Lisa hugged her father tightly. "Yeah, I did. No nosebleed last night so that was good. I wish they would figure out why I am having them. Did they get lots of pictures?"

Andy held his daughter out at arms length and looked her in the face.

"I know you do, Honey and we will find out. Maybe when the latest blood work comes back they will know then. Just keep using the saline spray they gave you and keep your humidifier going in your room. As to the pictures, I really don't know."

With a sigh, she answered her father, "Yeah, I know Daddy. Well, go get dressed. I am very hungry this morning," She said as she turned around and headed back towards her bedroom, "I have to get dressed. See you in a few minutes."

Andy turned around and saw his wife still talking on the phone. Sneaking up behind her, he took aim at her butt.

Just as she hung up the phone, he pinched her butt, and yelled, "Got ya!"

Maria jumped two feet in the air! The phone went one way and the empty cup the other. Laughing, he ran into the bathroom, he started to close the door and looked at his beautiful wife of twenty years.

When she landed, she turned and stalked towards him, loudly proclaiming, "ANDREW WHITE! You are one dead man." With a smile, she looked at him. "Well tonight you are. Get dressed we are meeting them at Baldini's."

Leaning in, she kissed him then said, "And shave ... your face is itchy."

At the Thompson's house, Ted hung the phone up and smiled.

"They say it sounds good to them, they will meet us at Baldini's Casino at the main entrance at 7:30." Ted looked at the clock. "Well, we have a little over an hour so I guess we all better get ready to go."

Ted walked down the hallway, went into the spare room, and changed from his pajamas to his day clothes. While he was changing, he heard the girls rush by and go into Jenny's room. Ted pulled his shirt on, walked out into the kitchen after getting dressed and poured himself another cup of coffee. As he sat there, waiting for the rest of them, Cherie came up to him and barked. She went over to the door and looked back at him.

"Got to go potty, girl?"

"Roof."

Laughing, Ted got up and opened the door for the dachshund, and watched her run out to her area of the yard to go potty. He stood there drinking his coffee as Ken and Mr. Thompson entered the kitchen.

Ken sat down at the table, grabbed the fresh pot of coffee, and poured himself a cup. Sitting back after fixing the coffee the way he liked it he looked at Ted at the door.

"What are you watching Ted?"

Without turning, Ted continued to watch the dog play with her toys.

"Keeping an eye on Cherie for you, she is going to the bathroom, and playing with her toys."

Ken rubbed his chin, and stopped, as he felt no whiskers.

"Oh, thanks, I should have done that myself. Hey Ted, have you noticed we haven't had to shave in the last three weeks?"

"Well you were kind of busy." Ted thought on the last time he has shaved and was surprised that it was just before they went into the caves. "You're right it's weird, we'll need to ask Amy. Not that I will complain, you know how I hate shaving. By the way is Jenny Ok?"

"Yeah, she seems to be. She had a nightmare about the Brander getting her." Ken said as he finished his cup of coffee and put the empty cup in the sink. He started cleaning up the mess on the counters they had made with the coffee and toast, as he continued, "We really need to think up a plan on stopping him."

Ted watched Cherie run around the yard playing with her toys for a few more seconds and then looked over at Ken.

"Well, we know where he lives, why not just go to a pay phone and call the cops on him."

Ken turned from the sink and leaned against it thinking, "We could, but I think he should hurt a little for what he has done. Not kill him, just hurt him, so when he is in jail, he will know what he did was wrong." Ken stopped and thought for a second. "You may not know this, but I read up on him in Amy's data base. He was kept in solitary confinement for his whole prison term. When the bastard was finally executed, he will have cost the Nevada government almost thirty five million dollars to keep him alive and healthy. I say that is too much," Ken thought for a minute, and a smile came to his face. "I have an idea but let me run it by Amy first."

Ken walked over to the table, and sat and closed his eyes and concentrated.

Ken opened his eyes and grinned. "I have the perfect plan. We use the moon Loren in the Alpha Centauri system. We put the minor criminals on one continent and the violent ones on the other. We place them far enough apart that they cannot intermingle and cause problems. So what do you think? We allow the minor criminals to earn their freedom by serving their full sentence, and learn a trade by farming; we can implant the knowledge right into their heads. Give them everything they need to become productive farmers. But only give them horse and plow technology to live by, along with black powder muskets for defense."

Hearing a bark, Ted looked back in the yard and saw Cherie chasing a grasshopper as he listened to Ken, "Beautiful, it allows us to rehabilitate the minor criminals into productive citizens and the murderers get to bash each other's heads out in the maximum security area. What about the death sentence ones?" Ted turned around, walked back to the table and sat down as they talked.

Ken thought on this problem for a second especially after what he read of the Brander. "Well personally, if they are guilty, I say we put them against the wall and put a bullet in their heads. Screw these ten to twenty years on death row and appeals. With what Amy told me, we can get the truth from them, and if they are guilty, then they are guilty and do not deserve to live. But I will not play God. They will have to have been found guilty, then sentenced to die." Hearing a scratching at the door, Ken got up, and went to the door to let Cherie in. The little dachshund ran to the water, and got a drink and out the door into the living room, she went.

"I agree..." Ted looked up as Tammy and Jenny came in to the room. Tammy was wearing a pale yellow summer dress and her long blond hair was tied back into a ponytail that bounces as she walked. Jenny was wearing a flowered sundress with a blue belt, and her brown hair lay on her left shoulder. She was breathtaking to look at.

"Wow, you two look stunning."

The girls looked at each other, smiled and said, "Thank you, Ted."

Ken had to agree with Ted. Standing up he walked over to the girls and kissed them on the cheek. "You both look absolutely beautiful." Both girls blushed under the attention.

Jenny responded with, "Thanks big brother, never be afraid to give compliments, especially to girls." then she gave him a hug and stepped out of the way of Tammy, so she could thank him as well.

Tammy cocked her head to the side and looked at Ken; she reached her hand up to touch his cheek. "Thanks Ken and for such a nice compliment you get this." Leaning in, she gave him a kiss on his lips.

Ken slowly wrapped his arms around Tammy and returned the kiss. When they separate, they stood there looking into each other's eyes. He whispers to her. "Thank you for the kiss Tammy. I have wanted to do that for a long time, but was afraid I would hurt your feelings." He then smiled at her.