Chapter 5

I woke early the next morning and just lay in bed to think a little before getting up and starting the day. I hadn't been prepared to interact with any of my neighbors yet, but that was water under the bridge. Being there to help at that time and place was fate as far as I was concerned.

I had made one huge mistake though. What if Tanala had been allergic to penicillin? I didn't even think about it and gave her a heavy dose. The dose was normal for a child, but these Cro-Magnon don't have the built up resistance like a person from my modern world. Half a dose should have been sufficient. I made a note to myself to do an intradermal skin test before giving any antibiotics again.

One other glaring mistake was that in my rush to treat Kortan and Tanala I didn't load the damn wolf so I could skin him.

Haste makes waste.

I needed to watch what I said to these people. I was using words like dog, cow, and chicken for example that were not words in their vocabulary. If I happen to throw out an English word like that, I needed to stop and expound a little when I did it.

Perhaps I was becoming a worry wart. Either that or the reality of the situation was sinking in. Van Wilder said it best, "Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."

The dogs had realized I was awake and came up on the bed for a little tussle. After our morning wrestle, I got up and took my shower. After my shower, I saw an honest to god post it note on the mirror, telling me to check my laptop. A quick look in the mirror and I determined it was time to stop looking like Grizzly Adams and shave off the beard. It was getting warmer out, and plus, I felt cleaner without the beard.

With the offensive facial hair removed, I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and went into my little office and fired up the laptop.

A message instantly appeared.

Doc,

You have reached your first bonus goal: Contact with the local indigenous people. As a bonus we have provided the remote operated gate opener for outer perimeter gate. We have stabilized the base of your pasture and your garden fence.

As your goals escalate, so does your bonuses.

Gronfa, Dremin

Mission Liaison

P.S. A small token gift was left on the work bench in your shop.

As far as Atta boys are concerned that was a little impersonal. I guess I should be used to it; after all I was in the military.

Interactions with my benefactors had been pretty business like. The only time I had had a face to face meeting with an alien had been in the morgue. When I had still been on earth, they would send me a text on my cell phone when I needed to check for messages. They displayed a hands off approach to my mission. Fine by me; I had shit to do.

The gate opener was definitely appreciated, and I hadn't thought that I needed to shore up the bottom of the fence more than I did. Since I was as isolated from the lower level as I was, I figured I could react fast enough to any problems that arose.

The dogs were ready for a trip outdoors and I was ready for breakfast.

As I walked out of the bedroom, I saw that Kanala was sitting on the couch in yesterday's scrubs and grunted a good morning. The dogs were giving her some attention, or was that the other way around? Upon seeing me exit the bedroom, the dogs bolted for the front door. I let the two fur balls out to water the lawn; when I turned to go back in, I bumped into Kanala almost knocking her over. I grabbed a hold of her to keep her from falling with her grasping me as well. Still holding on to her, I looked into her eyes, seeing the brief panic fading to be replaced by a look of curiosity. One hand left my shoulder to caress my cheek and chin.

"Doc, what happened to your face? Your hair is gone," she asked while stilling stroking my face.

I leaned into her hand a bit, not quite nuzzling it, but close. "I shaved it, err cut it off. It's normal where I come from," I answered.

Her hand felt really good on my face after having all that hair for a while. I smiled at her and she smiled back, the situation dawned on her and she blushed and stepped back from me.

I've been alone too long. Here I was getting cozy with the first woman I see without even asking about her husband, mate, whatever.

I took a step back as well. "Thank you for the hug Kanala. I have been alone for a long time." I cocked my head a bit and went ahead and asked, "Kanala, where is your mate? Tanala's father?"

A morose expression crossed over her face before she answered, "The river took him just after Tanala was born. We were only mated for a season before he was lost to us. We do not speak of him now."

I did the only thing I could and pulled her into an embrace, telling her I was sorry. She hugged me in return, acting just as attention starved as I was. Holding the hug longer than we probably should have, we broke apart to find Kortan beaming at both of us.

"Good morning Kortan! How did you sleep?" I wasn't allowing him to make a comment about what he saw us doing.

"Very good Doc. The bed, as you called it, is very soft and very warm. It was almost too warm, but the thin, light fur was enough to stay warm," he replied before exclaiming, "You cut your face hair off!"

Kanala took over the explanation at that point. Conversation diverted, temporarily at least. I fled the scene, claiming the need to check on Tanala. I had just walked into the bunk room when I heard the toilet flush in the spare bathroom, followed by a giggle. Tanala was awake and had had a lesson about the toilet. Tanala appeared around the corner, limping gingerly on her bad foot.

"Good morning Tanala. Are you feeling better?" I asked while walking to her and scooping her up in my arms. I got a couple of nods from her as I was being examined like a bug under the microscope. She reached for my face just like her mother, but instead of a caress, she tried to rearrange my face like play dough. She was cute when she blushed and buried head in my shoulder after realizing she had gotten carried away a bit. I just smiled, licked away the blood from my cracked lip, and told her it was ok and it didn't hurt.

Tanala's foot was doing much better, the streaks were faded and the skin was a lot more pink then red around the wound. The wonder wand thermometer registered her fever barely above normal. I had carried her into the clinic so I could see better and, unfortunately for her, give another dose of penicillin. I only gave her half the dose of what I had yesterday. I needed to get some off that powder so I could mix a liquid version kids could swallow rather than having to get a shot. Nope, that would make it too fun. I would keep using the shot as a deterrent. Get hurt and Doc will make you hurt worse to heal you. Cruel yes, but hopefully it would make the people more cautious though some might think they could get away with something stupid knowing I was around. I wouldn't treat stupidity gently.

The coffee maker was sputtering out it last drops as I carried Tanala still in her t-shirt dress to the kitchen table. Kanala leapt up, took Tanala from me, and hugged and fussed over her. Kortan and Kanala had lost the tense wariness they had around me now that they saw Tanala was getting better. I mixed a weak pitcher of the orange sports drink for the family to have with breakfast. Filling myself a mug full of coffee, I was turning to the refrigerator to get breakfast makings when I spotted Kortan eyeing my mug. I poured two half mugs for Kortan and Kanala. I didn't say anything, just gave it to them to let them make up their own minds. It was starting to get warm enough that I stopped drinking coffee till fall came around anyway. Call me weird, but I would rather drink ice tea in the mornings to get my caffeine fix when the temperature was no longer cold.

Kortan had picked up his coffee and was just holding it and smelling it with a smile on his face. The smile quickly vanished when he got some in his mouth. Confused, he smelled it again and took a tentative sip, set the cup down, and didn't touch it again. Kanala had a mouthful when I looked at her next; she had an almost pained looked on her face and was having trouble swallowing. She finally swallowed the brew down and grimaced at the after taste, then set her cup down and scooted it away from her. Unbeknownst to us all, Tanala had watched the whole ordeal from her mother's lap and was barely suppressing her giggles. We both looked at each other and burst out laughing.

With my laughter under control I said, "Most people don't like coffee at first, and I was letting you make up your own minds. I only drink when it's cold outside in the mornings." I got a couple dirty looks for my effort. To make amends, I poured all three of them a glass of the sports drink. Wary of my offerings, they cautiously took sips and then it was all smiles again.

"This is much better; I think you over cooked the coffee," Kanala said with Kortan bobbing his head in agreement.

Since I was out of eggs and wouldn't have any more for about four months or so, I was stuck with a few a few boxes of egg beaters as replacement. I got a big skillet out, set it on the stove, and lit the burner. Kanala was at my side at that instant, watching to make sure I didn't screw up. She was asking questions non-stop as I fixed the meal.

I fried some bacon, mostly to get the grease to cook the egg beaters with and make them taste better. The oven was turned on and baking a tube of biscuits. I went down to the cellar and snagged a jar of homemade applesauce to finish off the meal. I let Tanala eat a couple bowls of applesauce and a biscuit. The applesauce was a big hit all around.

When I was preparing for my new life, I went to all the small farming communities close by to visit their farmer's markets and buy all the canned vegetables and fruit I could get my hands on. My basement was set up as mostly food storage. In one corner of the basement was an enclosed climate controlled room for storing potatoes and onions on rabbit wire racks for max airflow. The rest of the basement was rows of shelving holding all my canned goods, other food storage containers, and assorted foods and supplies. Various onions and garlic were hanging from the ceiling in mesh bags. Beside the gun vault, there was an enclosed grow room set up to grow my garden sprouts.

Kanala stuck to me like glue and the one thing she got the most excited about was the friggin' frying pan. The glass jars were pretty special too.

I checked over Kortan this morning and everything was looking pretty good except that the bruising was getting pretty impressive. That wolf must have grabbed hold of him pretty good. He was walking much better after the Tylenol I gave him this morning went into effect. There was just a small hitch in his get along.

After chores this morning, I needed to dig through the pod with extra clothes and get a couple sets for my guests. I was going out to take care of the animals and suggested they bathe again. I showed Kanala the shower and how everything worked and brought the soap and shampoo from the mudroom. I pulled the now cleans towels from yesterday out of the dryer and place them in the bathroom to use again. The towels and blankets from the clinic were folded and put in their proper place.

Kortan was my helper today while doing my chores. I had to do another round of introductions of animals while I fed, watered, and cleaned stalls. I let all the animals into the pasture for a day of grazing and exercise. I think Kortan could have stood there all day and watched the animals. I had to move the chicks home over a little bit to clean the floor and spread out some fresh pine shavings.

As we were walking back to the house, I remembered the mystery gift Gronfa had mentioned. I went into the shop with Kortan following, and I showed him the same sites that I had showed Kanala, except this time I grabbed a brisket to take back to the house with me. My gift was rolled up on the workbench. It was a clean finished wolf hide. That was pretty nice of them to collect the hide and treat it for me.

Kortan asked me, "When did you leave to get the hide and how have you preserved it so fast?"

"I didn't do it. The people that brought me here did it as a gift."

"Are they great spirits?" he asked.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Remember when Kanala said how different I am from you. They are that much different from me, people of my tomorrow." (Tomorrow: Cro-Magnon equivalent for future) Kortan nodded his understanding a little glassy eyed.

I left the new wolf hide in the shop and grabbed a rechargeable work light on the way out. At the cabin, I bundled Tanala in a blanket, and we all went to the cave for some POD shopping. I wasn't going to let them wear their leather garments till we figured out how to clean them.

The cro-mags got another culture shock within the cave, but I diverted most of the questions saying they would find out what each item was later. I did real good labeling each container I put in the PODs, but didn't find the clothes POD till looking in the fifth one. I never labeled the PODs themselves. Even then I had to go to the shop and grab a step ladder to get into the upper PODs. I got each family member a set of thermal underwear and three sets of clothes consisting of jeans, t-shirt, and sweatshirt. They all got a knock off Carhartt type coat and a six pack of socks and underwear. I even had an assortment of sports bras for Kanala to try out. Talk about a difficult conversation. I fitted each one with a pair of hiking boots and slip on rubber clogs (aka crocs).