There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 32

"This is your son, he doesn't call anyone Doctor or Missus. We are all on a first name basis. William, I am Even Luck. These are my sons, Gordon, Richard, and Holden. The young lady over there holding the gorgeous redhead, is my daughter, Delicious. The redhead is Teddy, and the man standing behind them is Grayson Thyme, we call him Gray. You already know Newton."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all finally. In his letters to me, you are all my father talks about. You may not be blood relatives, but you are family, and that's the way I feel right now. Thank you for greeting me that way.

Teddy was struggling and Delicious' arms so she put her down. Teddy walked over to young William and put her arms up. William picked her up and Teddy put both hands on his temples and closed her eyes.

She opened them, looked at him and smiled. "It you, you missing piece. Everything be okay for Space 2. No more problems, eight years on birthday."

I laughed, I couldn't help it. Junior looked at her in amazement, but didn't know what to think of her. Then Teddy continued.

"No married now. Meet girl, hair like me, when grandpa leaves. Marry her, three children, two girls like mommy, one boy like daddy."

Junior turned and handed Teddy to me. "Is she for real?"

"If I were you, I would start buying a diamond."

"Dad say something."

"Your mother said she wanted grandchildren, it looks like she's going to get them."

"Can I go back to China please, I was safer there."

Delicious said to Gray, "Another womanizer bites the dust."

Patrick asked, "Am I going to be your best man?"

"I'm not getting married. So get that out of your head."

I reached into my pocket opened my wallet and pulled out a $100 bill. "$100 on the redhead whoever she is."

Junior said, "I'll cover all the bets. I'm not getting married."

Senior said, "One thousand dollars on the redhead, whoever she is, and I'll pay for the wedding."

"I'm sorry William, $100 is the house rule."

"We're not in your house, are we?"

"You have me there."

Teddy asked, "Me money grandpa?"

"No you're too young to bet, but you can have them take you to the Creamy Cow."

"3 times?"

"Two hands, two times."

"Grandpa cheat Teddy again. Two hands, 2 feet, four times."

"You eat last two times with feet."

"You win, two times."

Junior asked, "What in God's name is a Creamy Cow?"

"It's her favorite ice cream store."

"Oh, I can live with that."

"You may as well get used to it, because you're going to be taking your fiancé there, until you moved to South Carolina."

"Why would I moved to South Carolina?"

"Schneider industries is why. They fabricated 60% of what you're looking at. They purchased the land for us to build spaceship 2 on without anyone noticing it. It's much easier for the suppliers of our nuclear engines to get them from North Carolina to South Carolina. Finally, and probably most important, it doesn't snow in South Carolina. There will be no weather-related delays in the building of the spaceship. You can control all your other companies from there, as Dycke does, and watch your spaceship project closely."

"Who's Dycke?"

"Dycke Schneider, the sixth richest man in the world, but he doesn't act that way, and you would never know it to see the way he lives. And before you ask who set forth third second and first, they are all on the board of directors of "The Deep Space Science Project."

"What's that?"

"Ask your father, he is the chief executive officer."

Junior turned to look at his father.

"I think you're giving me a headache."

"Money doesn't grow on trees, it grows on opportunities. Your sister dropped this one in my lap."

"I have a sister?"

"Patricia Zabo Valentino is your sister."

"She and Harold Chase came up with the system to clean up our atmosphere."

"Yes she did, and she is on the board of directors."

"Should I ask what number she is?"

"I'm not sure she would want you to know. She lives quite modestly also."

"I would assume Harold Chase is on it also."

"Yes he is."

"You have quite an eclectic group on this board of yours."

"I was almost the last to join. I believed as you did that space adventurism is a bottomless pit. It took me quite a while to change my mind."

"Let's go inside, you have me salivating to see what the next generations will be missing if their governments don't open their eyes and see what opportunities are open to them."

"It's not the governments as much as it is private industry. Private industry wants the government to do the testing for them, and then they will reap the rewards. The rewards are right in front of them but they refused to look at it."

For the next 90 minutes I showed Williams around engineering, the bridge, the entertainment and eating area, the stasis units, the sleeping quarters, and the exercise area. Young William asked brilliant questions, and I answered each of them at length, because I knew he was thinking ahead to our next spacecraft.

When we returned to engineering he wanted to talk about the nuclear engine again. I called Gordon and had him do the lecture for me. He was at his best. When Junior asked who was going to take care of the next engine, Gordon replied that there would be for engines not one, and they would be considerably larger because of the size of the ship. If he wanted to know about them he would call his brother over to explain them.

Junior nodded, and Gordon asked Holden to join them.

When Holden arrived William Junior looked at Gordon and asked, "He designed the new nuclear engines?"

Holden didn't give Gordon a chance to answer. He said to William, "If there is anything in math that I don't know, it hasn't been invented yet. So if you have a question about my engines, ask me, or stop wasting my time."

I berated my son. "Holden, William Junior is our guest, and you will treat him appropriately. If you don't, there will be no dessert for two weeks."

As I listened to the threat in my head, I felt like an absolute moron.

William Junior said, "It's perfectly alright Even. The young man is correct. I have no knowledge of nuclear engines, and both he and his brother do. Holden if you would kindly explain to me the difference in both size and energy of your four engines, as opposed to Gordon's one engine, I would really consider it an honor to hear it."

It took Holden 15 minutes to explain the difference between Gordon's one engine, and the ones of his own design. Even though they were both nuclear fusion engines and would produce energy in the same manner, the way the energy would be managed, and distributed throughout the ship was completely different.

When his lecture was over Junior extended his hand, and Holden extended his and they shook. Young William said, "Now I understand why you are going to be the chief scientist, and I am going to be pushing papers from one side of my desk to the next."

Holden asked, "Have you ever seen Mr. Valentino's desk? "

"No I haven't had the pleasure."

"The papers on his desk are taller than I am."

"Holden, I don't think I want that man's job."

As we were leaving the spacecraft Junior asked, "Mr. Valentino is my sister's husband?"

"Yes he is. He is also our chief financial officer. In the last eight years we had been off by $.22, and we are audited by outside firms every six months. The period we were off, he and his staff worked Saturday and Sunday to find it. They never did, and he paid for the overtime himself."

"That man is anal."

"He graduated Penn with a 4.0 GPA. He graduated Wharton School of Business with a 4.0 GPA. He was number one in both undergraduate and graduate schools. He takes pride in his work, and as you put it, he is anal about other people's money, some of which is your father's, mine, and his."

*********************

Gordon was getting tired of speaking to Zoey in the early hours of the morning, and going to work groggy. He decided to end this charade, and without consulting anyone, he decided to start a war with Payne. He called Zoey at 10 o'clock in the morning, when he knew both she and Payne would be at home. Zoey answered the phone.

"Hello my love, how are you this morning?"

Zoey whispered, "Are you out of your fucking mind, she's twenty feet away from me."

"She is the reason I called. I want you to talk to me in normal tones. If she tells you to hang up, I want you to ask her how old you are. When she tells you you're eighteen years old, ask her if she's keeping you prisoner in your own home, because I'm recording this phone call. I want you to state your name, your age, your home address right now. Go ahead."

Zoey did as he requested, and then asked, "What do you want me to do now?"

"I want you to tell me loud and clear that you love me, and want to be with me forever. I want to know if it's the truth, because you know in twenty-six days I'm leaving the Earth and going into outer space for the rest of my life. I will never return to this planet, and if you want to be with me, neither will you."

"Gordon Luck, there is nothing more in this world that I want then to be with you for the rest of my life. I wish we could be married first, but if that can't happen, I will live with you as husband and wife. I have missed you so much I am empty without you."

Payne asked, "Who are you talking to Zoey?"

"I'm talking to Gordon Luck."

"Hang up that phone this instant."

"How old am I mother?"

"You are eighteen years old Zoey."

"Are you telling me who I can talk to and when?"

"Yes I am, now hang up that phone."

"Am I being held captive in my own home?"

"You are, until that boyfriend of yours leaves."

"Thank you mother, because this phone call is being recorded. You can expect the police here in a few moments. I'm not allowed to see my father. I am not allowed to see my fiancé. Why, because my mother, Payne Schneider, is holding me captive in my own home. Do it Gordon, do it right now."

"It's already done baby. I called the police on the house phone. They're calling your father to verify he has not been able to see you alone for over three months. They will be there in less than five minutes. Don't let your mother pull you out of the house. Go to your bedroom, lock your door, and block it with a piece of furniture."

Payne approached Zoey menacingly, but Zoey escaped her by throwing the phone, and hitting her in the chest. She ran to her room and followed Gordon's order. She locked the door in time to stop her mother from opening it. She pushed her dresser over, blocking the entrance completely. She sat down on her bed, listening to her mother pound on the door, while she screamed at her. She pulled a pillow around her middle and held it tightly as tears began to flow.

She yelled, "Stop it mom, you're out of your mind."

Payne screamed and hollered, at her daughter, for more than five minutes but could not gain access to her room.

When silence came, Zoey became frightened. She wondered what her mother was doing. She never gave up, especially in a matter as important to her as this was. Moments passed and Zoey heard movement at the sliding glass door to her room. She bolted to it and saw her mother using the key to open the lock. She tried to keep her mother from opening the door, but Payne was too strong.

"Okay mom, you are in my room, now what are you going to do?"

"We are leaving young woman. You are going to follow me, and we are leaving this place, until that miscreant of yours is gone."

"That miscreant of mine invented nuclear fusion. What have you invented? You've distanced yourself from my father, your two sons, both sets of my grandparents, and now me. Who's left for you mom? You're all alone. How does it feel?"

Payne pulled her gun from her pocket. "I'm not alone, I still have you, and I'm not giving you up."

"You gave me up, when you pulled me away from Gordon. You made my life feel like yours feels without dad. This all goes back to that night we came home, and you saw his broken paddle on the dining room table. You knew then that you had done something so terrible that it caused a split between the two of you. Something in your mind split that night, and you've never recovered from it. It's gotten worse every day. I pity you mom. I pity what your life has become. I'm going to leave, I'm going to walk out the front door, and leave you behind forever. I will never say the name of Payne Schneider again. She is no longer my mother; she is no longer my friend."

Zoey walked past her mother, and onto the balcony that overlooked Charleston Harbor. It was always her favorite view, but the site didn't affect her today.

From behind her Payne shouted, "Zoey stop or I will shoot you."

Zoey turned around and saw her mother pointing the weapon at her.

"I'll tell you what mom, I'm going to make this easy on you. I'm tired of fighting with you. I'm tired of all the shit you've been putting me through. You want to kill me? You want me dead? You want to keep me from Gordon and dad? You want me for yourself for the rest of your life; watch this."

She grabbed one of the poles that anchored their balcony to the roof of the building and pulled herself up onto the railing.

"You won't have to go to jail, because you shot and killed me. I'm going to jump. You can live in this apartment for the rest of your life, and know the exact spot where I jumped. You will be able to look down, and see where the grass has grown over the spot my body landed, or you can plant a tree there in your honor to show you won again. You will own me forever mother, not only in your demented mind, but also in your eyes as I fall twenty-nine floors to my death. Watch closely, because here I go.

Zoey looked towards the harbor once more. "It's such a beautiful site."

Payne screamed, "Zoey Please 'No'. Don't. You can go to Gordon."

"You just want me to get down, so you can keep me captive again. I don't believe you for one second mom; not for one damn second."

Payne saw Zoey release her hand from the pole, shift her weight forward, and begin that inexorable movement forward, and down from the railing.

Dycke jumped, grabbed his daughter around her legs out of midair, and pulled her back against the outside of the railing upside down.

Tom and Willie grabbed Dycke's feet to keep him from going over the railing also, while Dycke held on to his daughter to save her life. Several other agents climbed over the railing, and reached for Zoey to pull her up from Dycke's tenuous grasp. Once they were both stabilized against the outside of the metal railing, Zoey looked at her father.

"Nice catch dad, I thought you weren't into sports."

Dycke replied, "If I had a free hand, I would paddle you where you are. I think you read Romeo and Juliet one too many times."

"I read Tristan and Isolde, dad. You don't have to put up with Shakespeare's Iambic Pentameter."

"How the heck did you fail English Literature?"

"I wouldn't fuck the teacher, so he failed me. It was a prerequisite for the girls to pass the course."

"That man is so fired."

"He's on the board of directors."

"I'll buy the fucking school, and put him in a wood chipper. I can do it too."

They were pulled up onto the balcony, and they hugged each other.

"How's mom?"

"How can you possibly be worried about your mother, when you just offered up your life to leave her, to leave all of us?"

"Sometimes stupid people do stupid things. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think I just broke the scale."

"I'll say you did. If you do it again, I won't let you marry Gordon."

"He called you?"

"The police called me. Gordon called me. Even called me, and I called Doctor Russell. All in all, I'd say I was on the phone a lot this morning.

Doctor Russell should be here in less than an hour. His plane should be landing about now. I believe we are going to keep that man very busy."

"Check on mom please, I'm fine. The next time I do this I'll make sure I have feathers, a parachute or a net."

"I think you should call Gordon, he's a little bit anxious over the situation here. I don't think he believed it would go this far. Many things will get settled today. However, if I were you, I'd leave out the jumping part for now."

"I tell Gordon everything."

"Not this time little one, not unless you want to kill him, or him to kill you. I'll check on your mother."

Payne was lying on the ground, half in shock, and half in distress. Her gun was on the ground, a few feet away from her. Dycke picked it up and put it in his pocket. The police did not need to see it.

He sat down next to her, and pulled her into his arms.

"I should paddle the shit out of you for what you've done to our family."

"You can't paddle me. You broke yours."

"My old paddle broke. I had to order a new one made out of birch. It's in our closet."

"When you put the old paddle on the dining room table I thought you were leaving me, and I fell apart."

"What did I tell you when you made the decision not to let Zoey go with Gordon?"

"I don't remember."

"A photographic memory, without instant recall. What a waste."

"Don't start with me; I nearly lost my daughter, because I was out of my mind with jealousy. I may never get her back."

"Why did your daughter ask me to check on you if you are never going to get her back?"

"Tell me what you said to me."

"Nothing you do will ever change the way I feel about you."

"I don't feel that way about myself. I acted terribly."

"You certainly did mom. I don't want any complaints about my driving from you ever again."

"I am so sorry Zoey. I never thought you would do that. I don't know what got into me, and I don't have enough time to make it up to you."

"Can we invite Gordon here, I want to get married."

"We can send a plane for him today if you like."

"I think we can arrange a wedding for you. It sort of changes my plans for the Bishop."

"What were you going to do with the Bishop, Dycke?"

"I don't remember."

"You're full of shit."

"If you can't remember something, why can't I?"

"You have instant recall."

"As I get older, I'm getting senile."

"Dad, bishops do take confession."

"I'll gladly go for this one."

*******************

"You did 'what'?' Are you out of your fucking mind? What would that have proven? She would have won. I would never have gotten you back. Don't you see how stupid that was?"

"It seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"When I get finished with you, my paddle will have turned into sawdust."

"As long as we are together, I don't care, because you are wrong as usual. It worked to our benefit, and it helped my mom. I think my mom is on the phone with your mom, apologizing, and trying to arrange a wedding. I wanted to get married today, but my dad said no. As long as he was the one that said no, I can live with it."

"If I was eighteen, I could fly there, and we could get married tomorrow."

"That's what I get for robbing the cradle."

"Do you know that Jemma, Anna, my mother, and Delicious are all pregnant?"

"No I didn't. How did your mother take it?"

"She was angry as hell, until my dad told her he is taking her with us. Richard and Holden are going to stay with the Laver's."

"Rosalyn must be thrilled. How does Rod feel about all of this?"

"I have replaced my father as the person Rod hates the most."

"You must have been a very bad boy to have him change that lineup."

"I made Roz a very rich person, and he can't touch that money. You know how much Rod worships money, and when it's so close to him, and he can't have it without Rosalyn's permission, it will drive him wild."

"You are an evil boy Gordon. I may just have to spank you to get you back in line."

"I'll take you to the sporting goods store, where you can pick out your own paddle."