by Zander Blakeslee
90425.2200
After Part One
-=The Blakeslee family homestead, Alaska, Earth=-
90425.2200
After Part One
-=The Blakeslee family homestead, Alaska, Earth=-
“Ahhhhh,” Zander exhaled as he put his fork down by his plate and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin they was in his lap. He then stretched his arm above his head with a grunt then brought them back down to pat his contently fill stomach.
“That was good Mom. Nothing beats your lasagna.”
Samthia nodded her approval as she daintily dabbed the napkin to her lips. The boys also showed their approval with wide sauce covered grins and vigorous nods.
“There is something to be said for home cooking over replicated meals,” Samthia added. “I now understand why the lounge and the café are so popular.”
Helva smiled at the compliments from everyone at the table. “Sam my dear, do you get the opportunity to cook often?”
Samthia shook her head in a negative fashion. “I am afraid not. Between my duties in Stellar Cartography and caring for the children, I can only cook maybe two days a week. I love to cook and I wish I had more time to do so. When we were on Delta IV I was able to cook everyday. I am afraid that I…” She stopped as she felt her husband tense up.
She sensed an unexpected wave of confusion, doubt, and guilt wash over him. It was gone as quickly as it appeared but it was unmistakable. She glanced over at him but his attention seemed to be on the crackling fire that burned in the fireplace.
“…I am getting out of practice.” She finished as she turned towards her mother in law with a forced smile. Helva’s attention had also turned towards her son concern on her face. His mother might not share the empathic bond the Zander and Samthia did but she was a parent, his mother, and she could easily sense her son’s troubled spirit.
She looked back to Samthia with troubled eyes. Helva and Samthia exchanged a glance that conveyed to each that they shared the same concern. It was only a momentary glace before she returned a smiled to her face.
“Well, you will be here for a while my dear so maybe you and I can exchange recipes.”
Samthia smiled knowing full well that Zander’s mother wanted to discuss more then cooking. “I would like that.”
Helva nodded then pushed her chair out and stood up. “Zander, you are in charge of the dishes. I’ll help Sam clean up the boys.”
Zander stood and tossed his napkin onto his plate. “Sure, dish duty as always.” He smiled remembering his childhood.
“Well you are just so darn good at it.” His mother joked.
-=Later=-
It was early evening by the time everything was cleaned up and put away from dinner. The Blakeslees then moved to get the house properly opened up. Bedrooms were setup with clean linens, the bathrooms had fresh towels, and the protective covering over the house furniture had been removed.
The sun had started to set in the west casting an orange glow over the west facing living room windows. The light reflected off of the glassy lake and bathed the front porch in a bright orange glow.
The family gathered on the wicker chairs and couch that adorned the front porch to watch the sun set. The boys busied themselves skipping rocks off of the lakes calm surface under the watchful eyes of Zander and Samthia.
Everyone had donned heavy sweaters or light jackets because even in the summer the nights still packed a strong chill. The sun would only set for a few hours this time of year this far north. Further north, the sun would not really set at all.
“Zander,” his mothers voice broke the silence. “We are going to need to refill the cabinets. I only picked up a few necessities when I came through town.”
One of the charms of the Blakeslee house was its blend of the old and the new. It still had all of the rustic charm of its log cabin heritage but it had been blended nicely with certain amenities. Modern communications and facilities were blended into the house without taking away from the “escape from the world” quality of the house.
The basement had even been converted into a state of the art lab for Helva to work on her nano-technology experiments. Of course the lab had not been used for quite sometime. The Blakeslee matriarch had moved to San Francisco after her husband’s death to be closer to her colleagues and her research.
The one amenity that the cabin did not have, at the insistence of Zander’s father, was a replicator. The more time Zander spent on a starship the more he understood why his father insisted on that.
“I’ll take the car down to town after we put the boys to bed and pick up what we need.”
Helva nodded, not taking her eye off of the sun that had just about disappeared behind the mountains. “Samthia and I will make a list.”
-=Later=-
Zander pulled open the wooden doors to the small barn that sat tucked neatly into the woods behind the house and flicked on the light. He smiled at the site before him.
The barn was just as he left it, a bit more dusty then he remembered, but with everything in its place. All of his fathers woodworking tools, now Zander’s, hung in their proper places in the pegs boards the lined the walls. The lathe and bandsaw were tucked in the back and covered with plastic sheets to keep any moisture off of them.
He inhaled deeply. The barn still smelled of sawdust and dirt with a slight hint of oil from the various varnishes stored on the shelves in the back. The scent brought back many memories of working with his father on various projects in this barn. Many were necessary repairs to the cabin and others were hobby projects. A vivid memory of his father working with Zander on a custom sled for the winter downhill derby flooded to him, bringing a smile to his face.
The one other object in the barn drew his attention. A large object sat in the middle of the barn covered with a dusty tarp. He walked over and pulled the tarp off of the object revealing a vehicle underneath. Zander’s smile broadened at the site of the 20th century vehicle. His fathers pride and joy sat before him. Now his pride and joy.
It was a GMC Hummer. Its glossy black paint still reflected the barn lights giving the appearance of it being wet. Zander tossed the tarp to the side and walked around the large vehicle inspecting its condition. It was perfect.
With a grin he made his way to the driver side and unhooked the power charger from the adaptor port where the gas cap would have been when the vehicle was manufactured in the twentieth century. One of the changes Thomas Blakeslee had made to the former military vehicle was to replace the polluting gas burning engine with a modern high output electric power plant.
It was not an easy swap because the elder Blakeslee had insisted on keeping the rest of the truck intact and functional. Even by modern standards its off-road capabilities were close to being unmatched by other wheeled vehicles. Considering the Alaskan terrain in which they lived, it made perfect sense.
Zander hopped into the Hummer and inserted the key that was tucked neatly above the sun visor. He turned it to the one position and pressed the start button. The electric power plant came to life with a hum.
Zander slowly ran his hands over the steering wheel of the Hummer for a moment as he reflected on the many off-road camping trips the family had taken with this truck. He made a mental promise to do the same with his boys.
Then with a laugh he slapped the Hummer into gear and pushed the accelerator to the floor.
The jet-black hummer burst out of the barn with a high-pitched electrical roar and shot down the dirt road that lead away from the cabin and towards the town of Kenei.
Samthia stood holding a hot cup of tea as she watched out of the living rooms large windows. She shook her head as she watched the tail lights disappear in the distance.
“What is the human’s fascination to travel at unsafe speeds?” She asked her mother-in-law as she turned away from the window.
Helva smiled. “I’ve asked that many times about his father and that truck of his. It has to be testosterone driven.” She put down her cup of tea and a serious look crossed her face.
“What is bothering my son?” She asked pointedly.
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Commander Zander Blakeslee
Chief Security Officer
USS Serendipity
Commander Zander Blakeslee
Chief Security Officer
USS Serendipity