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Jurassic Park Aftermath-Chapter 6
By Texasraptor
I’d like to thank my editors, teach and Yvonne for their terrific suggestions. You guys are the best.
*~*~*~*~*
Ben heard the distinctive warble of the radiophone and jogged over to the lab, and threw open the door. He stepped inside, and picked up the microphone, at the same time pressing the button to open the channel. “Ben Kincannon.”
The connection was scratchy, both from the distance of the call and the radiophone they used in the field. However, the Oklahoma drawl Alan heard was unmistakable. “Ben, it’s Alan.”
“Hey boss, it’s about time you called. How was the park?”
Before they left, Alan had filled him in with what little he knew about the park, the purpose for their visit, and the expected payoff at the end. Alan did not want to rehash what had happened, but he had to give him some reason for the delay.
For a moment, the line went silent and Ben wondered if he had lost the connection. “Alan?”
“Sorry, I’m here.” He would tell Ben the basics; that would be enough for now. “There was an accident at the park—Hammond’s dead—a lot of people are dead.”
Ben’s jaw dropped in surprise. “Damn, are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. We’re back in San José.”
“Oh okay…You’re coming home tomorrow, right?” Time was short; they would be returning to Denver in a few days to start the fall semester. Then their real work would begin; the restoration and classification of thousands of pounds of fossil remains they had excavated during the summer. Alan’s next words brought his attention sharply back to the present.
“Well, we can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?”
“Just that, we can’t. Washington and Costa Rica are having a political spat, and the Costa Ricans don’t think it’s a good idea if we leave right now.”
Ben did not miss the sarcasm in Alan’s voice. “You gotta be kidding? You go there on a consulting job, things get screwed up, and they make you stay?”
“That’s how it stacks up.”
“But—you guys are American citizens, can’t Washington do anything?”
“Well, the Ambassador’s trying to help. I hope we’ll get out of here in a couple of days, but I’m not going to count on it.”
“Alan, what the hell happened?”
“It’s too long a story to go into right now. How’re the extractions going?”
Ben got the message and let the subject drop; Alan no doubt had his reasons for not speaking further about it. “The E-Saurus will be done by the time we close shop, but I don’t see any way we can get the raptor done.”
“I had my doubts we’d get it finished,” Alan said. “Look, take out what you can, then winterize the rest.” Ellie had discovered the Maiasaura peeblesorum while prospecting two years ago, and as was Alan’s tradition, they had nicknamed the skeleton for the discoverer. Usually they were excavating skeletons in multiple locations, and the nicknames served as a crude field catalog system to keep them separate. They had spent parts of the last two seasons excavating the Maiasaura; he estimated they had recovered over 40% of the skeleton, in excellent condition. It would make a superb display, he thought.
Alan had not planned to return to the Two Medicine formation next year, but the late discovery of the raptor had thrown a chink into his plans. Next summer, he would send some of the crew back to finish the raptor, while the rest of the crew headed east to Hell Creek. That would depend on the funding of course; he decided not to say anything about their potential problems to Ben, he would know soon enough. “Can you do us a favor–actually I need two favors.”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“We don’t have our passports or any Costa Rican money, so the embassy’s setting up some kind of a trust fund—”
“Oh, I see, Alan the trust fund boy.”
“Ben, it’s not that kind of a trust fund,” Alan said, smiling despite his best efforts to the contrary.
“Okay, okay... what can I do?”
“I need you to withdraw $200 from the business account and wire it to the embassy here.” For several years, he had kept an account at the Citizen’s State Bank in Choteau for their field expenses. It was not only convenient; it helped keep good relations with the local community. He knew of several instances where trouble between researchers and locals had led to vandalism of dig sites. He made it a point to get to know the people who lived in the small towns around the dig, and counted many of them as friends. More than once a rancher had called to tell him they had found a newly exposed fossil on their property, and some of the calls had led to major discoveries. Only with the good will and trust of the landowners would he have received permission to dig on their properties.
The nearest Western Union was in Great Falls. Ben decided to withdraw the money from the bank and wire it from the city. He reached over and picked up a pen and paper. “Where do I send the wire?”
“You'll need to send it here.” Alan reached for the piece of paper that Joe had given them, and then read the address to Ben.
“Got it—what’s the other favor?”
“Well, we lost everything we brought, so Ellie bought us new clothes to last a few days. We don’t think that’s going to be enough though, so we need some of our own clothes shipped here.”
“You think you’ll be stuck there that long?”
“Looks like it; you may have to close down the dig.” At that moment, Alan realized they would have to get substitutes for their classes they were going to teach that fall.
“What’s going to happen to your classes?”
“I was just thinking of that.” Alan rubbed his forehead; he could feel his headache returning. “Hell, we’ll work that out tomorrow. Buddy, I hate to dump everything on you.”
“Don’t worry about it; we’ll take care of it.” There was a shipping center in Great Falls they frequently used and since he would already be in the city, he would send the clothes from there. “I’ll let Sue take care of Ellie’s clothes. How much do you want us to send?”
“Ben, hang on a minute.” Alan glanced at Ellie. “You think clothes enough for four days would be enough?”
Ellie nodded slowly, thinking over what Alan had said. “That would be perfect; we won’t have to do laundry every other day. Hey, ask him to put in my extra pair of glasses; they’re in my trunk.”
Alan gave Ben the necessary information.
“Okay, will do. What’s the address of the hotel?”
As he had done with Lynda, Alan spelled out the name and address. “Here’s our phone number, too.” While he was giving him the number, he saw Tim come out of the bedroom, dressed in sweats and a T-shirt as everyone else had done. The boy sat down in one of the other chairs and smiled happily at the two adults.
“Got it,” Ben said.
“Hey, be sure to take out enough money from the account to cover the international shipping.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Ben knew shipping a package to Costa Rica would be expensive.
Alan looked over at Tim and returned his smile. “Hey Tim, feel better?”
“Oh yeah, definitely.”
“Who’s Tim?” Ben asked.
“Oh, he’s a young freeloader we picked up along the way,” Alan said. Beside him, Ellie quietly laughed. “Actually, Tim and his sister will be staying with us for a few days.”
What is this, Ben wondered. “How young is young?”
Alan was not sure how old the boy was, so he took a guess. “Tim, you’re eleven?”
“Almost, I’ll be eleven in November.”
“Tim is almost eleven.”
For the second time, Ben’s jaw dropped in surprise. “Okay—I want to know who you are and who kidnapped Alan Grant. The real Alan Grant wouldn’t voluntarily get within a mile of a kid, much less baby sit two of them.”
That had once been true, Alan thought, but the two children had given him a glimpse of what a family could be like; amazingly, he was enjoying it, even the arguments. For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine the two of them with children, a family. She would be a wonderful mother, he thought wistfully. "It's kind of complicated."
"It must be." Although Ben would have loved to know the story behind this, he had learned not to press that particular button.
“Well, I’d better get going.” Alan said. “We’re going to get something to eat, and then hit the sack.”
Ben could hear the fatigue in his voice. “You sound bushed.”
“We are. We’ve had a rough time.”
“Well, I’ll call you tomorrow after I get back. Get some rest.”
“That’s the plan. Night, Ben.” He started to hang up when he heard Ben’s voice.
“Alan, wait!”
“Yeah?”
“I almost forgot, Ellie’s mother called today. I told her you two had eloped and were in Costa Rica on your honeymoon.”
“You didn’t.” Alan said flatly.
Ben smiled; sometimes it was just too easy to get the man going. “I’m kidding, don’t worry. Abbie called to talk to Ellie, and I told her you guys were there on a consulting job.”
Alan sighed in relief. “Okay, I’ll tell her.”
“Good night, Alan—or whoever you are.”
“Was that Alan?” Sue asked as she climbed into the trailer. She and a couple of the kids had been cleaning up after dinner when she had seen Ben dash into the trailer. They had expected to hear from Alan some time that day.
“I don’t know.” Ben shook his head, perplexed by what the paleontologist had told him. “It sounded like Alan, but there’s no way that could have been Alan.”
Sue watched her husband pace, as he muttered under his breath. “Ben, what is going on?
“Going on? Alan has been kidnapped and replaced by a pod person, that’s all.”
Sue grabbed Ben by the arm to halt his pacing. “Ben, what are you talking about? You’re not making any sense.”
Ben stopped and turned to face her. “Honey, I’m sorry. They’re still in Costa Rica. There was some kind of an accident at the park; he said Hammond and some other people are dead.”
“Oh my God.” Before they had left, Alan had introduced Hammond to the crew; he had reminded her of a jovial, rich Santa Claus. Ben had told her what Hammond was going to pay for the job; it would mean the end of funding worries for years. “That’s awful. What happened?”
“He wouldn’t say—just that there had been an accident,” Ben said with a shrug.
“Are they okay?”
“He said they were; he sounded dog-tired though. He did say we may have to shut the place down for the season; for some reason the Costa Ricans won’t let them leave.”
“Why?”
“Some kind of political flap,” he said with a shrug of the shoulders. “He wasn’t exactly a fountain of information; you know how he gets sometimes. So anyway, I’ve got to drive over to Great Falls tomorrow and wire him some money to the embassy."
“I hope they’re helping them out.”
“He said the Ambassador was trying to; he didn’t sound too optimistic, though. On top of everything else, they somehow lost all the extra clothes they took, so he wants us to send them some of their stuff from here.”
"What an awful situation to be in. I wonder what happened.”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Can you take care of Ellie’s clothes? She needs her extra pair of glasses too.”
“Sure, I’ll take care of it.”
“We’d better get everything together tonight; I want to be on the road early.” He planned to be at the bank when it opened, and then he would drive to Great Falls afterwards. He had made the drive a number of times; it he knew it was an hour and a half trip.
“Okay… so what’s this about Alan being kidnapped?”
“Oh, just the fact that along the way they’ve somehow collected a couple of kids; a ten year old boy named Tim, and his sister. They’re staying with them while they’re in San José.”
Sue was flabbergasted. “I don’t believe it.” That was the last thing she had expected to hear.
“See, that’s why I think he’s a pod person.” Alan had liked children when he was younger, and had eagerly done classroom lectures. His attitude had abruptly changed after Amanda had died; he now seemed to consider them a communicable disease. Ben vividly remembered how he had gone after the kid who dared to question his theory about birds and dinosaurs. Admittedly, the urchin had proven to be a nuisance to everyone, but Alan seemed to take great delight in scaring the living daylights out of him. He had kidded him about his attitude a couple of times; the last time Alan’s eyes had turned ice cold and he told Ben not to ever mention anything about children again.
Sue laughed, and patted him on the back. “Come on, let’s get those clothes together. We’re going to need a box, too.”
Ben followed her into Alan and Ellie’s living area, shaking his head. “He’s a pod person, I tell you.”
Clean-shaven once more, Alan smiled as he toweled his face dry. He knew that would make Ellie happy. In truth, he was happier without the stubble, too. He had never been tempted to grow a beard, not even in college. He slipped on a T-shirt to go with the sweat pants Ellie had bought him, and then put on a pair of socks; he was not about to put his shoes back on that night. With a grimace, he stuffed the clothes he had worn on the island in one of the shopping bags. They were history; no amount of washing could remove the red stains out of the fabric.
He walked into the living room; and saw the kids were fiddling with the television. Ellie sat on the couch, her stocking feet propped on the table. Both she and Lex had chosen sweats and a T-shirt also. “Looks like we all had the same idea,” Alan said.
“Looks like it,” Ellie said.
“Alan, all the channels are in Spanish,” Lex said, frowning.
Alan sat down on the couch beside Ellie. “Uh oh—looks like we’ll either have to learn Spanish or find something else to do.”
Tim held up his hands, he had taken his bandages off to take his bath. “I think I need some new bandages on my hands,” Tim said.
“Oh yeah, sure,” Alan said as he wearily stood up again. “All right, here we go,” he said as they sat down at the table. The doctor had told them the youngster could get his hands wet for a short time but he was to avoid prolonged exposure to water. He applied some ointment to his hands then bandaged them as he had seen the nurse do. His hands did not seem any worse, he noted, and there was no sign of infection.
“Ellie got Lex and me a swimsuit,” Tim said as he watched Alan. “How long do you think it’s going to be before I can swim?”
“We’ll have to wait and see, Tim.”
Tim sighed. “Okay.”
“Patience,” he said with a gentle smile.
Tim nodded reluctantly. “I know.”
Alan nodded as he finished the task. “There, good as new.” He walked back to the couch and Ellie lifted her feet as he sat down. “I think we were talking about food earlier.”
“I seem to remember that,” Ellie said. She reached behind her and gave him the hotel binder. “We were looking at it while you were cleaning up.”
Alan flipped the pages until he came to the section for room service meals; he saw there were both Costa Rican and North American dishes. “Lex, Ellie told me you’re a vegetarian.”
“Yeah.”
Alan noted her body tense slightly, her voice defensive, as though she was preparing for an argument. He figured she probably had received some criticism from her parents. “That’s interesting. I think we can do some adjusting, don’t you, Ellie?”
Ellie smiled at Lex, she understood what Alan was doing. “I don’t see why not, I’ll just need a little guidance on what to buy.”
Lex looked at them in relief. “I can do that. I do eat dairy stuff, so I guess I’m not a total veggie.”
“Good, I’ll remember that,” Ellie said. It would give her more flexibility in preparing meals. “I want to try the Gallo Pinto."
“I was just reading about that,” he said. “Rice and black beans cooked with onions, cilantro, and garlic; sounds interesting.”
“I think I’d like that with some vegetable soup,” Lex said.
Tim looked dubious. “Not me—Ellie said they had hamburgers and French fries. That’s what I want.”
“You know, Tim, I think I’ll have that too,” Alan said.
“Soup and Gallo Pinto will do for me too,” Ellie said.
“Does anybody want anything to drink?” Alan asked. “Milk, tea, Cokes?”
“I think I just want some water; I can’t seem to get enough,” Ellie said.
“Milk would be good,” Lex said.
“Milk for me too, please,” Tim added.
Alan thought milk would be perfect. “Okay, I guess that’s it then.” He picked up the phone and pressed the extension for room service.
“Ellie, can we go out on the patio?” Lex asked.
“Sure, go ahead. Where do they get the energy?” Ellie asked Alan as she watched the kids go outside; they seemed to have mysteriously found a second wind.
“Beats me, we should bottle it,” he said.
As Alan ordered the food, Ellie suddenly realized they would have to get substitutes for the classes they were supposed to teach that fall. If the Costa Ricans only realized how many problems they had caused them. It had gone way beyond an inconvenience, she thought.
Alan hung up the phone after talking to room service. “Should be here in 20-30 minutes.”
“What are we going to do about our classes?” she asked.
He patted her on the leg. “I thought of that earlier. That's a tomorrow problem–we can't do anything about it tonight.” Alan snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah, Ben said Abbie called today. He told her we were on a consulting job.”
Ellie nodded. “I was going to call her after dinner, but I might as well do it now. You know, that blows our cover story.” She thought for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders. “The consultant story is more realistic anyway.”
Alan handed her the phone. “It’s the truth, too. It’ll work as long as we don’t have to tell anybody they had live dinosaurs in the park.”
“True.” Ellie dialed her mother’s number, and wondered if anyone would ever know about Jurassic Park.
Abbie heard the phone ring. “Kyle, I’ll get it,” she called out to her husband as she reached for the phone. “Hello?”
“Hi Mom.”
“Hi honey, I’m glad to hear from you. I understand you and Alan took a trip to Costa Rica.”
“Yeah, we’re in San José now.”
“I see. Ben said you were there for a consulting job.”
“Right.” Her parents had met Ben and Sue during her first semester as a PhD candidate, and the two couples had become fast friends.
“What kind of consulting job was it?”
“It was for a new amusement park they were building.” Ellie realized she had unconsciously slipped into the past tense; the park would never open, its inhabitants and secrets destroyed forever.
“An amusement park? What kind of consulting could you do for an amusement park?”
Here comes the tricky part, Ellie thought. “Well, the owner is a major investor in Alan’s research,” she said, making certain she referred to Hammond in the present tense. Her mother was sharp; she might notice that. “The park uh…is going to have a dinosaur theme so he wanted our opinion.”
Something in her daughter’s voice, the hesitation perhaps, told her something was wrong. “Oh, I see, that’s interesting. When are you coming home?”
“Uh…well, we’re not sure. There was an accident at the park—”
Abbie’s level of alarm went up a notch. “Was anyone hurt?”
Ellie really did not want to talk about this subject, but she could not out and out lie to her mother. “Yes, there were some fatalities,” she said softly.
“Oh that’s horrible, are you and Alan okay?”
“We’re fine. The thing is we can’t go home until the Costa Rican government says we can.” She decided to make a joke of their predicament. “I guess Alan’s going to get a vacation whether he wants one or not.”
Again, Abbie had the feeling that something was amiss. “Ellie, is there something you’re not telling me? Are you sure you’re okay?”
Ellie felt her frustration growing. “Mom, everything’s fine, I promise.”
“What in the world happened?”
“Mom, right now I can’t talk about it.” She struggled to find the right words to satisfy her mother's curiosity. “We’re material witnesses, I guess.”
“I see.”
Time for a change of subject, she decided. “Can you do me a favor? We didn’t bring our passports, and the US Embassy is setting up an account so we can get some Costa Rican currency. Can I borrow $200 from you until we get back?”
Abbie wondered why they had not taken their passports. What had Alan gotten her daughter into? No, that was wrong, whatever had happened, Ellie was a grown woman, and she knew Alan well enough to know he would never knowingly put her in danger. “Ellie, of course you can. How can I send it to you?”
“Just send a Western Union wire to the embassy in Alan’s name.” He handed her the paper with the embassy’s address, which she read to her mother.
“Okay, I’ll do that tomorrow. Are you sure $200 will be enough?”
“That will be fine. The Costa Rican government is paying for the hotel, so we just need money for food and such. Alan is going to get Ben to send the same amount, which should be more than enough. You know, things are really inexpensive here; our clinic bill was only about $60.” The words tumbled out before she could stop talking; she covered her eyes in dismay.
“What? Ellie, I thought you said you were okay!”
“We just had some cuts and bruises, that’s all.” She omitted any mention of Alan's back injury; there was no reason to get her started on that subject. “There’s nothing permanent or serious wrong,” she said, hoping to reassure her mother. “Mom, I promise you we’re okay; we’re just worn-out.” She heard her mother sigh in frustration.
Abbie started to question her further, but knew it was useless to try. “All right, if you say so.”
“Let me give you our number here.” Alan handed her the binder, which was open to the name, address, and phone number of the hotel. Ellie yawned as she gave the number out.
“You really are tired aren’t you?” Abbie said sympathetically.
“We’re beat. We’ve got room service ordered then we’re off to bed.” She was about done in; all she needed was a full stomach.
“Well, I’ll let you go then. If you need anything, let us know.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later, Mom. Give Dad my love.”
“I will, do the same with Alan. Goodnight, dear.”
“Night, Mom.”
Abbie hung up the phone and strode into the den. “Kyle, that was Ellie,” she said to her husband. “You won’t believe what she told me.”
With an exasperated groan, Ellie handed the phone back to Alan, then laughed nervously. “Oh God Alan, I can not believe I said that; she’s going to worry herself to death now.”
Alan laughed. “She’ll be okay, but I bet she gives us the third degree when we get home."
“You're probably right; she sends her love by the way.”
Alan nodded; he was very fond of both her mother and stepfather. He knew her mother had initially been concerned about their age difference. Even before they had been involved romantically, they had had a long talk about a number of subjects pertaining to their daughter. “Hey, you’re about out on your feet. I owe you for shopping for me.”
Ellie slid down and put her head in his lap. “I didn’t mind; you needed to rest. You’ll have to pay me back sometime.”
Alan nodded and smiled. “I can think of a few ways.” They sat quietly in silence, waiting for their dinner. The children came back into the suite and sprawled in the other chairs.
“What’s going to happen tomorrow?” Tim asked.
“Well, I have to go down to the embassy with Mr. Reiling and get that account set up, then we can get some money wired to us,” Alan said.
“And… I need to go grocery shopping,” Ellie said. “You know, I don’t think that little market is going to have everything I need, so we’ll need to find a bigger grocery store. I’d like to find a bookstore that sells English language books, too.”
“Hey, that’s a good idea.” At that moment, he heard a soft rap at the door. Ellie leaned forward as he stood and walked to the door. He opened it, and found two hotel employees in the hall with room service carts.
“Good evening Señor, you ordered room service?”
“Yes, thank you.” He held the door while the men pushed the carts into the room.
“Señor, would you like for me to set the table?”
“That’s okay, we can handle it.”
“As you wish Señor. Would you like to add the charge to the room bill?”
“That will be fine.” He looked over the bill, which included the tip, then signed and handed it back to the man.
“Thank you Señor, have a good evening.”
“Thanks.”
Ellie started to get up as Alan shut the door. “Nope, you stay right there,” Alan said. “We’ll take care of it, won’t we guys?”
“Oh yeah, we can do that,” Tim said.
Ellie laughed and sat back down. “I’m not going to say no.”
Looking over the carts, Alan saw there were four complete place settings. Good, he thought, no dishes to put into the dishwasher.
Lex and Tim drifted over to the table and began to take the tops off the plates. “That looks good,” Tim said as he placed one of the hamburgers on the table.
Alan nodded in agreement. The burgers did not look exactly like they would find back home, but they were close enough; the fries looked tasty as well. He took the plastic covering off one of the bowls of soup and put it on the table.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Ellie walked over to where the others were setting the table.
“Perfect timing,” Alan said, putting his arm around her.
“Seems that way.” She sat down next to Alan; the children took the other two seats.
“Do you guys normally say Grace?” he asked Lex and Tim.
“Not usually, but I think it would be nice tonight,” Lex said, her expression thoughtful.
“I do too, Lex,” Ellie said.
They all joined hands and bowed their heads. “Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food,” Alan began. “Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.”
“Amen,” Ellie said. She was surprised at the effortlessness of his words; neither of them was overly religious.
Alan noticed Ellie watching him, a quirky smile on her face. “What?”
“That was lovely, your Grandfather would be proud.” She grinned impishly. “You must have at least paid a little attention in church.”
Alan snorted. “I didn’t have much choice; we got our ears boxed if we didn’t.”
“Is your Grandfather a minister?” Tim asked.
“He was. He passed away a few years ago; he was a good, decent man.” Although deeply religious, and despite the ongoing evolution versus creation controversy, his Grandfather Charles had openly encouraged his interest in fossils and paleontology. He missed his wise gentle spirit.
The hotel had provided individual catsup containers for the French fries, and Alan dipped a fry into the catsup then took a bite. “Not bad.”
“My hamburger’s good too,” Tim said.
“Alan, tell us more about your family, please?” Lex begged. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Ellie noted Alan seemed to take Lex’s crush in stride; she thought it was adorable.
Alan nodded as he swallowed a bite of his hamburger. “I have a younger brother and sister.”
“Are they scientists too?” Tim said.
“Nope, they both work for Qantas Airlines. Stan’s a pilot and Becky trains the flight attendants.”
“What kind of plane does he fly?” Tim asked.
“He’s a co-pilot on a 747. He hasn’t got quite enough hours to be the pilot, but he’s getting there.” Growing up, he recalled his brother had been as fixated on flying has he had been on fossils.
Ellie noticed a bottle of sauce called Salsa Lizano on the table, she wondered if it might be good on the Gallo Pinto, which she found to be a little bland. Taking the bottle, she shook a few drops into the bowl and after mixing it up; she ate a spoonful.
“Any good?” Alan asked.
“Yeah, the Gallo Pinto isn't very spicy on its own; it just gives it a little kick.”
Alan nodded. “Okay.”
“What does your father do?” Tim asked.
“He’s a geologist.”
“That’s kind of related to a paleontologist, isn’t it?”
“Very good, Tim. A basic grounding in geology is essential if you want to be a real paleontologist,” Ellie said.
“Oh, okay.”
“And your mom’s a doctor, right?” Lex asked.
Alan shot a glance at Ellie. With all the questions, he was beginning to feel as if he was back in Olvera’s office; at least the questions were more pleasant this time. “Yep, she is.”
“How did they meet?” Lex asked.
“Well, he was working in New Zealand, and one day he broke his hand and he had to have it operated on. He met my mother while he was in rehab; and they started going out together. Later, they got married and he liked the country so much he decided to raise our family there.”
“So you were born in New Zealand?” Lex asked.
“Yep.”
“Where’s New Zealand?” Tim asked.
“Geography isn’t Tim’s strong suit,” Lex said.
“Hey, I haven’t studied geography yet.”
Alan smiled. “That’s okay; it’s a pretty small country. If you were to look on a map, New Zealand would be next to Australia.”
“Oh okay, I know where Australia is—at least I think I do.”
“If we see a world map someplace, Alan can show you where it is,” Ellie said.
“Okay, good.”
“The interesting thing is my father’s from Arizona. Since my mother’s from New Zealand, I have what’s called dual citizenship—I have both American and New Zealand citizenship,” he said as a way of explanation to the children.
The children were fascinated, Ellie could see, and Alan was enjoying himself immensely.
“Do you have to pay taxes in both countries? My dad’s always complaining about taxes,” Lex said.
Alan chuckled. “Nope, I just have to pay taxes in the US, which is bad enough!”
“So when did you come to the US?” Tim asked.
“When I started college at Cal-Berkeley. I’ve been living in the states ever since.”
“Hey, that school is near where we live,” Lex said.
Alan nodded. “That’s what I thought when I heard your area code.”
“You came all by yourself?” Lex asked.
Alan nodded. “All by myself.”
“Wow, that’s brave,” Tim said.
“Not particularly.” Truthfully, he had been scared to death to leave his family. At one point during his freshman year, feeling lonely and alienated by the strange environment of his new country, he had come very close to quitting school and returning to New Zealand. Only the encouragement and support of his paleontology professors kept him in school.
“Do you ever go back to New Zealand?” Tim asked.
“I haven’t been back in a few years, but we’re thinking about going next year, aren’t we?” he asked Ellie.
“I would love to,” she said. She had long wanted to visit the country of his origin; she secretly thought it would make a wonderful honeymoon.
“Ellie, what about you?” Lex said.
“I’m afraid my story’s not half as interesting as Alan’s.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Alan said.
Ellie smiled affectionately at Alan. “Well, I’m an Air Force brat. I was born in Ft. Worth and we moved around a lot, all over the world, really. Okinawa, Japan, North Dakota, and then back to Texas. We went wherever the Air Force said to go.” She had attended four different schools in six years; it had seemed like as soon as she would make new friends, it would be time to move on.
Alan knew she had attended several schools during her elementary years. Each time she changed schools, she would have had to catch up. Despite this, she had excelled academically and received her PhD at a remarkably young age. It spoke volumes about her intellect and academic drive. He loved her mind as much as he loved her body. So why don’t you tell her that, his conscience asked.
For a fleeting moment, Ellie saw Alan’s expression change. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked softly, putting her hand on his arm.
Ellie saw Alan's expression revert to normalcy. "Yeah, I'm fine."
“Does your Dad fly fighters?” Tim asked, breaking the mood between them.
Ellie shook her head. “He flew B-52’s.”
“Wow! That’s awesome. I saw one at an air show once. It was huge,” Tim said.
“And loud, too,” she said.
“Is he still in the Air Force?” Lex asked.
“No, I’m afraid not. He passed away a few years ago.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“Yeah, I miss him a lot.” Her parents had divorced when she was twelve, and her mother had later married a wonderful man, who had become as much a father to her as any biological father could. She had grown up with a great deal of anger towards her father, feeling that he had abandoned them. She had not seen much of her father until a few years ago when he suddenly appeared one day at her door. When she realized who it was she almost refused to let him in, but she had finally relented. He had apologized for not being a part of her life, and he had said that he would regret that for the rest of his life. He asked for her forgiveness, and sensing his sincerity, she accepted. They had gradually grown closer during the last years of his life. She regretted he had not lived to see her get her Ph.D.
“Do you have brothers and sisters?” Lex asked
“I sure do. I have two older brothers and a younger step-sister.”
Both of the children’s eyes widened. “Your parents got a divorce?”
“When I was twelve.”
“Oh…” Lex said, then fell silent.
“Did you brothers ever pick on you?” Tim asked with a pointed glance at his sister.
“Tim, all the time.”
“I’m glad it’s not just me.”
“It’s the universal condition, I’m afraid. I tell you what though, when I was little they looked out for me and heaven help anybody else pick on me. I was the same way with my sister, too.”
Tim snickered. “One time, there was this kid who was messing with me, and Lex chased him all the way down the street. She told him if he didn’t leave me alone she was going to beat the crap out of him.”
Lex turned red in the face. “Tim!”
“Well, you did—he never bothered me again either.”
“Well, I was pretty mad. That punk was a lot bigger than you were.”
Alan chuckled. “I think you did the only thing you could do.”
“So Alan, did you ever pick on your brother and sister?” Ellie asked playfully.
Alan cleared his throat. “I think I’m going to take the Fifth on that particular subject.”
“So what about you two?” Ellie asked, as she laughed at Alan's words.
“Oh, we’re boring,” Lex said.
“No, you’re not,” Ellie said. “Everyone has something interesting about themselves. Have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up?”
“I’m not sure. I do like computers—”
“Thank God for that,” Alan quipped.
Lex laughed. “Yeah, but I like animals too, at least non-dinosaur animals. I might like to be a vet.”
“That’s a terrific idea, Lex. You still have plenty of time to decide, just follow your heart,” Ellie said.
Lex nodded her head and smiled. “I will.”
“Tim?” Alan asked.
The boy thought for a moment and looked at them, his expression serious. “I want to be a paleontologist just like you and Ellie.”
“After what’s happened?” Lex asked, in a shocked voice.
“Even more so. Alan, they had that frog DNA stuff in them, right?”
“Right.”
“Then that would mean they weren’t pure dinosaurs.”
Surprised by Tim’s statement, Alan leaned back in his chair. The boy might not know where New Zealand was, but there was a working brain there. “That’s exactly what I think, Tim. There’s no telling how the external DNA affected their looks and behavior.”
The large size of the raptors puzzled him; they had been far bigger than any species thus far discovered. Was their large size a product of the foreign DNA, or were they a previously unknown species, he wondered.
Tim nodded. “Then I want to study the real ones—or at least what’s left of the real ones.”
“We’ll be glad to teach you, Tim,” Ellie said.
A grin split Tim’s face. “Good.”
“I think you’re nuts,” Lex muttered.
Alan remembered what Lynda had said to him earlier; it was true, Tim’s experience on Jurassic Park had not deterred him.
Ellie finished the last of her meal and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “That hit the spot.”
“It sure did,” Alan said.
Ellie winced as she stood up. "I think I'm going to take a couple of aspirin. I bought some Advil for you guys, would you like some?"
"I think I'll take one," Lex said.
"Me too," Tim said.
Ellie opened the bottle of the Advil and gave them one each. The children swallowed pills with the last of their milk.
"Alan?" Ellie asked as she poured two aspirin for herself, and then took them with her water.
"No thanks, I think I'm going to take one of those pills the doctor gave me."
“Lex, let’s clear the table,” Tim said.
“Okay,” Lex said and looked between Alan and Ellie. “You and Alan go and relax. We’ll get everything put on the cart.”
“As you wish, my dear. Let’s go out on the patio,” Ellie said.
Alan took her hand. “Sounds good to me,” It was a beautiful night, he thought, as they walked out on the patio. After the stifling humidity of the island, he found San Jose’s climate very pleasant. They sat down on a bench, she propped her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her. For several minutes, he idly watched the stars overhead, the constellations different from the familiar ones he normally saw at home. “You notice there’s not nearly as much humidity here as there was on the island,” he said after a few minutes.
Drowsy now, she snuggled closer. “Uh huh, tell me more.”
Alan softly laughed and kissed her forehead. “Never mind. Why don’t you go ahead and head for bed, I’ll get the kids settled in.”
“I’m fine where I am. Do we have anything else to do?”
“If we do, it’s going to get done tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a plan to me, Dr. Grant.”
They did not speak further; Alan sat and listened to the peaceful night sounds; he thought Ellie had dozed off. Tim and Lex approached; he noticed they had both put on their pajamas.
“Alan, everything’s done—is Ellie asleep?” Lex whispered.
To his surprise, Ellie stirred and yawned. “Not yet but give me a few minutes. Thanks for taking care of the dishes.”
Lex shrugged and smiled. “We don’t mind, we want to help out.”
“Well, I’m going to bed,” Tim said. “I’m pooped.”
“Yeah, me too,” Lex said.
“Make that three,” Alan said, yawning. “Yawns are contagious, you know that?” He put out his hand for Ellie.
“Say, anybody want the air conditioner on?”
“I don’t think so,” Tim said.
“Not me, the bedroom isn’t hot at all.” Lex said.
Alan looked at Ellie who shook her head.
“I’m fine, too. We can turn on the ceiling fan if we need to.”
“Okay, then,” Alan said.
“Well, I’ll see everybody tomorrow. Goodnight, Alan—you too, Tim,” Lex said, as she walked into her bedroom.
“Good night, kiddo.” Alan said.
“Night, Lex,” Tim called out.
“I’ll be in there in a minute,” Ellie said. “Hey, we need to put the carts outside.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Tim, can you hold the door?” Alan asked.
“Sure.” He went and held the door while they pushed the carts out into the hall.
As Alan shut the door and locked up for the night, Tim tossed the sofa cushions in one of the smaller chairs, and then pulled on the strap, which released the bed. He folded the covers back with Ellie’s help, and then climbed into bed.
“Well Tim, it looks like you’re good to go,” Alan said. “I’m going to leave the door open, in case you have to use the bathroom.” There was one other reason he was leaving the door open; he expected there would be nightmares. He hoped he would be able to hear Tim if that happened to him.
“Okay… Night, Alan,” Tim said.
“Goodnight, Tim,” Ellie said.
Ellie followed Alan into his bedroom, and put her arms around his broad shoulders and held him close.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” he whispered.
“Me too, but it’s like you said, it’s for the best.”
“I know, but I don’t have to like it,” he grumbled.
“Me either.” She caressed his cheek. “Oh, and thanks for shaving.”
Alan laughed and kissed her. “Night, honey.”
Incessant chirping penetrated Ellie’s brain, rousing her from sleep. Reluctantly she opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming through the window. Bird, please shut up, she thought, as the racket continued. She loved all species of birds, but not when they woke her up.
With a sigh, she reached over to the nightstand and picked up her watch; it was eight fifteen. Normally an early riser; in her exhaustion, she had slept much later than she was accustomed to. In fact, she was tempted to go back to sleep, but she knew with the noise the bird was making it would be a futile gesture. In the other bed Lex slept on, unfazed by the noise.
Yawning, Ellie sat up for a moment, and then stretched. She frowned as she stood; her thigh had stiffened up overnight; as a matter-of-fact, she realized she ached in several places. Time for more aspirin, she thought. She walked over to the closet, trying to work the tightness out of her thigh. Reaching into the closet she quietly took out the jeans and short-sleeved blouse she planned to wear. She had bought two pairs of jeans and a pair of khakis to go with a few blouses and T-shirts. Joe had advised that Costa Rican culture frowned upon women wearing shorts, and since Ellie always tried to adapt to local customs when she traveled, she had purchased her clothes accordingly.
Ellie entered the bathroom, and began to wash her face, careful not to further injure the scratch on her cheek; then brushed her teeth. She put her contacts in, and as she brushed her hair, she looked closely at her face. With the scratch on her cheek, she looked like the victim of a mugging. She normally did not wear much makeup, but at that moment, she wished she had some. Since she had just showered last night, she did not need to take one now. She thought it might be a good system if she showered at night and Lex showered in the morning.
As she dressed, she mused over yesterday’s shopping trip. It had certainly been an unusual experience. The salesperson shadowed them all over the store; she thought the salesperson suspected they were going to shoplift, however, Joe had reassured her they did everyone that way. As they shopped, the clerk had written down the items and sizes they wanted. Only after payment, were the packages given to them. She supposed it discouraged shoplifters, but it seemed like a strange system.
Lex was just waking up when she went back into the bedroom. “Good morning, Lex.”
“Morning.” Lex looked at the window and frowned. Outside, the bird was still making a commotion. “Jeez, can’t that bird be quiet?”
Ellie laughed. “I know; it woke me up too.”
Lex stretched and yawned mightily. “What time is it?”
“It’s…” She looked at her watch. “Eight thirty five; are you hungry?”
“Big time.”
“Me too. If you want to get ready, I’ll go check on the guys.”
“Okay… Ellie?”
“Yeah?”
“Were you mad when your parents got divorced?”
“I was, for a long time.” The night before, she had sensed Lex had wanted to talk to her, but they both had been too tired to say much more than good night.
“Oh, okay…”
“We’ll have a long talk about it later, okay?”
“That would be nice.”
Ellie crossed into the living room. They had made the sofa; the patio doors were open. Before she went outside, she decided to take two aspirin. Afterwards, she stepped outside into the bright sunlight, and saw Alan at the patio table reading a newspaper. He had dressed in one of his new pair of Levi’s and denim shirt; his sleeves already rolled up. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.
Stepping behind him, Ellie slipped her arms around his neck. “Oh rats, I thought I was going to get to wake you up.” She leaned around and kissed him on the side of his forehead.
“Missed your chance, I’m afraid.” Alan loved how Ellie woke him in the morning, with whispers and soft kisses.
“Sleep well?” she asked, as she sat down in one of the other chairs.
“Like a log. How about you?”
“I did too. I didn’t hear anything from Lex so she slept through the night too.”
“Tim was fine too; I was afraid we’d all have nightmares.”
Ellie suspected that was the real reason for leaving the bedroom door open. “I’m afraid those will still come; I think we were probably all too tired to dream last night. How’s your back?”
Alan shrugged. “It hurts, but not as bad as it did yesterday. I guess I’ll just have to watch it for the next few days, and not plan to run a marathon. I saw you limping, is your leg bothering you?”
“It’s a little stiff, I just took some aspirin. I guess neither one of us will be running that marathon,” she said with a laugh. “There’s a Jacuzzi by the pool, we should spend some time there tonight.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Is Tim getting dressed?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Good, Lex is too.”
“They delivered a paper this morning, The Tico Times, in English no less. Want some?”
“Sure,” she said, as Alan handed her some of the paper.
“You know this whole thing with the kids should be awkward and strange, but it feels very natural,” Ellie said, hoping to ease him into a discussion about children. Despite her fatigue, she had enjoyed the dinner discussion, and she knew Alan had as well. Come on Alan, talk to me, she silently pleaded.
Alan paused, and then nodded slowly. “Yeah, it does—I’m not sure how long the kids will be, I can make us some coffee if you want.”
Ellie knew Alan had deliberately changed the subject, and anger and resentment shot through her. If he would just talk to her about why he didn’t want children, then she would understand. All he had ever done was make excuses, or avoid the subject altogether as now. She felt there was an underlying reason but he would not even speak of it. She started to have it out with him, but at that moment, Tim walked outside. “I’ll get coffee when we eat,” she said brusquely.
“Well, I’m ready,” Tim said as he came outside. “Where’s Lex?”
Ellie abruptly put down the paper. “She’s getting ready. I’m going inside to wait for her.” She went back into the suite followed by Tim.
Alan winced as she stalked off; he had done it again. What the hell is the matter with me, he asked himself angrily. He desperately wanted to tell her he loved her, and explain to her that he did not hate children; that his reaction was because of the guilt he felt every time he came near a child. Only Lex and Tim had managed to break through this barrier.
After a few minutes, Lex walked out onto the patio. “Alan, we’re ready.”
“Okay, thanks.” Alan went back into the suite, and he held the door for the others as they filed into the hall.
“Which way do we go?” Lex asked
“That’s a good question. The pool is behind us, so let’s try this way,” Alan said.
They walked down the hall for a while, and came at last to a sign with the figure of a swimming man, which pointed to their right. “Let me guess,” Alan said. “That way to the pool.”
“Very good,” Lex said, laughing.
They walked outside into the pool area, and Alan saw a long table with various cold cereals, scrambled and boiled eggs, cheeses, toast, and a variety of jams and jellies, fruits and fruit juices along with the obligatory Gallo Pinto. I guess they eat the stuff for every meal, he thought as he picked up a tray. He took a plate and helped himself to the scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit.
“Are you going to get the Gallo Pinto again?” Alan asked, trying to judge her mood.
“I think I’m going to pass this time,” Ellie responded. Her anger had faded, but some of the underlying frustration remained. She decided she would not continue to press Alan while they were in Costa Rica; it did neither one of them any good in their present situation. However, she knew that eventually they would have to come to grips with the issue.
Alan sensed her anger had lessened. “I think I’m going to give it a try this time. He reached for a bowl and filled it with the Gallo Pinto, which he put on the tray. There was a bottle of Salsa Lizano, and taking Ellie’s cue from last night, he shook a few drops into the bowl. Afterwards, he poured himself a cup of coffee. He debated getting some orange juice, and then decided against it.
Tim and Lex had already found a table; he and Ellie walked over to it. “Get everything you need?” he asked, as he and Ellie put their trays down on the table.
“Yeah, everything’s great,” Tim said. He had loaded his plate with scrambled eggs, toast and jam, fruit, milk and orange juice.
“No Gallo Pinto?” Alan asked
Tim scowled. “Yuck.”
“Well, I think it’s great for breakfast,” Lex said.
“And lunch and dinner,” Tim said sarcastically.
“I think I want some orange juice after all,” Alan said to himself. As he walked off, he could hear the two of them arguing. Some things never change, he thought.
4/12/2005 7:33:37 PM
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