When Paul got back to Verron, he was starving, those tiny little portions in fancy restaurants and then not even finishing that, left him famished. The others must have read his mind. He had taught Zimuel how to make a Rubin, he had taught Tlase and now there was double-team Rubin making going on in the kitchen. Bhlani was cutting up potatoes for French fries. They were all hoping Paul would get home soon, since none of them were completely comfortable using a deep-fryer. While Paul prepared the fryer 99 was telling everyone about his flight to the moon today and how creepy it was to have no gravity or atmosphere. Then, he was telling about how Dalhia had tricked him while playing chase. He was chasing her in his fighter while she flew her new ship. All of sudden she disappeared. He slowed down to look for her thinking maybe she had crashed and all of sudden she shows up behind him. He accused her of cheating. His facial expressions and body language had everyone cracking up. Paul told Tlase that he would be bringing Leona back the next day. She informed him that Renee cried the whole time she was being prepped. She went on to say, “I think she’s a pretty remarkable girl. It takes a lot of nerve to decide something as radical as what she’s doing without the blessing of her husband or family. Why does her husband hate you so much?” Paul thought a moment and replied, “When I was 14 my father told me I was the easiest person in the world to learn to hate. I guess I lived up to that statement for over 40 years. There are a lot of people on Earth that hate me, and with good reason; I was married to most of them, I was a father to the rest. Maybe I can in some way make it up to them. I’m gonna need all the friends I can get. From what I’ve seen on Lucy’s reports, I’m developing a whole new set of enemies; it looks like I’m making them by the millions.”
It was late, but it was still light. Paul decided to go for a run. This had been a really stressful day and he needed to wind down. He ran for about three hours, then decided that with stress like he was encountering now, that what he really needed to do is pray. He knew he had been drastically neglecting his prayer and Bible reading time and he couldn’t remember the last time he had been in church. He looked forward to having church services on Verron in the near future. As much as he loved to preach and sing, he felt like he really needed someone else to be the spiritual leader on Verron. The life he was going to live and the decisions he knew he was going to make, did not exactly line up with being a preacher. He found himself in a small valley surrounded by snowcapped mountains, 200 foot trees and a beautiful waterfall. He sat under a tree and began to pray, saying, “God, I know I haven’t spent much time with you lately. I’d like to make a good excuse, but I know I don’t really have one. I think I keep myself so busy because if I stop long enough to really think about what I’m expected to do and how incompetent I am to do it, I’d just give up. I know you keep reminding me that it isn’t me that gets things done, I’m just who you use to get Your work done. God, I’ve messed-up everything I ever did in my past and made some incredibly stupid mistakes. If You don’t do this, I’ll blow it. Lord, I don’t want to live in a fantasy world, pretending to be something I’m not and wishing I was something I will never be. I have so much to get done and so many ideas on how to do it, I need to know that I’m really in Your will and Your plan and not just making plans of my own and asking You to bless them. At this point I need You to bless what I do whether it’s Your plan or not. I really don’t have time for mistakes and major resistance. So, I guess what I asking is - Give me courage to go out and make this thing happen, but please open the doors and the minds of the people I need to get it done. There is no way I can do it alone. This day took a lot out of me. I need strength that can only come from You just to go on. Thanks for those You have given me so far. They have no idea how much I will be counting on them to make this happen. I am by far the most blessed man I know. I deserve none of the many, many blessings You have given me. I promise to not let You down. In Jesus name: Amen.”
As Paul walked along the creek that flowed through the little valley, he suddenly thought of a song he hadn’t sung or heard in over forty years. He was surprised when he began singing, “No man is an island, no man stands alone, each man’s joy is joy to me, each man’s grief is my own. We need one another, so I will defend, each man as my brother, each man as my friend.” He began to cry thinking back to when he learned that song, it was just another song the choir sang at school, but now, now it was the very foundation of who he was and what Verron stood for. He made a jump back to Mountain City ready for a good night’s sleep and whatever was waiting on him tomorrow.
Trying to jiggle his schedule to make it fit with everything he had to do was part of the reason Paul was feeling out of sort. For years he had been a man of routine. Even during the past 2 years preparing to rule Verron, had some order to it. But now with Verron’s 36 hour days and 9 day weeks and Earth’s 24 hour days and 7 day weeks. He was jumping to Earth when he normally slept and sleeping when he was normally working out. There was no rhyme or reason to anything he was doing. Today Paul knew he didn’t have to be in Atlanta till noon. He decided to go to Nashville first to see Michael, then Chattanooga to see Marcus. He popped in at Michael’s just when he was preparing to head out the door for work. Michael decided that he was going to resign this very day so it didn’t matter if he was late or not. Being a typical accountant, he always worried about money; his own and other peoples. He once again looked at his beautiful new home and asked, “Uncle Paul, I hate to ask, but how much are you going to pay me?” Paul smiled and replied, “Going to! Why I’ve already paid you more than you will make in the next two years.” Michael looked at him with a questioning look and Paul pretended to talk into his watch as if he were talking to someone, knowing full well all he had to do was think it, saying, “Lucy, did you take care of that little matter I asked you to take of?” He heard through his neuro, an affirmative. He looked at Michael and told him, “Go get on your computer and check your online accounts.” Instead he pulled his Smart Phone out of his pocket and began moving his apps around. The smile on his face got bigger with each new discovery. He looked at Paul and said, “I don’t know how you did this without knowing my PIN numbers and access codes, but thanks. I’ve never been debt free before. When do you want me to start?” Paul paused a moment and told him, “I’m sure you will want to take some stuff with you. You get a truck and get your stuff loaded. Not everything, we can make extra trips. I’ll come by tomorrow about 11:00 PM. We’ll drive the truck out of the neighborhood and as soon as there’s no traffic, we’ll gateway to Verron. Go ahead and leave your car and enough stuff here so that when you travel back and forth, it will simply look like you’re doing a lot of heavy traveling, but still live here.” About that time Daniel came out and asked about the dragon. Paul looked at Michael and told him, “You know, when we get to Verron his autism can me totally healed.” Michael’s eyes began to tear-up, as he said, “We’ll be waiting on you tomorrow night” and gave Paul a hug goodbye.
Paul went to Marcus’ house. It was easy to find since he grew up in it himself. When his Mom moved to the retirement community, his brother Kary bought it, but it was more house than he needed, so when Marcus got back from Afghanistan, he and his family moved into the house and Kary moved to a smaller place. When Paul arrived, Marcus and Danyel were already sorting through some things to prepare for their relocation to Verron. He didn’t even have to knock on the door, when the dog barked, Chase answered it right away. The house was a mess as they all were busy trying to determine what to take and what to leave behind. Their musical instruments were stacked in the middle of the living room. Chase had carefully packed away his collection of Sci-Fi Videos and collectables. Paul knew 99 would be driving him crazy as soon as he found out that Chase possessed nearly 100 of the best Sci-Fi Movies ever made. Katelyn, at fourteen, was going through her clothes and music collection and Tala, who was definitely a Daddy’s girl, was the first nine year-old girl Paul had ever seen with a knife collection, a cross-bow and a kid sized Keystone Arms: Cricket – 22 c
aliber rifle – in Pink. Those were the items she had chosen first to gather together, along with her favorite Timberland waterproof hiking boots. When Paul came in she was trying to choose between her favorite camouflage outfit and her pink dress. Paul smiled and told her to be sure she brought both. He found Marcus in his basement/welding shop, sorting through his tools. He couldn’t believe how excited his nephew was. The first words out of his mouth were, “How do I get all this stuff to Verron?” Paul told him what he was going to do with Michael and suggested the same thing for Marcus. He also informed him to have Danyel check on-line to make sure he hadn’t missed paying off anything.
Danyel came into the shop and was concerned about the children missing school. Paul paused a moment before he spoke. He looked over Danyel’s shoulder to see the three children listening intently for the answer. He realized that he hadn’t really given school much thought, and he better put a plan together, and he better do it soon. In his usual sense of humor, he answered, “Oh, we don’t have any schools on Verron.” He continued, “What we do is stick electrodes in their heads and force everything in. There’s no homework, but the electrodes can be a bit painful.” The response from behind ran from looks of absolute fear from Katelyn, to an excited “Yes!” from Chase and a head shaking “No Way!” from Tala. They all ran off to discuss the school situation as Paul told Danyel. “At first we will definitely homeschool. There is no shortage of extremely talented and literate people on Verron who are qualified to teach. But to be honest, we really do have ways of teaching, so advanced that I could have Tala speaking fluent German in under a week, and make her able to understand calculus in same time frame. Your children are already smart; they will be getting a lot of personalized attention when they get to Verron. I have no doubt you will be pleased with the results. So when will you be ready to leave?” Paul heard Chase from the next room, yell, “Now.” Danyel screamed, “Go pack your stuff and stop listening to our conversation.” She smiled and shook her head saying, “How ‘bout tomorrow night?” In the next room Paul could hear all three kids say, “Yes!!” He gave Marcus and Danyel a quick hug and decided he had time to make one more stop in Chattanooga before he headed to Atlanta.
Gail Morton was Paul’s first wife. She was one of the smartest and prettiest girls in his high school. She was the same age as Paul and they married right out of high school at 18 years-old. She wasn’t just Paul’s wife, she was his best friend. By the time they went through his Army enlistment together and his college and he began his first real job, he had developed a bad case of the 7-year itch. For the next forty-years his greatest regret in life was leaving Gail. She had gone on to be a good wife and devoted mother, graduated college with honors and was now a CPA. Paul had not only cared deeply for her, he practically grew-up with her brothers and missed the strong family relationship they once had. She was widowed now. He stopped by her private practice CPA office she had in the finished basement of her home and knocked on the door. She answered, and not recognizing him said, “I apologize, I’m in the middle of tax season and I really wouldn’t be doing you justice to take you on as a new client.” Paul smiled and replied, “I’m actually not here to have my taxes done. Come to think of it, I haven’t paid taxes in years. I’m here to offer you a job.” Gail took the glasses hanging around her neck and put them on, and with a questioning voice said, “I know who you look like and the first thing I noticed was who you sound like, are you Paul Verron’s son?” Paul grinned his biggest grin and told her, “I know for a fact Paul Verron has no sons, I only have three daughters, and right now they look older than me.” Gail took a step back for a better look, stating, “No way! This is not possible.” He thought a second and asked, “Remember riding that old Suzuki on snow covered roads in Alaska and your feet getting so cold by the time we got home I had to thaw your feet out on my chest?”
She stepped farther from the door and indicated for him to come in, and asked, “How?” Paul sat in the client chair across from her desk and told her about what had happened and what job he would like to offer her, telling her, “I would like for you to work for Michael, he’s also a CPA, as his assistant; more like Deputy Director of the Treasury. He will be in control of a budget bigger than anything you have ever seen. He’ll need people he can trust to work with him. I’ve got other people in line that specializes in stocks, commodities, investments, bonds and financial analysis. He will need you no doubt to help him take care of the rest. Before you give me an answer, let me give you the perks. I have at my disposal the technology to make you as young as I am and to cure anything that may ail you. I want you to bring your family, your brothers and their families. I could always use their engineering skills.” Gail looked at Paul and commented, “This sounds too good to be true and you know what they say about something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and besides I have a daughter and grandchildren.” Paul laughed, “Sounds like your making excuses. Bring them and the in-laws too. I’ve got a planet three times larger than Earth to populate and so far I have less than 25 people there or committed to come. I have immediate room for 350,000 residents. And I can assure you, there will be opportunities for anyone willing to make the initial sacrifice and move.”
He looked at his watch and realized it was almost time to get Leona in Buckhead, and made one more effort to convince her, saying as he stood, “Tell you what, it’s almost lunch time. How long do you usually take for lunch?” She held up a sandwich on a plate by the edge of her desk. Paul continued, “Figures. How long can you be away from your desk, an hour, maybe an hour and a half?” Gail looked at her watch and asked, “What you got in mind?” He responded, “Just a little trip, I promise to have you back in an hour.” He stood up, and continued, “Lock the office and let’s go.” Paul made a gateway right there in Gail’s office. When they stepped out into the Hanger Bay, Dalhia, Bhlani and 99 where standing around the two seat-fighter. Gail would have turned and run if the gateway had still been open. He quickly introduced Gail to his three friends and excused himself saying, “I have and appointment in Atlanta in a few minutes.” Looking at Gail, he continued, “I promise I will be back within an hour. Would you three give Gail a quick tour? Be sure to include the executive offices, the residential units, medical and the East Terrace views. Zeus enjoys the company.” With that he turned, formed a gateway and vanished. Gail looked at her new acquaintances and smiled, saying, “I guess Paul will never change, he was always in a hurry. Does he still drive like a man possessed?” The others nodded their agreement.
Paul arrived in the hallway by the elevators on the floor where Leona and Donald lived. On this level, there were only six condos; he was not concerned about running into other people. He rang the doorbell and at first thought he had rung the wrong door when a handsome young man about 18 years-old answered the door. Paul took a closer look at him; blond hair, striking blue eyes, six-foot, maybe even 6-2, chiseled facial features, broad square shoulders and a pony tail. Then he recognized him; Hunter. He choked as he said to his grandson, “Hunter is that you?” Hunter recognized the voice but was puzzled by the man before him, and questioned in return, asking, “Papaw?” He couldn’t resist, he had to embrace the grandson he hadn’t seen since he was five-years-old. It was an awkward, yet warm embrace. Paul looked him over and said, “God, boy, you’re bigger than me. You got your father’s height and your Mom’s blond hair; those blue eyes are all yours.” Just as he said that, a voice behind Hunter said, “Mine are bluer and they look better on me.” Paul looked around Hunter and saw a girl of about 15, probably 5 foot 5, with shoulder length auburn hair, and she did in fact have eyes bluer than Hunter’s. Paul took a breath and asked, “Amber?” “That’s me, but I have to admit I don’t remember you at all.” Paul smiled a kind, understanding smile and told her, “That’s alright, you were not quit two-years-old last time I saw you. To be honest, if you weren’t standing in Leona’s apartment, I would have never recognized either of you.”
Leona entered th
e foyer and told Paul to come on in and she’d explain what’s going on. They sat down in the living room and Leona told Paul what had happened. Informing him, “Hunter picked me up at the Nashville Airport and drove to their house. I spent an hour trying get Joshua calmed down about you showing up at their home. He threatened to call the police, he threatened to shoot you then decided suing you would be better. He wasn’t able to accept the fact that I had just come from another planet and that Renee would soon be free of cancer and that Donald would soon be cured of his diabetes. All he wanted was to have control of his wife, his life and his family again. Anyway, I told him that I needed to get back to Buckhead, and he was so angry, he told me to walk. Hunter had been listening to the entire thing and stepped up and declared that he would drive me to Atlanta. Joshua had another fit, but Hunter reminded him that he was 18 and an adult capable of making his own decisions. I tried to stay out of the family dispute, but in the end Joshua commanded that we both get out. So, Hunter grabbed a few things and he and I headed to his SUV. We were all the way to the I-285 bypass when Amber popped up from the back row seat and declared she needed to us the bathroom. I’m surprised Joshua didn’t put out an Amber alert, but when Hunter called to tell him not to worry, that Amber was with him, he got mad at both of them and began to curse them, me, Renee, and even Justice for having them and leaving them for him to raise. He pretty much washed his hands of his whole family, like they were conspiring against him. So, here they are with me for a few days. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with them.
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