Giddeon (Silver Strand Series) (10 page)

Since we had arrived in the late afternoon, Ray (that’s what he prefers to be called) suggested that we take our time and take a swim, or wash up, or both.
 
Then, he said he would have a nice supper waiting for us.
 
Mr. Bradford knew we would be tired, and he asked if we would be okay with just having a quiet evening without any talk about the asteroid until the morning.
 
He had cleared his schedule and would have the whole day to devote to us; for the time being, however, it seemed that corporation matters would keep him up well into the night.

I could tell Melody wanted to get down to business right away, but, after thinking it over she must have decided that a well organized presentation on a good night’s sleep may have been the best way to go.
 
She smiled, agreed to the plan, and then we all went and changed into our swimming gear.

I figured, what the heck… might as well see how the other half lives… or, perhaps, I should say, the other 0.0000001 percent : )

*****

Giddy loved the pool.
 
He was pretty much potty trained, so I didn’t worry too much about an accident.
 
I had warned Ray of the potential problem, and he just laughed and said not to be concerned about it.
 
That no one would probably even go into that pool for another six months, anyway.
 
In the grand scheme of things, I guess an accident in the water wouldn’t be so bad compared to the one from outer space we were trying to prevent, but, I tend to get bogged down in minutia, sometimes.
 

Believe me, I’d cleaned up a lot of that minutia over the last year, or, so.

Anyway, we had little water-wings for Giddy, and, boy, did he look funny with them on.
 
They each had an inflatable duck head, and my son looked hilarious between the two big, orange bills.
 
We took several pictures.
 
About 10 minutes into our swim, Ray came back around with his big, black Labrador Retriever, Sampson, whom he introduced to us from the edge of the cement pond.
 
Quite possibly the friendliest dog in the world.
 
Giddy began to squeal with delight and motor-boated in the dog’s direction.
 
We all took turns petting the canine from where we sat on the steps, and I could tell Sampson really wanted to go in the water, too.

I asked Melody if it was all right… I wasn’t really sure how she felt about a dog being in the pool with us… and she immediately thought it was a good idea.
 
Ray assured us that there was enough chlorine in the water to kill any and all bacteria, and he got a toy from off of a table and threw it into the deep end.
 
Sampson leaped into action after his genetics screamed at him to do what it is he was born to do… swim and retrieve.

We must have thrown that floating bone for half an hour.
 
Sampson showed no signs of slowing down, so we finally had to call it quits on our own.
 
Raymond had gone back inside to go back to work by the time we all climbed out of the pool… soaked, but refreshed.
 
An attendant handed us towels and took the dog (after he had shaken himself out all over us several times).
 
We dried off and then went upstairs.
 
Melody drew a tub and gave Giddy a quick shampoo and a bath… then, I took a shower, and finally my wife did the same.

It was easy to forget about FYI-616-B silently making its way in our direction.

*****

That evening, after sunset, we had a supper that was… well, it was beyond anything I had ever tasted.
 
With Giddeon as a restaurant guide for four years, that’s saying something.
 
I had fried lobster, crab bisque, garlic mashed potatoes, blackened redfish (from Ray’s private sea farm) a bit of honey glazed turkey, and the mother of all Mediterranean salads.
 
Melody is pretty much a vegetarian, and contented herself with the salad, although I did get her to try the lobster.
 
I had never even heard of fried lobster.
 
Giddeon apparently hadn’t either… I made note to myself to have a talk with him about that next time I saw him in a dream.

Little Gid had some turkey and mashed potatoes, along with an okra-based soup.
 
He loves anything green… don’t know why.
 
I wasn’t that way as a kid.
 
Maybe it’s from Melody’s side.

To top it off, we had a chocolate mousse that was almost the same as the one we had on that planet 500 light years down the road.
 
Melody looked at me with surprise when she took in a spoonful and I knew what she was thinking, because she had had some in our shared dream.
 
The only thing the earth version was missing was the hallucinogenic aftereffects.

*****

Ray and Sampson came out to check on us as we were finishing up, and Ray had himself a cup of dessert, also.
 
Sampson kept pleading with big brown eyes from next to my chair, and his owner said it was okay to give him some fried lobster… no bones to worry about.
 

That’s one lucky dog.

The moon had come up after the last of the colors had drained out of the sky.
 
There was soft lighting at our table, and the pool below us was illuminated in a deep, royal blue.
 

 
As always, Melody looked fantastic… Mr. Bradford complimented her on her hair and dress.
 
Little Gid reached out to him, and the billionaire plucked him from his high-chair and sat him on his lap and hugged him close.
 
Then, he held him under his arms and lifted him high in the air.
 
The full moon actually made a corona around my son’s head when he did that.
 
I had Ray hold him there for a minute as I got out my smart phone and snapped a photo… it came out great.
 
You should see his moonlit smile and wild hair.
 
Ray lowered him back down into his seat.

“I never had children,” he said a bit wistfully.

“It’s not too late,” responded Melody.

The mogul looked over with that iconic grin and shrugged his shoulders.
 
“It wasn’t from a lack of trying.”

He had been married several times.
 
He looked off to the moon and then back.

“You never know,” he continued.
 
“I hope you’re right.
 
Anyway, I just wanted to tell you all goodnight, and I’ll wake you up bright and early in the morning… well, bright and early for me, which is about nine. If you need anything, just dial zero on your phone and someone will be right there.”

And, with that, he was gone.

I looked to the sky, and a shooting star arced across the starry darkness.
 
I normally love to see them, but, this time it was more like a reminder of the business at hand.

*****

I lay in bed with the computer, going over the edit I had made of Giddeon for Ray.
 
I had taken clips of some sessions that contained none of the sensitive information that had been disclosed so far… the stuff that Giddeon had warned was so dangerous.

Maybe not as dangerous as an asteroid, but apparently dangerous, nonetheless.

The video that I had was mainly from our first session… the one where the coordinates of the rock had been given.
 
I wanted to make sure that the material to be disclosed contained only information that pertained to the asteroid, so I was looking it over one last time.
 
In addition, I had included some footage of Giddeon just being Giddeon, for authenticity.
 
This is what I was viewing that night:

I went for days thinking only of her.
 
No golf.
 
No adventures. Not even much in the way of restaurants.
 
For some reason I mainly frequented Taco
Bell
and McDonald’s… comfort food, I guess.
 
I hung around the
Coronado
house and did my best to see if I could detect any shadow of her presence, but, I couldn’t.
 
Boris and Samantha seemed happy to have me there.
 
And, Giddy… he’s been aware of me since the moment he opened his eyes.
 
But, Mia was a no show.
 
At least to me.
 
I suspected she was near, but, that she couldn’t get through.

I went back in time to see if there were clues that I hadn’t picked up on.
 
Nothing, other than some unusual behavior from the cats, but, who knows what they were seeing?
 
Could have been dust bunnies.
 
They’re just as entertained by a housefly as they are by an Inter-Dimensional Tourist.
 
Just the way they’re built.

Anyway, after a couple of weeks, I was back to my normal routine.
 
A little golf, a lot of surfing and an occasional trip to a distant star system.
 
It all seemed kind of hollow, if you know what I mean.
 
After Filet Mignon, who wants beef jerky?
 
That’s sort of the way I felt.
 
But, there was nothing I could do but wait.
 
And, like the song says…

The waiting is the hardest part...

*****

Giddeon/Greg took my guitar from off of a stand that was next to him, and began this soft ballad in D:

I still remember your face.

I still remember your smile.

Sometimes, I think I sense a trace,

Of your fragrance, and I’ll…

I’ll turn around and look for you,

Even though I know that you’re not there, that’s what I do.

I still remember your touch,

And, how you loved me,

How you loved me, so much.

I still remember your voice.

I still remember your dreams.

I know you never had a choice,

That’s all my fault, or so it seems.

I still remember your love.

I still remember your touch.

And, every day I find myself dreaming of,

How you loved me, how you loved me, so much.

*****

On the video, he put the Ovation guitar back on its stand, and continued his narrative.

I wrote that one all by myself.
 
It’s a lot harder without my other half, over here, but, I think you get the picture.
 
I was pining away, and I thought it was somehow my fault that she disappeared.
 
I thought maybe I pushed things a little too far with the kiss, and the emotion somehow made her dissolve.
 
I didn’t know… it seems silly, now, but that’s what I thought.

Anyway… where were we?

Oh, yes… the…

That’s where I made my edit, because right there was where Giddeon went back into divulging State secrets.

Seemed like a good place to stop.

I shut the computer down, and then put my arm over my wife who was fast asleep beside me.

*****

The next morning, we were up long before 9 A.M.
 
Giddy, at that age, was apparently an alarm clock that adjusted to any time zone.
 
6 o’clock was his set point…
San Diego
,
Hawaii
or
Grand Cayman
.
 
He rose with the sun.
 

Didn’t set with it, but, he rose with it.

When Ray’s staff was aware we were awake they brought by some breakfast.
 
Toast, juice, coffee, eggs and a waffle for Gid.
 
We thanked them and ate it all at a little table there in the room, although, I don’t think any of us were really hungry after the meal from the night before.
 
Melody bathed our son and dressed him, and then she and I each took quick turns in the shower.
 
I was entertaining Giddy on the floor, when he came out with a new word.

“Sampson.”

I grinned.
 

“Sam-
antha
…
Samp
-son.”
 
He held a hand down low on the first name, and then up high on the second one.
 

Jesus, he’s smart.

Melody came out in a thick white robe, her long hair damp and more copper-colored than blonde with the wetness.
 
She sat down next to us and I informed her of the latest addition to
Giddy’s
vocabulary.
 
My wife laughed and leaned across me to pick up our little one.
 
God, she smelled good.

“Where’s Sampson?”

“Door.”

We looked at each other with surprise, and then heard a bark.
 
Sampson apparently was in the hall just outside.
 
I got up and let him in as Melody stood up with Giddy and sat on the bed.
 
Sampson came in, his tail wagging back and forth like a gigantic flagellum that was pushing him about his surroundings.
 
We all took turns petting him and he gave his best doggie grin to each of us.

“Everybody awake?”
 
I heard Ray call from downstairs.
 
I went out into the hall and looked down into the living area, below, where our host was dressed all in white.
 
Loose cotton pants and a breezy looking shirt that seemed appropriate for the island.
 
On his feet were open toed sandals.

“Oh, yes… our
Labrador
welcoming committee is up here, now.”

“Sorry about that… he loves the mornings.”

“No problem.
 
We’ll be down in a minute.”

“Take your time… I still haven’t eaten.
 
Just run Sampson out if he’s too much trouble.”

“Giddy won’t hear of it.
 
Melody just has to dress, then we’ll be ready.”

Sampson came out and looked down at his master.

“You be a good boy, Sam, and don’t get in the way,” Ray called up.
 
Sampson whined, grunted and then went back in our room.

“Sam… Sam…
Sammmpson
!” Giddy exclaimed.
 
I picked him up, sat down at the table and balanced my son on one knee.
 
Samson rested his head on my other knee and his tail rhythmically banged into another chair beside us while Melody went to put on some clothes.

*****

We all met up in Ray’s study, which was actually more like a conference room, about 20 minutes later.
 
Bradford
closed the door behind us and helped me set up my computer and connect it to wires leading to a projector.
 
Then, we all had a seat around a large oak table while Giddy entertained himself with toys on the plush, beige carpet.

“I’ve got all day, so I’d like to get to know you two now that you’re rested.”

Ray sat there with his hands folded in his lap, and with his long hair and weathered face it was impossible to tell he was one of the richest men in the world.
 
One would have been more inclined to have guessed him to be a surf bum… or maybe a rancher of some sort.
 

Melody responded, “Of course, and yes… we’re quite rested.
 
The bed slept wonderfully.”

“Memory foam… that’s the secret,” said Ray.
 
“So tell me…” he said, turning to me, “when you were in the coma, was it really like you described… you, know, in the book?”

I nodded.
 
“Yes… pretty much exactly like that.”

“And, you can actually speak French and German?”

“Italian, too… I’m getting a little rusty, now.
 
I don’t really practice like I should.”

“
Mommma
Mia!” we heard from the floor as Giddy held a toy up to no one in particular.

Melody and I looked at each other with wide eyes.
 
Raymond Bradford busted up laughing in a full toothed display.

After a few seconds of levity, and a little more background info on me and my wife, we settled down to business… and, by we, I mean mainly, Melody.
 

*****