Hometown Kelly and the Gizmo Team Read online

  "He's 'just' a CEO now, but he's still one of the best, and he's unusual because he thinks of the people his decisions affect as people. Some calls will be from people who know how good he is and think Kelly might be manipulated more easily. I'm not the right one, but I know who is. I imagine she'd be very happy to help keep Walter Amunson and Martin Fuller employed. They just kept several hundred people employed in the town named for her great-great-grandfather. She doesn't live close. Tell me about talking to Kelly."

  "Squat down and look in his eyes. Jim will tell you what you're seeing if you need it, but you probably won't. Don't ask me. Hulk's involved. I don't expect nice reasonable explanations."

  "Destiny does take a hand now and then, doesn't it? You feel better, Bitsy. He really wasn't the right one."

  "The right one requires two people be the right one for each other. If he had been, we'd have one child. I've been at your house a few hours on a day no one was happy."

  "Thank you. I was in court and Carey was exhausted. The story you read Tanya really helped."

  "Three babies with flu is too many for one person. My dad sent the book and Louise sent frozen fruit juice on a stick of peppermint."

  "She felt special even though little brothers were getting most of Mommy's attention. I didn't know about the juice bars."

  "That's because I put a tarp over the big chair where we ate them while Carey got a nap. If I hadn't, you'd have known they were on peppermint sticks for years. If they'd been grape or berry juice, you'd have seen them on Tanya for days. You're stalling."

  "Of course. I'm about to recommend a wild woman as an attorney to a very rich young man and I slugged the person whose judgment he trusts most the last time I saw him. I've decided I'm not going to come up with something appropriate to say except I'm sorry and I'm not, so that's out. Are you going to look around now?"

  "No, I like being single, but I think I'll have Kelly's baby. Just because I decided I'm not looking for hubby doesn't mean I'm tossing out the whole plan, Brad. Oh, of course Kelly's. Go look in his eyes. Hulk knows who you're seeing. He'll see you do. Hulk! I did a lot of brief! Some of it was from Terry! I'm sending Brad up, but I want him back soon! He's such a good lawyer he knows he's not the one you need, Kelly! He knows the right one to tell people you like Amunson and Fuller and buzz off!"

  "Bitsy, do you know Sonata Rojinsky?"

  "No, Brad."

  "Oh, I thought perhaps it was a quote. See you shortly. You do make things nicer for people."

  "Hulk teaches being a friend is the best investment there is better than anyone else. You get paid dividends in friends. Much more valuable than dollars and the rate of return is incredible. Ooh, I'll use that one again."

  "Can I quote?"

  "Yes, that one's good enough and you know I'll yell at you if I don't like where you use it. I don't like that proposition. Don't use it to help get it passed. Don't try to convince me it should be. That's up to the people who live around here to do. The only way they're going to do that is by proving it over the ten years of the ten-year plan. Kelly! Brad and I disagree on a political issue! He's not there yet because I was browbeating him! It forestalls months of having people attempt to change my opinion with reasoned debate! He waved and is headed your way! You'll like the green spot on his tie! He wears a bib when he feeds his twin boys strained peas!"

  He was basking in the feeling of being a person. The people he'd met all saw him that way. Jim did know him that well. In a way, he'd created him. He'd given him Sesame Street, the news channel, sitcoms, cartoons, movies and college classes. He'd taught, and gently touched, the person he was into existence. He was smiling when Brad sat on the floor in front of him.

  "Hello, Kelly. I know a great deal about who you were supposed to be. I can see who you are. Bitsy told me I would, just before she browbeat me. She's quite right about you needing a lawyer primarily to keep you out of an office, and to help keep people from trying to get you to put Walter Amunson and Martin Fuller out of theirs. I know the right one for you. I stutter when I say buhbillions. She has enough money of her own she just takes clients she likes. She's going to be delighted to have you as one of them and with the real job. That town your corporation just saved was named after her great-great-grandfather. I want to call her and get her moving. She probably has a ways to travel to get here to meet you. She was somewhere in Europe the last I heard, but she may be in Fosterville, considering what's been happening there. Her name is Sonata Rojinsky. I went to law school with her. We called her Sonata Rose and she hated it. She was also barely eighteen when she started. She's twenty-three now and even more beautiful. Did Hulk tell you I slugged him last time I saw him?"

  "I did mention it."

  "I rather thought you would. He deserved it, Kelly, and knew it, or he'd have pounded me into the walk, but he only deserved one. I need your permission to call her and I may be putting very long distance on Bitsy's phone bill. Hulk, I'm pretty sure the answer was yes, but I'm an attorney and like concurring opinions. I got a smile."

  "You got two. I'm jealous."

  "I'll circle the date on my calendar. It took thirteen years, but I finally turned the tables."

  "Kelly didn't care much for strained peas either, but I'm not wearing them."

  "Come over and feed my boys, Hulk. I wouldn't even be jealous if you did manage not to be wearing baby food afterward. I'd be too awed. Kelly, the hand comes up like this just as the spoon gets to here. The peas go that way in a lovely arc. I'd look for ties with green spots already on them, but Jason and Joseph would probably decorate them with carrots. You should be warned Bitsy has decided she's about ready to go on with the piece of her life plan she didn't change six years ago. You have been picked as daddy."

  "What?!"

  "Brad, you shouldn't have warned him."

  "I wouldn't have if he didn't have so much money his child will need to be protected, Leonard. Bitsy thinks you'll have enough to start building the wildlife care center you've had planned since you were a kid. Please say you didn't design that piece of equipment on a newspaper margin."

  "I did it on a paper towel. It's in the workshop."

  "Yipe!"

  Kelly giggled. Brad had run for the door and Jim was laughing. He was also on his knees in front of him fast. Kelly giggled. He just couldn't help it. It felt wonderful. He was suddenly in knots.

  "Bitsy! Get that thing done! I'm running for the spa with Kelly! The cramping may follow when he does something new! This time he laughed!"

  "Ow and yippee! Brad just came in and is cleaning the workshop!"

  "Leonard said the design is on a paper towel!"

  "Yipe!"

  "Leonard, get in here."

  "You need my help?"

  "As an excuse to look you over. He's already starting to relax. They're getting shorter or I'd... "

  "Follow your instincts on this all the way, Jimmy Boy. They're your best guide."

  "Damn, Leonard!"

  "I love you too. Kelly, I'll never be immobile. Gizmo won't let that happen. Don't cry for me."

  "He's crying for him, Leonard, just like I did for me. You bring a lot of love into the world. It'll be missed."

  "Hnh."

  "Thank you, Kelly. You will help him give Bitsy a child, James. I want his child to spoil and adore. You have two children. He should have one."

  "I have what?!"

  "Leonard! I know what you told him!"

  "Oh, that's nothing compared to what Brad told Kelly! It was a great lead-in! He's in shock and Kelly's giggling! Work fast!"

  "I've got it figured out! You're keeping Kelly company! I need Hulk's miraculous hands on a soldering iron! Kelly, have Hulk call Mersia and pay her to take care of the center a couple days! It will be a unique experience for her and his daughter needs shoes!"

  "Oh, shit! It only happened once! You, uh... "

  "Kelly, he was drunk."

  "I was looking for anybody who was interested, Leonard."

  "Mer
sia considers deciding to 'fuck your brains out' her best decision ever. We all agree. Gem is a delight. So is Kris."

  "Kris?"

  "Your other daughter."

  "Heather."

  "Mersia did recommend she look you up when she went to the city and told her what you drink. I believe she planned your casual meeting for a specific time of month. Her mother probably helped plan it. Her dad definitely funded. Your genes are not leaving this town. We came after them. I actually needed this."

  "Kelly needs it too, but it's really not that good for his back. Sorry, Kelly. Risk of infection comes a lot higher on the priority list than sore muscles."

  "It's a connector, but it doesn't touch and it doesn't amplify. That's what was wrong with the implant. It won't be simple to put in, Jim. It has to be placed exactly and it's not the same shape as the implant was. It's a great deal smaller, but it isn't going to go in exactly the same place. She thinks you'll be able to see where it goes. I'll be watching to help you look. The healing blade must be in your hands. This time it is Kelly's choice. You'll do fine. Everything right is on your side. You earn it."

  "My parents taught me it pays best."

  "They earned you and you set about making it mutual immediately. Let Heather give your daughter the name Waters to carry in this town. She'll have more children. She's decided to get married. Casey knows struggle is useless. Kris already has him trained as a horsy. He tells her about her grandparents."

  "He's about sixty-five?"

  "Six and runs two miles a day."

  "I... need a lawyer."

  "Hnh."

  "Kelly's right. My lawyer, not his."

  "Brad."

  "Of course."

  "Kelly, I really like it when you express an opinion, but it seems like it's always in support of something I'm going to find difficult. He slugged me."

  "I'd have needed a stool to do it, but I would have. You felt a lot better afterward. You deserved a solid punch and somebody from this town deserved to deliver it. You were a hero to your classmates and you broke the heart of our high school sweetheart. It was not a gentle letdown, nor an attempt at one."

  "Yeah, I deserved it. You stay in there another five minutes, then I work on those legs for a few. I'll be back to get you. It's what I do, Leonard. You will accept my skill given in friendship. Right, Kelly?"

  "Hnh."

  "Kelly, I don't understand any of this. I believe in miracles, but I don't believe in destiny. My parents waited as long as they did to adopt for the same reason they didn't have children, Alzheimer in Mom's family. At fifty-five she was sure she had another twenty years. She had twenty-five. Dad had twenty-six. Heather is legally a second cousin on my dad's side. That's why her... our daughter... I am not ready for this."

  "Hnh!"

  "Yeah, makes two of us."

  Twice more Kelly did something new and Jim ran for the spa with him. The second time, he was bleeding. Leonard went after the antibiotics Bitsy's dad had gotten. Brad was fed dinner, literally. Bitsy held a sandwich for him to take bites. He was carefully not noticing what she was working on and she appreciated how fast he was working to not need to not notice. He left right after Leonard got back. He'd needed his signature.

  Leonard liked the string on the toe idea, but was worried it would take a very strong jerk or Kelly landing on him to wake him. Jim grinned and told him he obviously hadn't had his toe pulled before and headed for the workshop. Neither Leonard or Kelly was ready to sleep yet. Leonard had an evening of TV planned, including hot fudge sundaes. Bitsy pointed to a corner of the workshop when Jim walked in the door.

  "There's a chair under that tarp. Tell him he's testing it before I deliver it."

  "His knees are bad."

  "I know. His back's getting that way. We sort of got inbred around here."

  "That's not why you decided Kelly."

  "You know me better than that. I decided Kelly because I like being first and I'm the only one, besides a pro, who won't be bothered that you help. I understand you should be there, and should be even if he didn't need your assistance. It's also the right reason for all of us. A child will protect him and this town can protect his child."

  "True. This is good. It's what he needs, Gizmo."

  "I'd have said yes if he asked me, Hulk."

  "He knows. That's why he didn't. He's Kelly's reason for wanting this."

  "He's mine for wanting it now. I have made love to him. I finally took him by surprise. It didn't take quite as long as it did with you, but he was quite a bit more surprised. It made me mad. I told him off for it. It worked well as foreplay for both of us."

  Jim was still laughing when he walked into the house with the chair. He told Leonard Bitsy wanted it thoroughly tested and he wanted him off his legs. Kelly said, "Hnh!"

  Bitsy worked fast and used four hands. Jim didn't know what they were assembling, but he knew Bitsy was sure it would work. He was scared and incredibly happy. He knew what was happening was 'impossible.' Bitsy knew what he was thinking.

  "We just accept it. You'd been there three years. You suspected, but he had to improve for you to be sure. He's continued to do so and it just is the rate at which it happened once he began to learn to control his body. Yes, it's a miracle. They happen quite often. Every doctor knows of several. This gizmo is going to show up very clearly on an x-ray. Tell them it's a skyhook, a placebo. That's the only explanation of it they'll understand. It's true. We just know there's something in the sky to hook onto if we do it just right. We know because Kelly already found it. He's been watching your televised classes. He knows it's a skyhook. He also knows they work. He thinks of it as making a path for motor control. It is, but the path isn't in the filaments. It's in the system he's using it to stimulate and soon he won't need it."

  "He won't?"

  "No. His body will carry electro-chemical messages properly. That's an engineer's view of the nervous system, Hulk. You both need to know he'll keep on improving even if all the wires and this thing come out. He's using the system now, but it's to direct his and he really won't need it long."

  "You're absolutely sure of that too."

  "Of course I am. All the filaments can do is conduct electricity. The control has to be his electrical system. He's getting the DC system on-line, but he's running AC to the house so he can check the wiring and see what he's doing. The AC lines and transformer can come out when he's done. That what you needed to know?"

  "It must have been. I feel relieved."

  "He's been dependent on physical aid too long for either of you to really want him to need that wiring harness. You would also be worried about a short circuit if he went skiing. I just told you, by the time he can, you won't need to worry about it. Every bit of control he exhibits shows he's using the start-up system a bit less. So, when doctors ask, tell them it's a skyhook and there's no reason to examine it. You saw improvement before it was there. Obviously."

  "Obviously. Thanks. For too many things to ever finish saying thanks for."

  "I love you, but I love this town and my life here more. Kelly should buy the Mearson place and donate it to Leonard's wildlife center before someone grabs it and plows those meadows and young woods. I checked his account balance. He could buy it for cash, but Larry would love to carry the note at no interest as his family's contribution. His grandmother needs an income from the place or they'd donate it. He's been trying not to sell it, but they've got a baby on the way and even the taxes on it will pinch."

  "Leonard just pitched for a freezer full of fish."

  "He knows the rest of us pitch for more. I wouldn't except I'm sure Kelly will like the idea."

  "So am I. Bitsy, I was not planning on getting... involved in this town again."

  "Silly boy, you never got uninvolved. You are ours and we're delighted you brought Kelly home too."

  "How close are we?"

  "We'll fall on our faces for six hours, in about seven. We don't want to wait longer, but you'll need that much re
st first. All right, let's see if I got that built right. Hand me the meter. This is the third try. It has to be exactly right. Our skyhook does more than most, but we won't tell. He needed a lawyer."

  "We're both convinced Brad found him the right one. She laughed and asked where she could land her plane. Brad said she built it."

  Chapter Five

  Kelly jerked Jim's toe and the surgery began after four hours sleep. This time the muscle spasm had come following a twitch of a finger. Kelly knew it. No one else had seen it, but they knew something had happened. The spasm pulled out two stitches. Leonard got him 'topically' numbed before Jim got him all the way dry. Bitsy knelt down in front of him while Leonard gave him the novocaine and Jim scrubbed.

  Bitsy told him he might still have a muscle spasm or two, but there wouldn't be more. She explained the healing process itself would make the "connector" the right path and he'd heal fast once it was in place. She grinned and told him she was trying to figure out something else for which she could use what she'd come up with, because she knew she ought to get a patent out of it. He smiled and said, "Hnh!" when Jim asked him if he was ready.

  Jim was pouring sweat and worried about the novocaine lasting long enough when Bitsy shouted, "There! That's it! Now figure out how to keep it there until he heals around it." He was really worried about the novocaine wearing off by the time he had. He closed and Bitsy steadied him when he swayed. Kelly would never tell him the novocaine hadn't been enough. Leonard wouldn't either. He'd looked in his eyes and they'd agreed on it. Leonard had nodded for both of them.