Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:34:40 -0700
From: Pete McDonald <bajabudfan@hotmail.com>
Subject: TIME-TO-SEE-46-

"I don't think it would be fair to Jilder to hold him back just because
Nicky won't be ready to go back to classes for another semester." Kevin
said.

Hugo was sketching at the kitchen table while Kevin was cooking. Hugo
answered, "So you think Jilder should start this August when we originally
planned for both boys to begin....?"

"Well, yes... unless you can think of something that I didn't think of..."
Kevin said.

"Maybe it will be better if Jilder begins on his own and develops his own
identity at school without the connection to Nicky developing right away,"
Kevin added.

"Well, I don't think that would have been any particular problem," Hugo
answered.

"Neither do I, Babe, but I'm just trying to think of Jilder.  He needs to
move along at his own rate, whether Nicky can keep up or not.  It would
ultimately be destructive to those two if we gave the impression that we
thought they had to do things alike or even together... unless it works out
comfortably for them to do something at the same time....  Don't you
think?" Kevin asked.

"Oh, I see what you're gettin at.  I'd never really thought about it, but I
suppose you're right.  In my own mind I don't think of them as being
competitors, but--on second thought, them being boys-- they'll probably
INVENT ways to compete.  We won't need to encourage that sort of
thing... especially in school," Hugo said.

"Well, then it's okay if I go ahead and submit Jilder's paperwork for the
Fall and tell Nicky that we want him to stay out for another semester?"
Kevin asked.

"Yeah! I agree. Just let me know what I'll have to sign, okay" Hugo said.

"Good.  We're on the same page then," Kevin said as he stopped by the table
on his way to the sink and gave Hugo as quick kiss on the forehead.

"But what will we do with Nicky? You can't stay home with him.  Your
semester begins in just days, and I suppose I ought to ask Dr. Kavenaugh
whether it would be okay for me to go back to work too," Hugo said.

"As for Nicky, I'm thinkin about taking him to campus with me and entering
him in the University School that's is run by the University's Department
of Education, where he will get schooling, but he won't be in a big class,
maybe 3 or 4 other kids, whoever they have as guinea pigs this
semester. It'll be more like home schooling, except I won't have to do it,
and he'll have a transcript to carry with him to Summerdale when we do
transfer him.

Kevin explained further, "He'll be on campus with me while Jilder is at
school himself.  Then when the second semester rolls around, we can
transfer him into Jilder's school.... Do you think that would work, Babe?"
Kevin asked.

"I don't know, Kev.  Have you checked to see whether the dates work out?  I
can imagine coordinating the two boy's schedules with yours would be a
nightmare... Ya think?" Hugo stopped again to look at Kevin.

"Well, you've got something there.  But we've got to try to do something
with Nicky until he can go to regular school.  I can't stay with him
myself, and you need to concentrate on your life too... We just have to
work it out somehow..." Kevin said.

*****

"Anybody home?" Jake called over the fence through the kitchen window.

"Yeah! We're here." Kevin shouted out to Jake.

"We really ought to get Jake his own keys to the house.  Good God.  The man
is nearly a family member..." Kevin said to Hugo as he headed to the door
into the garage where he would let Jake in...

"Oh, my goodness.  They're all here!" Kevin called in to Hugo.

"Yep! The whole tribe..." Craig replied.

"Doggie.... (jabber, jabber...)," from Dillon.

"You bet, Tiger," Kevin said as he went over to Jake and gave Dillon a kiss
on the nose.

"He's been driving us nuts talking something about "doggie"... God only
knows what he's trying to say..." Craig said

Kevin said, "Okay, you guys know the way... Feel free to take Dillon out in
the back yard.  All the dogs are out there now...  Whatever you wanna do...
Hugo is in the kitchen doing some sketching, and I'm with him cooking and
driving myself nuts thinking about what we're gonna do with the boys now
that Nicky can't go back to school with Jilder..."

Jake commented, "Oh, yeah!  I knew that problem would develop
inevitably... One thing in your favor, both of those boys are bright and
flexible.  I think they'll be ready to do whatever you suggest is best for
them right now."

"Doggie.... (jabber, jabber)" Dillon added, animated waving his hands and
nodding his head...

"Okay, Kev," Jake said.  "I think I gotta go out back with Dillon or we'll
hear about doggie all night until we do..."

"(jabber, jabber...)" Dillon said as he ran to the back door that lead out
into the backyard...

*****

"Craig, would you take a look at these preliminary sketches and let me know
what you think," Hugo said.

"I was talking again to the VP of Advertising for the National Museum of
Marine Biology, and he said that they wanted mega art to display in the
atrium of the mall." Craig returned.

"What do you think he means by mega art?" Hugo asked.

"Well, if you recall the atrium of that mall is maybe 4 stories high.  I
know that he's thinking something suspended from the ceiling hanging down 3
or 4 stories," Craig said.

"Hummm? And the theme of the event is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, is that
still right," Hugo replied

"Yeah! And their budget is around $40-50,000." Craig added.

"Do you think they'll want to own the artwork?" Hugo asked.

"I can't say at this point.  That hasn't been discussed so far," Craig
answered.

"Well, maybe you can help me decide what we can do...  Here... look at
these sketches" Hugo said.

Hugo went on, "Here are some possibilities... Let's say we create a
gigantic submarine out of Styrofoam and light wood framing.  We could
suspend the sub in a diving mode, nose slanted down toward the floor.  Then
we could create a bright purple and yellow Styrofoam octopus or giant squid
with some of its tentacles wrapped around the nose of the sub and others
dangling down further toward the floor.  Maybe some schools of smaller,
colorful, luminous fish (fuchsia pink and lime green and bright turquoise)
lighted with twinkling lights and in clusters suspended at various levels
around the sub and the octopus.  Then we'll have two divers slowly rising
and falling, jabbing at the squid, complete with diving suits and air
bubbles escaping from them... We can use bubble machines to generate the
bubbles almost non-stop.  Then as the bubbles float down to the floor the
children will have something to catch.  And we can suspend the divers on
invisible cables that constantly raise and lower them near the giant
squid.." Hugo suggested as he leafed through his sketch book.

"And just where in the hell will we build those monstrosities?  I can't
imagine where we could construct all of those figures, as large as they
would have to be..." Craig responded.

"Yeah.  I don't have a solution to that one just yet, but we could make
them in sections and then assemble them in the atrium before we hoist them
up into position," Hugo said.

"And what if those fucking things fall! We're screwed," Craig said.

"Well, yeah... but can't we just make them secure enough to eliminate the
risks-- or at least minimize them?" Hugo asked.

"Of course we'd have to... I just have never constructed anything, much
less something as extensive as these figures would be..." Craig said.

Hugo went on, "Now, we could fabricate long columns--maybe from ropes 60
feet long-- of seaweed looking vegetation built around the ropes that hang
from the ceiling all around."

"Craig, Down at near floor level, you could incorporate real vegetation and
flowers that emulate underwater vegetation.  The tables in the bar and
restaurant would be decorated with these same flowers and seaweed sprays.
And the entrances to both places could be decorated with a normal sized
diver in a diving suit, some vegetation, and maybe an open trunk with
simulated jewels and gold bullion strewn around it..."

"Good, God! Hugo. You really are extravagant... First we do things so BIG I
can't imagine where in the hell we'll do the work.  Then you plan floor
level decorations that alone will take weeks to create..."  Craig said.

"It's awesome, but I just wonder, Can we do it?" Craig said...

"I don't see why not," Hugo said clearly deeply immersed in his drawings of
every facet of the whole affair: details of the schools of fish, diving
suits, treasure chest of gold and jewels, table decorations with sprays of
simulated seaweed and brightly colored sea anemones, and, of course, the
immense submarine which would be lit with myriad twinkling lights like
those seen in typical Christmas decorations.

It was a magnificent concept.

"Yeah... but they'll want to feel like they're gettin their fifty-grand's
worth..." Hugo said.

"You can be sure of that," Craig said. "Now I go along with everything
you've proposed, except I cannot buy it as a practical matter until we come
up with a location to do the construction..." Craig said.

"Yeah.  This is a problem," Hugo conceded...

"Let me think about that one," Hugo said.

"Okay, But we really can't take too terribly long putting together our
proposal... Maybe two weeks?" Craig said.

"Oh, sure.  I understand," Hugo said.

"Hugo!" Jilder shouted as he burst into the kitchen from the backyard.

"The dogs went pee pee all over Dillon!" and he doubled over laughing as he
fell into the breakfast booth.

"What??" Hugo said... "You're kiddin?" as he hurried over to the back door
himself only to see Jake carrying Dillon rather gingerly at arm's length
out in front of him as he headed back to the kitchen door.

Dillon was smiling from ear to ear flailing his arms and telling anyone
whose attention he could get, "Dogs pee pee... dogs pee pee"

Clearly he didn't feel that he was being treated poorly.  On the contrary,
he was delighted to be able to report on the bathroom habits of our dogs...

"Yuk! Did we bring a change of clothes, Craig?" Jake called as he walked in
dangling Dillon out in front of him like the kid would drip on him if he
were less careful.

"Oh, sure, Hon.  Let me run to the car.  I didn't bring anything in, but I
brought plenty," Craig said.

"You can put him down on the floor, Jake, or directly in the bath tub,"
Hugo said.  A little dog pee on the floor won't kill any of us.  When
you're finished I'll just freshen the place up with a little soap and
water.  We'll live.  Dog pee won't kill you...

"I just didn't plan on this one," Jake said.

"Who the hell plans on ANYTHING their kids get into?" Hugo answered
back. We sure didn't plan on Nicky doing a swan dive at the whale pool on a
tile floor... You just do the best you can..."

*****

Dinner was finishing up and everyone was migrating into the family room.
Jilder had taken over watching and playing with Dillon.  The two of them
were just delighted with each other.

"I'll be serving organic blue berries in flan in the family room in just a
few minutes.  Who wants coffee, Craig? Jake? Hugo?" Kevin called from the
kitchen.

"Coffee for me, please," yelled Jake.  "Me too," Craig said.  "Kevin, can I
come in there and give you a hand with anything?" Craig asked.

"Oh, no.  I have it all under control.  Hugo, Do you want coffee?" Kevin
called again.

"Yes, Hon..." Hugo answered.

"Just berries with no flan for Dillon.  I think he can handle them better
with his fingers sitting on the floor," Craig called back to the kitchen.

"I'm on the way..." with that Kevin rolled a cart with a huge bowl of fresh
blueberries on the top, a large bowl of chilled flan, and a pot of coffee
with serving bowls, and cups and saucers stacked on the bottom shelves.  He
had two glasses of lemonade for Jilder and Dillon.

"Here, Dillon, you can eat these," Jilder said as he put Dillon's berries
in front of him on the floor.  Jilder even wrapped a kitchen towel around
Dillon; so he could drop the berries without messing himself up.

Everyone was served and sitting around eating and talking... Jake and Craig
sat together on the sofa, and Jilder fussed over and entertained himself
with Dillon on the floor.

"Babe, did you and Craig think of a place where that new project can be
constructed?" Kevin asked Hugo.

"No, we haven't. But I'm not writing it off.  I really haven't gotten
started searching..."

Jake said, "Hugo.  Do you remember that old warehouse where the hospital
kept supplies and small furniture items?  It's the one over on Winston
Street two block from the hospital."

"Yeah, sure.  I've been there a dozen times," Hugo answered as he shoveled
blue berries into his mouth.

"Well, the hospital is in the process of emptying that structure because
they intend to remove it and replace it with a larger warehouse for all
hospital supplies and equipment," Jake said.

"Yeah?" Hugo said.

"I think that it will be empty for about a month before the new building
begins; so you might be able to rent that place to construct your props for
this next project.  Now I don't know, but I'm sure they would certainly
give you priority consideration, given your celebrity status and the fact
that you'll be returning to work there eventually," Jake said.

"Hum? I've got to look into that.  It would be perfect for creating the
submarine and stretching out the sixty foot ropes to create the seaweed,
and all the other things... Yeah.  Come to think of it, that would be a
super place to work." Hugo said.

"Hugo?" Craig asked.

"Yeah?" Hugo looked up as he spoke.

"I just realized that the tattoo that you used to have on the back of your
neck is gone!" What happened, Craig asked enthusiastically.

"Well, duh, I had it removed," Hugo said.

"With so much going on, I hardly noticed that it was gone," Craig said. "I
think you look very handsome without any ornaments on your body... Unless
Kevin had you tattoo some little things on your balls that we don't know
about!" Craig kidded him.

"Okay. Okay!" Hugo replied smiling.

"No, it was a private thing for me.  Just before the operation to see
whether Dr. Kavanaugh's team could have me hearing again, I really wanted
to hear.  But I thought about my life, having Kevin and the boys, and I
knew that I already had a perfect life, whether I could hear or not.  I
told God that I understood that He had blessed me more than I could
possibly have asked or dreamed for.  I told Him that whether or not He
allowed me to hear, that I wanted to say thank you for the wonderful life I
had... I told Him that I understood that I'd gotten the tattoo when I was
mad at Him for allowing my parents to go back to Mexico and leave me and
Jilder here alone. But I wasn't mad at him any more, and I felt foolish for
acting so childish when I was in pain; so I told Him that I was having the
tattoo removed to say thank you, whether the operation was successful or
not.  I just made good on my promise, Craig, that's all." Hugo explained.

"Oh, Hugo, I don't know what to say..." Craig replied.

"You don't have to say anything, Craig.  I'm happy you noticed.  That means
God must have noticed by now too..." Hugo said displaying his happiness.

Jilder walked up to Hugo, picked up his hand and whined out a request, "Can
we go to the hospital now?  I miss Nicky," Jilder said.

"It's almost eight.  I can leave the dishes for later," Kevin said. "We can
all go over to the hospital in one vehicle."

"Sure, little one," Hugo kidded Jilder... "If you're ready, we are too.
Just give everybody time to get organized and into the car.  You ought to
think about going to the bathroom first too... I don't guess we can
interest Dillon in a bathroom break yet, right?" Hugo turned his head and
asked directly of Jake.

"Nope.  Sorry, not yet... I wish...believe me..." Jake replied.

"You don't mind me transferring some of our Dillon support gear from our
car to yours then?" Craig asked.

"Of course not, the car is unlocked.  You can open the main garage door to
go out to the Bronco any time you like," Kevin said.

In very short order everyone was piling into the SUV, Dillon jabbering and
pointing nowhere in particular while he yelled "Doggie, Doggie?"

"No. Dillon.  We're not going to take the doggies.  We're going to the
hospital to see Nicky now.  The doggies have to stay at home." Jake told
Dillon.

*****

And in what seemed like only minutes everyone was pilling out of the SUV
into the parking structure and then heading toward Nicky's hospital room.

Of course Jilder was the first to burst into Nicky's room, with no attempt
to be quiet or announce our visit with a request to come in... Nope, Jilder
gave it the old Jilder-One-Size-Fits-All-Occasions approach...

"Hi! Nicky... How're you feelin?" Jilder was saying before he had even
entered the room entirely.

"Hi, Jilder." Nicky said, "I'm OK..." not particularly convincing, but no
acute suffering was evident.

"Aw! Nick.  I hope you'll be feelin better soon.  Are you gettin enough
sleep?" Jilder asked.

"Thanks Jilder.  Yeah! I sleep when I feel like it.  It's just that my
sides are really sore, like more than the last time.  I think it's just
going to take a little while to heal some more," Nicky answered.

Jilder leaned over Nicky in the bed and gave him a kiss on the forehead and
a gentle hug touching both of his shoulders.

"Hi, Nicky," Kevin said right behind Jilder with another kiss and a hug and
a brush of his hand through Nicky's ever billowy red hair. No one would say
such a hurtful thing, but Nick's hair made him look like a candidate for
the Ronald McDonald role in the TV ads.

"We were missin you tonight at supper.  Everybody wanted to come to see
you..." and Kevin looked up at Jake who was carrying Dillon... "Well, maybe
Dillon would have been just as happy to stay at home with the dogs..."
Kevin said smiling.

Jilder interrupted, "Nicky! The dogs peed on Dillon, and Dillon thought it
was funny!  He didn't cry or do nothin at all..." and Jilder doubled over
laughing.

"Did they, Dad?" Nicky asked Kevin?

"Ohhhhh! Yeah.  They soaked him for sure.  And Dillon did laugh and think
it was great fun," Kevin said.

Nicky started laughing and then stopped himself, "Ohhhh! It hurts to
laugh... Which Dog peed on him?" Nicky asked.

"It was Hugo's dog!" Jilder yelled and pointed at Hugo as though Hugo were
some how culpable.

"Wait a minute!  Don't look at me... I didn't pee on Dillon, and I didn't
tell the dogs to do it either.  They thought it up on their own!" Hugo
said.

"No fare, Hugo... YOUR dog did it.  You are responsible.  You tell US that
we're responsible if the dogs tear something up; so YOU must be responsible
too..." Jilder was super delighted to catch Hugo in an exception to his
"responsibility mantra."

"Well, yeah.  If you KNOW that the dogs might do something, you have to
think ahead and prevent them from doing it.  But, JILDER, did you ever
think the dogs would PEE on Dillon??? Or on ANYBODY, for that matter?" Hugo
tried to defend himself.

"Doggie pee pee" Dillon interrupted the conversation waving his hands and
smiling...

Hearing Dillon, Nicky bent over in his bed, buried his head in his pillow,
held his sides and laughed as much as he dared... "Oh, oh, oh, ..." Nicky
sputtered trying to laugh without hurting himself..

Kevin put his hand on Nicky's back and rubbed him lovingly, patting him,
saying, "Don't hurt yourself, Nicky... There's plenty of pee left for you
when you get out..."

And that did it, Nicky laughed even harder and if there were any truth to
the maxium that laughter is the best medicine, Nicky was getting a double
dose tonight.  There just couldn't be happier families in San Diego County
tonight than these two couples and their children.

*****