Aeturnum (The Book of Adam 2), page 6
Adam agreed and led the way to the house. Kevin stayed outside while Adam popped his head through the door and told Mary what he was doing. He also mentioned that he was going with the Gupta’s to the baseball game in Killaly later on if it dried up enough. To his surprise, he didn’t receive the usual grunt in reply. Mary actually said, “Ok, see you later.”
It seemed strange to Adam, but he didn’t think much about it, and soon he was on his way to the Baranov farm.
“I wonder what things you can look inside. Does it have to be mechanical, or does it have to have space inside?” asked Kevin, more as a statement than a question.
“I was wondering the same thing. I’m going to ask Elianora next time I see her, but until then I’ll just keep trying different things,” replied Adam.
They skirted a large pothole on the gravel road that was filled with dirty rainwater before turning into the Baranov’s long driveway.
“What if you could look inside people? You could finally prove if Mark has a brain or not and maybe see if he has some sort of defect that makes him act like he does.”
Normally, Adam would have laughed, but he remembered his dream.
“This is freaky! I just had a dream this morning like that,” said Adam. He continued by describing the dream in detail.
Kevin laughed. “I don’t think it’s too freaky. Everyone wonders what’s going on in Mark’s head. We just happened to come up with it at the same time today.”
That made Adam laugh as they stepped up to the Baranov’s side door. Little footsteps seemed to be drawn to Adam’s laughter, and a second later Karlea skidded to a stop at the doorway leading to the kitchen.
“Hi Adam,” she said in a pleasant voice. She turned and ran back in the direction she had come from just as quickly as she had arrived.
“Hi Karlea….” Adam’s voice trailed off since he wasn’t fast enough before she ran away.
“She’s got more energy than anyone I’ve ever met,” said Kevin. “I keep telling her she must be adopted, ‘cause the rest of us are never in that big of a hurry.”
“You’re adopted,” came the reply from Karlea somewhere deeper in the house. Adam was surprised that she had heard Kevin’s comment and laughed at how fast her response was.
Karlea’s words echoed through the house as they stepped into the kitchen. On the other side of the kitchen and past the dining room table, Adam could see Mike and Charity Baranov relaxing in the living room. Mike had a newspaper open while Charity sat in the rocking chair reading a novel.
“Hi Adam,” said Charity. She looked up from her book as the two boys got closer.
“Hi Mrs. Bar…I mean, Charity.” Adam felt strange calling his best-friend’s mother by her first name.
Charity reached over and smacked Mike’s foot, startling him.
“Uh..sorry…hi Adam,” he said, peeking his head out from behind the Melville Advance. “Good story in here about the long term effects of the spring runoff,” he continued before getting back to his story.
Kevin shook his head. “Dad.”
Mike peeked around the paper again.
“Do you have anything broken that you need Adam to look INTO?” said Kevin, stressing the last word to make an impact.
Mike put down the paper and sat up. He looked at Kevin. “Like we discussed last night?” he asked.
Kevin nodded.
Mike looked to Charity, excitement and a smile clear on his face. She stared back at him for a moment, finally nodding and saying, “Go.”
Mike looked like a kid that was just told he was going to Disneyland.
“How about us guys take a walk out to the shop?” he said, “I’ve got a couple of things for you to look at.”
Adam nodded and followed as Mike slipped past. In a few moments, they were stepping inside Mike’s farm shop. It was a newer straight wall steel building that was long and wide, with a huge steel door on the front so Mike was able to drive his equipment inside for repairs. Most of the floor was dirt except for a long narrow cement pad along one side where all of the tools and repair equipment sat.
“I’ve been wondering if you were going to be able to see into things,” said Mike as he rummaged through some parts. “Actually, more like hoped you would be able to.”
He pulled out a medium-sized electric motor and handed it to Adam.
“Tell me what’s wrong with this motor,” he said.
Adam felt awkward, but the smile on Mike’s face took the edge off.
“I’ve only done it twice so far, so I hope I don’t disappoint you,” said Adam.
Mike shook his head. “You won’t disappoint me either way. If you did it twice this morning, I’m sure you can do it again. If you fail this time, it just means you need more practice – that’s all. There’s no pressure here. Just give it a try.”
With words like that, Adam couldn’t refuse. He took the motor in his hands, closed his eyes and concentrated. He saw the flash and opened his mind’s eye again. This time he was in a wide open space, and the silver land under his feet curved down to the right and the left, but travelled straight out ahead and behind him. The low copper coloured ceiling shone above even though he still couldn’t find a light source. He looked around and couldn’t see anything in particular, but then he noticed a wall far in front of him, so he decided to head in that direction. It looked like a long way away so he concentrated on getting there fast, and in the next instant he was there.
If only you could travel like that in the real world, he thought to himself.
He was at the end of the flat silver surface, and a disgusting smell filled his nose. It was coming from his right, so he moved in that direction. After travelling around the curve a little way, he saw the problem.
Adam snapped out of the motor and smiled. “It’s baked,” he said to Mike. “The windings on two sections have melted through their coating and must be short-circuiting,” he continued.
Mike beamed. “Exactly,” he said.
Adam raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You already knew?”
Mike nodded. “I pulled this motor apart myself a few months ago and just kept it for parts. It was a test. You were definitely in there alright.”
Mike put the motor back on the pile he had picked it out of in the first place before turning back to Adam.
“You’re only the second person I’ve ever met that can do that. Of course, you’ve probably figured out that the other person was your dad,” he said.
Adam nodded, “Yeah, Elianora told me he could.”
“I used to get him over once in a while when something was really stumping me. He always came and never complained, even though his talent was in demand quite often. I had a motor in my grain truck that I thought was gone, but after he looked through it we had it running in no time. He would never take any money or anything for his time, though.”
Adam enjoyed hearing the story from Mike. He knew that Mike and Ed had been friends.
“The only other person I ever heard of that could do that was your Grandpa McTaggart. I never did meet him, even though he just lived in Killaly.”
Adam was surprised. “My grandpa lived in Killaly?” he asked.
Mike’s face matched Adam’s surprise. “He was the Mayor for a while. You mean, you didn’t know that?”
Adam shook his head.
Mike was clearly stunned by the news. “Well, I don’t know what to say.”
“Did you know much about him?” asked Adam.
Mike shook his head. “Only what I heard from your dad. I guess he was a pretty strict military man, like his father before him, and your dad wasn’t. They didn’t get along much, even though your Grandpa designed all of the traps in the Radome caves.”
Adam was surprised. “I had no idea. He designed all of the traps?”
“Well, Elianora told him what she wanted them to do and he figured out how to make it happen.”
“So did my dad move here because my mom was here?” asked Adam.
Mike shook his head. “I can’t believe how little you know about your own family. I only know as much as your dad told me, and he never said much. Your mom and dad only moved here once they were married and he was given the job as Number 3. They met when your dad went away for his training with the League – I think he was 17 at the time – and she was there too. He stayed at the school and worked his way up in the League until they sent him here to become Number 3.”
“What happened to my Grandpa? And Grandma? I’ve seen a picture of them, but they were really young.”
“Well, your Grandma died giving birth to your dad. She was pretty old when she had him, that much I know. That’s why you don’t have any Aunts or Uncles. Your Grandpa died just before they moved back here.”
Adam’s head was reeling with all of the new information he was taking in about his family. So many questions were being answered that he didn’t even realize he wanted to know he wanted answered, but so many more kept popping up to replace them.
“My mom told me they had moved overseas,” said Adam.
“She’s right, actually. Your Grandpa moved overseas the year before he died. He had gotten re-married soon before it happened. I don’t think your dad ever met his wife though, since he didn’t go to the wedding or the funeral. Other than that, I don’t know much. Like I said, only what your dad would tell me.”
Adam nodded. “Thanks.”
After a few moments, Kevin broke the awkward silence. “Adam’s going to come to the game in Killaly today. The Guptas are giving him a ride. Maybe we can find his Grandpa’s old house.”
“Right on,” replied Mike. “We can use as many cheering fans as we can get.”
“Well, I’m supposed to talk to Brutus for Elianora,” said Adam, “so I don’t know how much of the game I’ll get to see.”
“She thinks you might be able to get the Impression Stone back?” Mike asked.
“Yeah. That’s why she told me about my new ‘ability’. She thinks it might help.”
Mike nodded. “She’s probably right. Have you ever been to Killaly or met Brutus before?”
Adam shook his head.
“Kevin’s been to Killaly, but I’ve never introduced him yet. I’ll have to do that after the game. I’m not going to say any more, though. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
Adam and Kevin looked at each other.
“Now you’re making me worry,” said Adam.
“No no, don’t worry at all. There’s nothing to worry about,” said Mike with a grin.
“Why won’t anyone tell me anything about him?”
Mike shrugged. “I guess we’re just amused easily,” he replied, but didn’t continue.
Adam decided to drop the subject of Brutus, as he wasn’t getting any more information than he already knew. At least he felt better because Mike wouldn’t send him or Kevin into a dangerous situation.
“Do you need me to look at anything else while I’m here?” asked Adam.
Mike shook his head. “Not at the moment. I just wanted to make sure you had the same ability as your dad. If I need you in the future, I know how to find you.” Mike pointed at Kevin. “And if I do call you to help, I expect you to take money from me for the work, understand?”
Adam was about to refuse pay, but was stopped by the look on Mike’s face.
“You’ll have to learn that your time is worth money eventually, so you might as well start now,” he finished.
Adam nodded.
“Ok then. Well, I’m going back in to finish reading my paper. You two can hang out here, or whatever you want to do,” said Mike. He turned and walked out the door.
“I don’t know about you,” said Kevin, “but I feel like watching some TV for a while.”
“That would be perfect,” said Adam, and the two boys headed toward the house.
CHAPTER SIX
The sun came out in the early afternoon and it was hot for once. The water from the morning rain dried up fast, and everyone knew the ball game in Killaly would still be on in the early evening.
Adam and Kevin hung out in the basement watching TV, sometimes interrupted by Karlea and Kelsea playing with their dolls, once by Charity asking them if they needed a snack, and once by Kassie as she was trying to find a private place to talk to Trevor on the phone. Kassie left in a hurry as soon as Kevin started making kissing noises when she got too close. That was when Adam realized that Kevin was much more comfortable with his sister dating Jimmy’s older brother than he had been the last year.
The afternoon went by fast and soon Charity called them all upstairs to eat supper, making Adam eat as well. Supper was at 5 o’clock at the Baranov house, and you literally could set a watch by the time Charity called everyone to the table. She assured Adam that there was more than enough, since it was only a simple lasagne.
As Adam chewed the first bite, he knew it wasn’t just simple lasagne. Simple lasagne came pre-made from the store and tasted like soggy cardboard with bland cheese and tasteless watery sauce inside. Charity’s lasagne was amazing! The flavour and texture were unfamiliar to Adam in the best way possible. The noodles were thick and each piece held its shape because the delicious filling was firm and flavourful.
After eating and thanking them for their hospitality once again, Adam headed home to wait for the Gupta’s. They would be picking him up at 5:45 pm, since the game was at 6:30. It only took 20 minutes to get to Killaly, so they would arrive in plenty of time for the game.
Adam made it home by 5:35 pm, and as he walked in the door, he realized that his mother had cooked ‘something’. The smell was unmistakable. Hot dogs. Normally, this was one of his favourite meals, but after the quality and quantity of lasagne he had just finished, it didn’t exactly make his mouth water.
Mary stood at the kitchen counter. She turned when he opened the door.
“I made hot dogs, is that alright?” she asked.
First, Adam was surprised that she had cooked something. Second, he was surprised by the question she asked. He stood in silence, almost in denial that she had asked his opinion so politely.
“You don’t want one?” she asked again, sounding slightly upset by his lack of reply as he processed what he saw.
“Uh, sorry. Yeah, for sure. I love hot dogs,” Adam replied.
She had gone through the trouble of preparing something for him to eat, so he was going to stuff it down somehow. Adam thought there must have been a sale when she went shopping because there were no hot dogs in the house when he had eaten earlier.
Mary smiled and gave him the plate after squeezing loads of mustard and ketchup on top – just the way Adam would do it for himself. It was even in a real hot dog bun!
They sat at the table and Adam took the first bite. He didn’t realize how full he already was until he swallowed the first mouthful. It wasn’t going to be easy, but he would finish it quickly and try to seem happy the entire time.
“What did you and Kevin do today?” she asked.
Again, Adam was surprised, but now he was getting suspicious as well.
“Just hung out and watched TV,” he replied as he chewed. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Mary about his new found talent yet, though. She probably knew about Ed’s ability, but he wasn’t sure how she would react to him inheriting the same. He decided to keep it a secret for a little while longer.
“The Guptas should be here soon to take me to the ball game in Killaly,” said Adam, watching her reaction the entire time. “I should be home by a little after 9.”
Mary nodded as Adam took another large bite of his hot dog. He felt like the game he had seen somewhere where you feed a plastic pig food until it’s clothes burst, called ‘pig goes pop’.
“Thanks for the hot dog,” said Adam as he finished the last bite, unsure if he would get it down.
Mary smiled – a rare site for Adam. Now he knew something was up for sure, but he was afraid that if he asked anything the question would make her return to her usual skulking ways, so he said nothing and smiled back at her.
“I’m going out tonight, so I might not be here when you get home. I should be home by midnight,” said Mary.
That caught Adam by surprise. Mary never went anywhere or did anything with anyone. And she seemed happy about it too.
“Where are you going?” asked Adam before he realized he didn’t want to ask the question.
“Mrs. Garagan and I ended up with free tickets to the dinner theater in Melville tonight,” she said. “I haven’t been to a dinner theater in forever.”
Adam couldn’t believe that Mary was excited about going. Up until that point Adam had thought she never liked doing anything that might be considered fun, but the way she spoke about going revealed how much she was looking forward to her evening. She was probably feeling bad that she was going somewhere to have a big meal, so she cooked Adam his favourite food to make up for it. That was unusual for Mary anyway.
Just then a horn honked outside.
“Ok mom. Have fun. Gotta go,” he said as he ran his plate to the sink and headed out the door.
The Gupta’s dark-grey mini-van was parked out front and the sliding door was already open. Adam hopped in and nodded at Mark who was playing a hand-held video game while wearing headphones. As soon as Adam had his seatbelt fastened, they were on their way.
“So, have you had any luck trying to see into things?” asked Gurpreet.
The question took Adam off guard, but he quickly remembered that Gurpreet was Number 2 after all, and had probably spoken at length to Elianora about the possibly of him having that particular talent.
“Actually, yes. It took a while to figure it out, but now I can see into things fairly easily,” Adam replied.
Gurpreet nodded. “Very good, very good,” he said; his rich East-Indian accent ringing out the words. “We’ve all tried to persuade Brutus to give us the Impression Stone without any luck. Maybe you can do something with your new talent.”
Adam wondered what Gurpreet meant by that. How would the ability to see into objects get some guy named Brutus to tell him anything? Maybe he needed his TV fixed.
