An impressive-sized box truck, bright red, pulled up to the Campions’ little house on the Sunday after Ted’s arrival. The three of them were eating breakfast on the back patio, sitting on brand-new redwood benches and resting their plates on the brand-new redwood picnic table Edwina had bought. Ted heard the truck and jumped up, scattering toast crumbs and exclaiming, “Your gift has arrived!”
He had been hinting since his arrival that something wonderful had been selected and prepared for them in Connecticut and would be delivered soon. But he hadn’t said what it was. Orville eagerly followed Ted to the front yard while Edwina, irritated, gathered the breakfast things to take them back into the house. This was one drawback of eating outside. That, and the flies. She had been more annoyed by Ted than she had expected to be; her idea of extended family togetherness had been, as usual, more pleasing than the reality. For her, Ted had been decidedly un-relaxing to be around. For Orville, though he had not looked forward to Ted’s visit, he and his brother were now best friends reunited.
By the time Edwina arrived at the front door to see what the fuss was about, the back of the truck had been opened and one brand-new photovoltaic module— a futuristic, flat array of blue-black rectangles outlined in silver— had been wheeled down the ramp by Ted and the 20-something driver (who Ted apparently knew). Its height was about the height of Ted himself (whose hands could be seen coming from behind it, embracing its considerable girth).
“Monocrystalline! Two dozen of these will power all your appliances, my brother, and maybe more!” Ted shouted happily from behind the solar panel. The driver also grinned and nodded, causing his man-bun to wobble slightly. “Of course,” said Orville, very pleased, though he wondered how in the world such a huge project could be accomplished; Orville was not a home improvement person, especially if it involved physical labor. Then he remembered that all this was Ted’s chosen profession. Maybe HE wouldn’t have to climb on the roof. Maybe they’d save a lot of money. Money! How much had this cost Ted? What did they owe him?
In answer to Orville’s thoughts, Ted emerged and announced, “This is for your hospitality, Orville, Edwina! Really. I don’t know how long I’m going to be staying, and I VERY much appreciate it! Thank you both! Aaron will be helping with the installation. The young driver made a sort of bow and said, “Yep! Yep!”
“Will you be staying, too?” Edwina squinted at Aaron. He resembled all of the students she worked with, and yet was like none of them. “We only have the one guest room.”
“He can stay in the room with me,” Ted said. “Setup is going to be merely a week-long enterprise. Disconnecting from the grid may take longer. Sometimes utility companies put up a big fuss. We’ll need to keep your gas HVAC, but that’s all.”
“Uh, we don’t have a ladder,” said Orville, trying to anticipate needs in his own way.
“It’s all in the truck, dude,” Aaron told Orville, nodding and bowing again, seeming to silently chuckle. “Some drive, Campion! He was addressing Ted. “Celebrate?” He started to pull something out of his shirt pocket. Ted shook his head. “Careful. Not legal here. Not at all. What a shame! Maybe inside the house, eh?”
Ted had already smoked in the guest room, Edwina knew, but he hadn’t offered them any. Oh, haha, she thought randomly. Maybe Aaron would be interested in the marijuana that had remained in that casserole dish for years; they could finally get rid of it! Edwina did not like a crowded house, and now she was going to have one for a week, as well as a racket on the roof, and who knows what else! She felt out of control. Her online counseling session wasn’t until Tuesday. She longed to get to the lab and start cleaning test tubes, anything but hanging out with these three weirdos. Well, Orville was not a weirdo. She glanced over at him to make sure. He was stroking the solar panel curiously, but stopped when he saw her looking at him. She gave him a worried look. He shrugged. Weirdo.
— Macoff
He had been hinting since his arrival that something wonderful had been selected and prepared for them in Connecticut and would be delivered soon. But he hadn’t said what it was. Orville eagerly followed Ted to the front yard while Edwina, irritated, gathered the breakfast things to take them back into the house. This was one drawback of eating outside. That, and the flies. She had been more annoyed by Ted than she had expected to be; her idea of extended family togetherness had been, as usual, more pleasing than the reality. For her, Ted had been decidedly un-relaxing to be around. For Orville, though he had not looked forward to Ted’s visit, he and his brother were now best friends reunited.
By the time Edwina arrived at the front door to see what the fuss was about, the back of the truck had been opened and one brand-new photovoltaic module— a futuristic, flat array of blue-black rectangles outlined in silver— had been wheeled down the ramp by Ted and the 20-something driver (who Ted apparently knew). Its height was about the height of Ted himself (whose hands could be seen coming from behind it, embracing its considerable girth).
“Monocrystalline! Two dozen of these will power all your appliances, my brother, and maybe more!” Ted shouted happily from behind the solar panel. The driver also grinned and nodded, causing his man-bun to wobble slightly. “Of course,” said Orville, very pleased, though he wondered how in the world such a huge project could be accomplished; Orville was not a home improvement person, especially if it involved physical labor. Then he remembered that all this was Ted’s chosen profession. Maybe HE wouldn’t have to climb on the roof. Maybe they’d save a lot of money. Money! How much had this cost Ted? What did they owe him?
In answer to Orville’s thoughts, Ted emerged and announced, “This is for your hospitality, Orville, Edwina! Really. I don’t know how long I’m going to be staying, and I VERY much appreciate it! Thank you both! Aaron will be helping with the installation. The young driver made a sort of bow and said, “Yep! Yep!”
“Will you be staying, too?” Edwina squinted at Aaron. He resembled all of the students she worked with, and yet was like none of them. “We only have the one guest room.”
“He can stay in the room with me,” Ted said. “Setup is going to be merely a week-long enterprise. Disconnecting from the grid may take longer. Sometimes utility companies put up a big fuss. We’ll need to keep your gas HVAC, but that’s all.”
“Uh, we don’t have a ladder,” said Orville, trying to anticipate needs in his own way.
“It’s all in the truck, dude,” Aaron told Orville, nodding and bowing again, seeming to silently chuckle. “Some drive, Campion! He was addressing Ted. “Celebrate?” He started to pull something out of his shirt pocket. Ted shook his head. “Careful. Not legal here. Not at all. What a shame! Maybe inside the house, eh?”
Ted had already smoked in the guest room, Edwina knew, but he hadn’t offered them any. Oh, haha, she thought randomly. Maybe Aaron would be interested in the marijuana that had remained in that casserole dish for years; they could finally get rid of it! Edwina did not like a crowded house, and now she was going to have one for a week, as well as a racket on the roof, and who knows what else! She felt out of control. Her online counseling session wasn’t until Tuesday. She longed to get to the lab and start cleaning test tubes, anything but hanging out with these three weirdos. Well, Orville was not a weirdo. She glanced over at him to make sure. He was stroking the solar panel curiously, but stopped when he saw her looking at him. She gave him a worried look. He shrugged. Weirdo.
— Macoff
Edwina is not impressive at all. Disappointing for a science person. That's just me. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteVery nice gift to be sure.
Well, she wanted to be a TV star. And she managed to get a BS in biology but she wasn't really a stellar student. Her father being a scientist influenced her, but not enough.
Delete