Oops!
A Jonny Quest story
By Susan M. M.
Standard Fanfic Disclaimer that wouldn't last ten seconds in a court of law. This is an amateur work of fiction based on situations and characters created by Doug Wildey and owned by Hanna-Barbera. There is no attempt to defraud them of their rights. Clan Quest is merely borrowed, and will be returned unharmed (or at least suitably bandaged) to the folks who own their rights. No money has been made, nor is likely to be made, from this amateur publication. Previously posted at AO3, not in any fanzine or APA.
"I'm going to the mainland for supplies," Roger "Rrace" Bannon announced "Do you need anything that isn't on the grocery list?"
Dr. Benton Quest had his head bent over a microscope. He neither looked up nor responded to Race's question.
"If the boys don't want to tag along, I may stop by to visit Gigi."
Dr. Quest nodded. He appreciated Race's sacrifice, not visiting Gigi if he had the boys with him.
Race left the lab and went out to the beach. Jonny and his foster brother Hadji were kicking a soccer ball across the sand. Both boys wore only swim trunks. Their textbooks were abandoned by the towels.
"Hey," Race yelled. "I'm headed to the mainland for supplies. Either of you want to come with me?"
"Naw, Bandit's not feeling well," Jonny said. "I don't want to risk him getting seasick."
" 'Sick as a dog' is bad enough. A seasick dog is worse," Race agreed
Bandit, a white bulldog pup, lay by a palm tree, napping in its shade next to a bowl of water.
"I want to finish my homework before dinner. It's Thursday." Thursday was Orville night. Hadji didn't want to risk missing the science fiction comedy. Dr. Quest was strict about no TV until homework was done.
"Be sure to dry off your hands before you start reading," Race continued. Both had wet sand drying on their hands. Two sand castles stood near the waterline, testifying how their hands had gotten in that condition.
"We shall," Hadji promised.
"See you later boys" Race walked to the speedboat. He put on an orange life jacket, started the motor, and left the dock at Ppalm Key to head to the Florida mainland. Half an hour later, he pulled into the harbor at San Jose Carpintero, FL. Once he had the boat secured, he walked to Sam's Club. Peanut butter, grape and strawberry joely, Hawaiian punch for the boys, beer for him and Dr. Quest, toilet paper, paper towels. When he had finished getting the nonperishables, his Lyft was waiting outside. Since he was being paid by the hour, the Lyft driver didn't mind waiting at the harbormaster's office while Race loaded thesupplies on the boat.
Once that was accomplished, Race walked to the Copacabana. The bar was nearly empty. Barry Manilow's voice echoed through the bar.
"Race! How are you doing?" G. G., the barmaid, greeted him. Georgette Gordon, who had once done exotic dance under the stage name Gigi, and still had the figure for it, if she ever wanted to go back to it.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change. Race handed her $1.25 in quarters. "Put something else im the jukebox. Anything else."
"Sure thing, sugar."
A few seconds later Kathy Mattea was singinging about "eighteen wheels and a dozen roses."
"How about a beer and a sandwich? It looks pretty quiet, Can you join me for a beer, Gigi?"
"I've got a long shift ahead of me. Buy me a cup of coffee, and you've got a deal," she agreed.
"Ccoffee and a snack for you, Reuben and a Sapporo for me, please," Race ordered.
"Coming up," Gigi promised. She sashayed into the kitchen. She knew it wasn't6 politically correct, but it tended to improve tips.
She returned a few minutes later with two sandwiches, a helping of French fries, a bottle of Japanese beer, and a mug of coffee. She sat down at a table beside Race.
"Your professor keeping you busy?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah. He's spending so much time in the lab on his experiments that I'm handling the boys all by myself."
"Not easy being a singlr parent." Gigi knew wherof she spoke. She stirred a generous dollop of sugar into her coffee. The jukebox ended and automatically returned to thr "Copa the Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana." Gigi reached into her pocket and jingled Race's quarters. " 'Scuse me a moment." She flounced over to the jukebox and started a Santana song.
Race smiled at her when she came back. "Seen any good movies lately?"
"Mary Poppins Returns has some good songs."
"Seen any good non-Disney movies?" Race corrected himself.
"I didn't remember there was such a thing," she confessed. She drained her mug. "You still thirsty?"
"Make it a coffee instead of another beer. The Coast Guard is stricter about drunk driving than the San Jose cops are."
"Coffee it is." She got up and went to the kitchen. She came back with a coffeepot and a credit card reader.
Race pulledout his wallet5, removed a debit card, and handed it to ran it through the cad reader. "Declined. Guess I shouldn't put any more quarters in the jukebox."
"Declined?" Race thought a minute. He'd used Dr. Quest's card at Sam's Club, but he paid for his own lunch. Then the lightbulb went off. The government shutdown. He hadn't been paid. He gave a mental shrug. He could reimburse the doctor later. He removed a different card from his wallet, one belonging to Quest Labs rather than him personally. "This should work. With the government shutdown, my paycheck didn't get direct deposited. I'm better off than most, still have room and board." He'd heard about people not being able to pay their mortgages or buy medication. Maybe he and Dr. Quest should have let Dr. Zin win the last time he tried to take over the world. Zin couldn't have done worse than Twitler had.
"What's your professor working on at the moment?"
"Not sure," Race lied. "I don't understand it, and even if I did, I couldn't pronounce it." He knew Gigi was just making conversation, not trying to get top secret information. But 'loose lips sink ships' had been drilled into him years ago; it was a hard habit to break.
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