INVISIBLE
Chapter 3
by Spense
Alan was truly bored out of his mind. The pattern for the last few days had been exactly the same. Everybody else was at work. Gordon, who if he wasn't swimming, was helping Virgil on something engineering related. If he went to find them, he was greeted, then told he should probably be downstairs so he wasn't in the way.
Alan's fears from the morning after his grandmother died, of being in the way and not wanted, were clearly coming true. He hadn't realized how much of the time he'd spent on the island had been spent with Kyrano, Onaha, and TinTin Beleghant, as well as with Fermat. As he thought back, very little had been spent with his family, with the exception of Grandma.
It has always been better if his family visited Kansas. They had time to spend with him then. Even his Dad, who was the dictionary definition of work-a-holic, had more time then. Or maybe Grandma just made him. That was probably way more likely.
He spent a little time in his room, but everything there had been left from prior visits, and was really boring. Even the books were just little kid books. He read lots of chapter books now, and there weren't any around. He could only play so many video games, do jigsaw puzzles, or watch TV for so long. Besides, he got in trouble if he played too many video games. He tried working on the lock designs - he'd invented one, and Grandma had set up a company for him. Now he was trying to work on a third generation design, but he couldn't seem to concentrate.
Alan just couldn't believe that this was what his life would be like forever. At least it seemed that way, in his opinion. He couldn't even go down to the beach by himself. He'd been late for lunch yesterday (coming up the hill took longer than he'd thought. It was a long way!), and his Dad has freaked. He'd meant to leave a note, he really had. But he had no idea of where to leave it. And it didn't help that he'd forgotten sunscreen, so now he had a bad sunburn, too. So now he couldn't go off the villa grounds without somebody with him. That meant he couldn't even play outside in the jungle, or go down to the beach by himself. He wasn't sure why they thought he was such a baby. He'd gone off a lot on his own in Kansas. He'd just leave a note about where he was going, and when he'd be home, and that was that. He really didn't understand his Dad and brothers.
At least when Fermat and TinTin had been home, he had somebody to play with. But they wouldn't be back for months. Sighing, he picked up the game controller again.
TB TB TB TB TB
Onaha had taken to trying to be down around the lounge in the mornings and early afternoons when Alan was most likely to be there. She really didn't like how listless Alan was. He was a far cry from the boy she remembered. As she recalled, whenever he'd been here last, he'd always been moving at top speed. But now, he even looked apathetic when he was playing with the video games.
It didn't help that Jeff Tracy was handling the grief of losing his mother in his usual manner – burying himself in work. And he was keeping his elder sons busy as well. Between Tracy Enterprises, and the never ending maintenance on the Thunderbirds, they were all focused and occupied from dawn until dusk.
She pursed her lips as she cleaned the spotless counter, and looked unobtrusively at Alan. She really disagreed with Mr. Tracy's decision to not tell Alan about International Rescue. She and Kyrano had talked about it at length. But no matter how strongly they disagreed with the decision, there wasn't anything they could do about it. Alan was Mr. Tracy's son, and that was his wish. Unfortunately, right now, International Rescue, and Tracy Enterprises as well, although less so, were taking all the attention away that Alan desperately needed from his family right now. This was not going to end well, and she was concerned about the impact on the entire family.
She was torn about TinTin being gone. She missed her daughter, and TinTin and Alan were good friends. But the loss of Ruth Tracy was just starting to show the effect it was having on the Tracy family, and she was glad TinTin was out of the aftermath. Bad enough that Alan was going to be squarely in the center of it.
Her attention was caught by John Tracy, hovering discreetly in the doorway, out of sight of Alan. He mimed a Thunderbird in motion, and she nodded. Once he was sure she'd gotten his point, he disappeared upstairs towards Jefferson Tracy's office.
A rescue had been called in. Ah, well. She could help with this, and maybe give Alan a little attention while she was at it. Picking up the towels, she walked out of the kitchen and called to Alan. "Alan!"
When he looked up at her with a mild inquiring look she continued. "Could you come help me? I need to do laundry, and I need some help sorting and folding."
He shrugged, and got up listlessly and followed her. She smiled when he reached her. "Thank you. It's gotten a little away from me." Which was the truth. She was behind in getting everything done from the Tracy's quick trip to Kansas for the funeral.
"It's okay," Alan shrugged again. "One of my chores for Grandma was to help her with the laundry and fold the dry stuff."
It hit her again how young Alan was. The other Tracy boys, with the exception of Gordon, were all working now, and didn't help out like they had when they were children. Gordon's chores were on hold. He'd normally be at boarding school, but training for the Olympics was his first priority right now, so if he wasn't swimming per his coach's instructions, he was running, working out in the gym, or hiking.
Alan obviously had had chores at Ruth's, just like all of his brothers had when they were his age. Whether they had been with Ruth, or with Jeff. Neither believed in letting children be waited on. Clearly Jeff hadn't yet gotten back into the mindset of having a younger child around again. His single mindedness following his return from the funeral of his mother reminded her of some of the stories she'd heard about him after the loss of his wife. He wasn't as bad now, certainly, but he did tend to turn grief into work.
The laundry room at the Villa was at the back of the house, up against the cliff side on the lower level. Thus, it was more insulated against outside noise than just about any other place, with the exception of the Hanger level, which Alan was not aware of. This made it the perfect place to be when the Thunderbird One took off. That machine was not quiet.
There were three commercial washers, and three dryers. And usually these were always working. In addition to an ironing board, and two deep sinks, there were several tables piled high with dirty laundry. She hadn't been lying when she'd said she'd gotten behind. So she set Alan to sorting. The International Rescue laundry was in a separate laundry room down in the hanger level, so she wasn't worried about Alan seeing anything he shouldn't.
Interestingly enough, Alan perked up while they were working on the mounds of laundry. He didn't seem to mind the chores at all. The low, muffled, rumble from Thunderbird One taking off was easily explained as a brief thunder storm. They'd had a run of storms the last week, blowing in fast, and leaving just as quickly so that was plausible. And Alan had never really cared for thunder storms. Another reason she'd been sticking close by him.
They fell into an easy rhythm, with Onaha washing and ironing, and Alan sorting, shifting wash to the dryers, then folding the clean clothes when it was done. He tried to sort it by person, but he was having a hard time telling one from the other. His father and brothers all seemed to be about the same size now, with the exception of Gordon. Onaha told him not to worry about it. She'd figure it out, or let the guys take care of it.
Onaha asked him about Kansas, and what he'd been doing, and generally catching up. She was surprised at how talkative he was, and she enjoyed his company, and they passed several productive hours.
At one point, she heard Thunderbird One come back, but Alan didn't seem to notice. She was glad the rescue had only been a few hours. That was a good sign. At lunch time, they broke off, and headed back to the lounge for the midday meal. Watching carefully, she noted that everybody seemed to be fine, if a little quiet. After finishing, the afternoon settled into its normal pattern. Jeff and his son's, along with Kyrano and Brains would be debriefing. Alan went back to the couch, and turning on the TV, began to channel surf. He looked as uninterested as he had before, she noted with concern.
The next day, Alan asked if he could help her with anything. She was pleased that he did so, and made sure to include him with what she could. He was actually very good help. Kyrano recruited him to help with the garden as well, when he had simple tasks to do, like weeding and watering. Alan willingly helped. It gave him something to do.
One afternoon, a couple of days after the rescue, Alan was down helping Kyrano watering the herb garden. Jeff appeared at the gate, looking concerned.
"There you are, Alan! I was couldn't find you, and I got worried."
Alan had mixed feelings about that. He was glad his dad noticed him enough to know he was gone, but why would he be worried? It was an island! Where could he go to get into any trouble?
Kyrano looked up at his employer. "He's been assisting me with the garden. He's been a very good helper. He's also been helping Onaha with chores as well," he added with a smile, in his calm, unhurried voice.
Jeff grinned at his son, who looked pleased at Kyrano's praise.
"Good job, Alan." Then he looked back at Kyrano. "Well, thank you for keeping him occupied. If he's any trouble, just send him on up to the house."
Jeff looked at Alan once again, smiling. "See you at dinner."
Alan just nodded, cheerful expression dimming as his father left. He wasn't a bother to the Beleghant's. He was helping! His dad made it sound like they were having to babysit him.
When Alan looked up, Kyrano was looking at him, a serious expression on the quiet man's face. "Alan, you are never a bother. You are a great help, and you are welcome to come assist me at any time, always," he finished, a soft, genuine smile on his face. "I value your help."
Alan nodded, smiling back gratefully, and continued to water the leafing plants. He slowly relaxed. He really just didn't understand his father at all.
