Chapter Five
Saying Goodbye
The following morning, Ellie woke the family, insisting to Grant that she drive him to the airport. She loaded the children in the car, explaining to them the best she could that Daddy had to take a special trip and to be sure to give him extra kisses. Grant looked on silently.
He climbed into the driver's seat, glancing back at his children with a tight, uneasy smile. He then watched as Ellie crawled in and accelerated out of the driveway as soon as she was buckled in beside him. The ride was quiet and tense, both not wanting to bring up his "special trip" in front of the kids. Finally Ellie sighed, twisting in her seat so that she could see her children. "Charlie, why don't you tell Daddy what you learned yesterday? Do you remember, baby?"
Charlie puckered his lips in thought. Conclusion dawning, he strained in his car seat to see his father better. "Daddy, Daddy," he exclaimed excitedly, knowing that what he was about to say would please his father. "Vweloctaripter means "speedy thief"."
"That's 'velociraptor', Charlie." Grant glanced up into the review mirror and felt a slight tug at his heart at the sight of Charlie's disappointment from his lack of enthusiasm. "But you're right," he added, perking up the child. "It does mean "speedy thief". That's very good, son."
Charlie beamed with pride and settled back against his car seat. He didn't know why dinosaurs made his father so happy, but Charlie was thrilled whenever he could tell his dad something about them.
In the passenger seat, Ellie smiled warmly at Grant. "He learned that from Discovery last night. They had a special program on dinosaurs."
"Asteroid theory," Grant grumbled. "You know Charlie," he spoke up. "There may very well have been an asteroid that crashed into earth sixty-five million years ago, but that's not what killed all the dinosaurs. Some of them evolved into birds."
Charlie stole a peek out his window, searching for birds. "Really?" His innocent three and a half year old mind couldn't comprehend what is father was telling him. Birds are dinosaurs? That's not right.
"Alan," Ellie admonished. "He's three. You're going to confuse him." She glanced back at her son. "Charlie, birds are harmless. They aren't really dinosaurs, but their grandmas and grandpas may have been."
"Yeah," Grant mumbled. "That's much better." He flashed Ellie an amused grin. "Now he'll think giant leaps of evolution can occur within three generations."
Ellie shrugged, reaching between the front seats to hand Amy a bottle. "Here you go, sweetie. I bet you're hungry. It's past your lunch time."
An hour later, they finally arrived at the airport. Standing in the terminal, Ellie kissed Grant goodbye. "You better come back to me all in one piece," she ordered, handing Amy over to him.
Grant held the baby in his arms, caressing her belly. "You won't even get the chance to miss me." He planted a light kiss on Amy's cheek. He then turned to Charlie, picking him up in his other arm. "And you young man listen to your mother." He squeezed his son in a tight hug before dropping him back to the floor. Grant turned to Ellie, giving the baby back to her. He leaned down, placing a deep, but short kiss on her mouth.
He glanced at his watch. He had to meet the Kirbys on the landing strip in ten minutes. "I'll be back in two days," he said then gathered up his satchel and disappeared into the crowd.
Ellie watched him go, holding Amy in one arm and Charlie's hand with the other. She could feel the apprehension creeping into her veins as she turned around and left.
End Chapter Five
Note: Discovery (my favorite TV station) is a copyrighted material.
Jd burns: Thank you so much for your reviews. I was actually contemplating removing this story from the archive, but due to your reviews I've decided to keep going! I hope you enjoy!