Perfect
Wheeler exits the house with a pitcher of tea and four glasses of ice. His Dad, Ma-Ti, and Kwame are seated at the table on the deck and are ready to relax.
"Thanks for all your hard work with the heavy lifting fellas…and thanks for supervising and getting in the way, Pop," Wheeler jokes as he pours everyone their beverage.
"You'd still be struggling to get that bookshelf out the door and down the stairs if you hadn't listened to me and taken it apart and hauled it down in pieces," Joe says.
"It was much lighter without the shelves attached," Ma-Ti admits.
"See," Joe says triumphantly.
"Yeah, yeah…fine."
"I am just surprised the twins were able to nap through all the arguing!" Kwame laughs.
"They must get their ability to sleep and ignore others who are working from their father!" Ma-Ti jokes.
The group all laugh, even Wheeler, although he pretended to be offended at first before joining them.
"So what have you boys been up to?" Joe asks, taking a long sip of tea.
"Well now that a younger generation is ready to take on the roles of Planeteers, we have been able to go back to doing what we were doing prior to going back," Ma-Ti explains. "I had gotten a degree in veterinary science and was just starting a career as a vet when Gaia called us back. I was able to get a job as a doctor at a vet clinic in Florida, not far from where Gi is living. She was able to return to her position at the research facility that she had been working at when she finished college."
"Did Poe leave Hope Island and return to Florida with Gi?" Wheeler asks, wondering if Gi's dolphin friend joined her.
"She did! I used my ring one last time to explain to Poe what was going on. We did the same thing we did when we initially had Poe follow Gi from Florida to Hope Island and led her as she swam along with the Eco Sub. Gi and I are sharing a condo on the coast, so we have plenty of visits from Poe and her pod, right off our property is an inlet with lots of wildlife."
"Wait, you're living with Gi?" Wheeler asks, surprised. "Seems like something Linka would've mentioned to me."
"It is not what you are thinking. Housing in Florida is expensive…we have not exactly been earning salaries and saving money all these years. Have a roommate to split the cost of living is helpful, and at least we already know we can be around each other 24/7 and not have any problems. We may not be so lucky if we had just looked online for people looking for roommates."
"True…but as the last single Planeteers…maybe there's something more to it. What do you think, Kwame?"
"Georgie and I have already dropped that hint on them. Time for both of them to move on from their previous relationships. The long-distance thing did not work out for either of them…may as well consider someone closer."
"Agreed."
Trying to save the young man from any further scrutiny from his friends, Joe turns to Kwame.
"And what about you, Kwame? How is marriage and fatherhood treating you?"
"It has been amazing. Georgie has always been such a dedicated scientist; I was not sure if a family would be something she would be interested in. She expressed concerns about whether or not she would be a good mother, but she has really taken to motherhood. She has even started talking about planning for another now that Kira is almost two."
"That's awesome, man! Hurry up so my new little one can have a playmate when we all get together," Wheeler says.
Kwame laughs,
"We will definitely take that into consideration when planning."
"Are you still working for the government?" Joe asks.
"Yes, still with the Department of Agriculture. Not quite the same position I had when I left them to re-join the Planeteers, but I would like to get back to that eventually. The Bureau of Land Management has been grossly MIS-managing public lands. They are bought off by the ranching industry and destroying land by over-grazing cattle and blaming wild horses for damaging the land. Their solution is to round them up and separate stallions and mares from their families. The round ups are inhumane, chasing down herds using a helicopter, causing injury and death. All of this at the taxpayers' expense and they probably have no idea what is going on. A significant number of the horses they round up end up being shipped to slaughter."
"That's some bullshit! Wait, I thought wild horses and burros were protected?" Wheeler asks.
"Yes, but the rounded-up horses are not sent to slaughter by the BLM. They are 'adopted,' but the adopters are the ones selling them to slaughter. The BLM knows this is what is happening to the horses in their adoption program, they just do not care. The New York Times were actually the ones to reveal what was going on. It's led to an investigation."
"At least something is being done about it," Ma-Ti says sadly.
"Other areas of the west have figured out more humane ways to handle the wild horse population. They have been successful by using a birth control procedure that involves darting them. The BLM on the other hand, wants to perform an invasive and dangerous sterilization program that involves completely removing the ovaries."
"I don't get it, the dart with the birth control sounds way easier and humane…why not go with that?" Joe asks.
"Excellent question. That is one I hope to get the answer to if I am able to move up to a position that oversees the Bureau of Land Management," Kwame says.
"If anyone can do it, you can," Wheeler says encouragingly. "Sounds like a Planeteer-Alert, for sure."
"Yes, is there anything we can do to help?" Ma-Ti asks.
"We all still have a significant social media following. The best thing we can do is spread the word and encourage people to urge their Senators and Congress Representatives to spend more responsibly and do better at overseeing the herd management programs run by the BLM," Kwame explains.
"We can definitely do that!" Wheeler says.
"Sometimes, I want to give up and quit…but then I don't know if there is any other position out there where I'd have a chance to be effective. Plus, it took so long to go through a background investigation, I do not want that to have been all for nothing."
"You're every background investigator's nightmare…all that foreign travel!" Wheeler says.
"They should have assigned Kwame's case to you," Ma-Ti jokes. "You could have easily verified that he was in those places when he said he was."
"Yeeeeah, probably would've been a conflict of interest if they'd assigned me to investigate one of my best friends."
"You have been doing that for a few years now. Do you like it?" Kwame asks.
"Definitely not as exciting as my time with NYPD…boring as hell, actually. But it keeps me out of trouble and lets me feel like I'm contributing something to this family. Best part is, I get to do the majority of my work from home. Have to go out and do an interview every now and then, but it's only a few hours out of my day and usually local. Once a quarter, I have to travel to Virginia for meetings, but fortunately Linka is able to stay home with the kids and Ma and Pop are close to help keep them occupied if Linka needs some quiet time to work on her programming or run out to the store for anything."
"We love any excuse to spend time with the kids," Joe adds. "They've got such big personalities, it's never a dull moment!"
"They are like a mini Wheeler and Linka," Ma-Ti points out.
Just then, the girls pull up the driveway in Linka's SUV (hybrid, of course).
"Hey Yankee, are you just going to sit there, or are you going to help us unload?" Linka calls to him.
"You bought it, you haul it. We just carried all your shit from the third floor to the basement. My man-cave is ruined!"
Not amused at all by his response, Linka stands next to her vehicle and crosses her arms.
"Be right there, Babe."
"That is better."
Wheeler opens the back of the SUV to find it packed full of purchases.
"Daaaamn! Did you leave anything in the store?"
"Well, none of this would have been needed if you had just gone to the doctor's office for that follow-up appointment…" Kathy admonishes him.
"Thank you, Kathy," Linka says smugly.
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Ma," Wheeler grumbles as he grabs some bags.
Ma-Ti and Kwame get up to help as well.
"Here, Gi…let me get that for you," Ma-Ti says as he takes a box with a disassembled changing table.
Wheeler glances over at Kwame and they share a nod.
"Oh no, that's ok, Ma-Ti. You've been lifting and lugging all day. You must be sore," Gi says, trying to take the box back.
"No, I am fine. I will not be sore until tomorrow," he says with a laugh.
"Let me know if you are. I just read up on this pressure point massage method. We can see if it really works."
Kwame grabs the last of the bags from the back of the vehicle and nudges Wheeler.
"That is happening."
"Oh yeah. I give it less than a year," Wheeler agrees as the boys laugh.
"Nothing left for me to carry?" Joe asks. "Darn!"
"Don't worry, you'll be helping later. I volunteered us to help paint the room. Linka wanted to brighten it up a bit for the baby," Kathy informs him,
"That's a good idea. Painting is one thing I'm actually good at. Did you pick a theme?"
"Noah's Ark," Linka says, holding up a blanket with her chosen theme.
"Cute."
"I like it, Babe…but where's the crib for that cute little blanket to go in?"
"Had to be ordered. It will be delivered next week."
"That will give us plenty of time to paint," Joe says to Kathy.
"Aww, damn. I'm traveling next week. Will the delivery guys be able to drop it off in the room?"
"Da, probably. It is in the box and needs assembled. You can do that when you get back."
"I can take care of it," Joe offers. "I'm always looking for things to do around the house."
"Thanks Pop. Appreciate the offer. Might be a two-person job though, holding things in place while another person tightens bolts. Just wait until I get back from Virginia and we can both work on it."
"Sounds like a plan."
Kathy and Linka smile at each other, happy to see their husbands able to share a moment and bond over the newest member of the family.
"What's for dinner!" Nic calls from the porch.
"We think pizza sounds good," Kat offers.
"Come grab one of these bags and I will order some," Linka tells them.
"Yesssss!" they exclaim in unison.
Linka hands over two bags to the twins and watches as they follow her friends and family into the house, once again thinking how lucky she is to have these people in her life. Thinking back to when they all returned to the Planeteers after having been out in the "real world" for a bit and the uncertainty of how things would be between them, especially her and Wheeler…it could not have had a better outcome. Now the only thing left for her to do is wait for the newest piece of this puzzle to arrive and complete the picture.
To Be Continued...
Actual Planeteer Alert: When I'm not working or writing, my passion is animal welfare, whether it be shelter animals or wild animals...my Senator and Congressman hear from me frequently! Check out American Wild Horse Campaign for ways to contact your politicians and let them know you want wild horses to be protected and managed humanely. That's how I Planeteer!