Chapter 10

1975

Sam found herself in an impossible task. She had to make the men dinner, from scratch and she had very little culinary experience. She found Chet's cookbook and notes. She had some big shoes to fill and she knew it. She squinted at the instruction. "What?" she shook her head. She gathered the portable radio and keyed the microphone. "Sam to Chet." she called for help.

Chet replied. "Sammy!" he adopted the nickname.

"Okay, what is a turnip and this crazy soup recipe you got?" she wondered.

"It's real easy. It's turnip soup." he told her. "You should find the turnips in the bottom drawer of the fridge." he started to talk her though it.

She opened the fridge and found the veggies. "These things look like purple carrots."

"Kind of is." Chet told her.

She gathered the turnips and closed the door. She placed them on the counter top and then spoke into the radio. "Honestly, this would be some much easier with a microwave."

"I mastered your microwave already." he beamed. He kidded, "How about I just send you one through the wormhole."

She paused in thought. "You could do that." she replied. "Chet, let's do a test. Unplug the microwave and place it in the back of the engine bay."

"Um…" he paused. "I'm using it."

"Just go buy another." she instructed.

"Okay." He then unplugged the microwave and lifted it up. He walked it to the bay and placed it where he placed the pod. He then watched it disappear as it was sucked into the wormhole. "It's away." he radioed.

Sam heard the Captain's voice. "Sam!" Holding the radio she quickly made her way to the office. There on the floor sat the microwave. "It worked."

Captain Stanley asked. "What is that thing?"

She bent over and picked it up. "A microwave oven. I had Chet send it. I can have what I need to stabilize the wormhole sent to your office."

He blinked. "Oh, that just sounds great." he sounded annoyed. "I have work to do."

She warned. "Be careful. You have a moving wormhole in your office and you could get caught up in it and end up with Chet."

He paused for a moment. "Maybe we need to flag the spot."

"I would if I were you." she agreed.

He retrieved a roll of yellow crossing tape from his desk drawer. He then stood up and tied off the tape before the area where the microwave appeared.

Sam stated. "Have Chet send an empty water bottle before you try to cross the floor to make sure you are not about walk into it."

"I got my portable." he nodded in agreement. "What's for dinner, Sam?"

"Chet's turnip soup, salad and sandwiches." she reported.

He soured. "Not the turnip soup."

"He noted it's a favorite." she countered.

"Chet's favorite." he corrected. "I'm more of a tomato soup kind of guy."

She gave a slight smile. "Chet." she spoke into the radio.

"Yeah, Sammy." he replied.

"In the kitchen is a microwavable tomato soup cup. Can you send that?" she asked.

"Sure." he replied. "Just a second." he stated and walked the soup to the bay. "It's away."

On the floor appeared the soup. She picked it up. "Awesome." she spoke into the radio. "Thanks Chet. I'm going to give you a list of things to buy and send here through the wormhole."

"Will do." he agreed.

Captain Stanley asked. "That little red cup is soup?"

She handed it to him.

"Huh, Campbell's tomato soup." he read. "You don't need to add water?"

"Nope." she agreed. "It's designed for a microwave oven. I'll show you." she offered.

The Captain pondered. "Maybe we can have Chet send us other things from the future. I would like to see one of those televisions he was talking about."

She stated. "I'm going to have him send a lot of very advanced equipment. You will get too see it."

"Okay." he agreed.

2025

Older Johnny walked into the kitchen to warm his coffee. "Hey! Where did the microwave go?" he wondered.

Chet then walked back into the kitchen holding the radio. "I sent it to Sam. She said to go buy us a new one. We also need to send her a computer and bunch of other stuff through the wormhole."

"Don't send her our coffee maker." he warned and rinsed out his cup before making a fresh cup of coffee.

Chet suggested. "Lets buy a new one and send it to the guys with a big box of pods."

Johnny pondered. "I'm sure younger me would like that."

Older Roy walked into the kitchen next. "I have a script ready for pickup. Anyone need anything while I'm out?"

Chet stated. "Sam gave me a list of things to send to her."

"And a coffee maker with pods for guys." Johnny added. "Let's go to Walmart."

Roy soured. "Why there?"

"They got the coffee makers." he reminded him.

"What happened to the microwave?" Roy asked noticing it was gone.

"Sam has it now." Chet told him. "We need a new one. I like using that. I also want my own phone." he requested.

"A flip phone?" Roy wondered.

He shook his head. "No! One of them iphones. We got a wormhole. When I go back home, I want to use the wormhole to get internet access."

"Why?" Johnny asked.

"I got a few games I'm playing." he told the pair. It was evident that Chet was adapting to the technology with ease.

"I suppose." Roy replied. "But how will you pay for it?"

Chet wondered. "Is it really expensive?" He brought the radio to his lips. "Chet to Sam." he called.

"Sam here." she replied. "You sure I shouldn't peel these turnips, Chet?" she wondered still working on the soup.

"Just follow the instructions. Hey, how much is it to get a iphone here?" he asked.

"Usually it's part of the package." she replied. "Why?"

"I figure once you fix this and I go back I can still play my games if I have a iphone." he explained.

She paused again. "Chet! You are a genius!" she cheered. "I can use the wormhole to access the servers."

Chet beamed as he was called a genius. He gloated to older Roy and Johnny. "I'm a genius."

1975

Sam worked at making the meal for the men. She tasted the soup and found it was rather sweet tasting. She smacked her lips and debated. "It's needs something. Too sweet." she found some soy sauce and a package of ramen noodles. She looked at the cheap noodles. "Hmm…I know how to make this." She opened the page and added it to the soup with a dash of soy sauce. In no time the noodles softened and soup took on a more oriental flavor. She tasted the broth. "Better." she determined.

The men filtered in for the meal. Salad was on the table as Sam was very versed in making a simple salad as that was her main meal most days. She had a stack of sandwiches made as well and sitting on the table for men to grab.

She heard a remark from on of the men.

"I see the little lady made us sammies." a voice remarked.

She wasn't sure who said it but she found it disturbing. Before she could reply Roy came up to see how the she did on Chet's soup. He found it looked different than what Chet made. "How is it going, Sammy?" he asked.

"Taste this, Grandpa." she handed him a spoon.

He sampled the concoction. He paused and debated the new soup. "Taste like something you would get from a Chinese place."

"I tossed in a package of noodles and some soy sauce. That soups was way too sweet." she told him.

"Which is why Chet likes it." he mentioned. He took another sample. "This is good." He then grabbed a bowl and filled it up.

Johnny walked in next.

Roy called. "Jonny! Try Sam's version of Chet's soup."

He came over and noticed it had noodles. "Looks different." he noted. He took a sip. "This is good. This would go real good with some broccoli beef and rice."

"Sweet and sour chicken." Roy added.

Sam suggested. "Should order out some Chinese."

"Budget is limited. That's why we need to cook our own meals." Roy told her.

The men started to serve themselves the soup to go with the meal. Firefighter Lopez noted. "Hey! This is different." he looked at the soup.

Roy beamed. "Sam improved Chet's soup."

He gave it a taste. "Like an Asian version." he gave a nod of approval.

The men gathered their meal and began to eat. The soup was a hit much to Sam's own surprise. As the men were about half way through the meal a call came in.

Over the speaker dispatch could be heard. "Station 51. Engine 51. Rescue 51. To Electric Boulevard for a structure fire."

The men all stopped eating and sprang into action. Sam assumed she would be asked to stay behind as the men geared up to respond.

Roy called. "Come on Sam. We got a call."

She gave him a warm smile. "I'm coming."