From: magsrose@comcast.net   
      
   by MagsRose   
   See chapter 1 for header.   
      
   Chapter 5   
      
   "Done," Frohike announced. The paper was ready to go to press. He   
   looked at his watch. It was almost eight o'clock and he was hungry.   
   Emma had to be starving. She hadn't eaten much at lunch. "Who wants   
   dinner?"   
      
   Langly was, of course, quite willing to eat. Emma was more than ready   
   and Byers agreed that it sounded like a good idea.   
      
   "What do you think, Emma, should we take these two out to dinner?"   
      
   "Sure!" Emma liked the idea of treating her new friends to a meal out.   
   "Can we go in the VW bus?"   
      
   "I don't see why not."   
      
   Emma sat in the back of the van with Langly. He showed her as much of   
   the equipment as possible while they were moving. When they got to the   
   restaurant he demonstrated how the periscope worked. Frohike finally   
   had to insist that they get out of the vehicle so that they could go   
   to dinner. "You two can play around with all this junk tomorrow. Let's   
   go!"   
      
   Dinner was nothing fancy but still very good. Emma had suggested ice   
   cream for dessert but Langly vetoed the idea. The milk she had for   
   dinner was bad enough but adding ice cream to that was way too much   
   mucus food. Frohike requested that the word mucus not be used at the   
   dinner table. Langly pressed the point and they all had pie for   
   desert: three ala mode, one plain. Emma was not happy about it but   
   Langly promised to take her for a huge hot fudge sundae when she had   
   shaken the asthma completely.   
      
   An hour and a half later, the plates long since cleared away they sat   
   talking over coffee. Emma had fallen asleep leaning against her dad.   
   He got her to lie down in the back of the big semicircular booth in   
   which the hostess had seated them. Byers' jacket was in use as a blanket.   
      
   Frohike knew he should take her home but he was enjoying a chance to   
   catch up with his two oldest friends. Langly looked down at Emma then   
   over at Frohike. "Fro, I owe you an apology. I've been a real jerk   
   these last few weeks."   
      
   "That's okay, buddy, I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking   
   eventually since I'm always right."   
      
   "Yeah, but then you're just a smug s.o.b. aren't you?" Langly slung   
   back at Frohike with a grin.   
      
   "I guess I am at that."   
      
   Langly became serious again. "Man, you know if there's anything I can   
   do to help, I'm there."   
      
   Byers seconded that offer.   
      
   "I wanted to do it on my own but I've discovered that it's a lot   
   harder than I thought. I'm trying to do everything right but I'm not   
   always certain what `right' is."   
      
   "You seem to be doing pretty well so far," Byers told him.   
      
   "I should have brought her around to meet you guys before this."   
      
   Langly agreed. "It might have made things easier. At the very least   
   Jimmy wouldn't have been so obnoxious trying to get you to let him   
   meet her. I was ready to lock him in a closet."   
      
   "He's going to be really unhappy that he wasn't here today." Byers added.   
      
   "Where is he anyway?" Frohike asked.   
      
   "He said that Yves wanted his help with something." Byers couldn't   
   imagine what that could be but Jimmy had jumped at the chance.   
      
   Langly laughed at the idea of Jimmy helping Yves but knew Jimmy had it   
   bad for the woman.   
      
   "Who's Yves?" Emma asked propped up on one elbow. She wasn't   
   completely awake.   
      
   "She's an associate of ours." Frohike explained. "Are you ready to go?"   
      
   "Anytime," she replied but then flopped back down on the seat.   
      
   All three men laughed at her. She got back up. "What?"   
      
   "Let's go. Do you have everything?" Frohike asked as he got up out of   
   the booth. He wanted to make sure they did not leave without any vital   
   medication.   
      
   "I don't know. What time is it?" She looked around to find her   
   backpack but Langly had it slung over one shoulder. "Have you seen my   
   backpack?" She started to crawl under the table. Byers stopped her.   
   She looked up at him as he pointed to Langly. "Oh, thanks." She slid   
   out of the booth almost tripping over her own feet as she tried to   
   stand up. Frohike took her arm and turned her toward the door.   
      
   "Come on, Sleeping Beauty."   
      
   "Hey, don't make fun of me. I'm sick remember."   
      
   "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're walking now."   
      
   They finally made it out to the VW bus. "Can you guys just drop us off   
   at home?" Emma had been strapped into the front seat and had already   
   fallen back to sleep. "I don't want to wake her up to change cars again."   
      
   "No problem, but you won't have a car." Byers hated to leave them   
   without transportation. "Do you want me to come get you in the morning?"   
      
   "That would work. Thanks."   
      
   Byers arrived as promised at 9:00 AM. Emma must have been watching for   
   him because she had the front door open before his foot hit the first   
   step. "Good morning, John." She found it easier to call him that now   
   that she had gotten to know him a little. "Dad's almost ready." She   
   ran over to the bottom of the stairs and yelled up it, "Dad, he's here."   
      
   Frohike appeared at the top of the stairs. "You don't need to shout. I   
   figured that out when I heard the front door slam."   
      
   Emma ignored him. She had learned that he could be grouchy in the   
   morning but it soon passed. She turned back to Byers. "Would you like   
   a tour of the house?"   
      
   Byers and Langly had seen most of it the night before but he let her   
   lead him around while Frohike got some coffee. Upstairs she quickly   
   made Frohike's bed and grabbed the wet towel out of his bathroom and   
   threw it in the laundry room. Byers realized that Emma was taking care   
   of Frohike almost as much as Frohike was taking care of Emma.   
      
   He'd heard the story about the piano so he didn't ask if she played   
   when they got back downstairs. They met Frohike in the kitchen. He did   
   a quick check to make sure Emma had all her homework and medication.   
      
   Emma was a little disappointed that Byers had brought the Honda and   
   not the VW bus. Langly had needed it to run some early errands, mainly   
   to go grocery shopping if Emma was going to be with them all day. Beer   
   and pretzels was not an appropriate lunch for an 11 year old.   
      
   Emma rode in the back seat talking about things that excited her   
   during the trip to the warehouse. She would get so intent on what she   
   was saying that Frohike had to keep reminding her to sit back in the   
   seat. Byers was pleased to see that she was feeling better but Frohike   
   looked very tired.   
      
   Langly was not back yet when they arrived. Jimmy wasn't around either.   
   He hadn't come home the night before but no one was really worried.   
   Emma was disappointed that neither man was around.   
      
   "This is actually better," Frohike told Emma, "because you still need   
   to finish your homework."   
      
   "But, Dad, I've got all weekend to do it."   
      
   Thank you, Langly, for putting that idea in her head. "Don't `but,   
   Dad' me. We had a deal. You agreed to finish your homework first thing   
   this morning."   
      
   "I know but there isn't that much to do."   
      
   "Emma, if you're going to give me a hard time about this we'll go back   
   home right now."   
      
   That was the end of the argument. Emma looked around for a clear table   
   space that would be big enough for her math text and notebook. Finding   
   none she asked if she could move some stuff.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)