Bytes and Babies!

Dear Toby,

Wow, it's been quite a couple of days, what with one thing and another. I'm so glad Jordy's here! I honestly don't know what we'd have done without him this morning. What is it about that lep, just absolutely nothing seems to wipe that grin off his leathery face. I don't think I've described Jordy to you, have I, Tobes, I haven't had the time. Well, he's about an inch shorter than me, and a lot stockier. He's not fat, you couldn't say that, he's brawny. He's got sturdy legs set wide apart and thick arms. His hands are as brown and leathery as a pair of overdone bacon chops! You'd think he couldn't do anything skillfull with those sausage fingers, but he's as nimble as a brownie and wonderfully gentle with the babies. he has a round head, round as a golf ball, shiny bald on top with just a fringe of whispy white curls around the edge. His ears are comical, much bigger than mine and very pointed. he never wears a hat, but then, he zaps casually from place to place so I suppose he doesn't care who sees him. He has sharp dark eyes, set in a round face that's as wrinkled as a dried apple. His big mouth is always either grinning, whistling tunes from the old country or full of lep swears, which he never means in a nasty way. Alfie dropped his toy hammer today and said "Zblert!" which is, I believe, one of his first words. L wasn't happy, and when Alfie was settled again she mildly asked Jordy if he could possibly tone it downa touch. But Jordy just said "I'm too old to change now, Ma'm. It's just me way. If you don't like the way I talk, I know where the door is and they ain't so particular in Shana-Rahvere." he wasn't being rude, just bluntly honest. So of course we couldn't say anything, we really need him here.

Before I tell you about this morning, I really ought to back track a bit and tell you about yesterday, or the bit of it that I think you should know. Most of yesterday I spent at home with the family. I went as soon as I'd done Magic Memories with Lacey, she wanted the story of Little Bell again, I knew she would, bless her. Oh, and we had our usual pancake breakfast and I got that cleared up. But after that, I was off. As soon as I got in the door I could feel Cassie pulling me like old times and I pelted down the thoroughfare towards her. She came running to meet me and we kind of collided halfway down and fell in a heap, entwined like a couple of limpets. Leps just walked around or stepped over us, they'd seen a stretched imprint before I suppose and didn't pay us any mind. I'm not used to Cassie being so clingy, but I hadn't seen her for weeks, and let me tell you it's no fun when the imprint starts pulling and getting thinly stretched. You can't get away from it. it's like always having an itch somewhere that you can never scratch. It must have been a good five minutes I sat on that cold, none too clean floor, just holding Cassie, looking into her incredible blue eyes, feeling her heart beat and experiencing an incredible sense of relief. I think she must have felt the same. After a while, she got up and pulled me to my feet. I thought she would run off to play, but she didn't. She put her hand in mine and chattered to me all the way back to Mum and Dad's.

I was shocked when I saw Dad, Tobes. He looks old and drawn. He's far too thin and his eyes look all yellow. There's a nasty grey clamminess to his skin and he says even less than usual. He ate nothing while I was there, just sipped tea. I tried to bring up the subject of your Aunt Gwen, she's the colony healer, or your Aunt Kori, her assistant, having a look at him, but he wouldn't have it at any price. I caught Mum's eye though and I could see she was as worried as me. I made the rounds of the cubes, hoping to see Gwen or Kori, but they were both busy I heard, Gwen at a complicated birthing and Kori tending a femling with a broken arm. I decided, before I came home, that I would try to get one of them on Facetime before too long and talk to them about Dad. I wanted to do it today but I haven't had time so far.

I wasn't back too late, I wanted to see Lacey before she went to sleep, and I knew today might be strenuous, so I wanted to get a fairly early night. L was already in bed, though it was early. Brian told me she hadn't been well all day. I popped in to see if she needed anything but she was fast asleep. I looked in on Lacey and she was fast asleep too, clutching that moth-eaten woolly dog of hers. Oh well. I went to my closet and watched Youtube, as you were at SparkleHome, until I too got sleepy.

Well, this morning started as usual with my good morning wash from Bytes. He must have come back after I'd gone to bed, because he wasn't there when I went to sleep. But there he was, sitting on my chest, energetically licking my face and demanding breakfast. I groaned and he giggled, in our usual morning pantomime. Then he made the sign that said he wanted to go into the iPad to talk to me. Stars, I thought, this usually means nothing good. I put the iPad on my bedside table and he shimmered out of existance, popping up again as a large picture, covering all the icons on my screen. Then he popped to a small picture, while his loopy writing began to scrawl across the blank space he had left.

"mum crying."

"Huh?" I was bewildered. "Mum? Whose Mum. Bytes's Mum?" I didn't even know Bytes had a Mum.

Bytes snorted and made a disgusted face, his picture popping up full size again with his tongue out at me. Then it popped small again and the writing began to scribble quickly.

"No silly bert's mum crying mum want purple fing."

I stared at this message in bewilderment. How could Bytes know that my Mum was crying, or that she wanted Bytes, the purple Fing was her name for him, she never would learn his proper name. More writing.

"Phone! phone! phone! hurry hurry mum crying want purple fing thinks."

I jumped out of bed, ran across the room and grabbed my phone from the desk. I didn't know how Bytes knew but I wasn't going to worry about that now. I brought up my Mum's number and pressed for a Facetime video chat. On the second ring her face came up, tear-streaked and blotchy.

"Oh Bert, thank the stars!" she said, "I didn't dare ring this early in case I woke the yumans. It's not even five yet. 'ow did you know?"

"Bytes." I said."

"The purple fing? But 'ow did 'ee know?

"No time to worry about that." I said. "Is it Dad? What do you need. Bytes said you needed thinks."

"'e's been in awful pain all night, neither of us 'asn't 'ad a wink o' sleep." said Mum through more tears. "If I 'ad some of that mint cordial that Vee used to make before she 'ad the twins, it might settle 'im and kill the pain long enough to 'elp 'im sleep while I get Gwen. I'm not listenin' no more, our Bert, someone's goin' to look at 'im, I don't care what 'e says."

"All right, Mum," I said, "We know what to do. Just wait now while I get Bytes primed."

I took Bytes on my lap. "Bytes," I said. "Dad's hurting really bad, like Bytes when he's eaten too many beans." Bytes made a sympathetic groan. "Worse than that. We're going to think a drink to make him all better for a while. You know the drill don't you?"

We had done this before, the chain think, I called it, since Bytes couldn't safely set foot in the colony anymore, I used this way to get things there when they were needed. Bytes knew it well, but I always checked. Well, I still do, Tobes, he's only a baby. Bytes made a disgusted face at me again. I stopped trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs, that's a human expression I won't bother to explain, and got down to business.

I thought of an old green glass bottle, dusty from years of use on the outside, but clean inside. I thought of its wooden stopper, tied down with a strip of rag. I thought very hard about the cordial inside, made from the leaves of peppermint picked by the water's edge in summer, pounded and boiled with spring water and precious honey until it was a thick, concentrated syrup. It might not do anything much for a human, but it would soothe a leprechaun's pain and make him sleep if a couple of small spoons were mixed into a mug of water. I imagined everything about that cordial, how it poured, how it smelt, how it tasted, its colour, its density. Bytes gave a little chirrup. He was ready.

"He's ready, Mum. Now don't forget to concentrate." I said. I lifted the phone, so that Bytes could see my Mum and look straight into her eyes.

I held my breath. We had actually never tried this before. Usually, when we did chain thinks, I was in the colony and Bytes was at home. I sent him thinks, he made them appear in the colony. this time he had to send it to Mum, not to me, and he wasn't used to working with her. I waited. Would it work? I heard a gasp and a clink. Bytes gurgled and buried his head in my shoulder.

"Got it!" Mum's voice was a breathless whisper. "That purple fing's a marvel."

"He is. Now give some to dad, and then for Star's sake, when he's asleep, get Gwen or Kori, and let me know what's happening as soon as you can, ok?"

"Will do, son, and bless you! Stars bless you and that purple fing!" She rang off and Bytes cranked at me for the iPad. It might be early, he said, but he wanted breakfast now please.

Well, the day went on as days do. Over breakfast I told Brian and L about the morning emergency. They said that when my work for the day was finished I could have leave to go home if I needed to, and I was glad to hear that. But Lacey finished her cartoons and got ready to begin lessons, Jordy breezed in, I saw the SparkleHome bus drawing up and I'd still heard nothing. and then I was far too busy to think about Dad for a while.

For one thing, there was a new arrival. We knew there was one in the offing, but you never know exactly what day. Well, here he was, a great, chunky boy of about three months. Actually he looked a nice natured little guy, a bit similar to Harry, but he was creating the kind of fuss all new day babies create. He didn't know where he was, nor who we were, he didn't like outside, nor inside either, he had a loud voice to complain and he managed to unsettle some of the others, particularly some of the smaller little girls, who like a quiet life.

L took charge of Jordan while Jordy and I got the others settled in their rooms, gave them their toys and made sure everything was ok. Actually she had him for quite a lot of the day, talking to him and holding him, he liked that and calmed down fairly fast. He went back to his room for changing and for nap, and he was settling better by the afternoon.

We had nowhere near got him squared away though, when a white SparkleHome car drew up and two nurses got out. Oh no, I thought, this better not be what I think it is, but it was. More new babies. Two more!

Actually we were really glad to see this pair. We've had a half a set of twins and a half a set of twins here for a few months now. These two were their other halves. We took Emmalene into the quiet room where the Twinkies, as L calls them, like to be, and put her next to Ewan her brother, and their little faces just lit up. Their arms just linked into each other and their eyes locked as if they'd never look away, it was really cute. The same happend when we put Elliott next to his sister Evie. Evie and Ewan have been some of our very quietest babies, they hardly make a sound. All day today, from the twinkies' room there's been non stop gurgling and chattering. It's like both sets of twins have just come alive.

Well, it was a mega busy day, what with Jordan's needs and the twins being so lively, and of course everyone else. I was so glad when it was five O'clock! I saw to Lacey's bath and bed, put you to bed as well, got dinner, cleared everything up. now I'm really tired, but really worried. I haven't heard another word from Mum. I don't know if I should ring. What if Dad's awake and he finds out what we did and gets in a rage? But I have to know. Maybe I'll send a text or something. Anyway, I'll do something now, I've left it quite late enough. Then I'm for bed, I'm exhausted. And don't you dare keep me awake half the night, big eyes! Nighty night.

Love

Zan. (Dad).