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“Colonel, I thought it was my duty to report that there is about to be an emergency at this location.”
Col. Lee could already hear his own wife laughing in the background, and could see Mrs. Velma Stepforth was close …
“Your grandson Milton and my little cousin George,” he said.
“And George's little brothers Grayson and Milton trying to help,” she said.
“Get to safety, Mrs. Stepforth, immediately.”
“Yeah, I'm going to eat popcorn on the porch with my granddaughters Velma and Gracie.”
The first thing Col. Lee saw was nine-year-old George Ludlow waving his hands demonstratively, while nine-year-old Milton Trent was calmly explaining what was needed to six-year-old Grayson, who with five-year-old Lil' Robert was in hard hats, safety goggles and and tool belt because …
“Putting up a spaceport, even with Lego design, is no joke,” Grayson said to Milton when the explanation was done.
“We're gonna need a lot of red ones,” Lil' Robert said. “A lot of red ones.”
“Yeah, because they are red and can handle all that heat from spaceship exhaust,” Milton said.
“I didn't know that, but yeah, that too,” Lil' Robert said.
Col. Lee observed the Ludlow sisters eleven-year-old Eleanor, eight-year-old Edwina, and seven-year-old Amanda joining their friends Gracie and Velma Trent next door, while ten-year-old Andrew, elder brother to George, Grayson, and Robert came to try to help.
“Look, y'all, the new Lee House is right there,” he said, “but let's just say that it was just our houses. Aliens don't know our area all that well, and so they would not be able to steer safely in here.”
“Well, I mean, they gotta have shuttles that are not that much bigger than cars,” Milton said. “Can we do a shuttle bay in here instead so the big ships can stay in orbit, Grayson.”
“Yeah, but it's a different set of blueprints,” Grayson said.
“We may need some redprints, too,” Lil' Robert said.
“Right, because, still, that exhaust,” Milton said.
“Forget the exhaust – do you know how fast spaceships and shuttles come through the atmosphere?” Andrew said.
“Can't be faster than certain people around here running for dinner,” George said.
“Dinner? Where?” Lil' Robert said, and Andrew put his head in his hands for a moment.
“Y'all remember when we were out in California and the Blue Angels were flying over?” he said when he lifted his head.
“Yeah,” George, Grayson, and Lil' Robert said.
“Military jets are definitely loud,” Milton said. “I haven't seen the Blue Angels yet, but I've been to some airshows.”
“Imagine those things coming in to land, right here,” Andrew said.
“Oh, that would be awesome!” George said. “Let's build a runway!”
“That's another set of blueprints,” Grayson said. “I need you to make up your mind, George.”
“Oh, that's just great,” Andrew said. “This will make it easy to understand, because when those things come in here from coming faster than the speed of sound and get just 20 feet off to the left and take out our house and Papa comes out and kills us all for even putting it on the map –.”
“Oh,” George, Grayson, and Robert said.
“Yeah, I think I'm good – I'm going home now,” Milton said.
“Yeah, I'm going to find something safe to build if y'all wanna come,” Grayson said.
“Yeah, y'all go build yourselves an alibi real quick!” Andrew said.
“Isn't that for crimes and stuff?” George said.
“Yeah, and y'all were all gonna be the victims!” Andrew said. “Go find something safe to do like Grayson said!”
That left Andrew by himself on the yard, both hands over his face until the comforting strength of both his Cousin Harry's arms went around him.
“Big brother duty is rough sometimes,” the colonel said, “but you did well, Andrew.”
“I know that, assuming a space shuttle twice the size of a car, there's more than 20 feet of clearance – that was a bad estimate,” he said. “But it's always breaking these things down so people under a decade old can get it that's so hard! It doesn't matter how many red Legos you use – there's no space for any kind of air travel in here!”
“Let me break this down for you as someone under two decades old: the FAA and NASA weren't ever going to give your brothers a permit anyway, so you don't need to worry about it,” the colonel said, and compassionately picked his little cousin up, for the ten-year-old went limp with relief.
“Sometimes Melvin Trent and I talk about being a big brother,” Andrew said. “We gotta get our siblings through. We just gotta.”
“As a veteran, I completely understand – that's basically the whole job in the field,” the colonel said gently.
“I honestly don't know how you and Papa did it,” Andrew said. “I just have three brothers, and they just have Milton as their friend. I don't know what I would do in command of 10, 20, 100, 1000.”
“Well, they don't let you out of West Point until you are more than two decades old,” the colonel said, “so maybe you don't need to know that yet, Andrew. And, by then, everybody gets a little training, so they are not trying to put, say, a whole Navy aircraft carrier in the middle of a cul-de-sac for the Blue Angels to land on.”
“Sometimes I feel like I may need to go into the military for my own protection,” Andrew said, “because this is a lot with nobody out here knowing what they need to be doing!”
“Quiet as it is kept,” Col. Lee said, “a lot of young men feel that way, and even veterans like me as we get older find it hard to return to civilian life for the same reason. But, take your time. You're just into your second decade. When it gets heavy, and your grandfather is busy, come talk with me. The burden of command – big brothering in military terms – is rough, but, we got this. We can learn how to stay peaceful and find balance. If I'm figuring it out at 46, you definitely can start right at ten.”
The little boy burst into tears.
“Thank you!”
“Any time, cousin. Any time.”