“I heard you wanted to meet Robert Edward Ludlow, so here I am – me and Papa are really twins, but you know, stuff happens at hospitals – anyway, while Papa is away, I'm holding down all the Robert Edward Ludlowness until Papa gets home, and I have a real tall soul so you can go on and talk with me, and I'm also the company bigmouth so nobody can talk about our soda more than I can, see, because, and then –!”
“Breathe, Mr. Robert Edward Ludlow III!”
The latter order was given by Col. H.F. Lee to his five-year-old cousin, Lil' Robert Ludlow.
“Oh yeah … that is my name, but you can also call me Lil' Robert or Rob until … next week … when I get big like Big Robert, my Papa … so then I'll just be Little Big Rob … or something … see, because, and then … .”
“Next week, though!” Col. Lee said.
“Next week, though!” Lil' Robert said before falling over into his big Lee cousin's arms. “It's nice to meet you, Mr. Stepforth!” he said before giving up to just breathe for a while.
Mr. Thomas Stepforth Sr. looked at his granddaughter, eleven-year-old Velma Trent.
“I couldn't have believed it until I saw it,” he said.
“I've been telling you, though, Pop-Pop,” she said. “Lil' Robert Ludlow is everything you want to know about his grandfather, just as a five-year-old, just like Vertran is everything anybody wants to know about you, just as a nine-year-old. Capt. Ludlow has a mini-me, too. He just talks a lot because like Gracie says, the brain in his head is way too big so it falls out of his mouth, but Vertran and Gracie are working on a plan.”
“Oh, this is going to work out well,” he said. “Y'all are already bringing the Ludlows into our circle – I love it!”
“Basically,” Velma said. “Some things are just meant to happen."
Lil' Robert finally sat up again and started paying attention, and met a huge smile from Mr. Stepforth.
“You're doing a great job representing the Robert Edward Ludlowness in your family, Mr. Robert Edward Ludlow III.”
“I try real hard because, see, it's no joke to have the same name as my twin,” Lil' Robert said. “When you meet Papa, you'll understand – he's a great man who loves children and makes good soda and doesn't put up with nonsense, and so because I'm his grandson and I like soda and I hate nonsense, I gotta make sure all the quality stays up. We have a whole Ludlow man-training unit, and we know our job!”
“I imagine you do, since you are the youngest and you know it so well,” Mr. Stepforth said. “It is going to be amazing when you get as tall as your soul next week.”
“It is, because then I'm going to be able to really work the Robert Edward Ludlowness, and in the meantime, Cousin Harry is backing me up until I get there. Uh … .”
He stopped a moment.
“How tall was Goliath, again?” he said to his cousin.
“Somewhere around nine feet, nine inches,” Col. Lee said.
“OK, so, I'm a good guy, so I'm going to get taller than that, of course.”
“So, the plan is that you're going to grow a foot every day until this time next week,” Mr. Stepforth said.
“Yep!”
“I see why your grandfather owns a business, Rob. He has got to make sure you get enough to eat!”
“Yep – and there are four of us in the Ludlow man-training unit, and three of us in the Ludlow woman-training unit, and although Amanda has such a tall soul I don't think she will care if she's not seven or eight feet tall, I know Eleanor and Edwina have to get on up there – so yeah, we eat a lot! Uh … what time is dinner, again, Cousin Harry?”
“Well, Robert Edward Ludlow has walked away with my heart,” Mr. Stepforth said after the little boy and his big Lee cousin excused themselves to go wash up for dinner.
“I've been telling you, Pop-Pop. Everybody loves Rob.”
