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Jeff was sat in his office, going over the plans for the redevelopment of his new island home with his incredible engineer friend, known as Brains. They’d achieved so much already. The lava tubes beneath the extinct volcano that made up the mountain peak of their island had been excavated into hangars and tunnels. A strip of land in front of the cliff face had been cleared, creating a runway and they were currently in the process of mechanising the hidden features like the sliding swimming pool and the fold back trees that also hid the firefighting equipment for the new runway.
“So, all the hangars are complete now, correct?” Jeff asked.
“They-they are,” Brains said. “The bots have completed their, uh, work now. And Three is now almost complete, too.”
“Wonderful!” Jeff replied, happily. “Once that’s complete, Lee and I can get up there to set about the construction of Five. Is everything ready to go for this mission?”
Brains smiled shyly at him. He found it amusing how Jeff saw all this as just another mission to space, no different to working on the moon or taking the first steps on the surface of Mars. “The necessary pieces have all been f-fabricated and are currently being stored on Mateo Island.”
Jeff’s grin was bright. “Excellent. Mother will be coming out and looking after the boys while I’m gone. I know Scott could easily take care of them but I’d rather not leave them on the island unaccompanied. But anyway. How long do you think construction will take?”
“If you, uh, employ the use of the bots as well, it should be re-remarkably quick.”
“Brilliant,” Jeff said, his tone making it quite clear how excited he was at the prospect. He glanced up from the plans when he heard the creak of the office door. He glanced at Brains then back at the door, smiling as he got up and approached.
“Alan, what are you doing up here?” Jeff asked, crouching in front of him.
“I was wondering what you’re doing,” the seven-year-old replied, shuffling his foot.
“I’m just doing a bit of work with Brains,” he said. “Why? Everything alright?”
Alan shrugged.
Jeff took his hand and led him back into his office, lifting him onto his lap. “Come on, none of this shrugging, what’s up?”
“I was just wondering what you were doing, that’s all.”
“Have I been in here too long?” Jeff asked.
Alan nodded. “Yeah.”
A smile crossed his face. “I’m sorry, Alan,” he said. “How about we go down to the beach for a while. Maybe have a picnic?”
Alan’s young face lit up. “A picnic? Yeah! Definitely!”
Jeff chuckled. “How about you go ask the others if they want to come while I pack this up?”
“Alright,” Alan said, sliding off his lap and heading for the door.
Jeff smiled fondly as he watched him leave then turned back to Brains. “Want to join us?”
“N-no thank you, I’ll, uh, carry on working on the plans for the Pod Factory.”
Jeff nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t work too long without something to eat though, Brains,” he said. The young engineer was barely older than Scott and yet his level of intelligence and his work ethic staggered Jeff, but he frequently had to remind him to take breaks.
“I-I won’t, Mr Tracy,” he said, already poring over the schematics again.
“Jeff, Brains. It’s Jeff!” the older man said, laughing.
Brains glanced up at him. “Oh, oh yeah.”
Alan walked along the corridor from the office, past his bedroom door and heading towards the next. He knocked on the door before peering inside. “Scott?” He saw his eighteen-year-old brother lying on his front on his bed, his hands linked over the back of his head and his elbows resting on the mattress as he studied a book in front of him. “Scott?” he said again, a little louder this time, edging into the room.
Scott heard him this time and looked up. “Oh hey, Al, you alright?”
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing in particular, just something Dad gave me to look at.”
“You were pulling that face.”
Scott frowned slightly. “What face?”
“That face you pull when your homework is hard.”
The frown melted into a smile as Scott laughed. “Nah, it’s not homework. Summer vacation, remember?”
Alan nodded as he went over and climbed up onto Scott’s bed. The older boy sat up, picking up the book and closing it. “So, what’s up, Kiddo?”
“Are you really busy with that book?” he asked, looking up at him.
“It’s nothing that can’t wait until later. Why?”
“Dad said we could go to the beach for a picnic, you wanna come?”
Scott grinned. “I’d love to, I’m starving!”
“Awesome!” Alan said, sitting up. “Dad’s setting up the picnic I think. He told me to find you guys.”
“Alright. Want me to come with you now?”
“Don’t mind,” Alan replied.
“How about we team up to round up the others?”
He was answered with a grin. “Alright!”
Scott stood up, placing the book on his bedside table and offered a hand to help Alan up. “Okay, come on then.”
The two of them headed out of the room and to the next bedroom along the corridor. “Think Gordon’s even in here?” Alan asked, looking up at Scott.
“Well, if he’s not here, I’ll wager he’s in the pool.”
Alan nodded and opened the door to look inside. “Nope. Pool it is.”
Scott leaned round, looking over his head. “Pool it is,” he repeated and they both backed out.
“Virgil’s room?” Scott asked, heading to the next door.
“I don’t think he’s in there,” Alan answered. “I’m pretty sure he’s downstairs painting.”
“Shoulda known,” Scott said, withdrawing his hand as he’d been about to knock. “Just leaves John then.”
Alan grinned and went over to the door, reaching up to knock on it.
“Yeah?” came the reply from within.
“John? It’s Scott and Alan,” the youngster called back.
A few moments later the door opened revealing John peering round at them. “Is it dinner time already?”
“Kinda,” Alan said. “Dad’s making a picnic. We’re gonna go down to the beach.”
“The beach?” he repeated, opening the door further.
Scott grinned. “Yeah, John, you know the sandy thing next to the big oceany bit?”
John rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m aware of what the beach is, I was just surprised, that’s all.”
Alan tilted his head. “Why would you be surprised? It’s the perfect place for a picnic.”
“Well, yes, I know, just… never mind.”
“You fell asleep, didn’t you?” Scott asked, leaning against the frame as he crossed his arms. “How late were you up stargazing last night?”
“Um, not that late,” John replied.
“So you were stargazing then,” Scott clarified, grinning.
“I couldn’t help myself, the sky is so clear out here.”
Alan looked up at him. “Can I come next time?” he asked.
John glanced down. “You wanna stargaze?”
“Sure! Stars are amazing!”
John smiled at him. “Well, we can go out whenever,” he said.
“Tonight?” Alan asked, hopefully.
“Sure.”
“How about you guys arrange that later, Dad’s preparing us a picnic, remember?” Scott said, standing up from his lean.
“Oh yeah,” Alan said.
Scott chuckled. “Come on, you two. Let’s go find Virge and Gordo.”
They made their way downstairs and into the living room. Virgil was in the sunken seating area in the centre of the room and had an old wipe-clean mat over the table in the middle. He hadn’t noticed his siblings approaching him, so engrossed was he in his work.
“Virgil?” Alan called, going down the few steps into the circle.
The middle brother looked round at them. “Oh, hi guys,” he said, smiling at them, then turned back to his project.
“What you making?” Alan asked curiously.
Virgil shrugged. “Just painting,” he said, putting some green onto the canvas. “Seeing what happens.”
“Cool,” Alan said. “It’s all splotchy.”
Virgil smiled at him. “Thanks.”
Scott sat down on the sofa opposite him and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Hey, Virge?”
“Hmm?” he answered, looking up at him.
“How come when you do painting you always end up with some on your face?” Scott asked, pointing in a circular motion at his own face then at his brother.
Virgil tilted his head then raised a hand, rubbing the back of his wrist against his forehead where Scott had indicated. His hand came back green when he lowered it to look. “Oops,” he said. “Is there much?”
“Not loads. You must have been pushing your hair out of your face or something,” Scott replied, getting up and going over. “Cos you got some there too.”
“I need a wipe or something,” Virgil muttered, looking around. He usually kept a packet nearby while he painted, just in case. He was about to reach for it when a hand offered him one. He looked up and saw John had already removed one for him.
“Want some help?” he asked.
Virgil took the wipe and began to clean his face. “Will you get what I miss?” he asked.
John nodded. “Of course,” he responded, taking another one when he noticed that Virgil was just smearing the paint further.
Scott smiled at the two of them as he watched John sit in front of Virgil and help him clean his face properly, then he looked over at Alan. “Alright, Kiddo. You’ve found most of us. Just Gordon now.”
Alan nodded, grinning. “We’ll need to go outside then.”
Virgil tilted his head round while John still gripped his chin and cleaned his forehead. “What you up to, Al?” he asked.
“Hold still, Virgil, you got it everywhere. You don’t wanna get it in your eyes,” John said, gently pulling him back round to face him.
“Dad’s doing us a picnic, Virge,” Alan replied excitedly. “We’re gonna go down the beach. Coming?”
“Sure!” Virgil said. “I’ll pack up first.”
“We gotta find Gordon yet so you got time.”
“Alright,” Virgil answered. “See you down there.”
Scott and Alan left John and Virgil tidying up the painting mess and headed outside to the patio where they could hear the sound of splashing from the pool. The oldest and youngest brothers both made their way over and sat down on the poolside, dangling their feet into the water as Gordon swam over. Out of habit he’d made a point to swim only widths at the shallower end of the pool in accordance with their father’s instructions.
“Joining me?” Gordon asked, looking up at Scott hopefully.
Scott knew exactly what he was thinking. The younger boys weren’t allowed in the deep end unsupervised by either their father or Scott or John. “I’ll be happy to later on,” he replied. “You can impress me with your lengths after lunch.”
“It’s lunchtime?” Gordon asked, hoisting himself out of the water.
“Dad’s making us a picnic,” Alan said. “We’re going to go to the beach. All of us. John and Virgil are just tidying the paint stuff then we’ll all be out there.”
“Awesome,” Gordon replied. “Maybe Dad’ll let me swim in the sea for a bit.”
Scott chuckled. “Food, Squid. You need some food!”
“But if I eat then I won’t be able to swim for a while.”
“That’s no reason not to eat, Gordon,” Scott reminded him. “If you don’t eat you can’t keep up your energy levels which means no swimming.”
“I guess,” Gordon said, then shrugged. “Alright. I’m coming.”
Jeff sat on the beach. He’d laid out a blanket for them to sit out and had the large hamper beside him full of his boys’ favourites.
He’d only been down there for about ten minutes when they started to make their way down. “There you are,” he called out. “I was beginning to think I was going to have to eat this all by myself.”
“No!” Alan yelled, happily. He ran over and sat down with him. “I’m hungry! I want some!”
Jeff grinned and opened the basket, allowing Alan to look inside as Scott caught up and sat down with him. “Hey, Scott. What did you think of the plans?”
“They look pretty interesting,” he said, recalling the book he’d put away earlier. A book his father and engineer friend had put together for him containing the plans they’d been working on.
Jeff grinned. “It’s all in motion, Scott,” he said. “We’re reaching the final stage now.”
“I had noticed a few changes around here,” Scott agreed, nodding in the direction of the cliff face nearby. “You’ve cleared a runway over there.”
“There was already a runway there, essentially,” Jeff corrected. “But now it’s longer and there are a few tricks hidden.”
Scott smiled. “Yes, I can tell. I have studied all of it.”
Jeff grinned again. “There’s a lot of surplus wood to be moved from down there though. I’m not sure if it can be used.”
Scott looked again and noticed the piles of wood that had been left there. “Hmm,” he muttered thoughtfully as the others arrived.
Alan lay on the blanket, staring up at the clouds drifting by above him. He smiled as his father’s face appeared in his field of vision. “Dad, I was watching the clouds.”
“Did you not want to go play ball with your brothers?” Jeff asked, sitting back and looking down at him.
Alan shook his head. “We played ball yesterday.”
“You don’t wanna play again?”
“Nah,” Alan said, watching the clouds.
Jeff frowned slightly. “You ok?”
“I guess I’m just bored.”
“You’ve really got nothing to do?”
Alan shrugged.
“You’re shrugging again, Alan,” Jeff said.
“Sorry,” he muttered, sitting up and cuddling against his side.
Jeff slipped an arm round him and sighed softly. “So, even amongst all your toys and games and playing with your brothers, there’s nothing you want to do.”
He shook his head.
Behind them, Scott had approached, the ball having gotten away from them after a particularly inaccurate kick from Gordon, and rolled over towards their father and youngest brother. He kicked the ball back and went over, crouching in front of them.
“Al?” Scott said gently, waiting until the young boy looked up. “Dad said there’s a load of wood that’s left over from clearing the runway.”
Alan raised an eyebrow. “Okay?” he said slowly, unsure why Scott was telling him this.
Scott glanced at Jeff. “Well, unless Dad has any other purpose for it, which I don’t think he does, I was thinking that perhaps we could go check it out.”
“What for?” Alan asked.
“Well, at Scouts I learned a load of things to do with leftover stuff. Even big old bits of wood. Especially if I have rope to go with the wood.”
Jeff smiled. “I’m sure I can rustle up some rope for you,” he said. “Did you have something in particular in mind?”
“Depends what’s over there,” Scott said.
“What do you mean?” Alan asked, sitting up and looking at his oldest brother with curiosity.
“I can build stuff without needing any of Dad’s tools if I’ve got the right stuff,” Scott said with a grin.
A smile began to form on Alan’s face. “Really? Like what?”
“How about you come with me and we’ll see what’s there?” he replied, holding out a hand. “Then we can decide what to build.”
Alan took it, accepting Scott’s help to stand up. “Alright. Are the others coming too?”
“If they want, is that okay?”
“Sure!” Alan said, his enthusiasm returning.
Jeff smiled fondly, watching them join their brothers, before heading off towards the other end of the beach where the wood had been stored.
“Mr, uh… I mean, uh, Jeff?” Brains said, approaching.
Jeff looked round, standing up. “You called me by my first name!” he said, chuckling. “Finally decided to come for some lunch? I think the boys may have left something.”
Brains smiled at him and nodded.
Jeff clapped his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Sit yourself down and we’ll see what’s left, shall we?”
Alan ran on ahead of Scott, heading for the wood pile that had been made at the top of the beach. It was made up mostly of felled palm tree trunks, stripped of their fronds and stacked in piles, but some of the piles were made up of smaller branches of other trees.
John walked alongside Scott while Virgil and Gordon ran to keep up with Alan. “You have something particular in mind?”
Scott looked over at him. “Actually, if there’s suitable supplies in the wood pile, yeah. I do.”
“Oh?”
They caught up with their younger siblings, Scott walking around the pile to examine what was available, while John leaned forward and pulled Gordon off the top of a rather unstable stack.
“Is there anything we can use here?” Alan asked, looking at Scott hopefully.
The older Tracy looked between all the younger ones. Gordon and Virgil had taken just as much interest in whatever Scott had planned. “There’s definitely stuff we can use here,” he said, grasping his chin thoughtfully. “Let’s see. Six of those longer pieces, that one for the top.” He kicked at the stack of smaller branches. “Those two smaller ones are nice and thick.” He sat down, tilting his head as he looked at the wood. “Now then, rope. One there, one there, two more to join the top piece, then two more. Oh, no. Four more. How many’s that?” He looked at his hands, having been raising a finger for each tally. “Eight. Eight pieces of rope.”
“Scott?” Virgil asked. “Why d’you need eight pieces of rope and eleven pieces of wood?”
"Nine, Virgil," John corrected, kindly.
Virgil looked over at him, the counted on his fingers. "Oh yeah."
Scott looked over at him. “Hmm? Oh.” He looked around and picked up a stick. “C’mere,” he said, waving his brothers over. He started to draw in the sand with the point of the stick. “So, we’ll make a tripod out of three long pieces and use a piece of rope to lash them together. Then we’ll make another one. Then we’ll use a long piece on the top like this and lash it to each tripod.”
“That looks like a stand or a frame or something,” Virgil said, pointing at the diagram.
Scott grinned at him. “Oh it’s a frame alright, because I use the last two pieces of wood and the last pieces of rope like this.” He drew four lines down from the top horizontal lines then joined the two left ones and the two right ones.
The younger boys all looked at the diagram and at each other.
John chuckled softly. “Virgil, I think you might need to give Scott a few drawing tips.”
“I’ll say, what’s that supposed to be?” Gordon asked.
“It’s a swing, isn’t it?” John suggested.
Scott nodded, dropping the stick on the floor. “I’ll leave the drawing to Virge. Basically the idea is that the tripods give the frame some stability, then you attach the smaller branches to the top bar to create two swing seats.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” Alan asked.
“I’m beginning to wish I had,” Scott answered, rubbing the back of his head.
“You’re gonna build us a swing?” Gordon asked, grinning excitedly.
“Well, we’re gonna need to get the rope from Dad,” Scott said. “But then we’re all gonna build the swing.”
“You want us to help?” Alan said, surprised.
“Of course. We’re gonna work together. It’s gonna be great fun! And what’s that thing Dad always says to us? ‘Leave a life you’ll remember’, right? We’ll always remember working together to build the best swing ever!”
Alan grinned happily. “Yeah!”
Jeff had located rope from the storage lockers in the aircraft hangar where he stored his jet. He now sat a short distance down the beach, watching them. Alan and Gordon had taken great delight in telling him how awful Scott’s description of the swing had been, but from what he could see, he was far more effective at instructing them on how to perform a clove hitch and lashings to secure the wooden poles together.
He watched them assemble pieces and slowly but surely, a swing complete with two seats formed. The only time Scott refused to let them take part was when he and John stood the heavy frame up and dug the feet into the soft sand to give it a little more stability.
Scott was just double checking all the knots and lashings to make certain they were all as secure as they could possibly be when Jeff went over. “You boys make a good team,” he said proudly.
Alan smiled happily. “How awesome is this, Dad!” he said. “Scott knew how to build an actual swing!”
“And now you all know how to build one.”
“Uh huh!” Alan replied then looked round feeling hands on his arm. Gordon had grabbed him and was pulling him.
“Come on, Al! We need to have a race! There’s two seats!”
Alan went after him and they both chose a swing seat.
“Okay, be careful, boys,” Scott said, standing behind Alan. “This isn’t a normal swing. It’s not a flat wide seat, it’s just a branch.”
“Yeah, we know,” Gordon said, looking up at Virgil who had stepped up behind him. “You gotta push me the highest, alright?”
Virgil smiled at him. “Well, Scott is bigger than me.”
“Yeah, but you’re real strong, Virge!” Gordon said. “Come on! I gotta go highest!”
John sat on the floor nearby, watching them and Jeff lowered himself to sit with them. “This is gonna end badly, isn’t it?” John asked, looking round at his father.
“Not necessarily,” Jeff said, smiling at him.
They watched as Alan and Gordon both settled themselves comfortably on their swings while Scott and Virgil took hold of the ends of the branches to pull them backwards and start the swing.
Both younger boys giggled madly as they swung forward. The frame leaned a little with the motion but on the whole it remained sturdy.
“Higher! Higher, Virge!” Gordon yelled, using the leaning forward and backward technique John had taught him.
Virgil smiled and pushed him a little harder and Gordon leaned back as the swing flew upwards, but his hands slipped and he gasped as he fell off.
Instantly, Scott grabbed Alan’s swing to stop him from moving so he could check on Gordon but when he turned his attention to him, Gordon was lying splayed out on the floor, giggling more than ever.
“Good thing the sand is so soft!” John said. “Gordon? Are you alright?” he called out.
Gordon sat up, still laughing and nodded. “Uh huh! Virge and Scott’s turn to be pushed!”