Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 7)

Sunrise over the ocean, it was always such a beautiful sight.

"Jericho, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamt that you and I had gone through this time portal and into the future. Do you think that Goby had anything to do with it?"

I could imagine our son doing something like that, just to test his newfound ability to influence dreams. It had been the most realistic dream. If it had been Goby, he was already an artist at creating dreams.

"Sammy, you might want to check your pockets first," was the mysterious response from Jericho.

I started to checked my pockets and realised that I had on the same black outfit that I'd acquired during the dream. Wait, what?

An interlude - Into the Future with Sam and Jericho

I am not going to try and fit this into the current Sammy story. But here's their first foray into the future.

So the time portal and traveller appear.

He gives an almanac to Jer.

And glitch stops play.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 6)

During my working day, it was all pretty much the same routine. Answer a few calls, reassure old Mrs Wilkins that no one was spying on her (twice), write a few tickets and generally do all the mundane stuff that police are expected to do.

But it's becoming increasingly clear that I must write reports on citizens, if I want another promotion. There's no time to do that during my work hours, I'm going to have to write those reports during my off hours.

To get some information so I could even start a report, I first tried asking questions of the various people I met during the day. All of the answers I got were either vague or evasive. I was never going to write a report based on them.

So I was reduced to digging through someone's trash, just to find something I could write a freaking report on. I don't normally mind dirt but rummaging through trash is taking dirt to a whole new level. One that I'm not comfortable with.

Maybe giving up police work to do more with the resort is a plan. At least I won't have this to deal with.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 5)

It was the nightmare. I'd had the damned thing multiple times, a couple of times a year since the original event happened.

In the nightmare, I was going to be too late.

In the nightmare, I wasn't going to save Jer.

It was based on the worst moment of my life - when Jericho was being attacked. That scene, with Jer flat and motionless on the floor, still haunts me.

Usually, if Jer is in bed, some part of me realises that it's a nightmare. Or Jer, sensing my distress, holds me tightly which helps. The scene plays out as it really happened. Jericho is seriously hurt but alive.

Real Jericho wasn't in bed so in the dream I dive past Chuck and wrap my arms around Jericho.

I do know it's a nightmare. In the nightmare, I also know that he's dying, I hadn't been fast enough to save him.

"No!" I howl to the world as I hold Jericho close. He's about to breathe his last. He's going to die.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 4)

Since Jericho had gone off with Monica and the toddlers were having a nap, it was a good time for me to spend time with Goby. I sat down next to him, already working away at his homework.

"Thanks for helping, Pop."

"Not a problem, Goby. What sort of assignment is it tonight?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Just a bit of maths, Pop. I could just grab a calculator."

"No, Goby, don't." I told him. "Sure, when you are older, you'll use a calculator or computer for all of it. But you should know how to do basic maths without help."

He gave me a look of disgust. "But Pop! Why should I bother now?"

"Let's say you are in a shop. You can pick the bag with 100 mints for 1.50. Or a bag of 300 mints for $5.00. Now which do you buy?"

Goby didn't stop to think. "The bigger bag?"

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 3)

"Monica, can you talk to me now and tell me what's wrong?" I asked her as gently as I could. Monica had finally stopped hiccuping and I was hoping to get to the bottom of her troubles. "Who doesn't like you? Is your brother bothering you?"

Monica sniffed. "Pop, it's Dad. Ever since we've moved, it's like I don't even exist. After school, he and Goby swim off going deep in the water and he doesn't even notice me." She stopped to wipe another tear away.

My heart ached for Monica. "Sweetheart, you and I are going to have to make some allowances sometimes because your dad and siblings were born to live in water. Your dad spent a long time living too far away from the ocean. He missed it and right now, he wants to show Goby everything. He never neglected you back on the Plains, did he?"

Monica shook her head. "No, he spent lots of time with both of us."

"I'll talk to him, sweetheart. I'm sure that he loves you just as much as Goby." Goddess, I hope that's true or we are going to have words; serious and angry words.

"Will you Pop?" she sniffed a few more times. "I've been afraid to ask. What if he really says that I'm just not as important as Goby? I'll never swim nearly as well as he can. I'm not a strider, I'm just...me." The tears started flowing again.

I hugged her again. "Monica, you are always you. That's really all any of us can say. But if it makes you feel better, we can find something you can do really well. Drawing, music, science, dancing, there's a lot of things out that you can try." I crouched down so I could look her in the eyes. "Everyone in this family is very important. Don't forget that."

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (The Return of Clone 63 - Part 2)

"Pop? Could you help me with my homework?"

"Depends, honey. Whatcha got? I'm not much use on local history. I don't know any more than you do about that." I could never get either Monica or Goby to admit to being the one who started calling me "Pop the Cop." I'm pretty sure it was Monica who decided to get sillier and sometimes call me "Poppa the Coppa" though she won't admit to that either. Jericho gets to be just Dad.

"Logic problems, Pop. You know the kind. Randy, Sandy and Andy live on the same street. They live in a red house, a blue house and a green house. One owns a cat, one owns a dog and one owns a rat. Who lives in which house with which pet?" Logic has never been a strong point with me but this should be good practice.

"All right, Monica. Let's tackle it. What else do we know?"