This chapter dwells upon beverly's retirement and the handing over of control to her superintelligent twin grand-daughters.

Spacetran 21.

Girls,
Wendy, William’s twin.
Jessica and Charlotte, Ben’s (AKA Bennie’s,) twin sisters.
Dave and Eddie , Sherriff Jack Johnson’s boys.
Linda and Sandra, Sherriff Jack Johnson’s daughters.
Ray, Wendy’s husband, (Our son in Law.).
Khatia. Bennie’s secret Muslim wife.
Farina & Francine. Khatia and Bennie’s twin daughters.

With peace and stability now returned to Bennie’s little family, she was happy to allow her father Beverly to take a hand in raising her beloved daughters. For Khatia it was a whole new world to find herself mixing with the great and the powerful as illuminati from all over the universe regularly called upon her humble, farmstead, Pennine home. She quickly realised that the visits were little more than unofficial ambassadorial visits to meet the future inheritors of Beverly’s vast power. For Khatia, born in one of the poorest parts of Bradford, it was at once both humbling and uplifting to encounter so much interest and concern for her beloved daughters.

Fortunately her motherly rights and feelings about her daughters were thoroughly respected and supported by her father-in-law. Apart from the incredibly complex mathematics lessons with Grandfather Beverly as their tutor, the children’s time was otherwise taken up with ordinary school lessons in the village school and spending the remainder of their childhood with their parents and their school friends. Indeed except for Beverly’s indulgences on the maths front, the girl’s lives continued as they always had. Except sadly for the ring of alien, telepathic protection that remained discreetly in the background to ensure the girls suffered no unwelcome attacks or kidnappings. Khatia thought at first that this was an unfair burden to place upon the delightfully intelligent and entertaining aliens but she soon learned that they considered it an honour and a privilege to be guarding Beverly’s grandchildren with their lives. During these earthly years Khatia also came to know not only the women of her own extended family but also the women of her husband Bennie’s family.

At first she thought that Bennie’s siblings and her daughter’s cousins would resent the fact that her daughters were set to inherit the control of the firm with their grandfather Beverly’s passing. But to Khatia’s delight she found her children were loved and protected by Beverly’s family. She was delighted to be automatically invited to attend and indeed expected to attend any and all the family functions she could. She was also stunned, surprised and amazed to meet the Amphs who where her family by marriage to Bennie. For the amphs were Bennie’s half brothers and sisters. It brought her a bit of a visceral thrill to relate to her own Muslim family that she was actually related by marriage to a whole clan of aliens from a faraway planet.

Most importantly was that Ruby, Beverly’s wife and Khatia’s mother-in-law went out of her way to make Khatia welcome for she doted on her youngest and recently discovered grandchildren. The girls Farina and Francine had brought her husband Beverly much peace and release at last from the unrequited torment of not having suitable heirs to hand on the business to. Every time Beverly came home with her grandchildren, Ruby could see her husband glowing with pleasure and relief as she related the events of yet another intergalactic visit for the girls to learn of their vast enterprise and meet with employees from hundreds of faraway worlds. Beverly related joyfully to Ruby.

"They will have it much easier than I did Ruby darling for there are two of them to share the burden."

“Do they fight or squabble?” Ruby asked, fearful that they might fight for supremacy after taking over the enterprise.
Beverly wagged her head with a joyous smile.

“Not as far as I can see. Khatia appears to have done a remarkable job with her daughters. They appear neither jealous nor competitive towards each other. Every time I have allotted them a task they have divided the work harmoniously without rancour or dissent; - and they co-operate so well. When I think back to the squabbles between the triplets Bennie, Charlotte and Jessica I just can’t believe how well Farina and Francine get on. Sometimes it seems uncanny but they just don’t seem to argue.”

“Are they happy?” Wondered Ruby.

“Well they seem so, though they can’t wait to get home after one of our trips. However I think that’s an indicator that they are well balanced and rounded children. They rush to see their ponies while Khatia returns to her beloved farm to greet the servants and they are happy to see her. All in all it seems to me to be an idyllic childhood for them. Sadly, I’m the last person on earth to adjudge childhoods. You know my story well enough. D’you know the girls often take their school friends on the trips and sometimes the whole class. Talk about educational trips, the village school just doesn’t know what’s hit it. Sometimes the whole school gets to go on an intergalactic trip; the kids do better than the most expensive schools in England.”

Beverly rattled on enthusiastically about the benefits to the little village school and Ruby smiled, it was so wonderful to have her original Beverly back now that the question of inheritance had been resolved. Thus were the girls childhood years filled.

After a few years, as the girls approached their sixteenth birthdays, they were finally delighted to learn and, more importantly, understand the secrets of their grandfather’s intergalactic travel and navigation.

The time had come for the girls to spread their intergalactic wings and become known to other civilisations on other worlds as the inheritors of Beverly’s universally acclaimed legacy..

For Khatia the next few years were to be sad yet happy times as the girls embarked upon an odyssey around the universe to meet and greet the many different alien civilisations who had long ago befriended their beloved grandfather. Khatia accompanied them of course; - what mother wouldn’t? No intelligent person would pass up such an opportunity. For her own satisfaction she took to studying alien languages and this gave her fulfilment. On the family front though, she found herself increasingly being edged tactfully into the background as her girls fulfilled their destiny and slowly started to assume the mantle of responsibility that their grandfather was so happy to shed.

Even Khatia could see that despite her inner happiness, Beverly was growing old and stooped. She discussed her father-in-law several times with her mother-in-law. Ruby wagged her head and sighed as she explained to Khatia.

“She explained to me many years ago when I first met her. She tried to commit suicide you know.”

“Yes,” sighed Khatia tearfully as she recalled her father-in-law’s history. “She’s told me about it and the girls know. They always want to cuddle her and make her happy but they’ve only slowly begun to realise that just by being, Farina and Francine, they make their grand-dad utterly happy. Beverly’s at her happiest when she’s got the girls beside her.”

“Yes, she is Khatia and do you know? I’m not even jealous.” Ruby smiled. “Just to see the girl I married back with us again is reward enough. Our grand daughters have brought me endless joy thank you for being such a wonderful daughter to me.”

The two women hugged each other with tears of joy and that is how Beverly found them as she and the girls bounced in unexpectedly one Thursday afternoon a day early.

Farina and Francine immediately became solicitous of their mother’s tears and rushed to give both women a hug as Beverly also realised it was a girl thing and so joined the session.

After the group session was over and tears dried, Beverly was pleased to make an announcement.

“Both my grand-daughters are fully qualified to navigate anywhere in the universe. They brought us back in double quick time and that’s why we’re back so early. I’m perfectly happy with their skills. So now they are technically equipped to start taking over the reins of the family firm.

It only remains now for our son William to start introducing them to the boring admin part, the part I always hated but he always loved. I’ll leave them in his tender care while I start to take a back seat as it where. I’ve discussed all this with my beautiful girls while they were bringing us back. They attend their first board meeting on Monday when they can meet all the family and see how the operation works.

Ruby smiled joyfully as she watched her husband physically unbend and straighten her shoulders in some sort of symbolic shedding of the burden. Khatia had less joyful feelings but she was nevertheless happy for her daughters. At least their burden would be halved by being twins. She was slightly sad to see them finally ‘leaving the nest’ but also glad to see her beloved girls finally fulfil their immense potential.

Within a few years the girls had filled Beverly’s worn out shoes. They had developed the same co-operative and friendly relationship with their uncle and aunts as their grandfather had and they steadily acquired the knowledge and skills to guide Taff Spaceships through the next era of its evolution. It was a relieved Beverly who one day finally vacated her seat at the head of the boardroom table then dragged her old chair away and replaced it with two similar chairs to symbolise the shared control.

Beverly had finally managed to unload the burden and take up her well-earned retirement.

For several more years she savoured and indulged the position of ‘elder statesman’ or more correctly ‘elder stateswoman’ until finally her tired old body started to fail her. Then in one secret quiet voyage that she announced to nobody, she and her beloved ship Cold Albatross disappeared without a trace to leave the family distraught but well fitted to continue running the firm.

Beverly was no more.

The End.