Ripar's Return to Earth (Part3)

The ride into town was short, but interesting to the aliens. They had never been in a vehicle with wheels before and the bumpy ride on the dirt road before getting to the paved one, was jarring. Since they lived underground, they just had hover vehicles to take them where they needed to go, they were quick, and smooth. They looked similar to human trucks or vans, and one vehicle could fit about 30 Torgofians.

Upon getting to town, they split up. John and Mike had business to take care of so Jody went with the aliens to show them around. They decided to meet at Stewart’s Café for lunch at Noon. Jody first took them to the local museum so they could see the history of their little town. They saw a picture of David Rogers who founded the town in 1904. He was a gold miner and found gold while him and his workers were panning in the local stream. They found a nice amount of gold and Rogers decided to mine the mountain area which he found a lot. In 1915 there was an earthquake which started a bad cave in in one of the mines killing 30 people, the mines stayed closed until they could get everyone out and have funerals for all of them. Rogers was actually a caring man, he made sure all of the people who worked for them were well fed and took breaks. After the travesty Rogers made sure safety was at the top of the list, making sure something like that would never happen again, and it never did. Rogers died in 1949 at the age of 64 from a heart attack. They saw pictures of the mines and the town being built and the young town when it was done. The people looked dirty and tired but happy. David Rogers didn’t have slaves, he hired people no matter their color and paid them well.

“David Rogers was a good man. I wish all of the human race were like him, and you guys. After reading your history books and seeing on the news how some humans treat one another who are different, it may take some time until we can let the human race know about us. I hope it will happen.” Ripar said

“I hope so too, I really do.” Jody replied

Next, they walked to the local market, on the way there they saw a woman walking a huge dog.

“When I was here last I didn’t see any dogs that big”

“That’s Sheryl and her Mastiff Princess.” Jody said smiling “Hey Sheryl, how are you today?” “Hi Princess, hows the good girl!”

“I’m doing great Jodi! Who are your friends?”

Princess jumped up on Jodi knocking her down and gave her a big slobbery kiss. “Down Princess, that’s not nice. Sorry Jodi.”

“That’s fine, I still love her.” She said while wiping the slobber off of her face and getting back up. This is Ripar, Roj and Vocar. They’re visiting from out of town for a little while.

“It’s nice to meet you three. Where are you from?”

“We’re from New York.” Ripar said quickly

“I went there a couple years ago; I loved the shows on Broadway.

“Yes, it’s very crowded there. This is a Mastiff, she’s big.”

“Yes, she’s my big baby and she seems to want to walk. I hope to see you all later.”

“Thank you, Sheryl, take care of yourself.” Jodi said as Princess dragged her away.

When they got to the market the aliens saw all the vegetables and fruits, it all looked so interesting to see such a variety of food. Then they came across the butcher which made them sad thinking of all the life that was lost. Jody took them to the coffee and tea isle and showed them caffeine free teas and coffee. She bought some for them to try.

Jody paid and they left, walking down the street she took them into the bakery. When the door opened, they smelled all the delicious baked goods. The three saw shelves and shelves of breads, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, pies and brownies. They asked Jody if these were as good as what she had at her house, and Jody told her she bought the cake from here.

“I bake sometimes, but its time consuming so I usually just buy from the bakery, plus it helps the local businesses” she said

“It all looks so good” Ripar whispered to Jody

“Since you loved chocolate, I’d say get a brownie, they’re my favorite.” Jody said with a smile on her face

Ripar took the ten-dollar bill he had gotten from the first time he was on Earth and asked “How many would this buy?”

“It would buy 5 regular brownies or 3 eggless brownies. I didn’t know at the time you were vegetarian, the cake had eggs. We can find you some recipes of vegetarian and vegan baked goods for you to bring home.”

Ripar replied “I’ll take 3 eggless brownies and yes we would love if you found us the recipes”.

Ripar handed Jody the money, but she refused it and said it was on her, bought the 3 brownies which were put in a brown paper box and handed to her. She gave them to Ripar who opened the box and gave each of his shipmates a brownie. They each gave them a bite and their eyes lit up at how chewie and delicious they were. Jodie saw how happy they were which gave her a big smile on her face. She ordered more eggless ones for them for later and some regular brownies for the rest of her family. She also ordered a couple of vegan breads and small cakes for them to try, they left each holding boxes.

It was almost time to meet the guys at the diner so they walked there, got a seat and waited.