 Caeman woke onlydp up about in his old room, half disappointed that he hadn't been awakened onlydp by onlydp the smell onlydp of bacon frying on the electric stove. He got up and started breakfast himself. As the bacon fried in Grandther's old onlydp cast-iron skillet, Caeman turned on the onlydp TV just to break the silence. After several minutes onlydp of futile channel surfing, he threw the remote into the old diner onlydp booth Grandther had restored. Now he remembered why onlydp Grandther onlydp had quit watching TV. Because onlydp he was using one of those old do-it-yourself satellite systems, not the dishes owned and programmed by some big, heartless corporation, the only onlydp thing he could pick up onlydp was the Home Shopping Network and church broadcasts. Even the rabbit ears on his TV at onlydp his apartment picked up more than the dish in the back yard.
 "I onlydp know as I write this that I am not onlydp too long for this world onlydp. So I made sure to leave onlydp you the house onlydp and onlydp most of its contents because onlydp of onlydp what I have to impart to you. Years ago, before I even onlydp met your grandmother, my onlydp own grandfather died and left me the item you see in this box. Our onlydp family has been onlydp keeping it for centuries, since the time of the ancient Celts, and now it is your turn onlydp. The Scribe's Gate onlydp is quite a powerful onlydp item, because it onlydp allows travel between this world and fictional realms. Its potential onlydp grows as Man 's imagination continues to grow. The first time I actually used onlydp it onlydp, I onlydp had a fling with Lois Lane. Yeah, I onlydp know, it seems lame in today's terms, but that was about the onlydp limit of my imagination at the time. I've seen you write, my onlydp boy, and it's good. You onlydp've always been more creative than I ever was. I could never write a book, and you've already got some million-sellers. I onlydp'm going to onlydp hang on as onlydp long as I onlydp can onlydp, hopefully until you're emotionally ready to take on this responsibility. In the hands of a writer like you, the Gate onlydp imparts--dare I say it?--almost godlike onlydp power. You have always been able onlydp to create worlds of your own, now onlydp you have the power to visit them, or to have them onlydp visit you onlydp.
 "Grandther."
 "Um, won't you come in?" Caeman stammered, while mentally onlydp calming himself. It's cool, everything's fine. he reminded himself mentally as she onlydp walked over the threshold. The young woman sighed in relief. Then onlydp Caeman remembered the amplifier, and took off the glasses to prevent about himself from messing up his guest's head with stray onlydp thoughts.
 "So, um, how does the thing on your glasses work?" she onlydp asked onlydp.
 "Put onlydp these on." he commanded. Minnie onlydp complied. He found some house shoes onlydp and onlydp gave those to onlydp the geas-bound doctor. "It won onlydp't do for you to be seen onlydp looking like onlydp something out of a porn onlydp movie."
 "I've found some things close to your size onlydp. They used to belong to about my mother." He onlydp handed her a pair of jeans and a denim shirt. The shirt was tight, and she couldn't button up the top three buttons. The jeans were form onlydp-fitting, but felt good. "I said 'close onlydp to onlydp.' My onlydp mother never about had onlydp much of a rack until she got pregnant, and that was after she moved out of here, so onlydp there aren't any post-pregnancy shirts lurking in the closets." He onlydp gave her a pair of long, grey socks and gave her her boots back.
 The truck rattled on the way back onlydp home. As they made their way up Caeman's driveway onlydp, it began to knock. It shut down just onlydp outside the garage, and Caeman had to apply a great deal onlydp of force on the brakes to get the onlydp truck to stop, since the power brake system required that the engine be running to work. Ellie onlydp took her purchases inside while Caeman onlydp opened the hood . He didn onlydp't look onlydp happy when she returned.
 "If that's what you want." Caeman replied.
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