Chapter 3 - The Doctor

While the mystery cell phone charged, XL had supper with his family. Then he decided to watch a movie on his TV. He had just turned on the TV when he heard a phone ring, but it wasn't the mystery phone - it was his own home phone. Beeba was on the line.

"Hey XL" he said, "we still have an hour or two left today when we could play Monotony, if you would like."

XL had played Monotony too many times already, but he knew his friend had not. "O.K." he said, come on over.

Soon Beeba arrived, and they were just setting up the game board when the mystery phone rang. XL zipped over to his sister's room and picked it up. "Hello," said XL, "who is calling?"

"This is Dr. Melcher" said the voice, "do you have my phone?" XL recognized the voice, because Dr. Melcher lived just a couple of blocks away. The doctor's kids went to his same school, and the doctor sometimes came to the school to coach the hockey team. No doubt he had been at the pond in the afternoon!

"I sure do!" said XL.

"Say, is that XL?" asked the doctor.

"You bet!"

"I am sure happy that you found that phone!" said the doctor, "Sometimes I get important text messages from my office or from the hospital, so I would like to get it as soon as possible to check. Is it OK if I come to get it now?"

"Come on over," said XL.

Within 5 minutes, the doorbell rang, and there was Dr. Melcher. XL handed him the phone, and waited as the doctor entered his password and looked at his messages.

"My goodness!" exclaimed the doctor. "One of my patients called from her home two hours ago, and she is very sick. She really should be in a hospital, but she is in a wheel chair and it's difficult for her to get there."

"Shouldn't she call an ambulance?" Beeba commented, as he stood behind XL, listening.

"Perhaps," said the doctor, "but the last time she went to the hospital she had to wait two hours in the waiting room, before they sent her home because there were no spare beds. So now she won't go to the hospital until she is teetering on death's door! I need to give her a house call."

"I didn't know doctors still made house calls," said XL.

"Sometimes yes," said Dr. Melcher, "but unfortunately it will take at least an hour to reach her. She lives in the country. I should have been there already! I best get in my car immediately and get on my way." He put on his hat and gloves, and opened the door to leave.

"Your car," said XL, "isn't that a bit slow?"

"What do you mean" said the doctor, as he stepped out the door. "The only other choice is a helicopter ambulance, but there isn't room for it to land here to pick me up, nor space to land at the other end. And anyway, I can't scramble a helicopter ambulance on a guess that maybe she needs it."

"XL's blimp!" exclaimed Beeba, "it can get there fast!"

"That's right!" said XL. He grabbed a remote control from the shelf beside the doorway and pressed a button. Immediately a bright light shone down on the house from high above, illuminating the area around the doorway. A voice from the remote control spoke in a clear, precise voice, "Welcome XL. Saucer 1 ready".

XL spoke to the remote. "Elevator down," he said.

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