They lay quietly for a minute, Jeff gently stroking her hair. “Do you still think this is a good idea?”
“I never thought this was a good idea.”
“You didn’t?”
“Well… yes and no. Depends upon one’s point of view. I mean… god, it’s really nice to be here with you, but what are we going to do if both Gabe and I get pregnant?”
“I don’t know. Like Gabe said, we’ll figure it out.”
“And what would we do when we got back to Earth?”
“Good question. I dunno, we may just have to stay here.”
“Huh?”
“Well, they have laws against bigamy on Earth. But here at least we can kind of make up the rules as we go. One thing’s for sure…”
“What?”
“We’d need a bigger bed.”
Abby giggled. “Kinky. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Jeff shook his head. “No, not really. I’m a monogamous kind of guy.”
“Really? Could have fooled me.”
“Well, this is kind of an unusual situation.”
“You think? Maybe we could just work out a schedule. We could give you one night a week off. You know, to rest up.”
“At my age, I might need more than one.”
“You seem to be doing pretty well.”
“I’m sleeping well, that’s for sure.”
She laughed softly. “I’ll bet. Sue explained paternal immune modulating factors to me.”
Jeff chuckled. “She did?”
“Uh huh. I told her we started working on that a couple years ago.”
He choked. “You didn’t.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“What did she say?”
“She said it probably doesn’t count.”
“Ah. Well, I guess we’ll just have to do the best we can in the time allotted.”
Abby giggled. “Okay.”
He delicately kissed her forehead, cheek, and lips, then pulled her close and held her tight.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Uh huh.”
“What will you do if I get pregnant and Gabe doesn’t?”
Jeff rubbed his cheek against her head for a while, thinking, then sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Could you be happy with me?”
“Yes.”
“Would you be happy with me?”
He didn’t answer right away.
“You don’t want to hurt Gabe, do you?”
He shook his head. “No.”
She nodded. “Well, Wrentham House is pretty big, and we’re sort of used to living together. Maybe the four of us could raise a Martian and perhaps every once in a while Gabe would loan you out to Sue and I.”
Jeff chuckled. “Yeah, she might at that.”
“We make a good team.”
“Yes we do. But when we get back, the reason for being a team will be done.”
“Maybe, maybe not. If we come home with a Martian, I think you’ll have to admit that it was a group effort.”
“You’re right about that.”
“So raising a Martian may also be a group effort.”
“That’s a distinct possibility.”
“Yeah.”
“But, wouldn’t you rather have a man you could call your own. And one that was a little closer to your age?”
“Have you asked Gabe that question?”
Jeff bit his lip and shook his head. “No.”
“Well then? You’re a lot closer in age to me than you are to her.”
“Abby, I’m not sure we’re gonna find the answers to this dilemma in deductive reasoning.”
“No, probably not.”
“I think Gabe, surprisingly, may have the right approach, and she said it once before… the day before we launched. Do you remember?”
“No.”
“Carpe diem.”
She nodded. “Then, will you make love with me tonight?”
“Isn’t that why we’re here?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well then, give me a PROCEED on the DSKY and let’s get on with it.” And he pulled her atop him and pressed his lips hard against hers.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
MSD 50789.699 (Sol 39)
“This was a great idea you had,” said Abby.
“Yeah, it does seem to work, doesn’t it?” Jeff replied.
Abby was running a winch on the back of Amos, pulling what amounted to a giant soft windshield wiper across one of the solar cell carpets. The soft rubber blade wiped dust off the cells and dumped it into a plastic tray that sat on a chamois wiper. With a single pass, the solar cells were wiped clean of dust and returned to full efficiency.
“You about done?” Jeff asked.
“Eh, 50 meters to go… I think. God it’s dark.”
“Yeah, Tau’s up to 3.3. Looks like we may be living in twilight for a while.”
“Yeah, or pitch black.”
“Gee thanks. I remember that movie. Kind of wish I didn’t.”
“Eh, I haven’t seen any signs of man-eating pterodactyls lately.”
“Good, let’s keep it that way. Alright, wrap it up and come get me. It’s getting darker by the minute out here.”
“Be there in a few minutes.”
Jeff was checking the dust cover tie-downs around the MAV. The ascent vehicle was effectively dust-proof, but they didn’t feel like taking chances in a major storm.
A few minutes later Abby rolled up beside him. “Hey Mack, you call for a taxi?”
“Yeah, it’s about freakin’ time.” He climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. “Home James.”
Parking Amos beside the airlock Abby asked, “Should we cover it?”
“Probably wouldn’t hurt.”
They covered the rover with a vinyl sheet, staked it down, then entered the airlock and pressurized it.
Removing her helmet, Abby observed, “Another fine day’s work.”
Jeff managed a smile, “Yeah, maybe our last for a while. It’s getting ugly out there.”
“One thing’s for sure.”
“What’s that?”
“We go out again, day or night, and we’re gonna need lights.”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah.”
Saturday, November 19, 2016
MSD 50793.597 (Sol 43)
“You sure you don’t need some help? It’s your rule that nobody goes outside alone,” said Abby.
Jeff shook his head. “No, I’ve got it. Won’t be but a minute.”
He suited up, exited the airlock and headed for the storage lot. The dust was now so thick it was like living in perpetual darkness. He switched on his helmet lights and rifled through the wall of mil-spec shipping cases until he finally found the one he wanted, and hefted it back into the airlock.
Abby met him at the lock. “What the hell is so important that you’d go out in this, and alone?”
“You’ll see. Here, clean the dust off this while I get out of this suit.”
Abby grabbed some gloves, not wanting to stick to the minus 80 degree case and vacuumed it off. “Okay, it’s clean. Where’s it go?”
“Kitchen.”
“Kitchen?”
Jeff smiled. “Yeah.”
Hauling the case into the kitchen, Abby was surrounded by Gabe and Susan.
“What’s that?” Gabe asked.
“Beats the hell out of me,” Abby replied shaking her head. “Jeff won’t tell me.”
Jeff came in behind her. “Curious folks, you are.”
Susan frowned. “And we shouldn’t be?”
Abby set the case on the counter and backed away to give Jeff some room.
“Okay,” Jeff said, “let’s see what we’ve got here. Uh, you might want to stand back a bit, there may still be some pressure in here.”
Knowing what he meant, all three women took one giant step backward. Jeff opened the pressure release all the way allowing a hiss of gas into the room.
“W
hat’s that?” said Abby, with more than a little nervous curiosity.
“Nitrogen. No big thing. Okay, that’s good.”
Jeff released the latches on the breadbox-sized container and opened it. “Okay, there you go.”
Gabe, Abby and Susan all rushed forward to see what was inside. Abby waved her hand over it to clear away the fog of vapor, revealing the contents.
Gabe gasped. “Oh my god, it’s a turkey!”
Abby cast Jeff a look of stunned disbelief. “You flew a turkey frozen in liquid nitrogen all the way here? You’re insane.”
Jeff smiled. “Thursday’s Thanksgiving and by god we’re gonna have turkey.”
Susan stared into the box. “That’s got to be the most expensive turkey in the galaxy.”
Jeff grinned, “Yeah, about $3,700 a pound, so let’s try not to overcook it.”
Gabe frowned. “Okay, so what do we do with it?”
Jeff gently placed his hands on her cheeks, shook his head and smiled. “You’re sweet. It’s not really difficult. You thaw it in the fridge then cook it in the convection oven.”
“Oh yeah,” Gabe grinned sheepishly. “I just never expected to see one here.”
Jeff hugged her. “This road trip’s just full of surprises, isn’t it?”
Thursday, November 24, 2016
MSD 50798.472 (Sol 48)
“How’s it look?” Jeff asked Abby as she stared at the systems monitor.
“Not good. Tau’s at 4.1 and still rising, and we’re down to 393 amps, less than a third of capacity.”
“Ugh. Do you have an idea what the average daily drop has been over, I dunno, the past week or so?”
“Yeah, it’s been going down at the rate of about 22 amps a day.”
“So another three or four days and we’re in trouble.”
Abby looked at him and frowned. “You don’t think we’re in trouble now?”
“Well, I guess that depends on your definition of trouble.”
She shook her head. “Okay, how about this: there’s a turkey in the fridge and the convection oven uses 62.5 amps. Any kind of surge will trip the circuit breaker. Are we in trouble now?”
Jeff chuckled softly. “Ah crap, forgot about that. Bet you never imagined a turkey would be driving our power management scheme.”
“Uh, no, not really.”
“Well, we’re gonna have Thanksgiving dinner if we have to spit the damn thing and roast it over Sue’s Bunsen burner.” Jeff sighed. “Alright, when it comes time to start cooking, light up one of the generators and isolate the kitchen circuit on it. That’s a pretty light load and won’t take much fuel.”
“Roger that.”
“In the meantime, come give me hand. There’s another crate outside I want to bring in.”
“Oh lord, what now?”
“You’ll see. Trust me, you’ll like it.” Jeff yelled to Gabe and Sue, “Abby and I are going outside for a minute. Be right back.”
Stepping through the airlock Abby stopped abruptly and looked around. “Good god! Now I know what hell looks like.”
Jeff put his hand on her shoulder. “Yeah. Next time somebody says, ‘When hell freezes over’, you can say, ‘It already did, and I was there’.”
Abby laughed, “We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.”
“I dunno. I remember seeing some photos of the Dust Bowl back in the thirties. It didn’t look a whole lot better. Come on, let’s grab this thing and get back inside.”
Jeff located the case he wanted and they each picked up an end and carried it toward the airlock.
Abby groaned, “Jeez! What have you got in here? A cow?”
Jeff laughed, “No. But prime rib does sound pretty good, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, don’t do that. What I’d give for dinner at Durgin Park right now.”
“Note to self: As soon as we get back take Abby to Durgin Park.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.”
“It’s a date. Okay, let me turn around and get this end in first. We’ll need to stand it on end to close the airlock.”
They managed to lever the case into the suit room and shove it up against the wall.
“What now?” Abby asked.
“Uh, clean it up and leave it here for now. Let it thaw a bit.”
“What’s in it?”
“You still haven’t learned.”
“Crap. You and your damn surprises.”
“Eh, you love it. You know you do.”
She grinned and nodded. “Yeah, I do. But you, I’m not so sure about.”
A little past 1400 local mean standard time, Jeff, Gabe, Abby and Susan sat down to their first Thanksgiving dinner on Mars. Outside it was nearly dark, the atmosphere heavily laden with dust, the wind blowing at over 100 miles per hour and the temperature 110°F below zero. But inside they were warm and comfortable and the air was filled with the aroma of baked turkey – except for granola bars and dried fruit, the first non-rehydrated food they had had since the night before they landed. As Jeff carved the bird, there was only silence, no one finding any words appropriate to the occasion; they simply sat and marveled and savored the aroma.
With an ample supply sliced and on the platter, Jeff took his seat. “If it’s alright, I’d like to say grace.”
The women nodded and bowed their heads and they all took one another’s hands.
Jeff closed his eyes and reached into his memory.
Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.
O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
and calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!
Most Holy spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!
O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
“Amen!”
Gabe sat silently, her head still bowed, arms wrapped around her belly. Jeff gently reached over and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “It’s gonna be fine. Let’s eat.”
They passed around turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, green beans with slivered almonds, and two liters of 2010 Hans Lang Riesling that had survived the trip reasonably well, frozen solid in a Ball freezer jar. And, for a time, set aside all thoughts of what they had always known as home – now 130 million miles away.
Abby winked at Gabe and gave her a thumb up. “I take it all back, everything I’ve ever said about your cooking. This is great!”
Gabe beamed. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Abby grinned. “Yeah, well, don’t let it go to your head.”
“I’ve never cooked a turkey before.”
Jeff reached over and squeezed her wrist, “Well, I can’t imagine a better start.” He turned to Susan, “How’d your pumpkin pie turn out?”
“I think it turned out good. A little weird making it with powdered eggs and milk, but I think it’s fine. We’ll see.”
“Most excellent. My favorite.”
“Also, after considerable experimentation we believe we have come up with a serviceable formula for a reasonable facsimile of whipped cream. It has a half-life of about 30 seconds, but at least it doesn’t taste like something we dug up in the crater out ba
ck.”
Jeff choked down a laugh. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”
Abby added, “And if we run it through the centrifuge, we can isolate the green glow.”
Now Jeff laughed aloud. “Ah, that’s good, really good. I was actually more interested in eating it than reading by it.”
Supper finished, the table was cleared and, following a few minutes of what sounded like an organic chemistry lab session, Susan’s pumpkin pie was brought forth with… whipped cream. It was wonderful.
Gabe sighed. “Oh my. What do you suppose they’re eating on the ISS?”
Jeff shook his head. “I dunno. Reconstituted tofu with a side of soy beans?”
Abby laughed, “Eat your hearts out NASA.” She poured herself another glass of wine and looked across the table at Jeff. “So, are you gonna tell us what’s in that crate now?”
“Now? Um, probably the same thing that was in it this morning.”
She glared at him. “Gabe, would you please punish him for me?”
“My pleasure.” Gabe reached over and rapped Jeff on the back of the head.
He winced and frowned at her. “Ow. Keep that up and I’ll drag it back outside and not let you have it.”
Gabe grinned and furrowed her brow. “What’s in it?”
“I’m not gonna tell you. But…” he smiled, “… you’re welcome to go open it and find out for yourselves.”
Gabe, Susan and Abby glanced at each other, grinning, leaped from the table and headed for the suit room.
Jeff called after them, “Bring it into the commons before you open it.” He got up and stood in the hatchway sipping his wine, watching with amusement as they struggled with the six-foot-long, 36-cubic foot transport case.
Susan frowned. “What have you got in here? Bricks?”
He chuckled. “Whiner. It was a lot heavier on Earth when I packed it.”
They finally got it situated in the middle of the room. Abby knelt on the floor, reached for the latches, then paused. “Um, wait a minute.” She glanced at Jeff. “This isn’t full of liquid nitrogen, is it?”
Jeff shook his head. “No.”
She undid all the latches but one, then slowly twisted the last and jumped back. Nothing happened.
Jeff laughed. “What’s the matter? Nervous in the service?”
Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) Page 80
