“When I knew that it was time for you and I to get on with this I went to her for advice, because I had no idea what I was going to do.”
“And?”
“She told me not to worry about it, I’d figure it out quick enough. But she also said that I should be sure and tell you that I was virgin, because if you knew you’d treat me differently, more gently.”
He nodded. “Okay, sounds like good advice.”
“Yes. But then I got to wondering how she would know what you would do. So I asked.”
“Ah.”
“Uh huh. She didn’t go into details, but made it quite clear that I had nothing to worry about.” She shrugged. “It was actually kind of comforting.”
“Why didn’t you ask Abby?”
“Because I didn’t want to have to tell her I was a virgin. If she had laughed, I would have had to hit her again.”
Jeff chuckled. “Okay, good call.”
Gabe nodded. “Was there anyone else?”
“Since when?”
“Since we met.”
“No Gabe, there was no one else.”
She rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. “Why didn’t you ever come knock on my door?”
“For the same reason I never knocked on Abby or Sue’s door. I was the boss. It would have been, um, unprofessional.”
“But you did sleep with them.”
“Yes, but I didn’t initiate it.”
She chuckled. “So, you were weak?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Jeff thought for a moment. “What would you have done if I had knocked on your door?”
She shook her head. “Oh, probably acted bipolar. Screamed, slapped your face, and slammed the door. And then cried myself to sleep because I did.”
“That’s kind of what I figured.”
She nodded. “Would you sleep with Sue and Abby now?”
“No, of course not.”
“Why?”
He laughed and patted her belly. “Um, let me think.”
“But, Jeff, we’re only engaged, not married. We’ve made no vows. You just knocked me up on another planet.”
“No I didn’t. I knocked you up on this planet.”
She giggled. “Okay, good point. But, I wouldn’t mind.”
“Mind what? Me sleeping with Abby or Sue?”
“Yes. Jeff, we’re not like other people. Look at where we are and what we’ve done. The four of us are a family. A family like no other. God, Jeff, I’m carrying a Martian child in my belly.”
He rubbed his cheek on her forehead and gently ran his fingers over her belly. “As Abby said, that’s a sobering thought.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re awfully cavalier about this.”
“Uh huh. The rules are different for us. In fact, one could reasonably argue there are no rules for us. Nobody has done what we’ve done. Nobody has gone where we’ve gone. We’re so far outside the box, we can’t even see the box without a telescope. When we get back to Earth, they can do as they please. But for now, their options are pretty limited.” She looked over and caught his eyes. “And Jeff, don’t tell them we’re engaged, it might put them off. If they need your comfort, your touch, your intimacy, don’t reject them. They’re my friends, and I wouldn’t like it. You’ll be all mine soon enough. In the meantime, I don’t mind sharing you.”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah, okay. If it should come up, I’ll uh… keep it in mind.”
Saturday, December 24, 2016
MSD 50827.802 (Sol 77)
Jeff yelled from the commons, “Come on! It’s about to start.”
Gabe yelled back, “We’re coming.”
He mumbled to himself, “Yeah, right. I’ll bet you’re not even breathing hard.”
A moment later Gabe, Susan, and Abby came in from the kitchen carrying a pitcher, glasses, and a tray of cookies. They set them all on an empty crate they were temporarily using as a small coffee table.
Jeff frowned. “I recognize cookies, I’ve been smelling them all afternoon. But…” pointing at the pitcher, “… what is that?”
They all grinned. “What does it look like?” said Susan.
“I dunno. Uh, eggnog?”
“Very good.”
“Eggnog?! Where did you get that?”
“We made it.”
“From what?”
“The usual: eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and brandy.”
“Eggs? Milk? Is there a convenience store around here that I don’t know about?”
“Powdered.”
“Ah.”
“There was some trial and error involved, and we had to inject some CO2 while whipping the living daylights out of it to make it a little frothy.” She poured a glass and handed it to him. “Try it.”
Jeff looked at the glass with some trepidation, then took a sip. “Huh. I’ll be damned, it’s not bad.”
“Not bad?”
“Okay, it’s pretty good. You guys are amazing.” He patted the sofa. “Come sit. It’s gonna start any minute now.”
They all poured glasses and took seats beside Jeff.
He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on their Ka-band receiver.
Gabe kissed his cheek. “Merry Christmas.”
He kissed her back. “Same to you.”
“I can’t believe the DSN is going to dedicate an antenna to us for an hour and a half.”
“First live television broadcast to Mars.”
“I can’t think of a better one.”
“No.”
A moment later, from 148 million miles away, they heard organ music; the introduction to the Nine Lessons and Carols, broadcast live by NASA’s Deep Space Network from King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England – just for them.
Gabe rested her head on Jeff’s shoulder, rubbed her belly, and whispered. “This is the best Christmas ever.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Yeah. And if tonight anyone on Earth is looking out their window, that bright shining star in the east is us.”
“Um, actually, it’s not.”
“Huh?”
“At this time, we’re only visible from Earth just after dusk, and we’re low in the western sky. And then we set.”
Jeff chuckled. “You know, as incurable romantics go, you need some practice.”
Gabe giggled and motioned to the tray. “I’ll work on it. In the meantime, have a cookie.”
CHAPTER 23
Sunday, December 25, 2016
MSD 50828.335 (Sol 78)
“Jeff!”
He awoke at the sound of Gabe’s voice from the hatch.
“Huh? What?”
“Get up!”
“What is it?”
She grinned. “Santa Claus came last night!”
He chuckled as she turned around and closed the hatch. He glanced at his watch, 0702. The ‘kids’ were up early. He got out of bed, dressed, and headed into the commons. Gabe, Abby, and Susan were seated on the sofa, smiling.
“It’s about time,” said Abby. “We’ve been waiting for half an hour for you to get your ass out of bed. We finally ran out of patience.”
Jeff smiled. “Uh huh. Coffee?”
“In the kitchen.”
Jeff strolled toward the kitchen.
“Hurry up!” said Gabe.
“I’m hurrying. Be right back.” He poured a cup and returned to the commons. In addition to all the presents beneath the tree, now sporting nametags, four stockings, each bearing one of their names, were hung above the crackling fireplace. Someone had already lit a stick of incense and the room smelled of Christmas. He leaned against the doorjamb, took a sip of coffee, and grinned. “Okay, go.”
The three leaped from the sofa and dashed for the stockings. They each took theirs down, sat on the floor, dumped the contents in front of them, and eagerly began unwrapping small packages.
Gabe glanced up at Jeff. “Aren’t you going to see what you got?”
“In a minute.
” He stepped over to the computer, opened the audio files folder, and cued up a selection of Christmas carols. Then he sat on the sofa, pulled a camera from his pocket, and started snapping pictures.
Abby ripped the wrapping off a present. Inside was a large Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar with almonds. “Oh god! Real chocolate. Yum.”
Susan opened a package and found an Yves Saint Laurent Opium Gift Set, including three ounces of Opium perfume and a jar of Opium Body Crème. She smiled at Jeff. “You remembered.”
He grinned. “You bet.”
Gabe picked a package, unwrapped it, opened the box, gasped, and pulled out a solid gold cuff bracelet, inscribed with:
Gabriel
Christmas, 2016
Margaritifer Basin, Mars
And on the inside:
With love, Jeff
She slipped it on her wrist, held it to her bosom, and started to cry.
Abby frowned at her. “Stop that. Let me see.”
Gabe wiped her eyes and held out her arm.
Abby grabbed her hand and she and Susan carefully eyed the bracelet. “Nice.” She set down the package she had been opening and picked up the chocolate bar. “Trade you.”
Gabe yanked her arm back. “No! It has my name on it.”
“That can be fixed.”
Jeff shook his head. “Abby, keep digging.”
Her eyes lit up, she dug through the pile of presents until she found one that looked about right, and opened it, finding a similar bracelet with her name on it. “Oh yeah!”
Susan did the same.
Eventually they found they all had the same gifts: bracelets, gift packages of their favorite perfumes, chocolate bars, roasted almonds, sock slippers, and an assortment of other goodies and trinkets.
After thanking Jeff profusely, the women turned to the stack of presents under the tree. “How about one at a time?” he said.
Susan went first. From the box she withdrew a blue and white porcelain cup, and then another, then two more, and finally a teapot. All adorned with Chinese figures and characters. “Oh, they’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She looked closely at one of the cups. “Uh, these are really Chinese.”
Jeff nodded. “Uh huh.”
“And they’re old.”
“Uh huh.”
She gave him a curious smile. “And…?”
He chuckled. “17th century, early Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Emperor period.”
She gasped.
Jeff grinned. “Now, aren’t you glad we brought plenty of tea?”
Gabe and Abby carefully picked up two of the cups and looked them over. “These are over 300 years old?” said Gabe.
“Uh huh.”
“Wow. Where did you find them?”
“An antique dealer in Paris.”
Abby set the cup down and unwrapped her present. Inside was a small jewelry box labeled ‘Tiffany & Co.’. She grinned, opened the box, and gasped. “Oh my god, they’re gorgeous.” She giggled and showed it to Gabe and Susan – a pair of Elsa Peretti dangle earrings, each consisting of a .25-carat diamond and an 11mm Tahitian pearl.
Gabe grabbed her chocolate bar and held it up. “Trade you.”
Abby jerked her hand back. “Not a chance!” She removed the small gold studs in her ears and donned the pearls. Then looked around, grinning, and flicked the dangles.
Everyone nodded in approval.
“I need to find a mirror.” She jumped up and ran into the utility room.
They heard her exclaim, “Oh my god!” She returned and kissed Jeff on the cheek. “Thank you! They’re beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. They look good on you.”
She returned to the floor, reached under the tree, and presented Gabe with a five-foot-long, eighteen-pound gift-wrapped box.
Gabe stared at the package. “I’m guessing this isn’t earrings.”
Jeff laughed. “Um, no, probably not.”
She unwrapped the package and found a box labeled ‘Yamaha Piaggero NP-V80’. “Oh my god! It’s an electric piano!”
Jeff grinned and nodded. “Uh huh.”
She set the box on the floor, leaped up and dove onto the sofa, hugged and kissed him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
She kissed him again, said, “Thank you,” again, then returned to the floor and her piano. She opened the box and ran her fingers over the keys. “Oh my god, the touch is like a real piano, the lower octaves are weighted. Wow.”
“That’s what I was told. You’ve never played one?”
“No.”
“Well, we expect a recital a little later.”
“Yes!” She opened the accessories box, and frowned. Inside was another hand-sized gift-wrapped box. She picked it up and gave Jeff a questioning glance.
He shrugged.
Gabe opened it and found another box labeled ‘Tiffany & Co.’ “Oh gosh!” She stared at it nervously, then gulped and opened it. “Oh god!” Inside was a 16” pearl necklace. Her eyes grew wide and she grinned. “Ohhhh… it’s beautiful.” She rushed to Jeff again, kissed him, handed him the pearls, turned around on the sofa, pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, and said, “Would you?”
“Sure.” He unclasped the string, placed the pearls around her neck, and fastened them. “There. Let’s see.”
She turned around and fingered the pearls.
Jeff smiled. “Lovely. Just lovely.”
“I’ve never had pearls.”
“Why? It’s not like you’re poor. Hell, Gabe, you’re a millionaire.”
She canted her head to the side and smiled softly. “Um, I’ve been waiting for you to give me some.”
“Ah, okay. Well, I guess you can cross that one off your bucket list.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Gabe turned to Abby and held out her hand. Abby handed her a small present and Gabe in turn handed it to Jeff.
“For me?”
“Uh huh.”
“Thank you.” He opened it and found a box of 250 strike-anywhere wooden kitchen matches. He stared at the box, puzzled. “Huh?”
Gabe grinned. “You’ll see.” Abby handed Jeff another present, somewhat larger.
He opened it and found four boxes of Cuban Montecristo No. 3 cigars. “Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” said Gabe.
“Are you really going to let me smoke these in here?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s gonna be a bit difficult to smoke them outside.”
“You can smoke them in the greenhouse, with the ventilation on high.”
“Gotcha.”
“Now there’s only a hundred of them and we’ve got 432 sols to go so, go easy.”
He chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. “Understood.”
Gabe took the boxes from him and set them on the floor. “Sue?”
Susan reached deep beneath the tree, produced the sole remaining present and handed it to Jeff.
“Thank you.” He unwrapped the present, and his eyebrows went up when he saw the box labeled, ‘Rolex.’ “You’re kidding?”
“No,” said Gabe. She gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Open it.”
“Okay.” He opened the case. Inside was a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date Pearlmaster Tridor with Meteorite dial and diamond bezel. “Oh my god! It’s gorgeous. Thank you. But, um…” he held up his left wrist, “I already have a watch, and this won’t keep proper time here.”
“Yes it will. We had Rolex calibrate it for Mars time. We can have it recalibrated for Earth time when we get home.”
He shook his head and smiled softly. “I don’t know what to say.”
“For four years,” said Abby, “you’ve been whining that you wanted one, but never bought one. We figured this was the best way to shut you up.”
Jeff laughed and nodded. �
��Okay, I guess that’s fair. Thank you all very much.” He removed the Rolex from the box and slipped off his Speedmaster.
“There’s an inscription on the back,” said Gabe.
He turned the Rolex over. On the back was:
Mars
Christmas, 2016
Love, A, G & S
Jeff got choked up. “Oh god, thank you all.” He slipped the Rolex on his wrist, snapped the clasp closed, and admired his new timepiece. “It’s beautiful.”
“Glad you like it,” said Abby. “Now, wear it in good health, and stop pining over the thing.”
He grinned. “Will do.”
#
After supper Gabe sat down to her new electric piano in the commons while Jeff, Abby, and Susan took seats on the sofa. She glanced at them. “Any requests?”
Jeff raised a finger. “I have one, if you know it. The Wexford Carol.”
Gabe smiled softly and nodded. “I know it.” She stared at the console for a few moments, then punched several buttons, and began with a bagpipe drone in the upper register.
After a moment, Abby began singing.
Good people all, this Christmas time
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending His beloved Son
Gabe divided the keyboard and followed Abby’s lead with a soft string improvisation in the middle register and a plucked cello and Irish drum in the bass.
With Mary holy we should pray
To God with love this Christmas day
In Bethlehem upon that morn’
There was a blessed Messiah born
“You know this,” said Jeff.
Abby smiled. “Of course I do. It’s an Irish carol.”
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep
To whom God’s angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear
“Prepare and go,” the angels said
“To Bethlehem, be not afraid
For there you’ll find this happy morn
A princely Babe, sweet Jesus born”
Gabe added cymbals in the alto. Jeff wrapped his arms around Susan and Abby, closed his eyes, thought of home, 148 million miles away, and prayed to God that this wouldn’t be their last Christmas.
Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) Page 83
