by Dan Eaton
Dad and I took that as a hint the tour was over and we all headed back to Sandy’s office.
Back at his office, Sandy pulled up a couple of chairs for us to sit in. He told Dad, he was going to have some coffee and asked him if he wanted some.
Dad surprised me by saying, “Sure, thank you, black will be fine”. I’d never seen Dad drink coffee at home so I was surprised when he took a cup. Sandy then turned to me with a smile on his face and asked me if I drank Coke.
I said, “Sure, thanks”, and was surprised as heck when he reached into a mini fridge and pulled out a can of Coke. I love Coke and soda in general, but mom had warned me that the habitat wasn’t likely to have commercial soft drinks like Coke available due to the expense. I found later that Coke or Pepsi was available in the Cafeterias but only for a short time after a food shipment came in. Some soft drinks were shipped to the Moon in powdered form, but due to the cost of getting it there supplies were limited. If you had to get a Coke fix then you hit the Cafeterias immediately after a shipment came in or you did without.
Sandy smiled at the surprised look on my face and said, “So, uh, I took this in trade for some custom work a shuttle pilot needed done on the side.”
Coke never tasted as good as that first sip. Absence had certainly made the heart grow fonder, even if it had only been a week since I’d had a Coke back on Earth. Once he had his own cup of coffee, Sandy settled back in his chair and looking at Dad said, “Let me tell you what I have in mind for Bryce. I need someone to keep the shop clean so Bryce will need to sweep the floors in both rooms at least once a day. Once I have a chance to train him how to do it safely, he’ll need to keep the chips clear from all of the machines. I’ll also have him using the cart to pick up and deliver jobs to customer’s here in the habitat. That should average out to a couple of hours a day I think.”
Dad shook his head yes and said, “That’s fine with me. What do you think Bryce?”
I was thirteen and back on Earth it would be a couple of more years before I could think about getting a job. What Sandy was proposing didn’t sound that bad and I was sort of interested in the machines he had. Sandy hadn’t said how much I’d be paid, but the idea of making my own money was very appealing. Not that there seemed to be a lot of places in the Habitat where I could spend it.
I looked at Dad and then over at Sandy and said “I think I’d like to try.”
Sandy smiled and said, “So, uh, if you work out and are interested at some point I’d like to train you to run some of the machines. Bryce, you have to remember to always think of your safety while you’re working here. As long as I see you have the right attitude and your parents agree I think you can learn a lot working here and provide me with a valuable service.”
“I’d like that, sir, I’d like that a lot.”
Sandy opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out an E-Pad. He handed the pad to my Dad and said, “I know you probably want to discuss this as a family. Here’s my offer so please take this home and get back to me tomorrow with an answer.”
Dad started reading through the document and after a minute looked up at Sandy and said, “Holy shit. You can’t be serious.”
I didn’t know what to think. For a second, I thought that maybe what Sandy was proposing was being unfair somehow, but from the tone of Dad’s voice and the look on his face, it was clear he just couldn’t believe what he was reading and not in a bad way. He handed me the E-Pad and while I was reading through it Sandy explained, “Back on Earth it might make sense to pay Bryce peanuts but here on the Moon things are a little different. I founded Mussconny Machine with the idea of making a lot of money. There were just two of us at the start and without Joe I couldn’t have got the business off the ground. There are some folks that think just because they run the place that they should make a heap of money and pay the other people that work there as little as they can because they’re just help. I know that without those other people I hired I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. They are just as important to the success of the business as I am, so I pay them for what they are worth. I’d like to give Bryce here an important job. You might think that it’s just cleaning up, but it’s time saved that I or one of the other guys can spend focused creating things to meet our customer’s needs. So I’m going to pay Bryce what he’s worth to me which is a lot more than you would normally think back on Earth.”
Dad took a minute and then said, “I guess I get what you’re saying. I suppose getting any extra help here is far more valuable than on Earth. I have no problem signing the contract if Bryce is agreeable, but I think I’d like to run this contract by Cheryl just so she believes me and Bryce.”
I’d finished reading the contract by then and could understand Dad’s disbelief. Basically the contract said Mussconny Machine was hiring me as an Apprentice Machinist paid at $16.00 US an hour. In addition to the base pay I was to be awarded one share of Mussconny Machine stock per week worked. Plus, there was a signing bonus of twenty shares of Mussconny Machine stock just for going to work for Sandy. Back on Earth, in a couple of years I might be able to find a minimum wage job paying $12.00 an hour with no stock per week and certainly no signing bonus. I wasn’t sure what Mussconny Machine stock was worth, but even if it was only a dollar a share, it was extremely generous.
Dad and I walked back to our apartment after saying goodnight to Sandy. I asked Dad if he knew what Mussconny Machine stock was going for.
Dad said, “I think I remember it being mentioned on the morning broadcast and it was somewhere around $15.00 a share.” I had savings back on Earth in the bank of around $600.00. My parents had taught me early to save my money and I walked the remainder of the way back to the apartment in shock that just by signing the contract and going to work for Sunny I was going to increase my net worth to over $900.00. The lunar gravity had nothing to do with how light I felt walking back.
We got back to the apartment and Mom was waiting for us at the table with some snacks she brought back from the cafeteria. Her manager, Dr. Belvert was there keeping Mom company as they caught up on old times. Mom cheerfully said, “So what’s the story?” with a smile on her face. I was so excited I couldn’t talk.
Dad just had a funny look on his face and told Mom, “You’d better read this first,” and handed Mom the E-Pad. Mom had curiosity written all over her face as she started reading but by the end of the document she just had a big smile. She surprised me then by reaching in her pocket and pulling out a one dollar bill.
She handed it to Dr. Belvert and said, “You were right Denise. I can’t believe what this contract says, but you called it and won the bet fair and square.”
Dr. Belvert just smiled and laughed and then turned to me and asked what the contract was offering. I told her the details with a big smile on my face.
She congratulated me and then Dad spoke up. “Denise, is this for real? Sandy told me his reasoning, but it just seems too good to be true.”
Dr. Belvert took a sip of her coffee and then started talking, “Desmond, yes it’s true. You have to remember there’s a very limited labor pool here at the Habitat. These side businesses are all crewed by folks who work their normal eight hour shift. Some of the day jobs require occasional overtime so folks working those jobs are limited in the number of hours they can work a side job. Some folks are content to work their shift and then take the rest of their downtime before they sleep as just sitting around relaxing. Beats me what they do to keep from being bored. Most everyone else finds one of these side jobs, but it’s a limited pool of workers and there’s jobs left undone because they can’t be filled. I expect it’s going to stay that way for a long time, even as the habitat expands. So Sandy is just doing what makes good business sense. I expect Bryce will find his other classmates get similar offers.”
I was still in shock, so I headed off to bed. I heard Mom, Dad, and Dr. Belvert talking late into the night.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Birthday on the Moon
> We just walked in the cafeteria when there was an alert tone from the overhead speakers and a pleasant sounding announcer came on with the following:
Good morning fellow NLH residents. It’s Saturday July 18th, 2037.
In Habitat news, this morning it’s Bryce Burns’ birthday. His parents will be celebrating his birthday with him in the main cafeteria at 17:00 hours this afternoon. They invite all of their friends to drop by and join them in wishing Bryce a Happy Birthday.
In NLH High School news, Miss Gayle Forrester has joined the faculty of the school as a Tele-presence Teacher responsible for teaching our new freshmen class. Miss Gayle comes highly recommended and has been greeted with much enthusiasm by her students. Miss Gayle resides in Lakeland, Tennessee.
Deena Cortez and Toby Bark would like to remind everyone that they will be setting up to provide haircuts along Grand Boulevard on Saturday between 09:00 and 14:00.
Lyn Craig would like to remind everyone that she will be providing manicures in conference room 419 on Saturday, July 25th between 11:00 and 16:00.
In financial news today, by close of business on Friday, the Lunar Stock Market shares of Mussconny Machine are trading steady at $15.67 a share, Mussconny Fabrication at $12.23 a share, Hotel Whipple shares are steady at $4.77. O’Reilly’s Shellfish Company is at $8.15 a share.
Mussconny Machine is pleased to announce the addition of Bryce Burns as an Apprentice Machinist
We went through the line and grabbed some breakfast. The selections were limited, but Mom decided to go for a two egg omelet stuffed with pesto and roasted tomatoes. Dad was feeling adventurous and went with the 3D printed bacon with home fries and toast. I picked a couple of biscuits smothered in sausage gravy. I went with milk to drink, hoping that maybe the powered milk taste was something I’d eventually acquire a taste for. Dad went with Tang again and Mom had a cup of coffee.
We found a place to sit and Mom’s cup of coffee reminded me of something I had noticed the night before.
“Dad,” I said, “How come you had a cup of coffee with Sandy last night? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink coffee before.”
Dad looked at me and said, “Kiddo, sharing food together is an important way of building bonds between people. If it had been on Earth, I might have asked Sandy for some tea instead, but here on the Moon I know things are scarce and Sandy was honoring us by welcoming us into his place of business and sharing his best refreshments with us. Sandy got that can of Coke he gave you through the barter system, but there’s probably a bean counter back on Earth who would tell you that little can of Coke was worth hundreds of dollars. It was important to let Sandy share with us and although I don’t normally choose to drink coffee in this case I didn’t mind doing it.”
I thought about what Dad had said and then thought about the announcement on the NLH News this morning.
“Are building connections why they do those little gossip bits on the NLH News?” I asked.
Mom answered, “It’s not really gossip Bryce and yes, sharing little bits of news like that does help bind us together as a community. When I was in junior high I had a good friend named Theresa whose family moved away to a small town in northern Iowa. I went to visit her for a week that summer and in the morning after breakfast we would sit at the kitchen table and play cards with her mom. The radio would be on in the background and when they would do the local news they’d cover all the local happenings just like the NLH News does. It really helped Theresa’s family to make the place home.”
We were finishing up breakfast and Mom asked me what I had planned for the day. I said I was going to meet up with Willie and go by the Habitat Supply to pick up our new gaming specs. Then we were planning on going back to his house so we could hook up and meet online with the Gogo guys we had met at the Meet and Greet. We were really looking forward to a gaming session with them.
Mom said, “That’s fine, just remember you need to stop by 16:30 and I want you home with us at 16:45. You have a birthday party at 17:00 and you don’t want to disappoint your guests by being late. Your Dad and I have several appointments to look at houses today to get ideas on sprucing ours up. We should be done with that by 14:30. Oh, if you’re going by the Habitat Supply, I should have a small package waiting for me. Pick that up along with yours pretty please.”
Mom and Dad gave me hugs and then we were all off on our separate ways.
Willie and I were having a great time playing Gogo. We’d been attacking and defending against the other teams in a heated session that had us on top of the rankings. The other guys may have been stuck playing in a short team environment for a long time, but they came out swinging and gave us a heck of a play right up until my in game timer started going off. I had set the timer to make sure we quit at 16:30 like my mom had asked. Everyone else said they had been having a great time and we agreed to meet up again next weekend.
Willie and I were half way back to my house when he stopped and said, “Crap Bryce, we forgot to bring along that box of your mom’s we picked up.”
We had been so engrossed in talking about how the game went I had completely forgotten the box. We went back and grabbed it and still made it to my house by the deadline. Mom and Dad were there and said hi to Willie when we came in the door. Mom put us to work carrying some boxes while she handed Dad the birthday cake. We headed off to the cafeteria and once there Mom picked up a couple of pitchers of punch she had arranged for the kitchen staff to make.
The party was a lot bigger than I had expected. The other kids all came along with their parents. Christine came by to wish me a happy birthday which I hadn’t expected and then surprised me by being one of the last to leave. The Gogo group came by and stayed for a while. I was a little jealous of Willie because he got to sit down with them and chat about the game we just had. I was able to get in on it for a couple of minutes, but then I got pulled away by other guests. Sandy dropped in and brought along with him Joe Wiggens, Marcy Downs, and Tariq Gabol. Joe, Marcy, and Tariq all worked for Sandy part time at Mussconny Machine. They had just knocked off work and Sandy brought them along to the party to meet the newest employee.
Mom’s boss, Dr. Belvert, showed up along with several of my mom’s co-workers. Dr. Taylor and Nurse Oak from Medical also stopped by to wish me well and check on how all of us were doing. A couple of folks from the local SpaceX office that Dad had met with even came by to wish me well. It got me to thinking about what Sandy had said about there’s not a lot to keep someone entertained here at the Habitat. Back on Earth, outside of the immediate family, the only one who would have done something with me on my birthday was my friend Marty. Back there, Mom and Dad would have taken me out to eat for my birthday and I would have invited Marty along. It was nice, but I really like the way this birthday party felt, like somehow my family had gotten a lot larger. Maybe there was something about what Dad had said earlier today about sharing food builds bonds with people.
I hadn’t really been expecting to get any presents what with just getting to the Habitat only a couple of days before and knowing how strict the weight allotments for each of us were. So I was surprised when Mom called me over to the main table and announced it was time for me to open my presents. Mom handed me one of the boxes she had asked me to carry to the cafeteria. Inside was a wrapped up present. I ripped open the wrapping and they had given me a Gogo t-shirt. I had asked for one months ago, but I had forgotten all about it. I guess my parents hadn’t used all of their weight allotment on seeds after all. I thanked them and gave them each a hug. Sandy walked up then and handed me a small box.
He said, “I’m pretty sure you’ll love this.” I opened the box up and there was a can of Coke. I remembered how much Dad said a can of Coke was worth here on the Moon and my jaw dropped.
“Sandy,” I said, “I can’t believe you did this. It’s really too much, but thank you.” I was so shocked by the present I went over and gave him a hug which normally I wouldn’t do.
He said, “Yo
u’re welcome Bryce, but that’s the end of that stash. So, uh, we’ll have to drum up some more shuttle pilot business to get some refills.”
Under the circumstances, I hadn’t really expected that much for my birthday, but this party was way over the top. I would have been very happy if it had ended after that, but Myra walked up, handed me a box, and then kissed me on the cheek.
She said, “Happy Birthday Bryce, I thought you might like this.” I opened the package and inside was a red Saint Louis Cardinals baseball T-shirt.
Mom said kiddingly, “Bryce, why is your jaw hanging open again?” I love Cardinal’s baseball and the shirt was a perfect gift.
I said, “Myra, Thank you so much. I love the shirt but how the heck did you get it?”
She answered, “It wasn’t easy. When I heard you liked the Cardinals I figured I’d just have Habitat Supply print you up a shirt. But since that’s baseball memorabilia, legally they can’t print it. I talked with Christine and she was able to make some calls. The Cardinal’s organization was so pleased to have a fan on the Moon they granted a special dispensation to allow Habitat Supply to print this one shirt.”
I drifted through the rest of the party in a daze. I went from table to table talking with people and I must have said thanks to both Sandy and Myra a dozen more times. The party was supposed to end at 19:00 but it took on a life of its own and it wasn’t until 21:30 that most people had left and Mom and Dad said we should head back to the house. We gathered up the presents and cleaned up the mess. Mom took the pitchers back to the cafeteria workers and then we headed out. When we got back, I took the can of Coke and put it in the fridge. The shirts went upstairs and when I walked out of my room, I saw Dad had logged into the system to check his mail.
