Madeline
“What do you think it will be like up there… in outer space?” The blonde leans forward and places her pointy chin on her palm propped up on her elbow beside her salad.
“I think it will be lonely. It will just be me and the three other members of the crew. Which is why I spent my last night with you beautiful ladies. This delicious dinner will be my last proper meal. After this it is freeze-dried and dehydrated provisions. I wanted to spend my last delicious meal with the company of the most beautiful women on this planet,” said Glen with a twinkle in his eye.
Glen sat up straight. His jawline was strong, never dropping his chin, his chest wide from spending hours in the gym, and he perfectly quaffed his jet black hair. All eyes in the room were placed on him, and he made sure he was surrounded by the most beautiful women his team could find. There were sure to be pictures of Glen’s last night out before the big mission and he needed them to make him look good. But the ladies were more than happy to spend the evening with the famed astronaut, Glen Castor.
The three women sitting around him swooned at his response, batting their eyelashes and pushing out their chests. The four of them sat in a red circular booth in a dark club picked for its fame of serving astronauts before their missions and for the high priced steaks. The women each had a salad in front of them. The blonde had a Wedge; the redhead had a Waldorf, and the brunette had a Cobb. None of them ate as they watched Glenn as he chewed his steak and potatoes.
“We will make sure you are not lonely tonight,” the redhead said and gave a high-pitched giggle followed by a single cough.
Glen cut a piece from his medium rare sirloin, popped it into his mouth and looked around the table at each of the girls, only briefly looking up to see who was watching.
“So, tell us more about what you will do up there?”
“Basically, it is a dangerous mission. We will enter space and proceed directly to the asteroid coming right toward earth. Once in range, we will administer the explosions and detonate them, destroying the asteroid into a million little pieces and saving all of humanity on earth. We then need to escape as fast as we can so that we avoid blowing ourselves up. That is where I come in. I will be shuttling that baby around and only when earth is saved, I will land it safely back here, on earth. Then I will then get to see you lovely ladies again.”
“Wow, you are so brave.”
“I only do it for the good of this planet,” said Glen, smiling out of the side of his mouth and chewing with the other side.
Once Glen’s plate was cleaned from his last meal, he kissed each of the women goodbye and made his way to the space agency headquarters hotel where he would spend his last night on earth until he returned and considering the danger of this mission, there was a possibility he would not return.
In the morning, Glen woke to his alarm singing, “here I come to save the day.” Glen sat up and reached his hands above his head and gave a single cough. He reached up and touched his forehead. It was a tad warm.
Glen shook his stuffed up head and headed for the shower. After his morning routine containing a sneeze here and there, he got dressed and headed for the launch pad. On his way he gave another single cough followed by a sneeze. What was wrong with him? He was perfectly fine the day before. Before he met those women.
“Astronaut Glen Castor checking in for duty,” Glen said with a solute suppressing a cough.
“Great! The day is finally here. We get to put all your training to the test but don’t worry, we have prepared you for any situation that may come your way,” said Tammy, the head coordinator, scrunching her face. “Just one last thing before we prep you for launch, Dr. Paulson, who did your physical, is going to give you once over one more time. It’s just procedure and nothing to be concerned about,”
Dr. Paulson appeared nearly out of nowhere with a black doctor’s bag and a stethoscope around her neck. As Dr. Paulson took Glen’s temperature, he stifled a cough. There was no way this little cough was going to take away his place in history. He would not let Dr. Paulson know he was feeling like he needed some rest and cold medicine. Once he was up in space all, he would have is time and he could then get the rest he felt he needed.
“102.3,” said Dr. Paulson, looking at the plastic thermometer in her hand. Weight hung in the room as if it were a boulder rolling down a hill. “Glen, I can’t let you go on this mission. You can infect the entire crew and put the entire mission at risk. This could be the end of humanity and we don’t have another three years of preparation left to train a new crew. I’m sorry. I know how important this mission is to you but I can’t let you go.”
“102.3? That is nothing,” said Glenn with confidence.
“It’s not nothing, Glen. I’m sorry. You can’t go. Now, please excuse me. I have other astronauts I need to attend to.” Dr. Paulson disappeared as fast as she had appeared.
Glen slumped for the first time in three years preparing for this mission. His alternate, Brad Thomas would now go in his place. Brad Thomas would get all the praise and accolades. Brad Thomas would be the one surrounded by women when he returned. Glen could not let that happen. There must be something he could do.
Glen left the room in search of Tammy, the head coordinator. If anyone could get Glen on that spaceship it was Tammy. After searching the launch building head to toe, he found Tammy in the control room speaking with one coordinator.
“Tammy, have I told you how beautiful you look today?” Glen said, approaching the short woman.
“Flattery will get you nowhere. I’m sorry Glen, I heard about your fever. You can’t go.”
“I’ll get better. I promise.
“Like Dr. Paulson explained to you, “We can’t let you jeopardize this mission.”
“What if we delay the mission by a week? Just one week.”
“I’m sorry but we are ready to leave now. We can’t delay.”
“But…”
“I’m sorry. But if you excuse me I have real astronauts who need my attention. Why don’t you go back to your hotel room, lay down and get some rest?”
Glen’s chest deflated and he shrank three inches. Glen had no choice but return to his hotel room and lay down on the crisp sheets.
He ordered room service pizza and turned the television on in time to see the shuttle lift off and into space. Glen’s face wetted with tears for the first time since he was a boy and the neighbor kid broke his GI Joe. The space agency set Glen up for success, but now, he was a failure. He would need to go back to his average life with an average level of heroism.
