Afterward: About one month later<\/p>\n
From: Emma Devlin
\nSubject: Happy New Year!
\nDate: January 01, 2019 10:42 a.m.
\nTo: Brandon Devlin<\/p>\n
(CLT): 10 min 29.39 sec<\/p>\n
Dearest Brandon,<\/p>\n
Happy New Year, my darling husband. I’m enclosing many kisses without benefit of the mistletoe. Wait till you see the newest calendar photos. For January, I’m decked out as the New Year’s baby, nothing on but a 2019 sash, shiny top hat, and a fashionable smile. ; p In honor of your arrival on Mars, this new calendar is made up of the days, weeks, and months reflecting your time on the planet. Superimposed on the pages are the usual Earth dates. Surprise! Hope you like it. I used your Devlinian Mars calendar to put it together. It took a bit of explaining before the printer got it right. If you want to show people your Mars calendar, be sure to add a few strategic cover-ups to the pictures. Hee-hee!<\/p>\n
I’m so elated for Tom and Sally. Do you think the attraction had been building for a long time or was it kind of sudden? In your last note you said he was planning to propose on New Year’s Eve. Did he? How did she respond? Are they both walking on air? Come on now, details are essential here. Tell me all.<\/p>\n
You know, Tom and Penny were dear friends of ours and I was heartsick when her sister called to tell me about the accident. How horrible. The funeral was difficult and everyone was still in disbelief. I almost lost it when I thought of Tom so far away and not able to have closure and grieve with his family.<\/p>\n
A lot of men close up and shut down emotionally with loss. I’m really glad you are his friend and have been there to help him through it. From what you said, having other good friends around helped, too. Sally must be a very special person. I had only met her a few times and she seemed like good people. How long was she married? I hope she doesn’t end up breaking Tom’s heart. You say it’s a good match and they obviously adore each other. I trust your judgment when it comes to Tom and won’t worry.<\/p>\n
Rich says he’s having a great time in India. I was able to talk with him on Skype the other day. He carried his computer around his hotel room and showed me the fancy decorative plaster. He was lucky to get a private bathroom. It was up a small stairs at the side of the room because they were added on to the old buildings. I’m waiting for him to send his blog address so that I can check out the photos.<\/p>\n
A friend recommended that he ride the bus to get around, as that would be the only way to really understand the country. So, that’s what he’s planning to do. Rich said the residents take chickens on the busses and such and he’s looking forward to touring in this way with his group. He’s so funny sometimes (kind of like his dad). Can’t wait to see the pictures and read about his many adventures.<\/p>\n
Speaking of (mis)adventures, I’m still very thankful that everything came out ok after all of what happened on Mars and here on Earth. I got a call from Ty the other day and he filled me in on some of the details you couldn’t put in your letters. So much of it was almost unreal. Sweetheart, I’m going to be very, very happy when you are on your way home to me. You’re constantly in my thoughts and my heart. I miss you so much that I ache. The calendar can be a reminder of what else, besides my love, is waiting for you. Hurry back, my darling.<\/p>\n
Well, I better get off that subject and on to happier thoughts. I have some errands to run so will head out and about. In a couple of weeks I may go and visit my sister and get another baby fix. He’s adorable, loves his Auntie, and his baby kisses are almost as sweet as yours. I’ll send more snaps of the baby. You’ll see how big he’s getting and how much he resembles his daddy. Talk to you soon.<\/p>\n
I love you bunches,
\nYour M
\nHope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies (HOLLAND)<\/p>\n
< ≡ ♂ ≡ ><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From: Tyler Cody
\nSubject: Big news for the new year
\nDate: January 01, 2019 11:07 a.m.
\nTo: Brandon Devlin<\/p>\n
(CLT): 10 min 29.42 sec<\/p>\n
It is indeed a happier new year, good friend. I’ve been promoted to the rank of Captain and they’ve included a raise in pay retroactive to being ‘wounded in the line of duty’ (that’s what they’re calling it now). It goes back to the night of the mission announcement, the nightmarish evening that my dearest Claire was killed. I was placed on the disabled list right after. Maybe it’s their way of giving me additional compensation for my loss of Claire, even though they’re NOT calling it that. Maybe it was because a foreign power may have caused the injury. No one has claimed responsibility for Claire or the rover. There could never be enough compensation for that sort of loss for anyone, but the extra income will come in mighty handy.<\/p>\n
And more first-rate news: The witch doctors have given me a clean bill of health. The shrinks even gave me a pass. In the psychological exam, I showed them that I’m not psycho, but I am logical. (wink) So, I will no longer be the Acting Mission Support Commander. They have officially given me the designation of Mission Support Commander. That means you’re stuck with me for a while, but not for the duration of the mission. There’s an excellent reason: I’ve been given command of the next mission. While you’re heading home, I’ll be zipping along on my way to the sunny, southern slopes of Hibes Montes. So, the next time you make a trip over to FP2, stow away a bottle or two of that bubbly for me, will ya. ; ~ p Of course, that means we won’t be in the same place, at the same time until at least May or June, 2023. Good thing we can still get email from Mars.<\/p>\n
See you on the flip side, Ty<\/p>\n
< ≡ ♂ ≡ >
\n
\nFrom: Steven Thomas
\nSubject: New Year’s Day Greeting
\nDate: January 01, 2019 11:32 a.m.
\nTo: Dr. Valerie Thomas<\/p>\n
(CLT): 10 min 29.50 sec<\/p>\n
Dear Sweet Val,<\/p>\n
Happy New Year, Babe. Got to bed late last night with all of those revelers making noise outside my window. Hope you were able to sleep in this morning. Well, I gotta tell ya, after that last extraction, I’ve come to the stone cold realization, I’m gettin’ too old for this shit. (Since Mike’s recue, everyone on the mission and in Mission Support knows what business he’s in, so the emails no longer need to be guarded.) I came so close to catching live fire, this time, it really got me thinking about my mortality and how death hounds us in this business. Why the hell am I still doing this? It’s not like we need the money. In fact, if we lived on Mars, we wouldn’t need money at all, for a few years at least. I mean, with all those diamonds to be mined… Ha! We could bank it till we’re ready for a vacation back on Earth. What do you think the chances are they’ll let me come up there and join ya? That is, if you have any interest in staying there, anymore. In the past couple of months, you have mentioned staying on Mars, and I was wondering if you’re still considering that?<\/p>\n
Cause, the more I think about what you said, the more I like the idea. How about bringing it up to the powers-that-be and seeing what their reaction is? Tell them I’ll work for room & board and a dollar a day, just like a sheriff in the good ole days of the bad ole west. Wouldn’t that be a hoot? Maybe I can pin on one of those tin stars, although I probably won’t get to carry a gun. In that airtight environment, it wouldn’t be a very good idea. Maybe a taser… yeah, that’ll do it. Mostly non-lethal, but it’ll sure knock ’em on their ass. Zzzzzzttt<\/p>\n
But seriously, neither of us has any family left, here on Earth. I really would be willing to move to Mars, to be with you, even if we had to give up everything else we own. Having material goods can’t compare to the thrill of holding you close. I love you that much.<\/p>\n
Missing you so much more than you’ll ever know, Steve<\/p>\n
< ≡ ♂ ≡ ><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Afterward: About one month later From: Emma Devlin Subject: Happy New Year! Date: January 01, 2019 10:42 a.m. To: Brandon Devlin (CLT): 10 min 29.39 sec Dearest Brandon, Happy New Year, my darling husband. I’m enclosing many kisses without benefit of the mistletoe. Wait till you see the newest calendar photos. For January, I’m decked out as the New Year’s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":312,"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}