From: Carl Wilson
\nSubject: On our way
\nDate: Sagittarius 27, 0031 21:35
\nTo: Mary Croft<\/p>\n
(CLT): 5.09 sec<\/p>\n
Hi Mary,<\/p>\n
Here we are, on our way. I wish you could have made it to the launch but I know it’s finals time. Senior year is always a bitch, making sure you have all the right classes and getting the right credits. So glad I don’t have to go through all that again. I sure don’t envy you, right now. But my heart goes out to you, in more ways than one.<\/p>\n
Everything went as planned during the launch and we are on the trans-Mars trajectory and rotating at 1.06 rpm. That’s the optimum for one g. with the tether length of 1.6 km. We could reel it out a little bit more for an exact one rpm, but once we hit one g. we decided the 1.06 was close enough.<\/p>\n
It’s going to be TORTURE, being away from you for the next 2 _ years, but if you can wait for me to get back, I think we just might have a terrific future together. I know we agreed we aren’t ready for marriage yet, and I’m not even going to attempt to propose via email. But, I wanted to let you know what I’m thinking. I didn’t say anything about money before we left, but when we get home I could have over $7 million in the bank. That could be a really nice little nest egg for a young couple like us. What I’m trying to say is: I love you, and I know you feel the same way. I just hope that you will still feel that way by the time I get back home.<\/p>\n
I realize we are both young and in the prime of our lives. If waiting becomes too hard, all I’ll ask is that you let me know. Be honest with me and I’ll be honest with you. And as of right now, I honestly love you with all my heart.<\/p>\n
Well, that’s about all I can think to say, for now.<\/p>\n
All my love, Carl<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 >
\n<\/p>\n
From: Mary Croft
\nSubject: Waiting
\nDate: May 13, 2018 11:32 p.m.
\nTo: Carl Wilson<\/p>\n
(CLT): 5.26 sec<\/p>\n
My Dearest Carl,<\/p>\n
Yes, I do feel the same way. You already know that, deep inside your heart. You are the most loving, kind, gentle, caring man I have ever known, and I have been dreaming of us having a life together. I am waiting for your return with my heart wide open. Waiting for you to fill it with your love. I will always be waiting here for you to come home to me, but until you get back, I might go out to the clubs once in a while with the girls. Just something to do, not looking for hookups. So, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m not going to be a nun, but I’m also seeking none other than you, sweetheart. LOL How’s that for honesty?<\/p>\n
Waiting for your return, with bated breath,<\/p>\n
Mary<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 ><\/p>\n
From: Brandon Devlin
\nSubject: Update
\nDate: Sagittarius 27, 0031 23:52
\nTo: Tyler R. Cody<\/p>\n
(CLT): 5.28 sec<\/p>\n
Hey Ty Rod,<\/p>\n
How goes it? So, unless you’ve been sleeping for the past two days or hiding out under a rock, you know the launch went off without a hitch. We reeled out the tether, initiated spin, and acquired gee-force (or I should say ‘Cee Force’) right on schedule. The three-shift thing is working out, except for having to sleep when you’re so psyched up. I just got off of my first work shift and dinner is heating in the microwave. The first half of the shift was very monotonous, just sitting there and watching the monitors and gauges. During the second half, I went up to the HP and ran a pressure check on all of the hatches and checked the nutrient flow regulators. I know: BOR-ING!!! But I know you. You’d be in the medical supply closet making sure all of the labels were facing front. LOL Not that you’re OCD or anything, you’d just be doing it for something to do. I remember that spring break when we stayed in Kalamazoo, instead of going home. You went around the apartment, gathering up all of the dishes and taking the rest out of the cupboard, washing them, and then working them back into the cupboard by size, color, and purpose. LOL<\/p>\n
Well, enough with the boring stuff. I gotta tell ya, Jackie is gonna work out mighty fine. As I was coming on duty, I overheard talk about a poker game on deck 1, and the mental image of it turning into strip poker\u2026 well, let’s just say I’d rather play with her than you, any day. ROFL<\/p>\n
I’ll keep you filled in as we go along. I hope that leg is healing OK. Be sure to follow the doctor’s orders (both of them) and remember\u2026 I’m only a mouse-click away, if you need someone to talk to\u2026 for now. Naturally, about six months after we get to Mars, we’ll be on the opposite side of the sun. Then, it’ll be more like 24 _ min. each way. So close and yet, so far away\u2026<\/p>\n
Stay in touch. I’ll write more, later. Go Broncos BTW, Happy Birthday, dude. Party like no one’s watching (come to think of it, I’m pretty sure no one is).<\/p>\n
So here’s an old revised toast:
\nTo my old friend Tyler Cody
\nThis birthday toast I give
\nMay you live as long as you want to
\nAnd want to as long as you live.
\nLOL – Brandon<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 ><\/p>\n
Ty briskly closed the lid of the laptop resting on the wooden TV tray in front of him. He reached down, snatched up his four-footed cane and hurled it across the room, not really meaning for it to STICK in the drywall. ‘Well, that was stupid,’ he thought. Tears then began welling up in his eyes as he recalled a similar incident happening when he and Claire had been tiling a bathroom on the second floor of their new home, just a few short years ago.<\/p>\n
Ty had been trying to cut a two-inch square ceramic tile on the diagonal, but it persisted in breaking each and every time. After the third or fourth unsuccessful attempt, he grabbed a piece of the broken tile and flung it across the room, impaling it like a throwing star in the far wall of the bedroom. “Shit!” he exclaimed.<\/p>\n
Hearing this, Claire popped her head out of the bathroom, spotted the embedded tile, shook her head and calmly remarked, “Now you’ll have to fix that, too.” Then, without another word, she returned to her work in the bathroom, knowing that Ty’s temper had just been extinguished by the momentarily violent outburst and nothing more needed to be said.<\/p>\n
Whenever Ty remembered anything about Claire, his mind would then take him back to the night of the accident. How beautiful she looked standing there in the rain, with the bright headlights shining through the downpour. The lights reflecting off the ribs of the umbrella created a halo over his angel’s head\u2026<\/p>\n
Ty was suddenly brought back to reality, rousted from his visit to the past by the trilling of the phone on the chair-side table. Startled, the .380 automatic dropped from his hand. He didn’t recall picking up the Walter’s PPH, but there it was. When the phone rang again, he quickly picked it up and spoke.<\/p>\n
“Hello,” he said, in a shaking voice.<\/p>\n
‘Dad, are you all right?’ his son, Lonnie, anxiously questioned.<\/p>\n
“Sure, never better. I was just checking my email and dozed off for a moment,” he lied. ‘How long had that gun been in his hand?’ Ty’s mind was reeling.<\/p>\n
‘Just called to wish you a happy birthday and see if there was anything you needed. You got any plans for the evening?’ Lonnie asked.<\/p>\n
“No,” Ty replied. “Probably just watch some TV and go to bed early, as usual.”<\/p>\n
‘How about I pick up a DVD along with some beer and your favorite pizza? We’ll make an evening of it.’ Lonnie was fishing for clues. He knew his dad well enough to tell something was amiss.<\/p>\n
“That would be nice. Actually, I could use some company,” said Ty. After speaking, Ty realized that wasn’t a lie. Like a quiet cry for help, he really was feeling the need for the presence of another person tonight, not wanting to be alone with ghosts. “See ya soon. Oh, and make it Guinness. I’m in the mood for a stout, tonight,” he said before hanging up.<\/p>\n
Ty picked up the PPH and returned it to the drawer of the small end table beside his chair. This was a .38 caliber replica of James Bond’s Walther PPK, which was a .32 caliber. Ty had had the gun for many years, but only recently kept it within reach. And the more he missed Claire, the more he thought about joining her.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Unknown to Ty had been the cause of the blown tire eleven months earlier. For nearly an hour, a wiry, shadowy figure had been lying in wait for the approach of the bright yellow convertible. Even with the torrential downpour blurring his vision, the distinctive canary convertible was unmistakable. At the ready, he squeezed off a single shot, intending to bring the car to a stop and flush the driver out into the open. He did not expect Ty to so adeptly maneuver the crippled car nearly another half-mile. In his current position, this would still be a fairly easy hit, even in the dark of this rainy night. But, repositioning would guarantee a kill shot and with the time it takes to change a tire, there was plenty of time to relocate.<\/p>\n
Stealthily scurrying through the woods, just off the road, the assassin found his next vantage point and dropped into position. Lifting the rifle’s scope to his eye, he heard the skidding tires of Dave Weller’s car and witnessed the violent collision. Since Dave had apparently done the deed, the shooter’s task was completed. Seeing Claire flying through the air and striking the tree on the far side of the road, he assumed Ty was in just as bad of a condition. He had not intended to kill Claire. She was collateral damage and had not been a part of his contract.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From: Carl Wilson Subject: On our way Date: Sagittarius 27, 0031 21:35 To: Mary Croft (CLT): 5.09 sec Hi Mary, Here we are, on our way. I wish you could have made it to the launch but I know it’s finals time. Senior year is always a bitch, making sure you have all the right classes and getting the right …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":396,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions\/396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}