Home » The Archives » Chapter 9 » Regrouping and Recouperation
| Re: Regrouping and Recouperation [message #270 is a reply to message #269] |
Mon, 23 July 2012 15:53   |
artisticrainey
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Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
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Field Commander
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Together, Jeff and Heather walked into the dining room where there were several long tables dressed in egg white linen, bearing the food Heather had seen earlier that morning. Lady Penelope was filling her tray rather daintily. The smell of the filet mignon caught Heather's nose. They both made their way to the tables with the entrees. "Are you as hungry as I am?" asked Jeff as he picked up an white oak tray and placed a dish on it.
"Yes, I am. Especially looking at all this," answered Heather.
Heather decided the sushi looked so good that she made a separate plate for them, sprinkling a soy sauce on them. A small glass vase held chop sticks for the sushi. One set went on Heather's tray, along with a green salad with cherry tomatoes, grated cheese, and ranch dressing made with crumbly bits of feta cheese. "It all looks so good. This is really nice."
"I'll have to let the kitchen crew know. That would be Kyrano, Maggie and Anna. I thought I saw Kyrano and Lisa dancing. They did a very impressive job," agreed Jeff.
After filling their plates and picking up Dianne's candy, they walked back upstairs. When they sat down with Dianne at her table, Heather didn't wait for Jeff to start up a polite conversation. "Now that I have you in a comfortable position, I always wanted to ask you something," she began.
"All right. Shoot," Jeff answered. It was obvious what she was going to ask about. Everyone asked the same questions. What gave him the idea to create International Rescue? Which ship was his favorite? How did he find the island and how did he manage to keep it so exclusive for so long? Heather's question surprised him.
"Mr. Tracy, what was it like to land on the moon? What did it feel like when you stepped on it?"
Both women studied him with grins, ready to listen. "I'll be honest. I didn't think I'd get those questions," the Commander teased. Heather liked his steel blue eyes that seemed to be prominent in most of his sons.
"Well, it was long, long ago, and no, I'm not going to tell you how old I am!"
Raising her hands, Heather shook her head. "Wouldn't think of it."
"Right! Sure you weren't!"
Laughing with Dr. Tracy, Heather remarked, "He's as bad as my dad back in Virginia."
"How old is he?" Jeff asked, laughing.
Heather interrupted their mirth. "He's fifty-four."
The grin on her face instantly made Jeff think how old he was and he decided to go back to answering her earlier question. "Let's see, the moon is definitely not made of--"
"That is so old, Jeff," Dianne interrupted.
"Anyway, when I stepped out of the newly designed shuttle and found myself in world that nothing could have prepared me for. The ground, if you want to call it that, was covered with a fine dust. My boots sank down a couple inches. The low gravity made it so easy to travel. Our spacesuits were designed to allow us to spend more time on the moon's surface and after I had all the scientists' experiments completed for that day, I decided to go exploring."
Both ladies listened eagerly. "I couldn't believe how reflective the surface was. The boulders nearby were the size of twenty story buildings. Plateaus were vast. What little water is up there is frozen as you know. There's no protection from the solar radiation that protects the earth's surface. Walking into it, I was amazed at its stark and cold beauty, but at the same time, I thought how lonely it felt. Neil Armstrong came to mind while I was there. The astronauts of the 20th century were far braver than myself or the men that followed in my footsteps. Those early astronauts were professionals and lucky. Millions of things can go wrong."
"Did you drive a golf ball across the surface?" Heather asked with a grin. The story of Alan Shepard bringing out a golf ball and a driver while exploring the moon himself was her favorite. She watched as Alan came up the stairway carrying the movie camera. What is it with those two and that movie camera? she wondered as she clutched a round piece of sushi in the tips of her chopsticks. What is that changes a person when you put a camera in their hand?
"No, but I'm sure you heard about me throwing a frisbee on the moon. Well, I had to one up Shepard somehow. What I've always wondered is why he didn't call a hole-in-one when he did it."
The observation had both Dianne and Heather looking at each other thoughtfully. "I get it!" sighed Dianne, echoing Heather's groan. "Jeff, that's terrible."
"I read that you were entered into the Guinness Book of Records for the longest distance covered using a frisbee. I heard it was an old glow-in-the-dark frisbee."
"Uh, no. It wasn't a glow-in-the-dark frisbee. It did cross my mind though." Jeff laughed.
Hearing the dance music starting up, Jeff asked Dianne, "Do you mind if I ask Heather to dance with me, dear heart?"
"Of course not, love. Have fun." Dianne answered with an inward sigh, wishing she was well enough to claim all his dances.
As Jeff slipped Heather into a lively, upbeat dance tune, he gave a stern look at his fifth son which Alan read perfectly. The focus of the camera aimed at Cherie instead. "Smile, Cherie! You're on candid digital camera--"
Cherie gave Alan's request a dirty look that had Scott chuckling to himself. "Just ignore him, sweetheart."
"I will, Scott. I can't wait till we go on vacation!"
Her face radiated a glow as she talked about it. She's really looking forward to this. I wonder if she realizes that Mom isn't going to be up to that sort of thing, mused Scott.
"We'll be going horseback riding," Cherie said excitedly. "And Stephanie is coming. I haven't seen her in a long time. This will be the last chance I have to see her before she moves away from Greenville."
"Her father is being transferred out of state, isn't he?" Scott asked her. This is getting worse and worse. She won't be seeing Stephanie before her family moves. I don't envy anyone's task of telling her she won't be going if Mother and Dad decide that Mom isn't well enough to make the trip.
"Cherie," Scott began cautiously. "What if Mom isn't well enough to go on the trip? She was hurt pretty badly back in Kansas when Thunderbird 7 got caught up with that tornado. We were lucky to get her out in one piece."
"Well, she wouldn't have to join us in anything. She could sit back at the lodge and just rest." Cherie pouted slightly. "Mom's not that bad. Alan! Get out of here!" With that, Cherie let Scott go, swatted Alan in the arm and ran out of the lounge.
Observing her daughter's behavior, Dianne called out, "Cherie! No running!"
"Yes, Mom!"
Without a dance partner, Scott looked around as Alan walked up to him, lens pointed towards the floor. "Looks like she flew," Alan remarked with only a little sympathy.
"Alan, what is it with you and Gordon? I know Virgil assigned the camera to you, but you've been a bit of a nuisance to everyone. Why don't you let up a little? I'm sure there'll be lots to edit."
Chuckling, Alan agreed with a shrug. "You know how Dad always says if we do something, we should do it to the very best of our ability."
"Not to the point of being a pest at the party and making people run every time they see you," Scott admonished while he watched his father dancing with Heather. He found himself fascinated with the hem of Heather's dress as it flowed like water as Jeff caught her in a sweeping step. Might be fun to cut in on Dad. Turning his attention on his mother, Scott saw the tiny lines around her eyes crinkling from fatigue. Yup, maybe I should cut in. Mom's getting tired. "Gotta go, Alan."
Walking over to Jeff and Heather, Scott tapped Jeff's left shoulder. "May I cut in?" Scott asked.
With a mock look of surprise, Jeff looked at Heather for her opinion. "Well, how do you like that?" he said. "Heather?"
Nodding her permission, she eyed Scott. "Why not?"
With grace, Jeff gave Heather's hand to Scott, and the younger pair slipped smoothly into the music together. Walking back to Dianne's table, he remarked to her, "They move well together."
"They do, don't they?" Dianne said with a grin. "Why don't you take a rest with me?"
"Sounds delightful. I'm getting old, I think," said Jeff, sitting down in his chair, continuing to watch the couple performing a smooth waltz.
From the moment Heather slipped into Scott's arms, she felt a tingling in her fingertips. What the heck is wrong with me? she thought as he led her around the dance floor with ease.
"You dance divinely," Scott spoke with a sparkle in his eye.
"As do you," she replied with a twinkle of her own. "Come here often?"
"Oh, on occasion, yes," he answered. Their steps became smoother as they grew used to each other.
"You're easy to follow. You're the first dance partner I've met where I didn't have to actually think of where I was at."
"It's natural for you to lead which is what you've been trained to do, of course," he said thoughtfully. And she is telling me on another level that she trusts me. I couldn't do it.
"Scott, when I talked with you back in Kansas, what was going on?"
With a sigh, Scott answered her, "When you rang up, Dad and I were waiting for news about Mother. The doctor came out to give us the news, and he gave me the phone. Rescuing others is normal and what I've been trained to do, but when it's your own mother, father, or family, that's a different situation altogether. It's the worst when you've just rescued so many people, you're absolutely exhausted and then you turn around and find out your mother and her nurses need rescuing. That's too much. I never want that situation again."
"I hope not either. From the looks of Mrs. Tracy, she's getting tired already, and the night is still young as it were."
"That's why I cut in," he agreed. She gave him a wide-eyed look that put him on the defense. "But I wanted to dance with you, too." Fell right into that one, Tracy! Scott thought to himself when he saw the corners of Heather's mouth curl.
"Uh huh," Heather teased. "Sure you did." Heather, one. Scott, zero! This is gonna be fun! she decided. What else can I do to whittle down that cool reserve of yours, Sugar?
Post by AmandaTracy on 2/22/2007
  
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