Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) (54 page)

“Yeah… I know.”

Chrissie stood. “Hey, Heidi, come
help me get supper started.”

“Yeah, sure. Good idea,” Heidi
said, jumping up.

Jeff looked up at them. “You don’t
have to…”

Chrissie cut him off, “I know. But
you guys don’t need us for this.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

As they headed into the house, Jeff
pondered his next move. This was the one question for which he had no answer.
He turned to Abby and gave her a questioning look.

“I can’t speak for Sue and Gabe, but up until two
years ago I had a very active sex life. Now I’m a nun. God Jeff, I haven’t been
laid since the day I met you! I’m 34 and all I can think about is sex. It’s
becoming a major distraction.”

Jeff nodded. “I understand.” He
paused, scratching his head. “Sue’s wrong. I’m not asking a lot, I’m asking too
much. And I should have known that all along. As you said, I’m your boss and,
as much as I like you – hell, you’re my three best friends – I do want to keep
our relationship professional, at least until we’re done. But, your lives,” he
grinned at Abby, “and your sanity, are more important than any harebrained
notions I may have.” He glanced at each of them. “I want you all here with me,
and on the mission, but you are my friends and, more than anything else, I want
you to be happy. So, all of you are free to do whatever you need to do. And for
God’s sake, don’t feel that you owe me anything, because you don’t. And, well,
we’ll work around it.”

Sue stood, “I’ll be back in a
minute,” and walked into the house.

Jeff reached out and took Abby’s
hand. “Okay?”

She slowly nodded. “You know I
would gladly be the mother of your child on Mars or today.” Her voice quivered.
“But this is hard.”

“I’m sorry, I never meant for it to
be.”

“I know.”

Jeff looked at Gabe who sat, hands
folded in her lap, staring at the paving stones, and wearing a frown. “How are
you doing, Gabe?”

She looked quickly at him. “Oh, um,
I’m… uh, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” And she returned her gaze to the pool
deck.

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, Susan
returned, walked by Abby, dropping something in her lap as she passed, then
returned to her chair.

Abby glanced down. “Condoms?”

Susan nodded. “It’s the only thing
I can think of, be sure and use them. And I have lots more.”

Abby picked up the condoms, stood,
and went into the house.

Jeff leaned back in his chair and
closed his eyes. “This isn’t how it was supposed to be. It’s not what I
intended, it’s not what I wanted.”

A couple minutes later he heard the
Aston Martin start, and drive off.

Chrissie came out. “Where’s Abby
going?”

Jeff shook his head. “I don’t
know.”

Gabe started crying, her shoulders
heaving with each sob.

Jeff got up, walked around, knelt
behind her, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and leaned his head against
hers. “It’s okay. Come on now, there’s no need for this. We’re all grown-ups.”

She sobbed a bit longer, then wiped
her eyes and leaned back into Jeff’s grasp. “I just don’t want it to be like this.”

“I know, me neither. But, we can’t
always have what we want. It’ll be fine.”

She sniffed. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, we’ll work it out.”

Monday, June 9, 2014 (T minus 652 days)

Jeff
took a couple of aspirin and sat down to the breakfast table and a cup of
coffee. He’d tossed and turned all night and managed to develop a splitting
headache. And Abby had not returned. The mood around the table was morose at
best, and he was starting to get worried. It was certainly not too late to replace
her, but that wasn’t an eventuality he really wanted to contemplate. He looked
across the table at Gabe, chin resting on her hand, elbow on the table. “And
how are you doing this morning?”

She shook her head. “Terrible. I
was awake all night.”

“You too, huh?”

“Is she coming back?”

Jeff shrugged. “Don’t know. I hope
so, she has my car.”

Gabe gave him a pained grin.

“This is getting personal, isn’t
it?”

She nodded.

“It wasn’t supposed to. At least,
not yet.”

“Unintended consequences.”

“Yeah.”

Just then Jeff heard the
unmistakable exhaust note of the Aston Martin. He sighed with relief but, at
the same time, braced for some inevitable heartbreak. Gabe bit her lip and
everyone else glanced around nervously.

Abby came in through the kitchen,
looking a bit haggard. “Morning all.” She walked around the table and, as she
passed Susan, dropped a handful of unopened condoms on the table beside her.
“Thanks, but I won’t be needing these.” She continued around to Jeff. “May I
speak with you in private? Perhaps in your office?”

Jeff nodded. “Of course.” He
glanced around the table, “Excuse us, please,” then got up and followed Abby
upstairs. He closed the door behind them as she walked to the center of the
room, stopped, turned around and faced him. Jeff stopped a few feet in front of
her, and waited.

Abby stood, biting her lip, staring
at the floor. “See? I told you I had an attitude problem.”

Jeff smiled. “Yeah, you did.”

“I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

“How so?”

She looked up at him. “I saw their
faces. They all hate me.”

“Nobody hates you, Abby. Not them,
not me. We’ve just been worried about you.”

“Do I still have a job?”

“Of course you do. If you want it.”

Abby nodded, tears beginning to
well up. “I do.” She wiped her eyes. “Damn, now Gabe’s got me doing it.”

Jeff picked up a box of tissue from
his desk and handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

He motioned toward the sofa. “Would
you like to sit down?”

She shook her head. “Jeff, I’m so
terribly sorry.”

“For what? Being human?”

“No! For being a bitch. You’re
wrong, I owe you everything. We all do. You’ve given me a life and a future
beyond my wildest dreams, and this is how I repay you?”

“I don’t know, Abby. Have I given
you a life, or taken yours away? Maybe the price of all this is just too high.”

“No, it’s not. It’s just that…
well…” She returned her gaze to the floor. “Something I didn’t expect.”

Jeff chuckled softly. “I think
we’ve all had a few surprises.”

“No, it’s not that. I…” She looked
up into his eyes. “I just didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”

Jeff’s jaw dropped. “Uh… wow. Um, I
didn’t see that coming.”

Abby shook her head. “No, me
neither.”

Jeff walked to the bar and poured
two large glasses of Scotch. He held one out to her. “I know it’s a little
early, but…”

She took the glass. “Thanks.”

Jeff took a large gulp. “You know,
you have a mighty peculiar way of saying, ‘I love you.’”

She cringed. “Yeah. Jeff, I didn’t
go out and get laid last night. I wanted to, I really wanted to. But I
wouldn’t. I couldn’t do that to you. You’re the only man I want.”

Jeff sighed with relief, and
nodded.

“I just drove around all night, put
a bunch of miles on your car. Sorry.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry about
it.” He took another drink, then looked into her eyes. “So, what do we do now?”

She smiled. “Well, I don’t know
about you, but I’d still like to put my footprints on Mars.”

Jeff smiled back. “Yeah, me too.”

“Who knows, maybe somewhere along
the way I’ll get lucky.”

He nodded. “Yeah, maybe I will too.
Here, give me that.” Jeff reached out and took her drink, set both glasses on
the desk, then took Abby in his arms and kissed her, long and hard.

When their lips finally parted,
Abby panted, “What was that for?”

“That’s so I don’t lay in bed at
night, wondering what I’m missing.”

She grinned. “You’re missing a lot
more than that.”

“I have no doubt.”

“Well, there are four women
downstairs to whom I also owe an apology. I think I better go do that.”

“Want some moral support?”

“No. I’ll do this alone.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks for being so
understanding.”

Jeff put his hand on her cheek,
smiled and nodded.

She clutched his hand, kissed his
palm, and headed for the door. “Oh, by the way…”

“Hmmm?”

“I’m not the only one.”

Jeff frowned. “The only one… what?”

Abby smiled. “Watch the way Gabe’s
eyes follow you.” She winked at him and walked out, closing the door behind
her.

“Oh lord.” Jeff poured the
remainder of Abby’s Scotch in his glass and drained the whole thing. “I should
have stayed a school teacher.”

Saturday, July 12,
2014 (T minus 619 days)

Jeff awoke and groaned at the pain
in his lower back. It wasn’t a sharp pain, just the usual nagging ache. Susan
had diagnosed it as a probable compression injury left over from Kuwait. It
came and went, and there wasn’t much to be done about it. Surgery could just as
easily make it worse rather than better. He got up, took a couple Vicodin and,
while waiting for them to take effect, donned a robe, grabbed a towel, and
headed for the hot tub.

It had been unseasonably warm that
day, in the low 90s, and just before midnight it was still around 80 on the
patio. Jeff fired up the hot tub and settled in where a strong, pulsing jet
could hammer on his lower back. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
“Ah, that’s better.”

A few minutes later he was mildly
startled by Abby’s, “Hi,” from just behind.

He turned his head slightly. “Hi.
You snuck up on me.”

“I’m stealthy.”

“No kidding. What are you doing
up?”

“I dunno, I was just awake. I had
my windows open and heard the hot tub. Thought it was probably you and that you
might like some company.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Back bothering you again?”

“Yeah. I hate getting old.”

She sat on the deck behind him,
dangled her legs in the water on either side of him and began massaging his
shoulders and neck. “You’re not old.”

“Well, I’m sure not young.” He
rolled his head. “Hmmm, that feels good.”

“That’s the idea.”

Light from the full moon shimmered
on the ocean below and brightly illuminated the landscape.

Abby took a deep breath and sighed.
“Nice night.”

“Yeah, beautiful.”

“Sure beats winter, and three feet
of snow.”

“Yes it does.”

They sat silently for a few
minutes, Jeff delighting in Abby’s massage. She’d given him a few back rubs
before, but this was somehow different. This was… tender. She ran her hands
over his shoulders and down his chest, her naked breasts gently brushing his
head as she leaned forward. An electric tingle ran through him from head to
toe. He held his breath, listening to her pant softly. At that moment Jeff’s
resolve failed. He gently pulled her arms away, stood, turned around and gazed
at her sitting naked in the moonlight. “Oh lord.”

She smiled. “See something you
like?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“You have something on your mind?”

“Yeah.”

Abby’s eyes twinkled. “Did you, um,
want to do something about it?”

“Yeah.” He held out his arms to
her. “Come here.”

She took his hands, scooted forward
and stood on the seat, then stepped down into the hot tub and embraced Jeff in
a long, passionate kiss.

His hands roved up and down her
body; back, sides, and finally settling on her breasts. She quivered as her fondled
her. Their mouths parted and Jeff kissed her cheeks and neck, and slowly
proceeded down to her breasts.

Abby gasped softly as he kissed,
nibbled and sucked. She clutched his head to her bosom while he ran his hand
down across her belly, combed her pubic hair with his fingers, then reached
between her thighs and caressed her. “Oh god!” She lifted his head and their
lips met again. She reached down and grasped him, and for several minutes they
stood, kissing and pleasuring one another.

Jeff put his hands on her waist and
gently pushed her back. “Sit on the edge.”

She stepped up onto the seat and
sat.

He ran his hands down her thighs to
her knees and slowly spread her legs, then kissed his way down, nuzzled her
dripping wet pubic hair for a while, then pleasured her with his tongue.

She shuddered and leaned back on
her hands. After a minute, she eased down and lay on her back. It didn’t take
long for Jeff’s licking, kissing and sucking to achieve the desired effect.
Abby gasped and convulsed, then reached down, took Jeff’s head in her hands
and, her hips twitching, rubbed herself against his face. “Oh god! Don’t stop!”
A minute later, she pulled Jeff toward her, looked into his eyes and said,
breathless, “I want you inside me, now!”

Jeff turned her so she lay on the
deck beside the hot tub, slid atop her and, with enthusiasm, obliged.

She gasped, shuddered again, then
whispered. “Oh god, I’ve been waiting for this for two years.”

“Hmmm, then I guess it’s a bit
overdue.”

“Yeah.”

He kissed her lips, neck and breasts
as his pace gradually quickened, and his thrusts deepened. He held back as long
as he could, but it had been nearly five years since he last made love with
Marsha, and his climax came soon.

It didn’t matter. Abby let out a
cry and shook violently in his arms as a second orgasm rolled through her.

Jeff lay atop her, breathless,
quivering. He feared he might be crushing her and rose on his elbows.

Abby wrapped her arms around him.
“No! Don’t move! Just stay right there.”

He rested on her, tingling at the
sensation of her contractions. After a minute, he rose.

Abby gasped softly as he withdrew
from her.

“Come here.” He took her hand and
pulled her back into the hot tub, then sat, stretched out, pulled her atop him,
and reentered her.

Again, she gasped, then whispered,
“Oh god you feel good.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

Jeff leaned his head back on the
edge of the hot tub, held her in his arms, took a deep breath, and sighed, “I
suppose this was inevitable.”

She rubbed her cheek on his
shoulder, kissed his neck, and whispered. “Yeah, probably so.”

He nuzzled her hair. “So, what are
we going to do now?”

“I don’t know. But if it’s alright
with you, I’d like to just lay here for a while, and worry about later… later.”

He held her tight. “Yeah, I like that
idea.”

After a time, Abby kissed his cheek
and chuckled. “Are you still awake?”

“Yeah. If we fall asleep we’ll
probably drown.”

“Uh huh.”

“And I doubt that finding us dead
in the hot tub, locked in an embrace, would go over very well with Gabe.”

Abby giggled. “No, I wouldn’t think
so. I have a suggestion.”

“What’s that?”

“Why don’t you take me to bed.”

“Hmmm, now there’s a good idea.”

They dried off, went up to Jeff’s
room, climbed into bed, and made love again, and again.

When his alarm went off at 6:30,
Jeff groped around in the bed for Abby. She was gone.

Sunday, July 13, 2014
(T minus 618 days)

Jeff strolled into the dining room
for breakfast. “Morning all.”

He was greeted with a chorus of,
“good morning.”

He took his usual seat across the
table from Gabe. “Good morning, Gabriel. Did you sleep well?”

“Good morning. Yes, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Yeah, something woke me a little
past midnight. A strange sound, kind of like a woman’s muffled cry. I don’t
know. Did you hear anything?”

Jeff cleared his throat. “Um, no.”

She shrugged. “Probably just my
imagination.”

“Yeah.” He turned to Susan, seated
beside him. “Good morning.”

She smiled. “Good morning.”

“And how did you sleep?”

“Very well, thank you.”

“Good.” He looked passed her.
“Chrissie, morning.”

“Good morning, boss. And yes, thank
you, I slept just fine.”

“Excellent.” Finally he turned to
Abby, seated beside Gabe, and smiled softly. “Good morning, Abigail.”

She gave him a soft, wistful smile,
one that he hadn’t seen on her before. “Good morning.”

“And how did you sleep?”

Abby took a deep breath and sighed
softly, “I slept… very well. Thank you.”

Jeff could feel Susan’s eyes
glancing back and forth between them. Her intuition was dangerously perceptive
and unusually accurate. Jeff grinned. “Well, good. Everybody slept well.
Excellent. I’m famished.” He dug in to breakfast.

Susan, smiling, handed him a
platter of scrambled eggs. “Hmmm, Abby said the same thing.”

He smiled, nervously. “How about
that.”

A little past ten that morning,
there was a knock on Jeff’s office door and Susan stuck her head in. “Do you
have a moment?”

Jeff looked up from his desk.
“Sure, come on in. What’s up?”

She closed the door and took a seat
on the sofa opposite his desk. “Normally I’d consider something like this to be
doctor-patient privilege, but I told you long ago that if something came up
that I felt might somehow jeopardize the mission I would tell you about it.”

He frowned. “Um, this doesn’t sound
good. What’s the problem?”

Susan glanced at the floor for a
moment, then cleared her throat, and looked back at Jeff. “The, uh, problem is…
you and Abby and last night.”

It took him a moment to get his
coughing under control. Then he tapped his fingernails on the desk while
staring at her. “And, uh, just how did you find out about that so quickly?”

“Abby.”

His eyebrows popped up. “She told
you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Uh, why ‘of course’?”

“Because she is in the middle two
weeks of her menstrual cycle and there is a risk of pregnancy. She came to me
for an ECP.”

“A what?”

“Emergency Contraceptive Pill. A
morning-after pill.”

“Ah, gotcha.”

“And, she came to me rather than
another physician because she feared it might, shall we say, throw a wrench in
the works.”

“I see. Then of course, she did the
right thing. Right?”

“Yes, she did.” Sue stared at Jeff
sternly. “You, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about.”

“Uh, yeah, okay. How about we hold
off on the admonishments until a bit later in this conversation.”

“If you wish.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “I wish. Oh
boy do I wish.” He shook his head and groaned. “Alright, so what’s the
problem?”

“The problem is that I’m not
certain an ECP is indicated in this situation.”

“And why is that?”

“If this were a one-time event, by
all means, give her the pill, end of problem, no lasting effects, and we all go
on about our business. However, if this is to be a reoccurring activity, a
different solution for both emergency and long-term contraception might be
called for. Specifically, an IUD.”

Jeff frowned. “An IUD works as an
emergency contraceptive?”

“Yes. In fact, it’s a little more
effective than an ECP.”

“Huh. Sounds to me like closing the
barn door after the horse has left, but I’ll take your word for it. Um, so your
question is, might we anticipate repeat performances?”

“Something like that.”

He sighed. “Yeah, um, what did Abby
say?”

“She doesn’t know.”

Jeff rubbed his nose. “Yeah, well,
neither do I.” He shook his head. “Sue, I have no idea.”

She nodded. “I only bring it up
because knowing the two of you as I do – which is rather well – and having but
one sample in the survey, I am of the opinion that you two may, in the event of
future incidents, be inclined to overlook commonly accepted safe-sex
practices.”

“You mean, condoms?”

“Exactly.”

He leaned back in his chair,
sighed, and groaned again. “Um, yeah.” He nodded. “That’s probably a reasonable
assumption. Okay, so what’s the downside to an IUD?”

“Generally speaking, very little.
They are safe and effective. There are, none the less, occasional problems:
heavy cramping, particularly in the first few months, excessive bleeding, with
hormonal IUDs, moodiness, something that certainly bears consideration in
Abby’s case.”

Jeff grimaced. “That’s a fact.”

“Additionally, in rare cases,
infections, or they can slip out. Even punctures of the uterine wall have occurred
during insertion. But, as I said, generally speaking they are safe and
effective and Abby is in as good shape as anyone I have ever known, and I doubt
it would be a problem. Furthermore, I think we can both agree that Abby is not
the best choice for conceiving a child on Mars. First, she is our pilot and,
though all of us will be able to pilot the ship, I think we would feel more
comfortable on the trip home with her in the driver’s seat. And second, she is
the eldest, and will be closing in on 37 when we get to that point. Certainly
not over the hill, but…”

“Yeah.”

“Likewise, for obvious reasons,
neither am I the likely candidate. This task is going to be Gabe’s. You know
it, I know it, Abby knows it, and, for that matter, Gabe knows it.”

“She does?”

“Of course. She is not very happy
about it, but neither is she stupid.”

“Yeah, well, that goes without
saying. Okay, so what does all
that
have to do with all
this
?”

“It means that we can probably
accept some slightly increased risk to Abby in the interim. An IUD does
represent a small risk but, in my opinion, an acceptable one.”

“Alright, I got it. So, what do you
want from me?”

“Your understanding.”

“I think you’re asking the wrong
person. Did you discuss all this with Abby?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“She is agreeable to an IUD.”

“Well, okay then.” Jeff shrugged.
“Proceed accordingly.”

“Very well. However, I would
recommend it be removed before launch, giving her those seven months to
normalize, just in case.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Is it time for admonishments now?”

His head sank and he groaned.
“Yeah, I guess so.”

Susan smiled. “Jeff, please pardon
me for saying so but, are you out of your fucking mind?”

Jeff laughed. “I don’t think I’ve
ever heard you use that word before.”

“I don’t think I
have
ever
used that word before. But it seems appropriate in the present context.”