So, we waited for the station to fly overhead and when it did, it was just a faint light moving pretty quickly across the night sky.
I reached over and took Luke's hand, squeezing it, feeling so much affection and love for him. He was such a space nut, and now, because of me, he was going to have to satisfy himself with working in the industry as an investor rather than as a recruit and hopeful astronaut. When I pressed him about it, worried that he'd resent me if he didn't follow his dreams, he shook his head.
"My dream is to be involved in the space industry and I can be. My fantasy about leaving Earth for Mars was just that -- a fantasy that was based on a broken heart and nothing more.”
Now that we were together and planning on being married within a year or so, he no longer felt a desire to leave.
I hoped he was being truthful and that being a funder of the private space program would be enough to keep him happy. I'd do everything in my power to make him glad he picked a life with me over a life colonizing Mars.
The launch was fantastic.
We anchored off the coast close enough to the launch area that we would have a great view of the liftoff. The weather was perfect, and so when the final countdown happened, which we watched on our iPad, we counted down with the NASA announcer. Finally, the Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off, the bright rocket flames almost blinding us against the darkness of night. The rocket rose up and up, and finally disappeared behind a thin layer of high cloud. We continued to watch as it reappeared farther on its trajectory and then cheered when the two rocket boosters came back down and landed on their landing pads. It was the most thrilling event I had ever witnessed, and for a short time I understood the excitement Luke felt at being a part of the private space industry.
It was truly groundbreaking work and was something that Luke could be proud of. It was work that would live on beyond him and would move humanity forward. In other words, it wasn't just making soda or selling investments. Luke told me that colonizing Mars would lead to countless technological advancements that could help humans deal with threats to our own planet. Threats like asteroids that killed the dinosaurs, or climate change, or other dangers. Humans had been vulnerable to all those threats until now. Finally, we were starting to be able to protect ourselves against the really big threats to our existence.
He was so enthusiastic about it that he even infected me. Not that I would ever consider leaving Earth, but it was exciting to be part of the space industry. Plus, it made him happy and when he was happy, I was happy, too.
Luke popped a cork on a bottle of champagne we bought and had chilling for the occasion. He poured the four of us a glass, and we toasted SpaceX and the Falcon Heavy mission.
"To SpaceX," Luke said. "And hopefully, to my future in the industry. Maybe in five years, we'll be off the coast of California for a liftoff of one of the rockets I developed and am funding."
"To SpaceX," John said and nodded. "To your future, Luke. I know you've been dreaming of this for years. Hopefully, things will work out in the next couple of years and your dream will come true -- maybe not moving to Mars, but at least, making rockets that will go there and developing the programs that will take those rockets there."
"Hear, hear," Greg said and smiled at Luke.
"Yes, hear, hear," I replied and raised up my glass.
The trip had been the culmination of a lifelong dream for Luke of traveling around the world on his catamaran and included crossing off one of his bucket list items -- watching a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch.
Next on his agenda would be meeting with several of the CEOs of the private space industry corporations and get involved funding them and maybe working on some aspect of the programs. While I did a PhD in International Relations, he would use his billion-dollar stake to get involved in the space race.
Life was good and I felt eager to get back home to Manhattan and start my coursework for the PhD. Luke and I would look for an apartment together, and we'd make a life together while we waited to get married. Candace was on the mend, and I couldn't wait to see what life had in store for us both.
Chapter Six
Luke
Coming back to Manhattan was harder than I thought it would be.
For the past eight months, Alexa and I had spent our days on the water, sailing from port to port, living life totally according to our immediate wants and desires. Nothing was written in stone about our itinerary and we had no serious deadlines except we had to be back so she could start her coursework.
We were back in Manhattan and it was hard to get back into the city life after so long away. At first, I couldn't get used to the noise and bustle, the crowds and pace of life. I'd take my car and drive down a busy street and find that I was far too impatient with the traffic. Before I'd left, I was so used to long waits while driving that I barely noticed it. Now, after being so free for months and months, it was frustrating.
We were staying at the Hilton in a long-term stay suite until we found an apartment and while it was nice, we had people all around us at all times. I could hear the sound of a television or someone's voice in the next room. I bumped into people on the elevator or parking garage.
By the first weekend we were back, I was ready to go out to the beach house to get away from it all.
"You've had it already?" Alexa said when I complained about the noise and suggested we go to Westhampton.
"Surprisingly, yes, I have. I need peace and quiet. I want to hear the sound of water, not car horns blaring and sirens wailing."
Alexa came to me and slipped her arms around me. "If you want to go to the beach house, I'm happy to go. It'll be good for me to have one last weekend to relax before classes start. I'll be doing a lot of reading and writing this semester. Plus, I'm going to lead the first-year seminar for Intro to Political Science, so I'll have to meet students and grade papers and exams. I have to prepare notes for the seminars. I'll have office hours. On top of it all, I have to do all my own work."
"Sounds like a lot," I said and leaned down to kiss her. "Do you really need to work as a teaching assistant? You don't need the money. I can support you while you go to school."
She shook her head. "It's part of the whole apprenticeship thing. You have to learn how to teach. Leading a seminar every week is one way of doing that. If I didn't, I'd be at a disadvantage when it comes time to get an actual class."
"We don't want that," I said. "I just hope you're not too stressed."