ERA ADRIFT

4: New Years Eve

It was another restless night, drowning in sorrow Jacob waiting around at the bar justifying his reasons for being there. Stepping outside once he had enough. He waited, sitting on a moisten wood bench. Guiding his boots around the black ice as he slushed it around the gravel pavement. Stepping over to his truck, he grabbed a bottle of rye blend from the glove compartment and sat back down on his cold and frozen tailgate.
He envisioned the same memory he just encountered. The moment she placed her smooth hand on his chest and escorted him out of her house. Half drunk, with her friends in the other room.
She smiled and said. "Get home safe partner." Smiling at him as she could barely keep her eyes open, nor focused on him. "You don't have to text me, I may be asleep when you get home."

Zipping up his work jacket, Jacob threw the last of his fifth away in the near by field. Stepping into his truck, Jacob stared blankly into the foggy windshield as he contemplated getting behind the wheel again.
He didn't fear getting arrested or swerving off the road, but being responsible for somebody else's life wasn't something he needed on his conscious.
He watched the lights fly by as he continued onward down the Highway road. Remembering everything she said telling him that she'd rather be away from him that night on New Year's Eve. She wouldn't even look at him. She drank around him, to get away from him.
Watching each headlight pass by each soul drive by. Either intoxicated or heart broken just like him. How he thought to himself about jumping the barrier and running head on.
It wasn't the whiskey thinking, or the broken heart. But the sober mind contemplating what life meant again, and again, and how it just drowned him.
   Looking over at the night sky. Laying back against the cold coarse snow. Jacob laid down and closed his eyes.

    Ambient like the noises around him. A voice closed in slight and somber. Called out to the stranger he was to her. Her crept up next to him as she sat on the sand. Hearing her press against the snow as she sat down. Opening his eyes, looking around him he turned right and saw the absolute beauty of a blonde sitting next to him.
   "Ma'am, are you lost?" Jacob asked.
  "No darling, I saw someone out here and had to see who was drowning down tonight." The lady said, with a strong country accent she smiled and handed a bottle of whiskey cider to Jacob.
   "Thanks." He grabbed it and drank.
   "What's her name?" She asked.
  "First of all, what's yours?" Jacob asked.
   "No no sweet pie, I ain't telling you nothing till you tell me everything." She smiled as she grabbed the bottle.
   "Honestly I don't know where to start, I don't know what to say you've caught me at a very difficult time." Jacob stated.
   "What do you see when you look at the stars?" She asked.
   "I see the possibilities of endless exploration, I'd like to be an astronaut but I'm just too late." Jacob stated. "But I'm just some lousy ranch-hand."
    "That's hot, I'm a show girl, I show cattle over by the lan down yonder." She stated as she pointed down the Highway.
    "I gotta know your name ma'am, what is it?" Jacob asked.
  "Spencer, Spencer fairlight." Spencer reached her hand out and smiled as she shook Jacob's hand.
   Jacob stood up and grabbed Spencer's hand, "I know a couple places out there where the stars are perfect."
   "Your truck or mine darlin?" Spencer asked as she looked at the lifted pick up blacked out next to his dark green off-roader.
    "Nah, mine." Jacob smiled.

   The two both walked up to Jacob's truck as he opened the door for her, helping her climb in she smiled as she grabbed the bottle of whiskey and drank some more.

   "You sure you meant to pick me? You don't even know me." Jacob asked.
   "Well, something led me to you. So I figured why not take a chance." Spencer stated as she laid back and watched the stars. "One day the stars will align and we'll all have a reason for why we were here, and a reason for why we left."
Jacob liked Spencer's optimism as she appreciated the just here for the ride mentality. But something about her had numbed his heart as he watched her instead of the stars above.
"Do you have somewhere to be tonight?" She asked.
"Not anymore." Jacob answered.
Paused, Spencer gathered her thoughts before she spoke as she looked back at Jacob.
"Stay with me, sleep here and wake up to a new year together." Spencer asked.

Jacob nodded ok, as he pulled her closer and closed his eyes.

Three years later.

    Opening his eyes, staring at the metallic white ceiling. Jacob just watched as he searched for that numbing feeling to follow back to him. Peeking over to Jenny as she messed with Bailey. She looked up at the distant stars and nebulas. Pulling the lever to open the case.
   PSSST, The case opened as he climbed out slowly. Zoned out, Jacob could see the night sky again of new years a couple years back. The red and blues, greens and purples. Her smile. Glistening off the corner of her eyes as the fireworks popped and exploded in the distance. The eery sounds of crackling thumps on the surface between gravel and sticks.

It was gentle how the stars waved back to them. "What do you see?" Jenny asked.
"Nothing, but it's relaxing." Jacob mumbled as he looked over to Jenny with the corner of his eye.
"What can Bow do?" Jacob asked.
"So far, Bow has just been going over various topics about being able to access mainframes suited for tech that Astra uses." Jenny stated as she walked over to the ships food menu. "The only thing is, we don't have clearance to access anything that is listed here. No maintenance, not even the food log."

Again, and again. Cycling through the memories of her continued back and forth. He dreamed of alternate realities in which he would've said something different. But then again. Nothing was to be said. She had her mind concluded.
She served a different wavelength. No matter how much he tried, their hearts couldn't connect. Like positive and negative currents running around in a circuit. He kept running, no matter how fast. He just couldn't connect to her.

Like a case of telepathy, he felt her movement in systems beyond their own. Like fireworks to a new born's eyes. The colors in which had followed her like lucid dreams, the eyes that glowed beyond celestial comprehension.
He could follow her no more.