October 30, 1985. Richard leans against his rental car, clutching a white Styrofoam cup close to his face. Steam collects inside, dissipating with the faint blowing of the wind. An unusually overcast and foggy morning blankets the motel, limiting visibility to only a few yards. Mary emerges from the shroud of stationary mist, with Phoebe trailing sluggishly behind. They limp to the car, wiping their eyes of any residual gunk. Annie scrambles inside the motel room to gather all her belongings, strewn about on top of the bed. She quickly grabs her NASA hat, watch and space shuttle plush toy. She tears apart her suitcase looking for her glossy photo of Christa McAuliffe. "Annie!" Mary yells, "Come on, Let's go! Get the lead out."
Annie locates the picture and carefully places it in her black backpack covered with various promotional NASA patches, including one for the 'Teacher In Space' program. She zips up her bag and runs out of the room, slamming the door behind. Annie leaps into the car and fastens her seatbelt. "Everyone ready?" Richard asks.
"Where are you taking us now?" Phoebe inquires. "Please say the beach."
"Later," Mary promised. "After this weather clears. No, I need to stop by my office first."
"There's always a detour."
Key in the ignition, the car rumbles and Richard sets out on the open road. An hour on this long stretch of road puts Phoebe to sleep, with Richard fighting to keep his eyes open. Annie's body vibrates in her seat as she sees a sign for Cape Canaveral. She watches as the car rapidly approaches the Kennedy Space Center complex. Richard follows a line of cars into the parking lot of the Kennedy Space Center visitors' area. He parks and immediately Annie jumps out of the car, waiting impatiently for the rest of the family to emerge. Richard once again grabs his camera bag and shuts the door. Phoebe slowly leaves the car, groaning at every turn. Annie runs towards the visitors' center, away from the mass of people walking to a bus stop adjacent to the main building. "Hang on, kiddo," Mary says as she runs after Annie. "Not so fast, we're gonna lose you."
Annie stops as Mary catches her. Mary takes Annie's hand and leads her in the opposite direction. "Where are we going?" she asks.
"To the viewing area," she tells her, grinning.
"Viewing area? What for? The visitors' center is that way. I can see the rockets from here."
Annie turns her head back to the visitor's center entrance while being pulled by Mary. "We'll go there later, but I have to show you my office first. You'll get a kick out of it."
Mary and Annie continue to walk to the bus stop, with Phoebe and Richard behind them. Many attendees at Cape Canaveral arrive in station wagons and RVs, carrying lawn chairs and coolers from their mobile homes, with binoculars dangling from their necks and sunglasses to shield them from the rising sun. Several news vans and cameras set up along the perimeter of the lake. Annie turns to Mary and excitedly asks, "They're going to launch a space shuttle today?"
"Why do you think I had you come out to visit?"
"I thought it was because you wanted to see us," Phoebe adds.
Mary turns to Phoebe. "I do want to see you, but this is history we're witnessing. You'll feel differently about this after you see it and hear it in person."
"I doubt it, mom."
The large crowd patiently waits in the unremitting sun, fanning themselves with any object that will achieve their goal to stay cool. They sip on bottles of water, and groups of older ladies play cards as they wait for the impending launch. Annie stands on the tips of her toes in order to catch a glimpse of the launch pad on the distant horizon. As she barely clears sight of the adults standing in front of her, she sees a group of reporters and photographers surrounding two women. Annie snakes through the lumbering onlookers as she makes her way to the center of this attention. Mary looks around for her missing child. She quickly weaves through the dense concentration of tourists. Mary calls out, "Annie where are you going?"
YOU ARE READING
The Surly Bonds
Historical FictionPicture it: Southern California, 1983. Eight-year-old Annie dreams of becoming an astronaut after watching Sally Ride become the first American woman in space. Though she believes she has the right stuff to be a space pioneer, her grades are not amo...