Europa Mon Amour

Chapter 5

My revelation about her real identity caused Marie to be more aloof, something that was difficult to do under the close confines of the crew compartment. I didn’t want us to become estranged because that would jeopardize the mission. I had one trump card that I could play and I chose the time after our evening meal to play it.

As is our custom, we sat in the command station and checked on the ship’s status and looked at the ever-growing image of Jupiter. That’s when I came over to her, knelt before her and took her hand in mine.

“I want to ask you something.”

She looked at me with wide eyes. “What?”

“I wish to ask for your hand in matrimony.”

She pulled her hand away and scowled. “You’re mocking me?”

“No I’m not. I’m serious. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. You’ll have to wait on a ring because we can’t afford to stop at a jewelry store out here.”

She flashed a mock frown. “You’re funny, Ryan Taylor.”

I got up and swept the hair from the left side of her face and then reverently kissed her scar. Her eyes misted and I saw a tear roll down her face. She didn’t say anything, instead she pressed her lips to mine and we kissed.

After a more passionate kiss, she came up for air. “Gracias.”

The way she said it caused me to feel a sudden surge of lust and I struggled to suppress it. I simply smiled and said: “You’re welcome.”

COMA displayed a message: INCOMING SIGNAL FROM EARTH CONTROL.

I pushed a button to activate the COM screen. The screen flickered to life with an image of the bubble headed bleach blond.

“Greetings, Delta-1,” she said with an artificial grin. “We hope that you are well and that you are still on course for Europa.”

Of course we’re still on course. If we weren’t, they would know about it.

“We are well and on course with an ETA of six weeks and two days,” I said in a calm manner.

At a distance of 510 million miles, the signal would take roughly 45 minutes to travel back to Earth and then it would be another 45 minutes before we heard back. Obviously a meaningful conversation would be nearly impossible.

At this point of the journey, we were slowing down in order to insert into a Jupiter orbit. If we didn’t slow down, we would end up being slung out to the orbit of Saturn.

“This is ridiculous,” Marie said. “It takes too long for a signal to travel back and forth at this distance.”

“That’s physics for you. It doesn’t care how we feel about it.”

I was afraid of what she would inevitably say after my proposal.

“Do you love me, Ryan Taylor?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes, I love you Marie Gonzalez.”

“How can you love me when I am disfigured? You could have any number of unblemished girls.”

“That’s true, but I want you. Besides, you are marked by God as being special.”

“My mark, as you call it, is the result of an accident, not a deliberate action of God.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You had a sizable birthmark on your cheek. The so-called accident obliterated it. That sounds like Divine interference to me.”

She cocked her head. “How do you know so much about me?”

“I saw you once at the new NASA Exo-biology center dedication ceremony. You were with your father and I immediately became fascinated with you. I noticed the birthmark on your cheek then.”

“I was disfigured then, and yet you were fascinated with me?”

“Yes. I’m not making it up. That scar is what made it difficult for me to recognize you. I fell in love with you then at a distance, and now your presence on this mission is no longer a coincidence. It was meant to be.”

She stared at me as if she were trying to discern deception. “You are very unusual, Ryan Taylor. Not at all like other boys I’ve met.”

“I could say the same about you. You are both beautiful and smart at the same time. You don’t see that very often.”

“I don’t see why you are so insistent in calling me beautiful. You are either stupid or have a vision problem.”

“I am blinded by love, my dear.”

She laughed, but as before it led to her kissing me to initiate a passionate exchange. We almost forgot about the return message, but were reminded by a distinctive tone. Marie climbed off of me and sat in her chair before I pressed a button. The bubble headed bleach blond appeared and smiled.

“We are glad to hear that everything is on schedule and that you are well. The next COM session will take place on Friday the fourteenth.”

The signal faded into digital static.

“I can’t wait,” I said in a sarcastic tone. “Good thing it’s not on the Friday the thirteenth.”

Marie chuckled.

We returned to our usual routine of exercising, eating and showering. It’s what typically happens on long space journeys. Routines become the norm. They say that familiarity builds contempt, but that didn’t seem to be the case for us. We had grown used to being together.