Europa Mon Amour

Chapter 11

My eyes flickered open and I saw a beautiful face looking back at me. “Is this heaven?”

“No, dummy,” the beautiful face replied. “You didn’t think that you could get away from me that easily, did you?”

“How’d you get us both back? There wasn’t enough fuel in the MMU.”

“I used a fire extinguisher,” she said, smiling proudly.

“You are the clever one,” I said, smiling back. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t you ever say that you’re not worth it, Mr. Taylor! I’m holding you to your promise to marry me.”

“You have me hooked now, Ms. Gonzalez. I owe you my life . . . and my love.”

She leaned over to kiss me. That’s when I realized that I was strapped into the electronic doctor’s examination table minus my clothing.

“Did you enjoy stripping me?”

She gave me a scolding look. “I had to. That’s what this auto-doctor station requires.”

I aimed a teasing smile at her. “I see.”

She slapped me low on my abdomen. “Behave, or I’ll let you in here.”

“Yes, ma’am. Just be careful where you slap me.”

“I’m sorry about that,” she said looking down there. “I wouldn’t want to damage . . . “ she looked back at me and grinned. “Our family jewels.”

I laughed, but I started coughing.”

“You’ll have to rest for a few days. You probably suffered lung damage from breathing cold air. I managed to patch the meteor hole and pump your suit back up, but it was probably quite cold from the change in pressure.”

“I’ll survive after a nice beer.”

She shook her head. “You are the jokester, aren’t you Mr. Taylor.”

“I’m not in a position to refute your assessment, Ms. Gonzalez.”

She pressed a button to release my restraints. I slowly sat up and coughed again before trying to stand up. She had to steady me before we made our way to the kitchen station.

Marie heated some dinners and sat them down on the small shelf table. I sat down and took a bite of some meat loaf.

“I’m not dressed properly for dinner, ma’am.”

“You’re dressed just fine,” she said. “You need to eat in order to build your strength up.”

“Yes, mother.”

She gave me a scolding frown. “Shut up and eat.”

After a few more bites, I looked up at her. “Did you tell Mission Control what happened?”

“No,” she said. “I didn’t have time to consult with them. You would have died long before I got a reply.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. They would have labeled me as being accident prone and drummed me out of the service.”

“I wouldn’t let them do that,” she said with a confident smile. “I have pull.”

I smiled. “Oh yes, I forgot about your father.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Taylor. I, on the other hand, will have a problem when I tell my father that you and I are getting hitched; although, he may not object when he realizes what we’ve accomplished on this mission.”

“I’m sure he will. We have lots of time before we have to worry about it.”

She leaned her head on her hand. “I have you in my grips, Ryan Taylor, and I am going to take advantage of it, and the best part is that you’re dressed for what I have in mind.”

I swallowed hard. “Do you think that wise?”

“Yes I do. I’m fitted with an IUD, so there’s no concern about an accident.”

I looked around. “Hopefully, this isn’t being recorded.”

She stood up and propped her fists on her hip. “I don’t care what they see. We’re not going to waste all this time alone.”

I gave her an ornery grin. “Yes, Ms. Gonzalez.”

She giggled, and I took that she was happy, and if she’s happy, I’ll be happy.

Happy days are just ahead, but I had this feeling that things were not what they appeared to be.