Auntie Brit
by J. M. R. Gaines
Rita Ramirez thought that nothing could beat the thrill of her
first voyage into space with her parents. They were going to ride
on the new R-12 Solar Griffin shuttle up to an orbital platform and
then transfer to the liner Universe Caprice for the trip to Mars to
tour the John Carter Canyons and then return via Ceres, with an
excursion to the Crystal Caves. Of course, it was a low-fare tour
and her mother would not stop reminding her father that, if he had
gotten the promotion he’d been working on for five years, they could
have gone all the way to Saturn’s Rings.
”You know, Hank, Ivana
Jones and her partner are going first class on the Rhapsody and she’ll
get to wear that new see-through gown to the casino, That’s real
style! I don’t see how you could have let the opportunity slip
away and sit by while her Pete got the vice presidency and the raise
and the office on the hundred-and-first floor. Think about that
while we’re in our economy cabin.”
“Hmmph!” snorted Rita’s dad,
pressing his lips together as if he were holding back some details of a
scene that he wouldn’t discuss in front of his daughter. “This
trip is a lot better for Rita and will help her with her Martian
studies course in tenth grade next year.”
“I suppose so, but I
really would have liked to get out to Saturn so we could maybe meet up
with Brittany. It’s been so long and I’d love to see what her life is
like. Imagine, an officer in the Cosmarines, and her boyfriend a
brigadier! I bet they have a wonderful place with a replicator
cuisine and a holo-suite and everything. That’s what you should
want for your daughter.”
Rita saw her father roll his eyes in
frustration and piped up, “Mom, I’m not so sure I’d want to be a
commando or the girlfriend of a brigadier. Why can’t I work on my
pottery and become an artisan?”
“No low-brow future for you, sweetie, sniffed her mother, “You’re going to Hopkins and marrying a doctor, at the very least.”
It
was just another domestic argument and Rita knew it would be like this
for the whole journey. She would be lucky if Hank didn’t flush
himself out through an air lock to escape from the carping. It
was always about Auntie Brit and her great accomplishments, her high
fashion clothes, her exciting adventures. A big 3d picture of
Brit adorned with a medal for valor reigned over the living room back
home and anyone unlucky enough to come to dinner would be battered with
Brit this and Brit that, as though their entire family standing was
attached to the life of her overachieving aunt in space.
Rita had to
admit the Solar Griffon was impressive in itself. It gleamed with
silvery jet engines and a huge ruby-colored ceramic heat shield for
re-entry. There were at least 300 people in economy and another
sixty in first class, sipping champagne. They were seated four
across, with Hank symbolically on the outside, Mom in her orbital best
trying to look too important to be there beside him, Rita next to her,
and a young and slightly pregnant lady on the other aisle.
After
badgering Hank for another 20 minutes as the Griffon gained altitude on
jet power, Mom got bored and turned to the expectant mother. “My
dear, you look radiant in that yellow outfit. Did you get it from
Nordstrom’s? You must be very confident to fly in your condition.
They say the shift to rockets can be a little jarring.”
“Oh, gawd,” thought Rita, “Can’t she ever say something that’s not snotty or awkward?”
The
pretty brunette next to her just smiled and said, “I was sure to get an
Ok from my doctor. Anyway, I don’t have a whole lot of
choice. My Pablo’s an engineer on Mars and his three-month hitch
became a two-year hitch. I want him to see his baby.”
“You’re
so right. We can’t trust these men to be alone.” She
glanced back meanly at Hank, who pretended to be absorbed with
something playing on the video monitor. “Those colonies are
crawling now with pros… with girls who are out to grab a conjugal
settlement. You can’t let him slip out of your hands, honey.”
“I’m
sure that’s true,” said the lady, trying hard to be polite, while
giving Rita a glance full of pity that silently said, “You poor kid,
you’ll need courage to survive growing up.”
“Why my own sister,
Brit, was sharp enough to hook up with a general and now she wears
E-Gad! Originals whenever she’s not in uniform. She mainly
eats fresh lobster from the Europa hatcheries. Wish we were
having that for lunch instead of chicken. Oh, hold on honey, I
think they’re flashing that rocket thrust is coming up. Rita, is
your belt tight?”
There was not a jolt but a steady, rising
pressure as the shuttle turned on its rockets to escape the Earth’s
gravity. It made Rita feel a little creepy and she was surprised
when she felt the mother-to-be clasp her hand and squeeze a little, as
though she were afraid and needed some support. Rita gently
clasped back.
As the shuttle approached orbit, the gravity
slacked off in an even more disturbing way. Rita’s pregnant
neighbor began to look a little green in the gills, excused herself,
and padded off toward the bathroom, holding onto the safety rails.
“Little fool!” remarked mother. “That piece of fluff would never make a Cosmarine.”
It
didn’t bother Hank, though. Rita saw her father glance
mischievously each way to make sure no flight staff were watching and
undid his safety belt. He floated up a couple of inches into the
air, whispering “Hoo hoo! Look at this Pam!”
“Would you stop
making a spectacle of yourself?” Rita’s mother hissed. “Look at
your daughter and how she’s holding up. You can tell she
inherited her space genes from my side of the family. You’d never
catch Brit clowning around on a tourist flight.”
“Actually, Mom, I think I might need to go, too.”
“At least wait till that stupid cow gets back, so you know there’s a free bathroom.”
In
a few minutes the pregnant lady returned and Rita rose to leave before
she sat down. The lady whispered to her. “Watch your step
in the bathroom. I’m afraid I didn’t make it all the way to the
commode and barfed on the floor a bit. The attendant is cleaning
it up now.”
Rita opened the door and a voice warned, “Wet
floor!” An attendant was wiping up a trail of vomit with a
mop. Something funny about the way she moved. Passing, Rita
saw a metal gleam under the attendant’s cuffs. The arms were not
real. Prostheses, the doctors called them. Not the
expensive cosmetic kind either. The attendant’s face turned and
with a shock Rita saw it was the same as the one in the living room
holo-frame. She froze and suddenly her mother walked in.
“What are you doing, Rita...” Stunned, her lips mouthed, “Brit!”
THE END
© 2022 James and John Gaines
Bio: Educator Jim Gaines and his
librarian son John write science fiction together as J. M. R. Gaines
and live in Fredericsburg, Virginia. Their novels Life Sentence and Spy
Station (Amazon, 2016 and 2017) begin the Forlani Saga series and will
be followed later in 2022 by Earth Regained, and eventually by two
other sequels. They have also published in various journals and
anthologies a range of short stories that take place in the Forlani
Saga universe.
E-mail: James and John Gaines
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