Fly Me to the Moon Pt. 02

Two workers took our bags and disappeared in the large building before us and we slowly followed them into a lounge where drinks and snacks were brought out. I was thirsty after our flight and drank the offered orange juice gratefully. The next hour was taken up with a tour of the facility followed by an early dinner.

"Tomorrow, we've scheduled time at the beach for you followed by a luau in the evening. If you don't mind, there are many of our military staff here that want to meet you, General. You're famous here from your test pilot days."

"I haven't done anything that anyone else couldn't have done."

"Don't be so modest, General. You're a hero to many here. Well, anyway, tonight is steak night. I'll show you to your rooms so that you can freshen up and send someone for you about a half hour before dinner."

She escorted us to a bank of elevators and we rode up to the fourth floor to a suite that overlooked the ocean, a far cry from what I now considered my usual desert surroundings.

We showered together and changed into casual clothes, taking a short nap before being wakened by a polite knock on the door. Somehow, two hours had passed. I guess I was more tired that I had thought.

"Excuse me, General, Colonel... it's time for dinner. Drinks are being served in the cafeteria."

We followed the young woman down to the cafeteria and were shown a table where we were joined by Colonel Paras and Alessa Lane for dinner. As guests, we had our food brought to us while all the others were in several lines getting their food.

I had thought the cafeteria food at Groom Lake was pretty good but the food at the Corporation was a step above. They had gone out of their way to make the people there happy and loyal.

I thoroughly enjoyed my steak, baked potato and broccoli. Dessert was a seven-layer chocolate cake with whipped cream.

After dinner we moved to the large atrium where a bar had been set up and a meet-and-greet was to take place for the general. He really was held in high regard with the military in Malibu and they were eager to talk with him and have their pictures taken with him. Myself, I took a place near the windowed wall overlooking the sea and sipped on my Bacardi and orange juice.

"So, how's married life?" asked Alessa, sitting down next to me.

I must have blushed for she touched my cheek and smiled. "I remember," she started to say, "what new love was like."

"I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," she replied quietly. Her marriage after the death of her first love had collapsed and she was no longer married, a shame I thought since I thought she deserved better.

"You must have had some adventures... going to the moon, I mean." We were far enough removed from the rest of the crowd that no one could overhear our conversation.

"It was as different as anything I've ever experienced but there are no windows so you can't really see it firsthand."

"That's a disappointment... but the travel time is incredible. When do you think you will get them all up and running?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping soon but I don't know."

*****

That night I woke up screaming, reliving that day when my world blew up. Max called the clinic and a doctor arrived and gave me a sedative to get to sleep without dreaming. He held me until I was asleep again.

The next morning I woke up at half past ten feeling much better. "Good morning Max... thank you for your help last night."

"Hello, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" He came over and gave me a hug, sitting on the side of the bed.

"I'm much better, thank you. Did you have breakfast?"

"Yes, I did, and I brought some back for you." He pointed at the table where the food was waiting.

I got up and headed to the bathroom to shower and get dressed.

A half-hour later I was eating my late breakfast and laughing at what he was telling me. Later that evening we were going to have a luau on the beach and I was looking forward to it. I hadn't been to a luau since I was stationed at Pearl many years earlier.

I put on my uniform jacket and we went downstairs.

*****

"Good morning, Colonel Paras. How are you today?" I was interested in my fellow officer who had a wonderful billing here in Malibu. She had been there more than 20 years, first working with General Crowell and now for Alessa. Her input for what the Corporation could do and not do were vitally important for what Max wanted to do... essentially fool the world about where the spaceships came from.

"Good morning, Colonel." Her voice dropped. "Are you feeling better?" She touched my arm in compassion, somehow fully aware of what had taken place during the night.

"Yes, I am," I replied vaguely, not wishing to really talk about it. "It comes and goes," I said.

"If you need anything..."

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." I wasn't going to say anything that would jeopardize my situation.

"Well, lunch is in a half hour. I hope you're hungry. With the luau tonight, we've cut back on what's for lunch but it still should be enough to keep you."

We headed toward the cafeteria. I wanted to sit down, still feeling the effects of my bad night. Maybe I came back too soon, I don't know, but I refused to let it get me down.

Colonel Paras continued. "You and I are about the same size. I have an Hawaiian shirt you can borrow for tonight. We have luaus about once a month when things are quiet which hasn't been that often lately, but we're taking advantage of your visit to have one."

"Thanks. All I have is my uniform and a couple of changes."

"We can get them dry cleaned tomorrow. I was going to take you to a bar-be-que place in Torrance that I really like and we could talk, you know, privately."

"I'd be glad to go with you. Captain Americo and I are the only Marine officers at Groom Lake and it gets lonely sometimes, not talking to another Marine, you know. The Air Force officers are just different."

She laughed. "And you married one, a general no less. How's that working out, anyway?"

"He's wonderful. I never thought I'd get married. I made the Corps my life, you know, and after I got hurt... well, I just thought..."

"I know what you mean. It gets lonely for me, too." She was quiet for a moment. "My life has been a series of ups and downs, romantically. I had been in love, before, but it was not to be and so here I am, now."

It was my turn to comfort her, wondering who had been her lost love and then it struck me, it had to be General Crowell who had somehow fallen in love with Alessa in a whirlwind romance that caught everyone by surprise.

And then he had been killed, leaving both women alone.

*****

I enjoyed the luau on the beach. I had a Mai-tai, sitting on the sand, watching the evening waves wash ashore all the way from Asia, courtesy of some unknown storm.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Max asked me, joining me on the sand.

"All right. I was just thinking of Maria and how she's been all alone. I think there was someone but I think she's all alone now. That's too bad, sort of what my life had been like."

"Days in the past," he answered, taking my hand and kissing it. "You've got me now and we've got the universe."

"Yeah, I guess we do, don't we? Do you think you'll be able to pull off your plan regarding the... you know?"

"Yes. What we do is so secret not even most of the Pentagon knows what we're doing and I want to keep it that way as long as I can. Let's get something to eat."

Later that night, we were dancing in the sand to music from the Sixties, Mel Carter's 'Hold me, thrill me, kiss me'... Max was holding me close, rocking back and forth to the rhythm of the song, love strengthening between us as he told me how much he loved me and was glad that we were together. I knew that he was a test pilot at heart and that we were now flying spacecraft that were millions of years old and it worried me at times, not wanting to be a widow at heart like the two here in Malibu. I held him close, tears falling down my cheeks. I was not being a good Marine, I knew, letting my emotions take the better of me. I guess it was a case of love coming later in life that made me feel that way, afraid of losing what little I had found now.

It was way after midnight when we decided to go back to the compound and get some sleep, knowing that our interlude was coming to an end soon.

*****

The next day Maria and I went to Lucille's in Torrance for some bar-be-que, she telling me that the beef ribs were the best ever. Was she ever right, and I found out there was one in Las Vegas at the Red Rock Casino.

Maria wanted to talk about various aspects of her career, most of having been spent in service with General Crowell's top secret endeavors in Malibu. I could only imagine what life had been like for her, working so closely with the man she was in love with and being unable to do anything about it. It was sad but true.

I tried to give her the best advice I could. I don't know if I was able to help her much. Her position was solid, similar to what I was experiencing at Groom Lake, doing whatever was necessary at the general's bequest. And now, with the spaceships being a proven fact, we had moved up, so far up, in secrecy until it came time to unveil them to the world.

All I knew for sure was that I wanted to get back to Max and hold him, love him, care for him.

Afterwards, we went to the Del Amo Mall to walk around a little, my leg not bothering that much for some reason but I had a feeling that I would pay for it later. I was glad that I had brought some Aspercreme spray with me.

I bought some See's chocolates to bring back to Max, a two-pound box of chocolate-covered cherries. I was so grateful for this belated honeymoon... Groom Lake wasn't exactly the place to start a marriage, too many distractions, especially now with the spaceships taking up our attention. I was sure that Max would have a solution to the problem of introducing them into the national inventory.

*****

That night, Max and I were together in the suite, dancing slowly to some old music that was being broadcast in the compound, his hands moving across my back and then down, holding me tightly to him. I bent my head back and kissed him, so glad that I was finally married for I had felt for many years that my career was making that impossible and when the IED blew up my Humvee, I was sure the dream was forever over.

"Take me to bed, Max. Make love to me."

He took my hand and led me to the bedroom, quietly but with strength, disrobing me and then himself in the dimness of the room. He pulled the covers back and then lifted me onto the bed, kissing me, then my breasts and then lower, making me moan with pleasure as he brought me to nirvana.

Later, we showered together and then finally went to sleep in each others arms.

To be continued...

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