“And where are you going?” I asked a little girl who seemed to be following our interaction closely.
“To Marth,” she replied. “We’re going to thee the dirt and rockth on the planet by moving the rover. I get to handle the controlth.”
“You and anyone else who wants a go, Laurie,” Paxton replied.
The little girl’s chin shot out stubbornly, and I shared a look with Paxton. She reminded me of me at that age.
A pang of loss hit me harder than ever before. If I hadn’t miscarried, I’d have a child. She or he would be younger than Laurie, but only by a few years. I blinked back tears and forced a smile. “Have fun with that,” I told her. “And be sure to visit the Hellas basin.”
“She said a bad word,” said a little boy. He’d perked up at my comment.
“No, thee didn’t,” Laurie said. “Thee was telling uth to look at the largetht crater on Marth. It’s called the Hellath bathin.”
Laurie’s lisp was as adorable as her big, bright eyes. How I wished I could hug her close.
“There she is! My star pupil! The woman of the hour!” Roger Gerenstein hurried forward. He wore an avocado green corduroy blazer over a white button-down shirt and chinos. His sneakers squeaked as they pelted across the broad expanse of the lobby.
“This is the brilliant mind I’ve been waiting for,” he said, beaming. “Come in! Here’s your visitor badge. Oh, and you’ve met our kids today. Good, good! They’re getting a go with the rover. You should see Hana control that machine,” he told them. “She has the perfect touch.”
Laurie’s interest sparked further. “Doth thee work here?”
“I hope she will,” Dr. Gerenstein said. “We need more sharp minds like hers. And if you study hard, you might work here too, one day.”
“We need to move along, Mr. Naese,” said a pretty blond woman who’d been at the rear of the group. She offered me a tight smile and clasped her leather folder to her chest as she fluttered her lashes at Paxton. “We don’t want to keep the kids waiting.”
“No, we don’t,” he said, his lip quirking up at her obvious attempt to move him along.
Blondie bit back a gasp at his faint smile, and I turned away.
“You’re still staying at my place tonight, right, Han?” Paxton asked.
I froze, unsure how to respond to his blatant claim to my time—to me.
“I…”
“Great,” Paxton said, his eyes holding mine. “Ida Jane’s making dinner. And Maxim wanted to ask you about the cable mountings for the space elevator. He’s been reading up on the subject.”
I offered a wilted smile. “Great.”
“I’ll wait for you—give you a lift. Save gas and the planet.”
Oh, he’d backed me into a corner, the sweet jerk. “Great,” I said again, already planning how I could sneak out—and not stay at his place.
“I’ll be waiting,” he said.
Those words landed hard on my chest, drilling into my heart. I lifted my chin. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
Paxton stepped closer, and Laurie followed. “Yes, we will. Because I’ll always be here for you, Hana.”
He turned and Laurie mirrored his action, trotting to keep up with his stride. “Ith thee your girlfriend?” Laurie asked, her high voice carrying.
I winced.
“She’s more than that,” Paxton replied in his much deeper rumble. “She’s my world.”
“Thee can’t be that, thilly,” Laurie said with disdain. “You live on Earth.”
Paxton looked back at me, his expression yearning. “That’s true, but Hana’s still my world. Both can be true.” He turned and headed into a wide arch, lit by tiny pinpricks of light to represent stars.
