High heels clicked across the hard wood floors with military precision as Lisa obediently followed the maitre d' into the darkened interiors of the restaurant. Laughter tinkled in the air like small bells, punctuated by the musical tones of silver against crystal and porcelain.
Lisa crossed the long room with her usual willowy grace, unaware of the striking figure she made. The insignia of her rank and her medals and decorations - symbols of a life of excitement and adventure - were enough to catch the attention of the men at the bar while her breezy confidence was the envy of the women.
Her dark eyes searched the room. She saw the red suit first, the glint of gold flashing at the lapel and sparkle of diamonds at the ears. Then she saw the blonde hair and the open, welcoming smile before she was enveloped in a warm embrace.
"I thought you'd NEVER get here." Ginger squealed, her voice high enough to cause people to look up at them. "Oh, I don't believe it! You witch! You're still a thin as a rail. You look like you haven't gained a single pound!"
"Oh Ginger," Lisa laughed fondly. Her eyes crinkled at the edges as she returned the hug in equal measure. "I'm sorry though. I can't say the same about you," she teased, drawing back a little to look at her friend.
"You're just jealous because there's so much more of me to love." Ginger sniffed primly, even though she dimpled with amusement. A familiar twinkle flashed across her eyes, and for a brief moment, years fell away and Ginger was once again the enchanting pixie who had served on the Explorer.
"You look great though," Lisa said, her tone half envious as she looked at her friend. Though past forty already, Ginger's face was still unlined and the blue eyes were sharp in contrast to the soft complexion that had distinguished her in her youth.
Lisa stifled a sigh as she thought about what she saw when she looked in her mirror everyday. Although Jeff tried to convince her otherwise, she stubbornly refused to believe that the metallic gray of her hair made her dark eyes even more attractive.
"I hope you don't mind, Commander Dubais," Ginger said, leaning back with an apologetic smile as a waiter began to set plates before them. "But since I got here first and I was kind of hungry, I decided to order for us already. "
"Oh, Ginge, you're an angel." Lisa sighed, tasting the pasta set before her. "You've earned yourself a place in heaven just for this. I've been craving for a decent carbonara. You know, with fresh eggs and honest to goodness cheese? We just can't carry those ingredients in the ship's stores. Let's see... the last time I had pasta this good was when we stopped over at Arus to see Keith and Allura."
"How are they?" Ginger asked.
Lowering her voice, Lisa leaned forward. "They haven't made an official announcement yet, but they just found out that they're expecting another baby. Allura's glowing, looking wonderful, more beautiful than usual, if you can actually imagine that. Of course, poor Keith is all tied up in knots again. It's really odd, but it seems like he's the one suffering from morning sickness."
"Finally! Some justice in the world!" Ginger crowed. "Their eldest is in the Academy now, by the way. He's in one of the classes Hawkins teaches. It's unbelievable. I saw him last week and Little Alex looks EXACTLY like Keith did when we first met him at the Academy."
"Gorgeous with those incredible eyes?" Lisa laughed. "And I suppose history repeats itself? If she's anything like you, my god-daughter probably thinks that Alex is God's gift to women... I only hope that she doesn't get into half as many scrapes as you did."
"Lis, you'd be surprised," Ginger muttered, shaking her head with disbelief. "Betsy manages to shock us everyday with her antics. Hawkins blames me for her high spirits, of course. But we all know that she didn't inherit her talent for strategy and tactics from me!"
"You still do it," Lisa wondered. "Call Mitch Hawkins, I mean. You've been what, married for almost twenty years - ever since we disbanded the Force - and you make it sound like he's still your commanding officer. I half expect you to refer to him by his rank"
"I just call him Hawkins when he's being uppity..." Ginger retorted, with a mischievous smile. "Like Mitch is ninety-nine point nine percent of the time. I reserve his rank for special occasions, like parties or well... um... other engagements."
"Ginge, as a scientist, let me give you some professional advice," Lisa offered, taking a sip of her water to disguise the laugh that threatened to bubble out. "Even though we may say otherwise, there are times when we REALLY prefer not to know. Honest."
"You?" Ginger scoffed, lifting an eyebrow with a disbelieving smile as she buffed her nails against the lapel of her blazer. "Sure. Fine. Whatever... After all, I'm not the one who ran a full spectrum analysis just to see what went into Sammy's Special Stew."
"I'd still rather not know, you know." Lisa shuddered at the memory. "And before you ask, the food on the Explorer is still horrible. The new chef assigned to us has got to be a relative of Sammy. I swear, the food tastes the same!"
"The secret to your diet then? It used to be mine too," Ginger sighed wistfully. "Those were the days, weren't they? The food was horrible, but the friendship, the excitement and the adventure more than made up for it. "
"Don't romanticize the food, my friend. You and Mitch may miss it, but Jeff and I certainly don't." Lisa snorted, stabbing a fork into her pasta and twirling it. "In fact, the first thing we did after we made planetfall was go out and eat."
"Strange how life turned out, huh, Lise," Ginger mused. "I always thought that I'd spend my entire life as a Space Explorer, but now, I'm perfectly happy being what I thought I never could be. A wife and a mother. Just plain Geraldine Hawkins."
"Tending your own little patch of soil, not having to chase after the next star," Lisa murmured. A stray lock of hair fell over her eyes, hiding the envy in them. "That's the dream we fought for, wasn't it? I'm glad for you, Ginge. To be perfectly honest, even though I stayed on in the service, I can't think of a more perfect life than yours."