Major Roger Healey loved flying. There was a definite rush taking a helicopter or fixed wing aircraft to its limits and then some. Of course, it was absolutely nothing compared to the rush of pulling g's riding a rocket into Earth's orbit. The main difference between Roger and the other astronauts was that he loved to play. He took his work seriously, and was as skilled in some areas, more skilled in others than his colleagues. Healey's ability to leave the job behind and just have fun was the envy of many others in the space program and the military.
"Is that what you are wearing?" Roger asked.
It was 1930 Friday night. Roger and Tony were to take the 2000 shuttle flight to Las Vegas' McCarren airport. The 727 shuttle nicknamed "Janet" was operated by a civilian contractor, and would get them to McCarren at 20:45, or 8:45 civilian time. Healey and Nelson were under strict orders to wear civilian clothing in Las Vegas. Rogers's clothes were as civilian as you can get: Hawaiian shirt, casual pants, loafers. Tony on the other hand was wearing a dark blue suit with military precision.
"It's the only civilian clothes I brought, Rog." Tony explained.
Roger sighed, "I guess we can get you more there. The whole idea of going mufti is so we would not stand out as military. You look like a recruiting poster even in your civvies. Please tell me you brought your swim trunks, the hotel has a pool… hense bathing beauties."
Tony slapped his duffel bag, "Its in here. By the way, where are we staying?" Tony asked, as Roger was the one who took care of all their liberty plans.
Roger just smiled and said, "You'll find out."
Roger and Tony got on the plane with the other workers at Area 51. To them, commuting to work a la Boeing 727 became part of their routine. There was the normal TGIF buzz on the jet. The 727 parked at its own special terminal. Roger, Tony, and other mid to high ranking visitors got on another shuttle to the hotel that the Air Force had made arrangements for VIPs.
The Shuttle went up Tropicana Avenue, and turned right on to the strip when it passed the hotel for whom the avenue was named. Fairly quickly, the shuttle arrived at its destination. Tony smiled when he saw why Roger kept it a surprise. The hotel had a rather large neon genie bottle on top, which by the way looked nothing like Jeannie's, and a bright sign proudly proclaiming "Aladdin."
Roger told his friend, "I thought you might like it. Just wait until you see the midnight show."
Tony suspected that the late night show may be a bit bawdier. The Air Force major was relieved to see, despite his colleague's concerns, he was not over dressed. Sure, there were a lot of guys dressed like Roger, but there were as many dressed in conservative business suits. Tony didn't have to worry about standing out.
"Hey Tony, check out the cocktail waitress," Roger suggested.
Tony almost did a double take. It was a very attractive blonde woman, who couldn't have been over 22. What startled him was her outfit. It was very close to Jeannie's.
Tony said, "If only they knew how accurate they were…"
The two men checked in, and then gambled a little in the casino. Tony was glad Jeannie wasn't there to "help them." Part of the thrill of gambling was the potential for loss. Sure winning all the time is nice for the pocket book, but there was no rush. Tony found that out first hand a few years ago in Reno, thanks to Jeannie.
When they got in to the Aladdin's show room Roger said, "I think you're going to like this one."
The name of the show was "I Dream of Jeannie." It hit kind of close to home for Tony, some guy finds a bottle on an island, rubs it, and a beautiful genie pops out. The genie's name was Jeannie. Tony marked that off to coincidence (after all, its really not that original of a name). There were plenty of other things popping out in the play (including Roger's eyes), as the late night show was topless.
"Don't you think Jeannie looks like Jeannie?" Roger asked, clearly admiring the young actress' figure.
"Roger, they all look like Jeannie, including the cocktail waitresses," Tony replied.
Roger laughed, "I guess you're right, but if the guy that found the bottle in the play was an astronaut instead of some Navy guy that was shipwrecked, they could have called the play 'The Tony Nelson Story.'"
Tony laughed uncomfortably.
After the play, the two went up to their suite, which was actually just two adjoining rooms. Both men appreciated that set up. Tony knew odds were that before they left, Roger would need some privacy.
Tony should have known to be wary of coincidences. The genie in the play was indeed Jeannie's sister. The play was in fact, loosely based on the Tony Nelson story. Jeannie's sister acted as a muse to have one of Vegas' well known show producers to 'come up' with the idea.
Jeannie's sister blinked up to security, got a video tape recorder, along with the night's tapes. Then she blinked over to Cocoa Beach, where the local time was just before dawn. Not wishing to be rude, Jeannie's sister blinked in a lavish breakfast to go along with the surprise that she was going to lay upon her sister.
