Chapter 2

Nothing, Nothing at All

A week had come and gone before John and Maureen finally sat the children down for a special family meeting. The Jupiter 1 would be launching in less than two weeks and John wanted the children to watch the flight with the knowledge that there was a very good chance that they would be on the Jupiter 2.

Penny and Will were arguing about whose turn it was to empty the dishwasher when they entered. Judy, daydreaming about Eddie, was the last to join the group in the kitchen. John tapped the table with his empty glass and called the meeting to order.

"Judy, Penny, Will," he acknowledged, "your mother and I have a rather important announcement to make."

All eyes stared at him, curious about what it could be. 'They can't be having another baby,' Judy thought. Penny wondered if they would be moving again, while Will just hoped that it had nothing to do with sitting through another play.

John grasped his wife's hand and stated, "You all know about the colonization program that I have been working on at Alpha Control."

They nodded.

"Last month, your mother and I submitted our application to be the first family to go into space."

Maureen anxiously scanned her children for their reactions. Will's face broke into a huge grin and he exclaimed, "Wow!" Penny looked pensive and remained quiet. Realization slowly dawned on Judy's face and was replaced with a look of horror.

"No! How could you?" she shouted.

"Lower your voice, young lady. You know how much your mother and I believe in the program. It's only logical that we should apply," her father replied.

"Well, I don't want to go into space. I won't go!" she stated, and ran out of the room.

"Judith Elana Robinson! Come back here!" her father ordered. She ignored him and ran straight out the door. He caught his wife's eye and wryly stated, "Well, that went well."

"She's young and emotional, John. She needs time to think about this," Maureen said.

As Lynn walked towards him in the library, Don noticed how her short, curly red hair framed her cute face and he realized that, even though they had been together for a few weeks, he didn't even know the color of her eyes. He instructed himself to take notice as she sat across from him at the table, and observed that they were as green as the pine trees that surrounded Colorado Springs.

"Where were you last night? I stopped by to see you," she asked.

"I was here, studying."

"That's all you've been doing lately."

"Finals are coming, Lynn. You know I have to keep my grades up."

"So do I."

"But you're not in the three-year program. I've got six classes to study for."

"Then let's get lunch and I'll help you study afterwards, she offered.

"Can't. I'm registering for my summer classes as soon as I'm done here."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were avoiding me," she teased.

"I am. If I hang around you too much, I won't get anything done," he teased right back. "Hang in there until after finals. Okay?"

She stared at him. This one was a keeper. If he wanted her to wait until doomsday, she would. She playfully pouted in disappointment. "Okay, but, promise me one thing?" she asked as she leaned towards him.

"Yeah?" he answered and he, too, leaned forward.

"That as soon as finals are over, you come looking for me and not that car of yours."

"Ooh, you're asking a lot."

She kicked his shin under the table.

"Ouch… okay," he responded. "You first, car second… for now."

She kicked him again, harder.

"Ow! What was that one for?" he asked.

"Ask me again when we're both out of the Academy," she answered.

She kissed him hard on the lips and left.

He was beginning to understand why his advisor had warned him against romantic entanglements. He watched her hips sway as she left and thought, 'But then, again…'

Judy was beside herself and didn't know where to turn. She ran over to Eddie's house and found him in the driveway, washing his car. She poured out the entire story of her family's application and Eddie stared at her, speechless.

"They didn't even have the decency to talk to us first, Eddie!" she complained.

He shook his head. "You mean your parents want you to go into a space ship and travel to the other side of the galaxy where there are no people, no buildings, no cars, nothing."

She nodded.

"You're family is crazy," he stated.

"I don't want to go with them, Eddie. What am I going to do?"

"I don't know, Judy. It's all too weird to even think about. I guess you're stuck."

"Stuck? Do you even care that you might never see me again?"

"Sure, I care, but it's not like I can do anything about it. I'm going to New York in a couple of months. I won't even be around. I mean, Christ, what do you expect me to do?"

She stared at him a moment longer and said, "Nothing, Eddie. Nothing at all."